The Giants issued a heavy-hearted statement Wednesday, announcing that Hall of Famer and franchise icon Willie McCovey has passed away peacefully at the age of 80 “after losing his battle with ongoing health issues.”
“San Francisco and the entire baseball community lost a true gentleman and legend, and our collective hearts are broken,” CEO Larry Baer said in a press release announcing the loss of one of baseball’s all-time greats. “Willie was a beloved figure throughout his playing days and in retirement. He will be deeply missed by the many people he touched. For more than six decades, he gave his heart and soul to the Giants – as one of the greatest players of all time, as a quiet leader in the clubhouse, as a mentor to the Giants who followed in his footsteps, as an inspiration to our Junior Giants, and as a fan cheering on the team from his booth. Willie’s greatest passion was his family and our thoughts and prayers are with his beloved wife, Estella, and his daughter, Allison, and her children Raven, Philip, and Marissa.”
A former National League Rookie of the Year, a National League MVP and a six-time All-Star, McCovey was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame after hitting .270/.374/.515 with 521 home runs, 353 doubles, 46 triples, 1229 runs scored and 1555 runs batted in. In addition to spending 19 seasons with the Giants, McCovey played three seasons with the Padres and also spent part of the 1976 season with the Athletics.
McCovey’s name has become synonymous not only with the San Francisco Giants — who retired his No. 44 and named right field’s “McCovey Cove” at AT&T Park in his honor — but with baseball greatness. Rest in peace, Stretch.
Wow….this news blows.
Watched many games on TV with both McCovey and the Say Hey Kid when they played the Mets. RIP
RIP. Grew up an AL fan but recall many days watching the GOTW on Saturday or when the Mets played the Giants. Great classic power hitter.
One of the greats RIP Stretch
He was a great one ! RIP
Wow, a shock.
You were a star!
Willie, RIP
Dodger fan here but this is really bad news. Class guy. Great Hall of Famer. He will be missed.
R.I.P Willie, your impact on baseball will never be forgotten.
Willie was kind of bigger than life when he played. As a kid and Mets fan I always wanted him on the Mets. Great player.
definitely one of the Giants candidates for their ‘mount rushmore’ and one of my heroes when i started little league back in the 70’s. wore #44 because of him. rest in power, good sir.
I used to pretend that I was him when playing whiffle ball.
A great man! A great baseball player!
Rip
A great and underrated player, and an even more underrated person. Still remember your topps baseball cards in the 1970s. RIP willie.
One great power hitter. Saw him play at Wrigley countless times. Stretch was scary powerful. The sound of his bat making contact with the pitch was different. Pure, sweet, unmistakeable. One fine hitter and defender too. RIP big guy. You will be missed.
Damn impressive career. RIP
First Hardy Fox of The Residents and now Willie. Sad Day in SF
Damn, this sucks. Willie will be missed
Tough blow. I once saw him at Raley’s. He signed my hat.
Love this
A legend that is probably not remembered as much as he should be. One of the all time greats.
I agree, he was really good
youtu.be/Qf9oiVVBRpY
Always loved that McCovey swing. A great talent.
One of two posters I kept on my wall as a kid – Harmon Killebrew was the other. Always tough to lose heroes.
Good story I read about Killebrews Mom and Dad in Readers Digest years ago. Harmon and Dad we’re playing on the lawn. Harmons Mom yelled at them saying they’ll ruin the grass. Harmons Dad told his wife….we’re raising a kid, not a lawn
Sad news.One of the greatest of the greats.He and Donn Clendenon had the best stretches that I ever saw,and both saved many outs because of it.Rest in peace big guy.
Don drysdale probably has already greeted him with a high and inside pitch.
One or two pitches later, Willie hits it right out of Heaven.
Not sure who the jack hole is that gave all these comments a thumbs down, but obviously they’re a moron.
Enough giving them any time.
Willie will always be one of the first Giants any baseball fan will think of. While 80 is a good life, it feels like he is gone early and still had more knowledge to share with the youngsters.
