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When you think of the archetype first baseman, probably the first image that comes to mind is that of a big and powerful middle-of-the-order slugger who smashes home runs and drives in runs with the best of them. Among the greatest first basemen in MLB history, two sluggers who perfectly fit this description are Harmon Killebrew of the Washington Senators/Minnesota Twins and Willie McCovey of the San Francisco Giants. Their careers overlapped for over 15 season, one on the junior circuit and the other on the senior circuit, with each player hitting over 500 career home runs – in fact, in comparing their playing days, the statistics and achievements for Killebrew and McCovey are remarkably similar, leading to the inevitable question:
Who was better – Harmon Killebrew or Willie McCovey?
The Beginning
Killebrew and McCovey both signed with big league teams as teenagers, though it would take each player a number of years before making an impact at the major league level.
The youngest of four children growing up in Idaho, Killebrew worked on a farm and played a variety of sports, ultimately earning 12 varsity letters in high school; in fact, in addition to baseball, he was an All-American quarterback and was offered a football scholarship to the University of Oregon. Instead, he signed with the then-Washington Senators as an 18-year-old and due to the “Bonus Rule”, was required to spend two full seasons on a major league roster. Thus, though Killebrew was the youngest player in MLB, he played sparingly in his first five seasons – from 1954 to 1958, he played a grand total of 113 games (and no more than 44 games in a single season), often shuttling back and forth between the minors and the majors between 1956 and 1958.
As for McCovey, he was born and raised in Mobile, Alabama, dropping out of high school to work full-time; while working in Los Angeles, he was invited to a tryout with the New York Giants in Florida and signed with the team at age 17. Following four seasons in the minor league system, he was called up to the Giants in 1959 – in his first career game vs. Hall of Fame pitcher Robin Roberts of the Philadelphia Phillies, McCovey went 4-for-4 and would go on to win NL Rookie of the Year by hitting a career-high .354 in 52 games played with 13 home runs, 38 runs batted in, 32 runs scored, a .429 on-base percentage, and a .656 slugging percentage, good for a 188 OPS+ (which measures on-base percentage plus slugging vs. a league-wide average set at 100).
Career Comparison
In their respective primes, Killebrew and McCovey were arguably the most feared sluggers in baseball, each winning an MVP award and being a yearly threat to hit 30+ home runs on their way to breaking the milestone 500 career home run mark.
Given the chance to play full-time (initially at third base), Killebrew blossomed – in his first full season in 1959, he hit .242 with a league-high 40 home runs, 105 runs batted in, 98 runs scored, a .354 on-base percentage, and a .516 slugging percentage (137 OPS+), leading the league in home runs for the first of 6x and earning the first of 13 All-Star selections. During his prime years, Killebrew was an incredibly consistent slugger, hitting at least 25 home runs for the next nine seasons, though his batting average was middling and he was also consistently among the league leaders for strikeouts. After belting 31 home runs the next year as an encore, the Senators moved to Minnesota and became the Twins; Killebrew moved to the outfield and was also named team captain. He then embarked on four consecutive 40+ home run seasons, including 3x leading the league:
- 1961: career-high .288 batting average with 46 home runs, 122 runs batted in, 94 runs scored, a .405 on-base percentage, and a .606 slugging percentage (162 OPS+)
- 1962: .243 batting average with a league-high 48 home runs and 126 runs batted in, 85 runs scored, a .366 on-base percentage, and a .545 slugging percentage (138 OPS+); finished third for AL MVP
- 1963: .258 batting average with a league-leading 45 home runs, 96 runs batted in, 88 runs scored, a .349 on-base percentage, and a league-best .555 slugging percentage (147 OPS+); finished fourth for AL MVP
- 1964: .270 batting average with a league-high and career-high 49 home runs, 111 runs batted in, 95 runs scored, a .377 on-base percentage, and a .548 slugging percentage (153 OPS+)
Following a 1965 season where he was limited to only 113 games, Killebrew rebounded in 1966 to the tune of 39 home runs and 110 runs batted in, and another fourth-place MVP finish. At the same time, nagging injuries would force him to move back to the infield, where he was primarily a first baseman, but also played some third base. In 1967, Killebrew had his highest MVP showing to-date, batting .269 with a league-best 44 home runs, 113 runs batted in, 105 runs scored, a .408 on-base percentage, and a .558 slugging percentage (173 OPS+) to finish second to Carl Yastrzemski (who won the Triple Crown that year). After an injury-plagued 1968 season that was limited to 100 games and a paltry .210 batting average, he bounced back in 1969 with his finest season: .276 batting average with a league-leading and career-high 49 home runs and 140 runs batted in, a career-best 106 runs scored, a league-high and career-best .427 on-base percentage, and a .584 slugging percentage, good for a 177 OPS+ and his first and only MVP award.
