McCovey Cove
McCovey Cove is the unofficial name of a section of San Francisco Bay beyond the right field wall of AT&T Park, home of the San Francisco Giants, named after famed Giants first baseman Willie McCovey. The proper name for the cove is China Basin, which is the mouth of Mission Creek as it meets the bay. The cove is bounded along the north by AT&T Park, with a ferry landing and a breakwater at the northeast end. The southern shore is lined by China Basin Park and McCovey Point. To the east, it opens up to San Francisco Bay, while the west end of the cove is bounded by the Lefty O'Doul Bridge, named after San Francisco ballplayer and manager Lefty O'Doul.
The name was coined thanks to two sportswriters. Mark Purdy of the San Jose Mercury News wrote an article suggesting naming the body of water after McCovey, though his original suggestions were 'McCovey Channel,' 'McCovey Stream' or 'McCovey Run.' Purdy then noted the more 'lyrical' name of 'McCovey Cove' was suggested by his colleague Leonard Koppett, a writer for the Oakland Tribune.[1] The name did not take long to become very popular, although the moniker has never become official.
On game days, fans take to the water of McCovey Cove in boats and even in kayaks, often with fishing nets in the hope of collecting a home run ball. This echoes what used to happen during McCovey's playing days. Before Candlestick Park's upper deck was extended, the area behind right field was occupied by three small bleacher sections and a lot of open space. Kids in those bleachers would gather behind the right field fence when "Stretch" would come to the plate. There may also be a link to the fact that Willie McCovey was one of only a few that hit home runs over the scoreboard and into a public swimming pool at Montreal's Jarry Park (Parc Jarry), the Expos' home from 1969 to 1976. The fact that balls can be hit into a water basin over the right field wall in San Francisco is somewhat of a tribute/salute to Willie McCovey's legend when he visited Montreal.
Although there have been shark sightings in the bay, there have been no reported shark sightings in the cove.
Just beyond the wall is a public waterfront promenade, where fans can watch the game through the wall's archways, free of charge, albeit with a somewhat obstructed view. Across the cove from the ballpark is McCovey Point and China Basin Park, featuring a statue of McCovey at the mouth of the Cove. At his feet are small plaques commemorating the winners of the Willie Mac Award, named in McCovey's honor. Along the southern shore of the cove, between McCovey Point and the O'Doul Bridge, is a walkway featuring plaques showing the Opening Day Roster of every Giants team from 1958 through 1999. Just south of the statue of Willie McCovey is Barry Bonds Junior Giants Field, a t-ball sized baseball diamond.[2]
Splash hits
"Splash hits" are recorded only when Giants players hit home runs that land in McCovey Cove on the fly. These hits are tallied on an electronic counter on the right field wall. As of August 21, 2016, 71 "splash hits" have been hit into the Bay by Giants players since the park opened; 35 of those were by Barry Bonds.[3] The only Giants other than Bonds to have reached the Cove more than once are Pablo Sandoval, with seven "splash hits", Brandon Belt, with five, and six players with two each: Felipe Crespo, Michael Tucker, Ryan Klesko, Aubrey Huff, Andrés Torres and Brandon Crawford. Nine other Giants' players have accomplished the feat just once. Carlos Beltrán's "Splash Hit" on September 14, 2011, marked his 300th career home run. Klesko is currently the only player to have splash hits as both a Giant and as an opposing player through the 2012 season. Tyler Colvin's "splash hit" on May 12, 2014, was also his first hit for the Giants and came off his first at bat at AT&T Park since joining the team.[4]
When AT&T Park hosted the 2007 Home Run Derby, McCovey Cove was heavily featured in promotional materials, and the namesake slugger presented each participant with special bats before the competition. However, the difficulty of hitting McCovey Cove with a home run was shown, as none of the eight sluggers competing were able to hit water, and all four left-handed batters (who are more likely to hit home runs to right field, and thus, to the Cove) were eliminated in the first round of the contest. The only player to hit water was Prince Fielder of the Milwaukee Brewers, who hit one into-the-water foul.[5] Fielder would eventually hit McCovey Cove with a fair ball on July 20, 2008, as the 17th visiting player to hit a home run into the Cove.
