McCovey Cove

McCovey Cove (2002)

McCovey Cove is the unofficial name of a section of San Francisco Bay beyond the right field wall of AT&T Park, home of the San Francisco Giants, named after famed Giants first baseman Willie McCovey. The proper name for the cove is China Basin, which is the mouth of Mission Creek as it meets the bay. The cove is bounded along the north by AT&T Park, with a ferry landing and a breakwater at the northeast end. The southern shore is lined by China Basin Park and McCovey Point. To the east, it opens up to San Francisco Bay, while the west end of the cove is bounded by the Lefty O'Doul Bridge, named after San Francisco ballplayer and manager Lefty O'Doul.

The name was coined thanks to two sportswriters. Mark Purdy of the San Jose Mercury News wrote an article suggesting naming the body of water after McCovey, though his original suggestions were 'McCovey Channel,' 'McCovey Stream' or 'McCovey Run.' Purdy then noted the more 'lyrical' name of 'McCovey Cove' was suggested by his colleague Leonard Koppett, a writer for the Oakland Tribune. The name did not take long to become very popular, although the moniker has never become official.

On game days, fans take to the water of McCovey Cove in boats and even in kayaks, often with fishing nets in the hope of collecting a home run ball. This echoes what used to happen during McCovey's playing days. Before Candlestick Park's upper deck was extended, the area behind right field was occupied by three small bleacher sections and a lot of open space. Kids in those bleachers would gather behind the right field fence when "Stretch" would come to the plate. There may also be a link to the fact that Willie McCovey was one of only a few that hit home runs over the scoreboard and into a public swimming pool at Montreal's Jarry Park (Parc Jarry), the Expos' home from 1969 to 1976. The fact that balls can be hit into a water basin over the right field wall in San Francisco is somewhat of a tribute/salute to Willie McCovey's legend when he visited Montreal.

Just beyond the wall is a public waterfront promenade, where fans can watch the game through the wall's archways, free of charge, albeit with a somewhat obstructed view. Across the cove from the ballpark is McCovey Point and China Basin Park, featuring a statue of McCovey at the mouth of the Cove. At his feet are small plaques commemorating the winners of the Willie Mac Award, named in McCovey's honor. Along the southern shore of the cove, between McCovey Point and the O'Doul Bridge, is a walkway featuring plaques showing the Opening Day Roster of every Giants team from 1958 through 1999. Just south of the statue is Barry Bonds Junior Giants Field, a t-ball sized baseball diamond.

Splash hits

Panoramic view of McCovey Cove, August 2010.

"Splash hits" are recorded only when Giants players hit home runs that land in McCovey Cove on the fly. These hits are tallied on an electronic counter on the right field wall. As of May 12, 2013, 63 "splash hits" had been hit into the Bay by Giants players since the park opened; 35 of those were by Barry Bonds. The only Giants other than Bonds to have reached the Cove more than once are Pablo Sandoval, with seven "splash hits" to date, Brandon Belt, with three, and five players with two each: Felipe Crespo, Michael Tucker, Ryan Klesko, Aubrey Huff, and Andrés Torres. Nine other Giants' players have accomplished the feat just once. Carlos Beltrán's "Splash Hit" on September 14, 2011, marked his 300th career home run. Klesko is currently the only player to have splash hits as both a Giant and as an opposing player through the 2012 season.

When AT&T Park hosted the 2007 Home Run Derby, McCovey Cove was heavily featured in promotional materials, and the namesake slugger presented each participant with special bats before the competition. However, the difficulty of hitting McCovey Cove with a home run was shown, as none of the eight sluggers competing were able to hit water, and all four left-handed batters (who are more likely to hit home runs to right field, and thus, to the Cove) were eliminated in the first round of the contest. The only player to hit water was Prince Fielder of the Milwaukee Brewers, who hit one into-the-water foul. Fielder would eventually hit McCovey Cove with a fair ball on July 20, 2008, as the 17th visiting player to hit a home run into the Cove.

No right-handed hitter has ever hit an opposite field home run into McCovey Cove, though Giants catcher Buster Posey has come close several times.

