Baseball Hall of Fame Will Induct McCovey, Doerr and Lombardi Today

Had it not been for the precise location of a line drive that ended the 1962 World Series, Willie McCovey might best be remembered as a man who hit 521 career home runs.

But McCovey, who will be inducted into the baseball shrine today with Bobby Doerr and the late Ernie Lombardi, is often remembered for hitting the ball right at second baseman Bobby Richardson with the tying and winning runs on base as the New York Yankees beat the San Francisco Giants, 1-0, in the seventh game.

“People ask me how I’d like to be remembered,” McCovey said. “I tell them I’d like to be remembered as the guy who hit the line drive over Bobby Richardson’s head.”

There is one achievement baseball historians will not forget. On a July day in 1959, McCovey made his debut against pitcher Robin Roberts, a future Hall of Famer. McCovey, who arrived too late for batting practice, tripled twice and singled twice against the Philadelphia Phillies’ pitcher, a 20-game winner in six consecutive seasons.

“It’s almost impossible to top that first day,” McCovey said. “It was all downhill from there.”

But McCovey, named National League Rookie of the Year, became one of the league’s most feared left-handed hitters in the 1960s. His 1969 season, when he batted .320 and led the league with 45 home runs, 126 RBIs, a .656 slugging percentage and 121 walks, was his best.

Lombardi, a catcher mainly with the Cincinnati Reds who died in 1977 at age 69, and Doerr, a second baseman with the Boston Red Sox who is now 68, were both elected by the Veterans’ Committee.