As an encore to his MVP campaign, Killebrew had another strong season in 1970, hitting .271 with 41 home runs, 113 runs batted in, 96 runs scored, a .411 on-base percentage, and a .546 slugging percentage (159 OPS+) to finish third for MVP. Thereafter, he would put together one final All-Star season as a 35-year-old in 1971 by hitting 28 home runs and leading the league with 119 runs batted in; moreover, Killebrew hit his 500th career home run in August of that year, becoming just the 10th player in MLB history to reach the mark. Despite a 26-dinger season in 1972, he was slowed by injuries and never again hit above .250; in fact, after hitting just .222 in 1974, Killebrew was released by the Twins. He joined the Kansas City Royals, but proceeded to bat a measly .199 with 14 home runs before retiring in 1975 at age 39.
Meanwhile, despite hitting in the middle of the Giants lineup with the likes of Willie Mays and Orlando Cepeda, McCovey was so-so after his rookie year, only playing roughly 100 games per season from 1960 to 1962 and hitting 15-20 home runs with around 50 runs batted in. In arguably his first full season in 1963, he hit .280 with 44 home runs (tied for the league lead with Hank Aaron), 102 runs batted in, a career-high 103 runs scored, a .350 on-base percentage, and a .566 slugging percentage (161 OPS+) to earn the first of six All-Star Game selections. Though McCovey slumped to only .220 with 18 home runs the next year, starting in 1965, he would have six consecutive seasons of at least 30 home runs and 90 runs batted in and earn four All-Star selections in the process – notably, he put together three straight monster seasons from 1968 to 1970:
- 1968: .293 batting average with a league-best 36 home runs and 105 runs batted in, 81 runs scored, a .378 on-base percentage, and a league-high .545 slugging percentage (174 OPS+); named an All-Star and finished third for NL MVP behind Bob Gibson and Pete Rose
- 1969: career year across most categories with a .320 batting average, a league-high 45 home runs and 121 runs batted in, 101 runs scored, and a league-best .453 on-base percentage and .656 slugging percentage (209 OPS+); again named an All-Star and won NL MVP
- 1970: .289 batting average with 39 home runs, 126 runs batted, 98 runs scored, a .444 on-base percentage (buoyed by a league-high 137 walks), and a league-high .612 slugging percentage (182 OPS+); finished ninth for NL MVP
At age 33, McCovey would have his last All-Star season in 1971 to the tune of a .277 batting average with 18 home runs, 70 runs batted in, 45 runs scored, a .396 on-base percentage, and a .480 slugging percentage (149 OPS+) in 105 games played. Slumping to just a .213 batting average in 1972, he rebounded in his final season with the Giants in 1973 to hit .266 with 29 home runs and 75 runs batted in. Subsequently, McCovey was traded along with Bernie Williams (not the one from the 1990s New York Yankees dynasty) to the San Diego Padres for pitcher Mike Caldwell. In southern California, McCovey had two respectable seasons, hitting around .250 each year with 20+ home runs and 60+ runs batted in; however, after spending most of 1976 with the Padres, his contract was later bought by the Oakland Athletics, though he only ended up playing 11 games for them.
