Willie McCovey passed away this afternoon at Stanford Hospital. He leaves behind his family, an unforgettable baseball record, thousands of fans in San Francisco, and countless more across the globe.
The Giants reported it was the result of “ongoing health issues”. Whatever the cause, McCovey’s departure evokes the purest sense of mortality that no baseball fan wants to feel. These players become heroes and that heroism becomes frozen in time. No matter the health setbacks or appearances in a wheelchair, the memories of their physical accomplishments are always there, always alive, reinvigorated by the hero’s appearance.