No right-handed hitter has ever hit an opposite field home run into McCovey Cove, though Giants catcher Buster Posey has come close several times.
| No. | Player | Date | Opponent | Pitcher |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bonds, BarryBarry Bonds (1) | May 1, 2000 | New York Mets | Rodriguez, RichRich Rodriguez |
| 2 | Bonds, BarryBarry Bonds (2) | May 10, 2000 | St. Louis Cardinals | Benes, AndyAndy Benes |
| 3 | Bonds, BarryBarry Bonds (3) | May 10, 2000 | St. Louis Cardinals | Slocumb, HeathcliffHeathcliff Slocumb |
| 4 | Bonds, BarryBarry Bonds (4) | May 24, 2000 | Montreal Expos | Thurman, MikeMike Thurman |
| 5 | Bonds, BarryBarry Bonds (5) | July 19, 2000 | San Diego Padres | Meadows, BrianBrian Meadows |
| 6 | Bonds, BarryBarry Bonds (6) | September 20, 2000 | Cincinnati Reds | Parris, SteveSteve Parris |
| 7 | Bonds, BarryBarry Bonds (7) | April 17, 2001 | Los Angeles Dodgers | Adams, TerryTerry Adams |
| 8 | Bonds, BarryBarry Bonds (8) | April 18, 2001 | Los Angeles Dodgers | Park, Chan HoChan Ho Park |
| 9 | Bonds, BarryBarry Bonds (9) | May 24, 2001 | Colorado Rockies | Thomson, JohnJohn Thomson (1) |
| 10 | Crespo, FelipeFelipe Crespo (1) | May 28, 2001 | Arizona Diamondbacks | Prinz, BretBret Prinz |
| 11 | Bonds, BarryBarry Bonds (10) | May 30, 2001 | Arizona Diamondbacks | Ellis, RobertRobert Ellis |
| 12 | Bonds, BarryBarry Bonds (11) | June 12, 2001 | Anaheim Angels | Rapp, PatPat Rapp |
| 13 | Crespo, FelipeFelipe Crespo (2) | July 8, 2001 | Milwaukee Brewers | Leskanic, CurtisCurtis Leskanic |
| 14 | Bonds, BarryBarry Bonds (12) | August 4, 2001 | Philadelphia Phillies | Figueroa, NelsonNelson Figueroa |
| 15 | Bonds, BarryBarry Bonds (13) | August 14, 2001 | Florida Marlins | Bones, RickyRicky Bones |
| 16 | Bonds, BarryBarry Bonds (14) | August 31, 2001 | Colorado Rockies | Thomson, JohnJohn Thomson (2) |
| 17 | Bonds, BarryBarry Bonds (15) | September 29, 2001 | San Diego Padres | McElroy, ChuckChuck McElroy |
| 18 | Bonds, BarryBarry Bonds (16) | May 13, 2002 | Atlanta Braves | Millwood, KevinKevin Millwood |
| 19 | Bonds, BarryBarry Bonds (17) | May 18, 2002 | Florida Marlins | Penny, BradBrad Penny |
| 20 | Bonds, BarryBarry Bonds (18) | May 18, 2002 | Florida Marlins | Darensbourg, VicVic Darensbourg |
| 21 | Bonds, BarryBarry Bonds (19) | September 8, 2002 | Arizona Diamondbacks | Anderson, BrianBrian Anderson |
| 22 | Bonds, BarryBarry Bonds (20) | September 28, 2002 | Houston Astros | Robertson, JeriomeJeriome Robertson |
| 23 | Bonds, BarryBarry Bonds (21) | October 12, 2002 | St. Louis Cardinals | Finley, ChuckChuck Finley |
| 24 | Bonds, BarryBarry Bonds (22) | April 14, 2003 | Houston Astros | Miller, WadeWade Miller |
| 25 | Bonds, BarryBarry Bonds (23) | April 30, 2003 | Chicago Cubs | Clement, MattMatt Clement |
| 26 | Snow, J. T.J. T. Snow | June 5, 2003 | Minnesota Twins | Lohse, KyleKyle Lohse |
