“Okay, you guys. 
Pair up in threes.” 
Yogi Berra

The first professional baseball game I attended was in the mid-1960s. The San Francisco Giants hosted the Cincinnati Reds at Candlestick Park. The Giants had played in the World Series in 1962. Sadly, they didn’t actually win a World Series in San Francisco until 2010. Then they achieved that feat three times in five years!

As I sat in my upper-deck seat watching that game in 1965, I had no idea that three of the Giants players on the field that day would become San Francisco legends. Willie McCovey was playing at first base, Orlando Cepeda was stationed in right field, and Willie Mays patrolled center field. McCovey and Mays played with the Giants throughout the 1960s. Cepeda was traded to the Saint Louis Cardinals in May 1966. All three are now memorialized with statues outside Oracle Park, the current home of the San Francisco Giants.

Willie McCovey occasionally shared pearls of wisdom about lessons he’d learned from playing baseball. He once said, “It’s not what you achieve in life, it’s what you overcome that really matters.” On another occasion, he offered this advice, which applies to life well beyond the foul lines of a baseball field: “Embrace competition; it brings out the best in you and your teammates.”

Orlando Cepeda, too, shared some valuable thoughts. He said, “A true champion is not only judged by their performance on the field, but how they carry themselves off the field.” Cepeda acknowledged that much of the success he enjoyed in his career was due to his teammates. He said, “Baseball is a team sport, and without them, I wouldn’t have been able to achieve what I did.”

A display at the National Baseball Hall of Fame says this about Willie Mays: “Willie Mays, the ‘Say Hey Kid,’ played with enthusiasm and exuberance while excelling in all phases of the game — hitting for average and power, fielding, throwing, and base running.” Mays often spoke of the need for athletes to prepare well and work hard. He once said, “In order to excel, you must be completely dedicated to your chosen sport. You must also be prepared to work hard and be willing to accept constructive criticism.” One thing that was clear to those who watched Mays play ball is that he loved what he did. “I just played every day and enjoyed what I was doing.” 

When Giants fans reflect back on the the past twenty-six years of baseball at what is now known as Oracle Park (originally PacBell Park), they will remember players such as Buster Posey, Madison Bumgarner, Barry Bonds, Pablo Sandoval, and Matt Cain. When they think about the forty years the Giants played at Candlestick Park, they will certainly remember Willie Mays, Willie McCovey, and Orlando Cepeda.