Bøger af Chris Haft

Willie McCovey, known as "Stretch," played Major League Baseball from 1959 to 1980, most notably as a member of the San Francisco Giants for nineteen seasons. A fearsome left-handed power hitter, McCovey ranked second only to Babe Ruth in career home runs among left-handed batters, and tied for eighth overall with Ted Williams, at the time of his retirement. He was a six-time All-Star, three-time National League home run champion, and 1969 league MVP, and he was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1986 in his first year of eligibility. Known as a dead-pull line-drive hitter, McCovey was called "the scariest hitter in baseball" by pitcher Bob Gibson. Born in Mobile, Alabama, McCovey encountered daunting hurdles, such as Jim Crow laws that prevented him from playing organized ball as a youth and playing for Major League managers such as Tom Sheehan and Alvin Dark who took a dim view of his abilities. But neither that nor other difficulties on the field--the platooning, the slights, the unrelenting injuries--seemed to affect McCovey as he remained grateful to be playing baseball. McCovey was the most treasured Bay Area icon of all, a humble, approachable superstar who earned the admiration of seemingly everyone he encountered. McCovey's life wasn't measured in his home run and RBI totals, though those were impressive. His greatest significance lay in the warmth and respect he extended and which others reciprocated. These elements elevated McCovey to a pantheon where relatively few athletes reside. He remains synonymous with not just the team he ennobled but also the city he represented. In A Giant among Giants, the first biography of McCovey, who passed away in 2018 at the age of eighty, Chris Haft tells the story of one of baseball's best hitters and most beloved players.

"The San Francisco Giants are one of baseball's most storied franchises. Through the words of the players, via multiple interviews conducted with current and past Giants, readers will meet the players, coaches, and management and share in their moments of greatness and defeat. Haft recounts stories from this decorated Giants dynasty, which earned World Series rings in 2010, 2012, and 2014. Giants fans will not want to be without this book"--