| 27 | Bonds, BarryBarry Bonds (24) | June 27, 2003 | Oakland Athletics | Lilly, TedTed Lilly |
| 28 | Cruz, JoseJosé Cruz, Jr. | July 8, 2003 | St. Louis Cardinals | Haren, DanDan Haren |
| 29 | Bonds, BarryBarry Bonds (25) | August 8, 2003 | Philadelphia Phillies | Mesa, JoséJosé Mesa |
| 30 | Bonds, BarryBarry Bonds (26) | August 19, 2003 | Atlanta Braves | King, RayRay King |
| 31 | Bonds, BarryBarry Bonds (27) | September 13, 2003 | Milwaukee Brewers | Davis, DougDoug Davis |
| 32 | Bonds, BarryBarry Bonds (28) | April 12, 2004 | Milwaukee Brewers | Kinney, MattMatt Kinney |
| 33 | Bonds, BarryBarry Bonds (29) | April 13, 2004 | Milwaukee Brewers | Ford, BenBen Ford |
| 34 | Tucker, MichaelMichael Tucker (1) | May 30, 2004 | Colorado Rockies | Kennedy, JoeJoe Kennedy |
| 35 | Pierzynski, A. J.A. J. Pierzynski | July 6, 2004 | Colorado Rockies | Stark, DennyDenny Stark |
| 36 | Bonds, BarryBarry Bonds (30) | July 30, 2004 | St. Louis Cardinals | Carpenter, ChrisChris Carpenter |
| 37 | Bonds, BarryBarry Bonds (31) | August 3, 2004 | Cincinnati Reds | Lidle, CoryCory Lidle |
| 38 | Tucker, MichaelMichael Tucker (2) | April 9, 2005 | Colorado Rockies | Dohmann, ScottScott Dohmann |
| 39 | Winn, RandyRandy Winn | September 14, 2005 | San Diego Padres | Williams, WoodyWoody Williams |
| 40 | Bonds, BarryBarry Bonds (32) | September 18, 2005 | Los Angeles Dodgers | Kuo, Hong-ChihHong-Chih Kuo |
| 41 | Bonds, BarryBarry Bonds (33) | August 21, 2006 | Arizona Diamondbacks | Hernandez, LivanLiván Hernández (1) |
| 42 | Bonds, BarryBarry Bonds (34) | April 18, 2007 | St. Louis Cardinals | Franklin, RyanRyan Franklin |
| 43 | Klesko, RyanRyan Klesko (1) | May 21, 2007 | Houston Astros | Miller, TreverTrever Miller |
| 44 | Klesko, RyanRyan Klesko (2) | June 29, 2007 | Arizona Diamondbacks | Hernandez, LivanLiván Hernández (2) |
| 45 | Bonds, BarryBarry Bonds (35) | August 8, 2007 | Washington Nationals | Redding, TimTim Redding |
| 46 | Lewis, FredFred Lewis | April 26, 2008 | Cincinnati Reds | Belisle, MattMatt Belisle |
| 47 | Bowker, JohnJohn Bowker | July 2, 2008 | Chicago Cubs | Dempster, RyanRyan Dempster |
| 48 | Torres, AndresAndrés Torres (1) | June 15, 2009 | Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim | Lackey, JohnJohn Lackey |
| 49 | Sandoval, PabloPablo Sandoval (1) | July 30, 2009 | Philadelphia Phillies | Lopez, RodrigoRodrigo López (1) |
| 50 | Sandoval, PabloPablo Sandoval (2) | August 29, 2009 | Colorado Rockies | Marquis, JasonJason Marquis |
| 51 | Huff, AubreyAubrey Huff (1) | May 1, 2010 | Colorado Rockies | Betancourt, RafaelRafael Betancourt |
| 52 | Huff, AubreyAubrey Huff (2) | June 16, 2010 | Baltimore Orioles | Guthrie, JeremyJeremy Guthrie |
| 53 | Torres, AndresAndrés Torres (2) | July 28, 2010 | Florida Marlins | Sosa, JorgeJorge Sosa |
| 54 | Sandoval, PabloPablo Sandoval (3) | August 12, 2010 | Chicago Cubs | Wells, RandyRandy Wells |
