McCovey Cove is the unofficial name of a section of San Francisco Bay beyond the right field wall of Oracle 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 Oracle 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.
Features
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. Just beyond the wall is a public waterfront promenade. 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] (As of 2020, the features in this area have been temporarily warehoused while extensive construction takes place.)
Splash hits
Panoramic view of McCovey Cove, August 2010
A "splash hit" is recorded when a Giants player hits a home run that lands in McCovey Cove on the fly (foul balls, home runs hit by opposing players, and hits that strike or bounce off the stadium wall or pedestrian path are not counted toward this total). These hits are tallied on an electronic counter on the right field wall. As of June 19, 2023, 102 splash hits have been hit into the Bay by 28 Giants players since the park opened; 35 of those were by Barry Bonds.[3] Seven other Giants have reached the Cove more than twice: Brandon Belt (ten), Pablo Sandoval (eight), Mike Yastrzemski (six), Denard Span (five), LaMonte Wade Jr. (five), Brandon Crawford (four), and Joc Pederson (four). Five additional players — Felipe Crespo, Michael Tucker, Ryan Klesko, Aubrey Huff, and Andrés Torres — have done it twice. Fifteen other Giants players have accomplished the feat once. Carlos Beltrán's splash hit on September 14, 2011 marked his 300th career home run. Tyler Colvin's splash hit on May 12, 2014 was also his first hit for the Giants and occurred in his first at bat at Oracle Park since joining the team.[4] Bonds is the only Giants player to have two splash hits in a single game, having done so on May 10, 2000 and May 18, 2002. On June 15, 2021, two different Giants players got splash hits in the same game for the first time: Steven Duggar and Mike Yastrzemski.
Two players have gotten splash hits while playing for the Giants and visiting teams. Ryan Klesko got a splash hit on April 9, 2003, while playing for the San Diego Padres before getting two splash hits as a Giants player during the 2007 season. He was joined by Joc Pederson on May 24, 2022,[5] who became the first player to have a splash hit for three different teams, having previously hit two splash hits while a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Chicago Cubs.
Four splash hits have been walk-off home runs: Barry Bonds' on August 19, 2003, Brandon Crawford's on April 13, 2014, and Mike Yastrzemski's two splash hits on July 29, 2020 and June 19, 2023, respectively.
Denard Span and LaMonte Wade Jr. are the only Giants to lead off with a splash hit, doing so on June 13, 2016 and June 2, 2023, respectively.
Bonds is currently the only Giant to record a splash hit in the postseason. He did so in the 5th inning of Game 3 of the 2002 National League Championship Series on October 12, 2002.
When the stadium hosted the 2007 Major League Baseball 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 the water on the fair side of the foul pole, 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. Justin Morneau of the Minnesota Twins and Prince Fielder of the Milwaukee Brewers were both able to hit the Cove once, but both of their hits were foul balls.[6] However, Fielder eventually did hit McCovey Cove with a fair ball on July 19, 2008, as the 13th visiting player to hit the 17th non-Giants home run into the Cove.
Four visiting pitchers have each surrendered two splash hits: John Thomson, Liván Hernández, Rodrigo López, and Chris Paddack. López is the only pitcher to give up a splash hit as a member of two visiting teams while pitching for the Philadelphia Phillies and the Chicago Cubs. No pitcher has surrendered two splash hits in the same game. However, two pitchers have surrendered splash hits to the same player twice: Thomson to Bonds on May 24, 2001 and August 31, 2001; and López to Pablo Sandoval on July 30, 2009 and August 31, 2011.
The most splash hits the Giants have had in a season is 11 in 2001, nine of which were part of Bonds' successful chase to hit the most home runs in a season. On the flip side, the Giants did not hit any splash hits in 2015 (Cody Asche of the Philadelphia Phillies was the only player that season to accomplish the feat). This splash-hit drought lasted nearly two years; after Brandon Belt hit one on September 25, 2014, he would break the drought himself on June 8, 2016.
Every National League team has had at least one player hit a home run into McCovey Cove. The last club to have a player hit a ball into the water for the first time was the Cincinnati Reds, doing so in April 2021. Of the 15 American League teams, only five (the Boston Red Sox, the Texas Rangers, the Chicago White Sox, the Kansas City Royals, and the Cleveland Guardians) have had a player hit a home run into McCovey Cove. No player for the Houston Astros has hit a home run into McCovey Cove since the Astros moved to the American League in 2013.
Luis Gonzalez' splash hit on May 30, 2002, Dioner Navarro's splash hit on July 20, 2011, and Max Muncy's splash hit on June 9, 2019, are the only three instances where a splash hit accounted for the only run of a game.
Three Giants pitchers have surrendered splash hits to the same visiting player twice each: Morris to Carlos Delgado on April 26, 2006, and May 9, 2007; Lincecum to Adam LaRoche on August 11, 2007, and August 27, 2010; and Bumgarner to Carlos González on April 8, 2013, and April 11, 2014.
Players from opposing teams have hit home runs into McCovey Cove in the same game four times: on May 28, 2001 (Felipe Crespo and Mark Grace); May 12, 2014 (Tyler Colvin and Freddie Freeman); August 9, 2019 (Stephen Vogt and Bryce Harper);[12] and May 29, 2023 (Jack Suwinski twice). Suwinski became the first visiting player to hit the Cove twice in the same game.
