RIP - Willie McCovey

Popular San Francisco Giants' slugger Willie McCovey passed away today, October 31, 2018 at age 80.

Along with Willie Mays, McCovey gave the Giants a great 1-2 punch throughout the 1960s and early 1970s.

(It seemed so weird to see him in a Padres' uniform for a few years in the mid-1970s.)

McCovey retired in 1980, having collected 521 home runs. He was the NL Rookie of the Year in 1959 and the NL MVP in 1969.

I remember back in the late-1960s/early-1970s, it seemed the most common response by pitchers to the question "Who is the toughest batter you've faced" was Willie McCovey.

San Francisco Chronicle obituary

New York Times obituary

ESPN obituary
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RIP - Marty Pattin

Marty Pattin, who broke in with the Angels, but had his first baseball card in 1969 as a member of the Seattle Pilots, passed away on October 3, 2018 at age 75.

Pattin appeared in 52 games for the Angels as a rookie in 1968, but as I mentioned here, Topps did a bad job of including the Angels' young pitchers in the late 1960s' sets. He was a starter for the expansion Pilots in 1969, and remained with the team for 2 more years.

After 2 seasons with the Red Sox, Marty finished up his career with 7 seasons in Kansas City.

Kansas City Star obituary

Obituary
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