Willie McCovey Dead At 80

Willie McCovey, Hall Of Fame 1st baseman for the San Francisco Giants, has died at 80.  McCovey played alongside the great Willie Mays to form one of the best homerun hitting duos in baseball at the time.  

McCovey's 18 career grand slams are the most in National League history.  The body of water behind right field in the Giant's stadium is name McCovey Cove after the popular slugger. 

Since Seattle did not have a team when I first started watching baseball in the 1960s, the Giants were my favorite team.  Decades later, I ate in McCovey's a restaurant in Walnut Creek named after him.

Happy Birthday To Willie Mays

Former Centerfielder Willie Mays, my first sports hero turns 77 today. While playing with the New York Baseball Giants in the 1950s, Mays was part of a legendary triumvirate of Center fielders in New York that included Mickey Mantle of the Yankees and Duke Snider of the Brooklyn Dodgers. The Dodgers and Giants of course moved to Los Angeles and San Francisco respectively in 1958. Mays of course, played for the San Francisco Giants until the early 1970s when he was traded to the New York Mets. After reading about Mays in a magazine article in 1967, I suddenly became a big baseball fan.

Forever In Pinstripes!

The guessing game of where A-Rod will land is over now, Alex Rodriquez apparently will ink a deal to return to the New York Yankees. How history will stack him up with the Yankee legends remains to be seen.

A Salute To Larry Doby

6o years ago, Larry Doby became the first black man to play in the American League and the second black man to play in Major League Baseball. He is much lesser known than Jackie Robinson, but no doubt carried many of the same burdens.

We Salute Jackie Robinson

Many baseball players wore number 42 today to commemorate the 60th anniversary of Jackie Robinson breaking into Major League baseball. Robinson became the first African American to play in the bigs. His struggles are well documented. Robinson's persistence paved the way for some of my old favorite players like Willie Mays, Hank Aaron, and Lou Brock. It was the charisma and talent of these players that drew my interest in the sport.

Good Luck M's

The 2007 Seattle Mariners begin the regular season tomorrow with Felix Hernandez on the mound. Starting his second full season in the bigs, the 20 year old Hernandez is expected to be ace of the pitching staff. The Mariners will take on arch nemesis Oakland Athletics in Safeco Field.