No.	Player	Date	Opponent	Pitcher
1	Bonds, BarryBarry Bonds (1)	02000-05-01May 1, 2000	New York Mets	Rodriguez, RichRich Rodriguez
2	Bonds, BarryBarry Bonds (2)	02000-05-10May 10, 2000	St. Louis Cardinals	Benes, AndyAndy Benes
3	Bonds, BarryBarry Bonds (3)	02000-05-10May 10, 2000	St. Louis Cardinals	Slocumb, HeathcliffHeathcliff Slocumb
4	Bonds, BarryBarry Bonds (4)	02000-05-24May 24, 2000	Montreal Expos	Thurman, MikeMike Thurman
5	Bonds, BarryBarry Bonds (5)	02000-07-19July 19, 2000	San Diego Padres	Meadows, BrianBrian Meadows
6	Bonds, BarryBarry Bonds (6)	02000-09-20September 20, 2000	Cincinnati Reds	Parris, SteveSteve Parris
7	Bonds, BarryBarry Bonds (7)	02001-04-17April 17, 2001	Los Angeles Dodgers	Adams, TerryTerry Adams
8	Bonds, BarryBarry Bonds (8)	02001-04-18April 18, 2001	Los Angeles Dodgers	Park, Chan HoChan Ho Park
9	Bonds, BarryBarry Bonds (9)	02001-05-24May 24, 2001	Colorado Rockies	Thomson, JohnJohn Thomson (1)
10	Crespo, FelipeFelipe Crespo (1)	02001-05-28May 28, 2001	Arizona Diamondbacks	Prinz, BretBret Prinz
11	Bonds, BarryBarry Bonds (10)	02001-05-30May 30, 2001	Arizona Diamondbacks	Ellis, RobertRobert Ellis
12	Bonds, BarryBarry Bonds (11)	02001-06-12June 12, 2001	Anaheim Angels	Rapp, PatPat Rapp
13	Crespo, FelipeFelipe Crespo (2)	02001-07-08July 8, 2001	Milwaukee Brewers	Leskanic, CurtisCurtis Leskanic
14	Bonds, BarryBarry Bonds (12)	02001-08-04August 4, 2001	Philadelphia Phillies	Figueroa, NelsonNelson Figueroa
15	Bonds, BarryBarry Bonds (13)	02001-08-14August 14, 2001	Florida Marlins	Bones, RickyRicky Bones
16	Bonds, BarryBarry Bonds (14)	02001-08-31August 31, 2001	Colorado Rockies	Thomson, JohnJohn Thomson (2)
17	Bonds, BarryBarry Bonds (15)	02001-09-29September 29, 2001	San Diego Padres	McElroy, ChuckChuck McElroy
18	Bonds, BarryBarry Bonds (16)	02002-05-13May 13, 2002	Atlanta Braves	Millwood, KevinKevin Millwood
19	Bonds, BarryBarry Bonds (17)	02002-05-18May 18, 2002	Florida Marlins	Penny, BradBrad Penny
20	Bonds, BarryBarry Bonds (18)	02002-05-18May 18, 2002	Florida Marlins	Darensbourg, VicVic Darensbourg
21	Bonds, BarryBarry Bonds (19)	02002-09-08September 8, 2002	Arizona Diamondbacks	Anderson, BrianBrian Anderson
22	Bonds, BarryBarry Bonds (20)	02002-09-28September 28, 2002	Houston Astros	Robertson, JeriomeJeriome Robertson
23	Bonds, BarryBarry Bonds (21)	02002-10-12October 12, 2002	St. Louis Cardinals	Finley, ChuckChuck Finley
24	Bonds, BarryBarry Bonds (22)	02003-04-14April 14, 2003	Houston Astros	Miller, WadeWade Miller
25	Bonds, BarryBarry Bonds (23)	02003-04-30April 30, 2003	Chicago Cubs	Clement, MattMatt Clement
26	Snow, J. T.J. T. Snow	02003-06-05June 5, 2003	Minnesota Twins	Lohse, KyleKyle Lohse
27	Bonds, BarryBarry Bonds (24)	02003-06-27June 27, 2003	Oakland Athletics	Lilly, TedTed Lilly
28	Cruz, JoseJosé Cruz, Jr.	02003-07-08July 8, 2003	St. Louis Cardinals	Haren, DanDan Haren
29	Bonds, BarryBarry Bonds (25)	02003-08-08August 8, 2003	Philadelphia Phillies	Mesa, JoséJosé Mesa
30	Bonds, BarryBarry Bonds (26)	02003-08-19August 19, 2003	Atlanta Braves	King, RayRay King
31	Bonds, BarryBarry Bonds (27)	02003-09-13September 13, 2003	Milwaukee Brewers	Davis, DougDoug Davis
32	Bonds, BarryBarry Bonds (28)	02004-04-12April 12, 2004	Milwaukee Brewers	Kinney, MattMatt Kinney
