Lefty swinging 1B/LF Willie McCovey didn’t need steroids to put up huge numbers unlike some other players on the Giants. He was elected to Baseball’s Hall of Fame in 1986 and he was a six time All-Star with the Giants in his 19 years with the team. McCovey was the N.L. Rookie of the Year in 1959 despite only playing in 52 games that season. McCovey played in 52 games for the Giants in 1959 and he was 68 for 192 (.354 avg, 1.085 OPS) with 32 runs scored, 13 homers, 38 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. McCovey won the N.L. MVP Award in 1969 with the Giants when he appeared in 149 games in which he was 157 of 491 (.320 avg, 1.108 OPS) with 101 runs scored, 45 homers and 126 RBIs. He also walked 121 times that season while only whiffing 66 times which showed what a great eye he had that year. McCovey played in 2,256 games in his 19 years with the Giants and he was 1,974 of 7,214 (.274 avg, .900 OPS) with 1,113 runs scored, 469 homers, 1,388 RBIs and 24 stolen bases. McCovey is #3 all-time in Giants’ history in games played (2,256). He is also #4 in hits (1,974), #6 in OPS (.900), #6 in runs scored (1,113), #4 in homers (469), #4 in RBIs (1,388), #5 in doubles (308) and #4 in walks (1,168). Now you know a little bit more about the man that McCovey Cove was named after.

The Giants never figured out a role for righty starter/reliever Kelly Downs. He pitched with the Giants from 1986-1992 and he was solid. Downs pitched in 177 games (110 starts) for the Giants and he was 47-38 with 1 save, a 3.64 ERA and a 1.28 WHIP. He threw 11 complete games with the Giants including 6 of them that were shutouts. He only gave up 705 hits in 762 innings while only whiffing 494 batters meaning that he threw strikes and let the defense help him.

Barry Bonds played 15 years for the Giants in which he made the All-Star team 12 times, he won 5 Gold Gloves and he was the N.L. MVP five times for them. Bonds played in 1,976 games for the Giants in which he was 1,951 for 6,263 (.312 avg, 1.143 OPS) with 1,555 runs scored, 586 homers, 1,440 RBIs and 263 stolen bases. Bonds is #5 all-time in hits for the Giants, he’s #1 in OPS, #3 in runs scored, #2 in homers, #3 in RBIs and he is tied for #9th in Giants history in stolen bases with his father Bobby Bonds. Bonds won the MVP in his first season with the Giants in 1993 when he played in 159 games in which he was 181 for 539 (.336 avg, 1.136 OPS) with 129 runs scored, 46 homers, 123 RBIs and 29 stolen bases. He led the league in both homers and RBIs in 1993. Bonds also won four straight MVPs during the 2001-2004 seasons in which he played in 573 games in which he was 573 for 1,642 (.349 avg) with 486 runs scored, 209 homers, 438 RBIs, 35 stolen bases and 755 walks. In 2001, Bonds set the all-time record for homers (73) in a season. He is the all-time leader in major league history with 762 homers and he also is the all-time leader in walks with 2,558.