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<p>SAN FRANCISCO &#8212; Willie McCovey, the sweet-swinging Hall of Famer nicknamed &#8220;Stretch&#8221; for his 6-foot-4 height and those long arms, died Wednesday. He was 80.</p><p>The San Francisco Giants announced McCovey&#8217;s death, saying the fearsome hitter passed &#8220;peacefully&#8221; in the afternoon &#8220;after losing his battle with ongoing health issues.&#8221;</p><p>A former first baseman and left fielder, McCovey was a career .270 hitter with 521 home runs and 1,555 RBIs in 22 major league seasons, 19 of them with the Giants. He also played for the Athletics and Padres.</p><p>McCovey made his major league debut at age 21 on July 30, 1959, after dominating the Pacific Coast League that year. He played alongside the other Willie &#8212; Hall of Famer Willie Mays &#8212; into the 1972 season before Mays was traded to the New York Mets that May.</p><p>In his debut, McCovey went 4 for 4 with two triples, two RBIs and three runs scored in a 7-2 win against Philadelphia &#8212; and that began a stretch of the Giants winning 10 out of 12 games.</p><p>McCovey batted .354 with 13 homers, 38 RBIs, five triples and nine doubles on the way to winning NL Rookie of the Year.</p><p>&#8220;You knew right away he wasn&#8217;t an ordinary ballplayer,&#8221; Hall of Famer Hank Aaron said, courtesy of the Hall of Fame. &#8220;He was so strong, and he had the gift of knowing the strike zone. There&#8217;s no telling how many home runs he would have hit if those knees weren&#8217;t bothering him all the time and if he played in a park other than Candlestick.&#8221;</p><p>He had attended games at AT&amp;T Park as recently as the final game of the season.</p><p>&#8220;For more than six decades, he gave his heart and soul to the Giants,&#8221; Giants President and CEO Larry Baer said. &#8220;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.&#8221;</p><p>McCovey had been getting around in a wheelchair in recent years because he could no longer rely on his once-dependable legs, yet was still regularly seen at the ballpark in his private suite.</p><p>While the Giants captured their third World Series of the decade in 2014, McCovey returned to watch them play while still recovering from an infection that hospitalized him in September &#8216;14 for about a month.</p><p>&#8220;It was touch and go for a while,&#8221; McCovey said at the time. &#8220;They pulled me through, and I&#8217;ve come a long way.&#8221;</p><p>Even four-plus decades later, it still stung for the left-handed slugging McCovey that he never won a World Series after coming so close. He lined out to end the Giants&#8217; 1962 World Series loss to the Yankees.</p><p>&#8220;I still think about it all the time, I still think, &#8216;If I could have hit it a little more,&#8217;&#8221; he said Oct. 31, 2014.</p><p>In 2012, he said: &#8220;I think about the line drive, yes. Can&#8217;t get away from it.&#8221;</p><p>McCovey was born on Jan. 10, 1938, in Mobile, Ala. He had spent the last 18 years in a senior advisory role for the Giants.</p><p>&#8220;Every moment he will be terribly missed,&#8221; said McCovey&#8217;s wife, Estella. &#8220;He was my best friend and husband. Living life without him will never be the same.&#8221;</p><p>McCovey had a daughter, Allison, and three grandchildren, Raven, Philip, and Marissa. McCovey also is survived by sister Frances and brothers Clauzell and Cleon.</p><p>The Giants said a public celebration of McCovey&#8217;s life would be held at a later date.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Willie McCovey, nicknamed &#8216;Stretch&#8217; for his 6-foot-4 height and long arms, died on Wednesday &#8216;after losing his battle with ongoing health issues,&#8217; according to the San Francisco Giants. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/web1_121575601-edff0a0617464a7ab2d43bf4953415ba.jpg</photo0><caption0>Willie McCovey, nicknamed &#8216;Stretch&#8217; for his 6-foot-4 height and long arms, died on Wednesday &#8216;after losing his battle with ongoing health issues,&#8217; according to the San Francisco Giants. </caption0><photoCredit0>AP file photo </photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Janie McCauley</p><p>AP Baseball Writer</p></bylineMeta></div>

Giants Hall of Famer McCovey dies at 80