Fun facts about Wes Covington:
-Originally from North Carolina. Signed with the Boston Braves as a free agent in 1952.
-In the minors, hit .330 in 1952 and .326 in 1955, wrapped around a stint of military service.
-As a second-year role player for the 1957 Braves, hit 21 home runs and 8 triples (fifth in the N.L.) in 324 at-bats for the World Champions.
-Hit only .208 with one RBI in the World Series in 1957, but made two spectacular catches in the outfield to deny the Yankees.
-Had several career highs in 1958: .330 average, 24 home runs, and 74 RBI. Hit one home run every 12.25 at-bats.
-Tied a major league record by playing for four teams in 1961. The White Sox selected him off of waivers from the Braves in May, traded him to the A's a month later, and then Kansas City traded him to the Phillies three weeks after that!
-Was an accomplished pinch hitter, batting .320 off the bench in 1963 and socking seven pinch home runs in his career.
-Hit six career home runs off of Hall of Famer Don Drysdale.
-Retired after the 1966 season with a .279 career average and 131 home runs in 11 seasons.
-Spent two decades post-baseball working for the Edmonton Sun newspaper, and also was involved with the minor-league Edmonton Trappers.
I remember Dave Kingman playing with 4 teams in 1977 and homering with each. Wes only played 9 games with the Braves and didn't homer for them, but went long for everyone else.
ReplyDeleteI'd heard about Kingman as well. One of the reasons he played for so many teams was that he was such a pain, but I can't imagine why a guy like Wes would suddenly bounce around so much!
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