Before diving into how Willie McCovey handled MLB’s second deadball era, it’s worth remembering just how good he was over the long haul.
“Stretch” was born on January 10, 1938, in Mobile, Alabama, and signed with the Giants organization as a 17-year-old in 1955. He spent four seasons working his way through the minors before the call-up finally came.
McCovey didn’t waste any time making an impression, either. He went 4-for-4 against future Hall of Famer Robin Roberts in his big-league debut on July 30, 1959, and that was just the start of a noteworthy first MLB campaign. Although he suited up for just 52 games, McCovey took home the National League Rookie of the Year Award after slashing .354/.429/.656 with 13 home runs, 38 RBI, and 32 runs scored.
By the time he hung up his cleats in 1980, the imposing left-handed hitter had put together a .270/.374/.515 career line with 521 home runs, 1,555 RBI, and 2,211 hits. He won three NL home run titles (1963, 1968, 1969), and the Giants retired his No. 44 in his honor.
It only took him one try to reach baseball immortality and be inducted into the Hall of Fame. McCovey earned 81.4% of the vote in 1986.
Baseball-Reference refers to the period between 1964 and 1972 as the “second deadball era.” It was punctuated by the Year of the Pitcher in 1968. Bob Gibson was the poster child for it, as he won both the Cy Young and MVP Awards that year. He went 22-9 with a ridiculous 1.12 ERA, 0.85 WHIP, and 268 strikeouts in 304.1 innings pitched.
Gibson is notorious for not being afraid of anyone, which is why it was probably the ultimate compliment when he referred to McCovey as “the scariest hitter in baseball.” With that in mind, let’s revisit the Hall of Famer’s offensive production during this period and how he stacked up against some of the game’s greats.
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Willie McCovey’s Stats During MLB’s Second Deadball Era
The nine years between 1964 and 1972 spanned McCovey’s age-26 to age-34 seasons. So, he played the prime of his career during one of the most difficult times ever for hitters. Let’s not forget that the slugger played his home games at Candlestick Park in San Francisco, which wasn’t exactly a hitter’s paradise.
That makes what he did during this period even more impressive. McCovey slashed .278/.392/.543 with 276 homers, 176 doubles, 795 RBI, and 661 runs scored in 4,775 plate appearances.
Those homers ranked fourth during this span. According to FanGraphs, Hank Aaron (331), Harmon Killebrew (318), and Billy Williams (282) hit more homers than McCovey, with Williams being the only lefty. It’s also worth noting that his .936 OPS was tied with Dick Allen for the second-highest mark in baseball, trailing only Hank Aaron (.940).
An average year for McCovey from 1964-72 included 31 homers, 20 doubles, 88 RBI, and 73 runs scored.
McCovey’s Power Peak Is Easy to Find
I’ve highlighted an “average year” for many players when trying to showcase their greatness. When compared to some others I’ve mentioned over the past few weeks, McCovey’s numbers above might feel slightly more pedestrian (although I’d still take them!).
That’s because he had a couple of tougher years in 1971 and 1972. However, he did post six straight years of 30-plus homers from 1965-70. If we look at an average year for McCovey during this stretch, those numbers jump up to about 37 homers, 23 doubles, 106 RBI, and 88 runs scored.
It’s not that those initial numbers were bad, but these certainly jump off the page more. Within this stretch, McCovey was on another level between 1968 and 1970… at the height of the second deadball era.
He put together four seasons of 30-plus homers and 100-plus RBI during his career. Three of them came consecutively:
- 1968: 36 homers and 105 RBI (both led the league)
- 1969: 45 homers and 126 RBI (both led the league)
- 1970: 39 homers and 126 RBI
McCovey slashed .300/.425/.603 during this time. His 1.028 OPS was easily MLB’s best, with Carl Yastrzemski coming in second at .945. He slugged a total of 120 homers, which was second only to Frank Howard (136). However, McCovey did find himself at the top of the RBI leaderboard by driving in 357 runs.
His best season of all was 1969 — he took home National League MVP honors while posting a league-leading 1.108 OPS.
Respect Came in the Form of Intentional Walks
Exactly how feared was McCovey at the plate, you ask? Well, you can get a glimpse of that by finding out how little opposing pitchers wanted to face him compared to his peers.
McCovey led baseball in intentional walks during both 1969 (45) and 1970 (40). His 105 intentional walks from 1968-70 were easily the most in baseball. Howard checked in at a distant second with 60.
It feels like the left-handed slugger can easily be overlooked during this era, especially with Willie Mays as his teammate. While many young baseball fans might only know McCovey as the body of water beyond the right-field fence at Oracle Park, he was so much more than that.
The Record Book Still Remembers Him
McCovey’s 45 intentional walks in 1969 weren’t just a league-leading total. They set a single-season record that stood for more than three decades, until Barry Bonds broke it in 2004. Even today, that 1969 total remains the most intentional walks from someone not named Barry Bonds has drawn in a single season in MLB history.
He was just as dangerous with the bases loaded. McCovey finished his career with 18 grand slams, which stood as the second-most in history at the time of his retirement, trailing only Lou Gehrig’s 23. And when he connected for his 521st and final home run on May 3, 1980, it tied him with Ted Williams and made McCovey one of just a handful of players ever to homer in four different decades.
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