Giants great had historic MLB debut on this date vs. another future Hall of Famer
Hall of Famer and late San Francisco Giants great Willie McCovey played his first Major League game 64 years ago Sunday, recording arguably one of the best debuts in history.
Long before he had a cove named after him, McCovey was a late-season call-up by the Giants toward the end of the 1959 campaign. In his first taste of the big leagues, he made an immediate impact, finishing 4-of-4 at the plate with two triples. Furthermore, his remarkable day came against another future Hall of Famer, Philadelphia Phillies starter Robin Roberts.
While McCovey's outing was unique for a rookie playing in their first game, at the time, his stat line was rare for even the most seasoned players. Before McCovey, only 52 players had finished 4-for-4 with two or more triples in the same game since 1901. Perhaps even more impressive, only 27 players have done so since, with Denard Span (2010) the last player to accomplish the feat, according to Stathead.
Despite playing only 52 games that season, McCovey earned National League Rookie of the Year honors, batting .354/.429/.656 with 13 home runs and 38 RBI. But that was only the beginning for McCovey, who would go on to play 22 years in the Majors for the Giants, San Diego Padres and Oakland Athletics.
McCovey was a six-time All-Star who won the NL MVP in 1969 and his career numbers are still up there with some of the best over four decades since he played his last game. With 521 homers, McCovey ranks 20th all-time and remains among the top 50 in RBI (1,555, 46th) and walks (1,345, 36th). Meanwhile, in Giants history, McCovey ranks third in games played and fourth in hits (1,974), home runs (469) and RBI (1,388).
Six years after walking away from the game in 1980, McCovey's baseball journey ended in Cooperstown, but it all started with a remarkably unpredictable day from a young rookie in front of 10,114 fans at Seals Stadium in San Francisco, which faced demolition later that year.
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