| 55 | Sandoval, PabloPablo Sandoval (4) | September 30, 2010 | Arizona Diamondbacks | Enright, BarryBarry Enright |
| 56 | Sandoval, PabloPablo Sandoval (5) | July 4, 2011 | San Diego Padres | Frieri, ErnestoErnesto Frieri |
| 57 | Schierholtz, NateNate Schierholtz | July 8, 2011 | New York Mets | Dickey, R. A.R. A. Dickey |
| 58 | Sandoval, PabloPablo Sandoval (6) | August 31, 2011 | Chicago Cubs | Lopez, RodrigoRodrigo López (2) |
| 59 | Beltran, CarlosCarlos Beltrán | September 14, 2011 | San Diego Padres | Latos, MatMat Latos |
| 60 | Belt, BrandonBrandon Belt (1) | September 27, 2011 | Colorado Rockies | White, AlexAlex White |
| 61 | Belt, BrandonBrandon Belt (2) | June 14, 2012 | Houston Astros | Rodríguez, WandyWandy Rodríguez |
| 62 | Belt, BrandonBrandon Belt (3) | September 4, 2012 | Arizona Diamondbacks | Kennedy, IanIan Kennedy |
| 63 | Sandoval, PabloPablo Sandoval (7) | May 12, 2013 | Atlanta Braves | Medlen, KrisKris Medlen |
| 64 | Crawford, BrandonBrandon Crawford (1) | April 13, 2014 | Colorado Rockies | Brothers, RexRex Brothers |
| 65 | Colvin, TylerTyler Colvin | May 12, 2014 | Atlanta Braves | Floyd, GavinGavin Floyd |
| 66 | Crawford, BrandonBrandon Crawford (2) | May 14, 2014 | Atlanta Braves | Carpenter, DavidDavid Carpenter |
| 67 | Ishikawa, TravisTravis Ishikawa | September 12, 2014 | Los Angeles Dodgers | Correia, KevinKevin Correia |
| 68 | Belt, BrandonBrandon Belt (4) | September 25, 2014 | San Diego Padres | Cashner, AndrewAndrew Cashner |
| 69 | Belt, BrandonBrandon Belt (5) | June 8, 2016 | Boston Red Sox | Price, DavidDavid Price |
| 70 | Span, DenardDenard Span (1) | June 13, 2016 | Milwaukee Brewers | Anderson, ChaseChase Anderson |
| 71 | Span, DenardDenard Span (2) | August 20, 2016 | New York Mets | Colón, BartoloBartolo Colón |
Other McCovey Cove hits
33 non-Giants players have hit the cove 42 times. Of visiting players who have hit the cove, Carlos Delgado, Carlos González and Adam LaRoche have performed the feat the most, doing it three times each. Current Major League baseball player Curtis Granderson and former Major League baseball players Luis Gonzalez and Cliff Floyd are the only other visiting players to do so twice. Rick Ankiel hit the water on the fly in the 11th inning of Game 2 of the 2010 National League Division Series on October 8, 2010; his run would go on to be the winning run for the Atlanta Braves (this was only the 2nd home run ball hit into McCovey Cove in a postseason game at the time, the first being by Barry Bonds on October 12, 2002, in the National League Championship Series). David Ortiz, Mitch Moreland, and Adam Dunn are the only three American League players to hit the cove. Bryce Harper hit the water on the fly in the 7th inning of Game 4 of the 2014 National League Division Series on October 7, 2014 to tie the game.