RIP Stretch.
Sad news. A true gentleman, and one of my favorites. He was devoted to baseball and the Giants attending every home game. He will be missed. RIP Willie, the world has lost a truly sweet man.
Legend. As a Dodgers fan, I’m conditioned to dislike the Giants – however, one has to respect how much McCovey bled black and orange. Greatness of talent, and greatness of character, surpasses any emotion a rivalry can bring out.
Rest easy.
Many a ceiling lamp taken out by pretending to be Willie Stargell or Big Mac warming up at the plate….
Classy dude, rip my friend
Very sad. The Giants and their fans lost a legend. Whenever my father saw him he’d sigh and say, “If only he could have hit that line drive three feet higher over Bobby Richardson in 1962…”
so did Charlie Brown……
Wish I could have had the chance to watch Willie Mac play live. Such a great player and even better human being. Rest easy Mr. McCovey.
My first professional baseball game was in 1980 at the Stick. McCovey was in his final season, old and broken down, but still flashed that trademark swing and hit a rocket into the right field seats. One of my all time treasured baseball memories. We lost a great one.
I got to see #44 play for the Giants in the late 70s and while it was near the end of his career, he was still a feared hitter and got much respect. RIP Willie.
MLB lost a true icon of the game today. RIP Willie McCovey. Thank you for all you did for the game of baseball
RIP Willie McCovey condolences to your family, I’m sure your good friends Willie and Barry are hurting right now too along with all of the giants fan base.
Rant.
Gone but not forgotten, glad he was able to see how much he means to the organization and city for those that don’t know a portion of the water next to the bridge is deemed McCovey Cove where splash hits land that are hit over the right field wall into the bay. Between the statues , retired numbers , organizational wall of fame , walk along the cove and see all the milestones from non HOF. I never really got a chance to see him play, Born 81 but my dad and the giants made sure I knew exactly who he is and what he’s achieved. I’ve worked a silly job for 12 years and to think of how it would feel to have such an impact on so many would keep me coming to the park as well!
Plus the annual Willie Mac award, voted by the players to their most inspirational teammate and a most fitting memorial to a man who truly embodied what it meant to be a San Francisco Giant.
Condolences to the McCovery family, I remember watching him hit bombs to right field at the Stick! During day games while they had construction of the right field bleachers the workers would eat lunch while watching the game from the concrete pillars.. and WIllie Mac hit one up to them…caught them by surprise. 1971 Giants 21 Pirates 18….Stargell hit three that day.
And then went on to meet in the playoffs.
Sad, another BB GIANT from my youthful years is gone. RIP
Underrated star. Sad news.
As a giants fan if it didn’t already seem like the end of an era happening – you will be missed RIP. We gotta hit a few in the cove for you..
Was blessed to see McCovey play. Was known as “the most feared hitter in baseball” at the time. While his lifetime stats were great, we can only imagine what they might have been had he not suffered with bum knees for much of his career. I heard Tim McCarver once comment that when he was a player on the opposing team – when McCovey came to bat they’d shout “get the married men off the field!” I certainly can’t recall anyone who hit the ball harder.
The “most feared hitter in baseball” quote was from none other than Bob Gibson, a pitcher so dominant you would not expect him to have the word “fear” in his vocabulary. High praise, indeed.
Wonder where that telephone pole he used as a bat went. Great player, no doubt.
260 career Intentional walks, 4th all time. Tells you all you need to know about his reputation as “the most feared hitter in baseball”.
Never saw him play, but one of the neatest baseball cards I ever pulled out of a pack was his. It was a “special 1/1” card with his autograph and a cutout from the number of his actual jersey. Sweet card. Got it graded a 10 and still have it. Not even a Giants fan, but love it.
RIP Mr. McCovey, feared hitter and nemesis of the Dodgers, always respected his playing ability and leadership. Great loss to the Giants community, RIP.