33	Bonds, BarryBarry Bonds (29)	02004-04-13April 13, 2004	Milwaukee Brewers	Ford, BenBen Ford
34	Tucker, MichaelMichael Tucker (1)	02004-05-30May 30, 2004	Colorado Rockies	Kennedy, JoeJoe Kennedy
35	Pierzynski, A. J.A. J. Pierzynski	02004-07-06July 6, 2004	Colorado Rockies	Stark, DennyDenny Stark
36	Bonds, BarryBarry Bonds (30)	02004-07-30July 30, 2004	St. Louis Cardinals	Carpenter, ChrisChris Carpenter
37	Bonds, BarryBarry Bonds (31)	02004-08-03August 3, 2004	Cincinnati Reds	Lidle, CoryCory Lidle
38	Tucker, MichaelMichael Tucker (2)	02005-04-09April 9, 2005	Colorado Rockies	Dohmann, ScottScott Dohmann
39	Winn, RandyRandy Winn	02005-09-14September 14, 2005	San Diego Padres	Williams, WoodyWoody Williams
40	Bonds, BarryBarry Bonds (32)	02005-09-18September 18, 2005	Los Angeles Dodgers	Kuo, Hong-ChihHong-Chih Kuo
41	Bonds, BarryBarry Bonds (33)	02006-08-21August 21, 2006	Arizona Diamondbacks	Hernandez, LivanLiván Hernández (1)
42	Bonds, BarryBarry Bonds (34)	02007-04-18April 18, 2007	St. Louis Cardinals	Franklin, RyanRyan Franklin
43	Klesko, RyanRyan Klesko (1)	02007-05-21May 21, 2007	Houston Astros	Miller, TreverTrever Miller
44	Klesko, RyanRyan Klesko (2)	02007-06-29June 29, 2007	Arizona Diamondbacks	Hernandez, LivanLiván Hernández (2)
45	Bonds, BarryBarry Bonds (35)	02007-08-08August 8, 2007	Washington Nationals	Redding, TimTim Redding
46	Lewis, FredFred Lewis	02008-04-26April 26, 2008	Cincinnati Reds	Belisle, MattMatt Belisle
47	Bowker, JohnJohn Bowker	02008-07-02July 2, 2008	Chicago Cubs	Dempster, RyanRyan Dempster
48	Torres, AndresAndrés Torres (1)	02009-06-15June 15, 2009	Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim	Lackey, JohnJohn Lackey
49	Sandoval, PabloPablo Sandoval (1)	02009-07-30July 30, 2009	Philadelphia Phillies	Lopez, RodrigoRodrigo López (1)
50	Sandoval, PabloPablo Sandoval (2)	02009-08-29August 29, 2009	Colorado Rockies	Marquis, JasonJason Marquis
51	Huff, AubreyAubrey Huff (1)	02010-05-01May 1, 2010	Colorado Rockies	Betancourt, RafaelRafael Betancourt
52	Huff, AubreyAubrey Huff (2)	02010-06-16June 16, 2010	Baltimore Orioles	Guthrie, JeremyJeremy Guthrie
53	Torres, AndresAndrés Torres (2)	02010-07-28July 28, 2010	Florida Marlins	Sosa, JorgeJorge Sosa
54	Sandoval, PabloPablo Sandoval (3)	02010-08-12August 12, 2010	Chicago Cubs	Wells, RandyRandy Wells
55	Sandoval, PabloPablo Sandoval (4)	02010-09-30September 30, 2010	Arizona Diamondbacks	Enright, BarryBarry Enright
56	Sandoval, PabloPablo Sandoval (5)	02011-07-04July 4, 2011	San Diego Padres	Frieri, ErnestoErnesto Frieri
57	Schierholtz, NateNate Schierholtz	02011-07-08July 8, 2011	New York Mets	Dickey, R. A.R. A. Dickey
58	Sandoval, PabloPablo Sandoval (6)	02011-08-31August 31, 2011	Chicago Cubs	Lopez, RodrigoRodrigo López (2)
59	Beltran, CarlosCarlos Beltrán	02011-09-14September 14, 2011	San Diego Padres	Latos, MatMat Latos
60	Belt, BrandonBrandon Belt (1)	02011-09-27September 27, 2011	Colorado Rockies	White, AlexAlex White
61	Belt, BrandonBrandon Belt (2)	02012-06-14June 14, 2012	Houston Astros	Rodríguez, WandyWandy Rodríguez
62	Belt, BrandonBrandon Belt (3)	02012-09-04September 4, 2012	Arizona Diamondbacks	Kennedy, IanIan Kennedy
63	Sandoval, PabloPablo Sandoval (7)	02013-05-12May 12, 2013	Atlanta Braves	Medlen, KrisKris Medlen