Kevin Correia is the only pitcher to have given up a splash hit both as a Giant and as a visiting pitcher (while pitching for the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2014). On May 12, 2014, players from opposite teams hit home runs into McCovey Cove in the same game for the first time.[6]
| No. | Hitter | Team | Date | Pitcher |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hundley, ToddTodd Hundley | Los Angeles Dodgers | June 30, 2000 | Nen, RobbRobb Nen |
| 2 | Gonzalez, LuisLuis Gonzalez (1) | Arizona Diamondbacks | September 23, 2000 | Estes, ShawnShawn Estes |
| 3 | Grace, MarkMark Grace | Arizona Diamondbacks | May 28, 2001 | Worrell, TimTim Worrell |
| 4 | Gonzalez, LuisLuis Gonzalez (2) | Arizona Diamondbacks | May 30, 2002 | Rueter, KirkKirk Rueter |
| 5 | Klesko, RyanRyan Klesko | San Diego Padres | April 9, 2003 | Jensen, RyanRyan Jensen |
| 6 | Choi, Hee-SeopHee-Seop Choi | Florida Marlins | April 30, 2004 | Correia, KevinKevin Correia (1) |
| 7 | Patterson, CoreyCorey Patterson | Chicago Cubs | August 7, 2004 | Walker, TylerTyler Walker |
| 8 | Floyd, CliffCliff Floyd (1) | New York Mets | August 21, 2004 | Tomko, BrettBrett Tomko (1) |
| 9 | Branyan, RussellRussell Branyan | Milwaukee Brewers | April 23, 2005 | Tomko, BrettBrett Tomko (2) |
| 10 | Walker, LarryLarry Walker | St. Louis Cardinals | July 8, 2005 | Schmidt, JasonJason Schmidt |
| 11 | Delgado, CarlosCarlos Delgado (1) | Florida Marlins | July 23, 2005 | Hennessey, BradBrad Hennessey |
| 12 | Floyd, CliffCliff Floyd (2) | New York Mets | April 25, 2006 | Wright, JameyJamey Wright |
| 13 | Delgado, CarlosCarlos Delgado (2) | New York Mets | April 26, 2006 | Morris, MattMatt Morris (1) |
| 14 | Delgado, CarlosCarlos Delgado (3) | New York Mets | May 9, 2007 | Morris, MattMatt Morris (2) |
| 15 | LaRoche, AdamAdam LaRoche (1) | Pittsburgh Pirates | August 11, 2007 | Lincecum, TimTim Lincecum (1) |
| 16 | Berkman, LanceLance Berkman | Houston Astros | May 15, 2008 | Chulk, VinnieVinnie Chulk |
| 17 | Fielder, PrincePrince Fielder | Milwaukee Brewers | July 19, 2008 | Matos, OsirisOsiris Matos |
| 18 | Giles, BrianBrian Giles | San Diego Padres | August 24, 2008 | Correia, KevinKevin Correia (2) |
| 19 | Montero, MiguelMiguel Montero | Arizona Diamondbacks | September 29, 2009 | Sanchez, JonathanJonathan Sánchez |
| 20 | Ortiz, DavidDavid Ortiz | Boston Red Sox | June 27, 2010 | Lincecum, TimTim Lincecum (2) |
| 21 | LaRoche, AdamAdam LaRoche (2) | Arizona Diamondbacks | August 27, 2010 | Lincecum, TimTim Lincecum (3) |
| 22 | LaRoche, AdamAdam LaRoche (3) | Arizona Diamondbacks | August 28, 2010 | Romo, SergioSergio Romo |
| 23 | Ankiel, RickRick Ankiel | Atlanta Braves | October 8, 2010 | Ramirez, RamonRamón Ramírez |