Ahead of the 1977 season, McCovey moved back across the Bay to return to the Giants, where he had his last impactful season: .280 with 28 home runs, 86 runs batted in, 54 runs scored, a .367 on-base percentage, and a .500 slugging percentage (132 OPS+) to earn Comeback Player of the Year. In June 1978, he reached the 500 career home run milestone. Following two more seasons with San Francisco, McCovey retired at age 42 in 1980, having played exclusively for California-based teams. Moreover, he is one of only four players to play in and homer in four different decades, joining Ted Williams (who likewise has 521 career home runs), Rickey Henderson, and Omar Vizquel; additionally, McCovey’s 18 career grand slams are the most in NL history and fifth all-time behind only Alex Rodriguez (25), Lou Gehrig (23), Manny Ramirez (21), and Eddie Murray (19).
Killebrew and McCovey each played 22 MLB seasons and despite the latter playing in roughly 150 additional games, the two are separated by only 50 career at-bats. On one hand, Killebrew hit more home runs, scored and drove in slightly more runs, and walked more for a marginally higher career on-base percentage; on the other hand, McCovey accumulated more hits and had a higher batting average, slugging percentage, and career OPS+. In terms of individual “great” seasons, Killebrew has the distinctive edge in 30+ home run seasons (10 to 7), 40+ home run seasons (8 to 2), and years with 100+ runs batted in (9 to 4), with both players scoring 100+ runs twice. This also translates into more All-Star Game selections (13x vs. 6x), though both sluggers won an MVP award and McCovey was also Rookie of the Year. Interestingly, while the aforementioned statistics and accolades would likely point to Killebrew having a better career, McCovey actually has a slightly higher career Wins Above Replacement (WAR) of 64.5 to Killebrew’s 60.4. Post their playing days, Killebrew and McCovey were rightfully recognized as two of the elite sluggers of their eras and selected to the Hall of Fame in the mid-1980s (Killebrew – 1984, McCovey – 1986).
Regular Season Statistics
| Harmon Killebrew | Player | Willie McCovey |
| 22 (1954-1975) | Seasons | 22 (1959-1980) |
| 2,435 | Games Played | 2,588 |
| 8,147 | At-Bats | 8,197 |
| 2,086 | Hits | 2,211 |
| 1,283 | Runs | 1,229 |
| 573 | Home Runs | 521 |
| 1,584 | Runs Batted In | 1,555 |
| 1,559 | Walks | 1,345 |
| 19 | Stolen Bases | 26 |
| .256 | Batting Average | .270 |
| .376 | On-Base Percentage | .374 |
| .509 | Slugging Percentage | .515 |
| 143 | OPS+ | 147 |
| 60.4 | Wins Above Replacement | 64.5 |
| 13x | All-Star Games | 6x |
| 1x | MVP | 1x |
| – | World Series Titles | – |
| – | Other Awards | 1x ML PoY, ROY |
| 1984 | Hall of Fame Induction | 1986 |
Source: Baseball-Reference.com
With both of their careers spanning the end of the original playoff format (i.e. AL and NL pennant winners meeting in the World Series) and the beginning of the expanded postseason era, Killebrew and McCovey each had limited postseason exposure, though both came agonizingly close to winning a World Series title.
In three career playoff trips with Minnesota, Killebrew came closest to winning a title in 1965 when the Twins lost to Sandy Koufax and the Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series over a full seven games – individually, Killebrew had a good series, batting .286 (6 hits in 21 at-bats) with a home run. With the advent of the Championship Series round in 1969, he then made back-to-back appearances in the ALCS in 1969 and 1970, though the Twins were swept both times by the Baltimore Orioles; after hitting just .125 in 1969, Killebrew rebounded in 1970 with a .273 average (3 hits in 11 at-bats), 2 home runs, and 4 runs batted in.