Other McCovey Cove hits

20 non-Giants players have hit the cove 28 times. Of visiting players who have hit the cove, Carlos Delgado and Adam LaRoche have performed the feat the most, doing it three times each. Former Major League baseball players Luis Gonzalez and Cliff Floyd are the only other visiting players to do so twice. Rick Ankiel hit the water on the fly in the 11th inning of Game 2 of the 2010 National League Division Series on October 8, 2010; his run would go on to be the winning run for the Atlanta Braves (this was only the 2nd home run ball hit into McCovey Cove in a postseason game, the first being by Barry Bonds on October 12, 2002, in the National League Championship Series). David Ortiz and Mitch Moreland are the only two American League players to hit the cove.

No.	Hitter	Team	Date	Pitcher
1	Hundley, ToddTodd Hundley	Los Angeles Dodgers	02000-06-30June 30, 2000	Nen, RobbRobb Nen
2	Gonzalez, LuisLuis Gonzalez (1)	Arizona Diamondbacks	02000-09-23September 23, 2000	Estes, ShawnShawn Estes
3	Grace, MarkMark Grace	Arizona Diamondbacks	02001-05-28May 28, 2001	Worrell, TimTim Worrell
4	Gonzalez, LuisLuis Gonzalez (2)	Arizona Diamondbacks	02002-05-30May 30, 2002	Rueter, KirkKirk Rueter
5	Klesko, RyanRyan Klesko	San Diego Padres	02003-04-09April 9, 2003	Jensen, RyanRyan Jensen
6	Choi, Hee-SeopHee-Seop Choi	Florida Marlins	02004-04-30April 30, 2004	Correia, KevinKevin Correia (1)
7	Patterson, CoreyCorey Patterson	Chicago Cubs	02004-08-07August 7, 2004	Walker, TylerTyler Walker
8	Floyd, CliffCliff Floyd (1)	New York Mets	02004-08-21August 21, 2004	Tomko, BrettBrett Tomko (1)
9	Branyan, RussellRussell Branyan	Milwaukee Brewers	02005-04-23April 23, 2005	Tomko, BrettBrett Tomko (2)
10	Walker, LarryLarry Walker	St. Louis Cardinals	02005-07-08July 8, 2005	Schmidt, JasonJason Schmidt
11	Delgado, CarlosCarlos Delgado (1)	Florida Marlins	02005-07-23July 23, 2005	Hennessey, BradBrad Hennessey
12	Floyd, CliffCliff Floyd (2)	New York Mets	02006-04-25April 25, 2006	Wright, JameyJamey Wright
13	Delgado, CarlosCarlos Delgado (2)	New York Mets	02006-04-26April 26, 2006	Morris, MattMatt Morris (1)
14	Delgado, CarlosCarlos Delgado (3)	New York Mets	02007-05-09May 9, 2007	Morris, MattMatt Morris (2)
15	LaRoche, AdamAdam LaRoche (1)	Pittsburgh Pirates	02007-08-11August 11, 2007	Lincecum, TimTim Lincecum (1)
16	Berkman, LanceLance Berkman	Houston Astros	02008-05-15May 15, 2008	Chulk, VinnieVinnie Chulk
17	Fielder, PrincePrince Fielder	Milwaukee Brewers	02008-07-19July 19, 2008	Matos, OsirisOsiris Matos
18	Giles, BrianBrian Giles	San Diego Padres	02008-08-24August 24, 2008	Correia, KevinKevin Correia (2)
19	Montero, MiguelMiguel Montero	Arizona Diamondbacks	02009-09-29September 29, 2009	Sanchez, JonathanJonathan Sánchez
20	Ortiz, DavidDavid Ortiz	Boston Red Sox	02010-06-27June 27, 2010	Lincecum, TimTim Lincecum (2)
21	LaRoche, AdamAdam LaRoche (2)	Arizona Diamondbacks	02010-08-27August 27, 2010	Lincecum, TimTim Lincecum (3)
22	LaRoche, AdamAdam LaRoche (3)	Arizona Diamondbacks	02010-08-28August 28, 2010	Romo, SergioSergio Romo
23	Ankiel, RickRick Ankiel	Atlanta Braves	02010-10-08October 8, 2010	Ramirez, RamonRamón Ramírez
24	Navarro, DionerDioner Navarro	Los Angeles Dodgers	02011-07-20July 20, 2011	Lincecum, TimTim Lincecum (4)
25	Moreland, MitchMitch Moreland	Texas Rangers	02012-06-09June 9, 2012	Vogelsong, RyanRyan Vogelsong
26	Gonzalez, CarlosCarlos Gonzalez	Colorado Rockies	02013-04-08April 8, 2013	Bumgarner, MadisonMadison Bumgarner
27	Brown, DomonicDomonic Brown	Philadelphia Phillies	02013-05-06May 6, 2013	Bumgarner, MadisonMadison Bumgarner
28	McCann, BrianBrian McCann	Atlanta Braves	02013-05-10May 10, 2013	Cain, MattMatt Cain

External links

• Unraveling the scientific secrets of the elusive 'Splash Hit' (San Francisco Chronicle)
• Splash Hits: SFGiants.com