| 24 | Navarro, DionerDioner Navarro | Los Angeles Dodgers | July 20, 2011 | Lincecum, TimTim Lincecum (4) |
| 25 | Moreland, MitchMitch Moreland | Texas Rangers | June 9, 2012 | Vogelsong, RyanRyan Vogelsong (1) |
| 26 | González, CarlosCarlos González | Colorado Rockies | April 8, 2013 | Bumgarner, MadisonMadison Bumgarner (1) |
| 27 | Brown, DomonicDomonic Brown | Philadelphia Phillies | May 6, 2013 | Bumgarner, MadisonMadison Bumgarner (2) |
| 28 | McCann, BrianBrian McCann | Atlanta Braves | May 10, 2013 | Cain, MattMatt Cain (1) |
| 29 | González, CarlosCarlos González (2) | Colorado Rockies | May 25, 2013 | Zito, BarryBarry Zito |
| 30 | Jones, GarrettGarrett Jones | Pittsburgh Pirates | August 22, 2013 | Cain, MattMatt Cain (2) |
| 31 | González, CarlosCarlos González (3) | Colorado Rockies | April 11, 2014 | Bumgarner, MadisonMadison Bumgarner (3) |
| 32 | Grandal, YasmaniYasmani Grandal | San Diego Padres | April 30, 2014 | Hudson, TimTim Hudson (1) |
| 33 | Freeman, FreddieFreddie Freeman | Atlanta Braves | May 12, 2014 | López, JavierJavier López |
| 34 | Granderson, CurtisCurtis Granderson | New York Mets | June 8, 2014 | Lincecum, TimTim Lincecum (5) |
| 35 | Dunn, AdamAdam Dunn | Chicago White Sox | August 13, 2014 | Peavy, JakeJake Peavy |
| 36 | Dickerson, CoreyCorey Dickerson | Colorado Rockies | August 27, 2014 | Hudson, TimTim Hudson (2) |
| 37 | Inciarte, EnderEnder Inciarte | Arizona Diamondbacks | September 9, 2014 | Petit, YusmeiroYusmeiro Petit |
| 38 | Harper, BryceBryce Harper | Washington Nationals | October 7, 2014 | Strickland, HunterHunter Strickland |
| 39 | Asche, CodyCody Asche | Philadelphia Phillies | July 11, 2015 | Vogelsong, RyanRyan Vogelsong (2) |
| 40 | Zobrist, BenBen Zobrist | Chicago Cubs | May 20, 2016 | Kontos, GeorgeGeorge Kontos |
| 41 | Pederson, JocJoc Pederson | Los Angeles Dodgers | June 12, 2016 | Strickland, HunterHunter Strickland (2) |
| 42 | Granderson, CurtisCurtis Granderson (2) | New York Mets | August 19, 2016 | Cueto, JohnnyJohnny Cueto |
References
- ↑ Purdy, Mark (May 9, 1999). "Honoring Him Wouldn't Take A Stretch". The San Jose Mercury News.
- ↑ McCovey Point | SFGiants.com: Ballpark
- ↑ "Splash Hits". San Francisco Giants official MLB site. Retrieved May 13, 2014.
- ↑ Kroner, Steve (May 12, 2014). "Tyler Colvin powers Tim Lincecum's gem for Giants". SFGate. Retrieved May 13, 2014.
- ↑ Vlad captures first Derby crown | MLB.com: News
- ↑ Colvin homers in first start as a Giants
External links
- Unraveling the scientific secrets of the elusive 'Splash Hit' (San Francisco Chronicle)
- Splash Hits: SFGiants.com
Coordinates: 37°46′38″N 122°23′17″W / 37.77722°N 122.38806°W