Wes Covington


John Wesley Covington was an American professional baseball left fielder, who played in Major League Baseball from through for the Milwaukee Braves, Chicago White Sox, Kansas City Athletics, Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago Cubs, and Los Angeles Dodgers. He stood, weighing. Covington batted left-handed and threw right-handed.

Baseball career

Born in Laurinburg, North Carolina, Covington attended Laurinburg High School then transferred and graduated from Hillside High School in Durham, where he was a football star. He didn't begin playing baseball until 1950 but his skills caught the eye of a scout for the Boston Braves. Covington was offered a contract and assigned to the Class C Eau Claire Bears in. After working his way up the minor league ladder, he was a call-up who sparked the 1957 Braves down the stretch and helped them to win the World Series.
Covington hit.284, with 21 home runs, and drove in 65 runs, in just 96 games over the second half of the season. His inspired play continued in the Series against the New York Yankees, highlighted by two defensive plays that preserved wins for Lew Burdette.
In an 11-year career, Covington was a.279 hitter, with 131 homers, and 499 runs batted in, a.337 on-base percentage, and a.466 slugging percentage, in 1,075 games. His best season came in, when he posted career numbers in average, home runs, and RBI.
Covington was also one of a handful of players in MLB history to have played for four teams in one season, having appeared for the Braves, White Sox, Athletics, and Phillies, that year.

Retirement

Following his baseball career, Covington moved to Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. For a time, he operated a sporting goods business. Covington contracted cancer, dying in Edmonton on July 4, 2011, at the age of 79.