Similarly, McCovey only appeared in the postseason twice with the Giants, with one World Series appearance. In the 1962 World Series, San Francisco fell to Mickey Mantle and the New York Yankees in seven games; McCovey hit just .200 and in Game 7, down 1-0 with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning and men on second and third base, McCovey memorably lined out to Yankees second baseman Bobby Richardson to end the series. Later on, the Giants lost in four games to the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 1971 NLCS, with McCovey going 6 for 14 (.429 batting average) with 2 home runs and 6 runs batted in.
Playoff Statistics
| Harmon Killebrew | Player | Willie McCovey |
| 13 | Games Played | 8 |
| 40 | At-Bats | 29 |
| 10 | Hits | 9 |
| 6 | Runs | 4 |
| 3 | Home Runs | 3 |
| 6 | Runs Batted In | 7 |
| 14 | Walks | 5 |
| – | Stolen Bases | – |
| .250 | Batting Average | .310 |
| .444 | On-Base Percentage | .412 |
| .500 | Slugging Percentage | .690 |
Source: Baseball-Reference.com
Every athlete goes through a natural career lifecycle, from starting off as a rookie to reaching peak years of performance and finally, declining into the inevitable retirement due to a combination of age and/or injury; after dominant primes, both Killebrew and McCovey slowed down quite a bit into their late 30s, though hung around long enough to reach 500 career home runs. For Hall of Fame caliber players across sports, I like to look at a concept I call a “decade of dominance.” The thinking behind this is that for most Hall of Fame type careers, there are roughly 10 great seasons that define an athlete (this idea is embodied in a sense by the NFL’s All-Decade teams), though due to injury or other factors, they might not be 10 consecutive years.
Decade of Dominance
| Harmon Killebrew | Player | Willie McCovey |
| 1959-1964, 1966-1967, 1969-1970 | Decade of Dominance | 1963, 1965-1970, 1973-1974, 1977 |
| 1,526 | Games Played | 1,445 |
| 5,371 | At-Bats | 4,776 |
| 1,436 | Hits | 1,357 |
| 940 | Runs | 793 |
| 434 | Home Runs | 349 |
| 1,116 | Runs Batted In | 962 |
| 1,046 | Walks | 883 |
| 15 | Stolen Bases | 15 |
| .267 | Batting Average | .284 |
| .387 | On-Base Percentage | .398 |
| .553 | Slugging Percentage | .561 |
| 48.3 | Wins Above Replacement | 52.6 |
Source: Baseball-Reference.com
From a pure power perspective (i.e. hitting home runs and driving in/scoring runs), Killebrew has a significant advantage across their respective decades of dominance; however, on an overall basis, McCovey was the superior hitter, got on-base more, and has a higher total WAR during his 10 best years.
My Thoughts
At first glance, Harmon Killebrew and Willie McCovey may seem like a study in contrasts – Killebrew was white and played his entire career in the AL for teams on the Atlantic coast and in the Midwest, while McCovey was black and played exclusively in the NL for west coast teams; when you delve a little deeper into their career numbers, though, these two slugging first basemen are remarkably similar (they even won their lone MVP awards in the same year in 1969!). If you are looking purely for a power hitter, I would say Killebrew is your man – he was remarkably consistent in his prime at hitting home runs and driving in runs, almost a lock for 40+ long balls and 100+ runs batted in per season. However, he also exemplifies the “three true outcomes” (home run, walk, or strikeout) of baseball and is somewhat of a precursor to today’s all-or-nothing hitters. While McCovey may not have had quite as much raw power as his counterpart and was a little less consistent in his production from year-to-year, I think he was a better overall player; neither was a consistent .300 hitter, but McCovey had a noticeably higher career batting average, which in turn contributes to a higher career WAR. To further illustrate this point, compare their respective 1969 MVP seasons: Killebrew had more home runs and runs batted in, but McCovey was superior in nearly every other category and accumulated nearly 2.0 additional WAR that year (8.1 vs. 6.2) – the same trends apply across each one’s best individual seasons.
Thus, after weighing their careers against each other in terms of statistics, achievements, and impact, the winner of this faceoff is:
Willie McCovey
As always, vote for your choice and leave your thoughts and comments below.
Further Reading
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