A celebration of life was held at AT&T Park, the home of the San Francisco Giants, to honor Willie McCovey, who died on October 31. Barry Bonds, who paid tribute to McCovey on Twitter shortly after his passing, was one of the many men to speak.
Bonds detailed what McCovey meant to him as a kid growing up around Giants greats like his father, Bobby Bonds, godfather, Willie Mays, and McCovey.
Barry Bonds' final message to McCovey: "I want to thank the #SFGiants for giving Mac that cove out there and I want to thank Mac for allowing me to hit a bunch of baseballs in his cove."#Forever44 pic.twitter.com/JSGpiRPxlV
— KNBR (@KNBR) November 8, 2018
Beyond just being great players for San Francisco, Bonds and McCovey are linked in another significant way.
In his career with the Giants, Bonds hit 35 home runs into McCovey Cove — the part of San Francisco Bay named after McCovey that sits just beyond AT&T Park’s right field wall. That significance was not lost on Bonds in his tribute.
As of the end of the 2018 season, 125 home runs have been hit into McCovey Cove (78 from Giants, 47 from opponents). The 35 from Bonds are easily the most of any player.