Mike McCormick, Giants' Cy Young winner and All-Star, dies at 81

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Mike McCormick, the first Giant to win the Cy Young Award, passed away Saturday.

The Giants announced that McCormick died at his home in Cornelius, North Carolina after a long battle with Parkinson's. He was 81 years old. 

McCormick signed with the New York Giants as a 17-year-old and played the first seven seasons of his career with the franchise. He was traded away in 1962 but returned late in 1966 in another trade, playing four more seasons in San Francisco. That first season back was one of McCormick's best, as he went 22-10 with a 2.85 ERA in 262 1/3 innings. McCormick received 18 of 20 Cy Young votes and finished sixth in the MVP balloting.

McCormick was from Southern California and committed to USC as a teenager, but he signed with the Giants for $50,000 and went straight to the majors because of the "Bonus Baby Rule," which kept teams from placing some prospects in the minor leagues for two years. Up until 1986, McCormick held the record as the youngest MLB pitcher to reach 50 wins. He is on the organization's Wall of Fame outside Oracle Park. 

“We are deeply saddened by the loss of Mike McCormick, a true gentleman and forever Giant,” Giants president and CEO Larry Baer said in a statement. “Like many Giants fans, I have many fond childhood memories of watching Mike pitch at Candlestick Park and then was blessed to call him my friend these past 30 years. As a member of the inaugural San Francisco Giants team in 1958, Mike helped establish baseball on the west coast and then went on to play a major role in the legendary Giants teams of the 1960s, becoming San Francisco’s first pitcher to win a CY Young Award.

"Following his illustrious playing career, Mike settled in the Bay Area and was a regular presence at Giants games and countless Giants functions, from Giants Community Fund fundraisers, to team reunions, to fantasy camps.  He was the ultimate Giants ambassador and lived life to the fullest.  He will be greatly missed by our Giants Family and our thoughts are with Dierdre and the entire McCormick Family.”

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McCormick won 134 games in his 16-year career, including 107 with the Giants. He is 20th on the franchise's win list, one spot behind Tim Lincecum, the only other pitcher in San Francisco Giants history to win a Cy Young. 

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