MLB loses legend as Hall of Famer Willie McCovey dies at 80

The baseball world has lost a Hall of Famer.

Willie McCovey, an iconic slugger for the San Francisco Giants and a member of the 500 Home Run Club, died Wednesday at age 80.

"Willie was a beloved figure throughout his playing days and in retirement. He will be deeply missed by the many people he touched," Giants CEO Larry Baer said in a statement. "For more than six decades, he gave his heart and soul to the Giants -- as one of the greatest players of all time, as a quiet leader in the clubhouse, as a mentor to the Giants who followed in his footsteps, as an inspiration to our Junior Giants, and as a fan cheering on the team from his booth."

McCovey, who also played four seasons with the San Diego Padres and Oakland A's during his 22-year career, hit 521 home runs and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame on his first ballot in 1986. "Stretch" also was the 1959 Rookie of the Year, a six-time All-Star and the 1969 NL MVP when he hit .320 with a league-leading 45 homers and 126 RBI. He still ranks fourth on the Giants' career home runs (469 of his came with the team), walks and RBI lists despite there being a number of sluggers in the franchise's rich history.

When it comes to baseball cards, he appears on more than 3,000 different cards from his playing days and beyond but he has just one Rookie Card -- 1960 Topps -- and a surprisingly low certified autograph total of just under 700 cards. His earliest autographs arrived in 1998 Donruss Signature Series and 1998 Upper Deck Retro. He's had autographed cards albeit in lower volume, for all of the 2000s and his most-recent ink can be found in this year's Diamond Kings and Immaculate Collection releases from Panini America.

“You knew right away he wasn't an ordinary ballplayer,” Hank Aaron said via Hall of Fame. “He was so strong and he had the gift of knowing the strike zone. There's no telling how many home runs he would have hit if those knees weren't bothering him all the time and if he played in a park other than Candlestick.”

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