Willie McGee

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

You have new messages (last change).
Willie McGee
Image:McGee 01.jpg
Outfielder
Batted: Both Threw: Right
MLB debut
May 10, 1982 for the St. Louis Cardinals
Final game
October 3, 1999 for the St. Louis Cardinals
Career statistics
Batting average     .295
Hits     2254
Stolen bases     352
Teams
Career highlights and awards

Willie Dean McGee (born November 2, 1958 in San Francisco, California) is a former outfielder for the St. Louis Cardinals (1982 - 1990), the Oakland Athletics (briefly in 1990), the San Francisco Giants (1991 - 1994), the Boston Red Sox (1995), and then again the Cardinals (1996 - 1999)

McGee was was a #1 draft pick by the New York Yankees in 1977 and was acquired by the St. Louis Cardinals from the Yankees' farm system on October 21, 1981 in a trade for pitcher, Bob Sykes. In 1982, he was briefly assigned to the AAA Louisville Redbirds prior to being called up to St. Louis. In his rookie year, McGee batted .296, with 4 home runs and 56 runs batted in during the regular season. In the 1982 post-season, the 23-year old McGee was quickly thrown into the national spotlight during St. Louis' run to a World Series title. His performance in Game 3 of the 1982 World Series ranks among the best in World Series history. Not known for his power, McGee connected for 2 home runs and also delivered spectacular defensive play in center field, capped by a leaping snare of a would-be 9th-inning Gorman Thomas home run that secured the Cardinals 6-2 victory. McGee was an integral part of the St. Louis Cardinals' unlikely 1982 World Series win over the power-hitting Milwaukee Brewers, who were nicknamed "Harvey's Wallbangers" after team manager, Harvey Kuenn.

During the 1980s, McGee, along with Cardinals teammates Ozzie Smith, Tom Herr, and Vince Coleman, would exemplify "Whiteyball", named after Cardinals manager, Whitey Herzog. This style of baseball took advantage of St. Louis' spacious Busch Stadium and placed strong emphasis on fundamentals, defense, speedy baserunning and smart situational in-game play.

McGee hit for the cycle on June 23, 1984.

In 1985, McGee ranked 1st in the National League in batting average (.353, the highest mark by a switch-hitter in League history), hits (216), and triples (18). He also ranked 3rd in the National League in runs scored (114) and stolen bases (56). Additionally, he earned a Gold Glove Award, a Silver Slugger Award and was voted to the National League All-Star team. For his superb offensive and defensive performance, McGee was named the 1985 National League Most Valuable Player.

1990 would mark the end of the "Whiteyball" era in St. Louis. Amidst poor overall team performance, Manager, Whitey Herzog surprisingly announced his retirement on July 6th. In an effort to begin the team's re-building process, on August 29, McGee was traded to the American League's Oakland Athletics for 25-year old outfielder Felix Jose and two minor-league players (third baseman, Stan Royer and pitcher, Daryl Green). McGee's brief stint with Oakland, managed by Tony LaRussa helped propel the team to the 1990 World Series. Despite being traded to the American League, McGee had already accumulated 542 plate appearances in the National League. This was enough for McGee to qualify for and win the National League batting crown with a .335 batting average. McGee's accomplishment marked an odd first in Major League Baseball history, in which the batting champion for one league ended the season as a member the other league.

On December 3, 1990, McGee signed a multi-year contract with the San Francisco Giants. This decision allowed him to continue his professional career in the area where he had been born, raised, and resided with his family. With the Giants, he remained a consistent and productive player, batting near or above .300 each year until an ankle injury befell him in 1994.

Attempting to rebound from injury, McGee signed as a free agent with the Boston Red Sox on June 6, 1995 and played in only 67 games that season.

On December 15, 1995, McGee signed as a free agent and returned to St. Louis for good. Coincidentally, McGee was reunited with former Oakland manager, Tony LaRussa, who had just inked a multi-year deal on October 23, 1995 to become St. Louis' new skipper. An aged veteran at this point in his career, McGee's role as outfielder became limited, averaging about 300 at bats a year. Despite his limited role, he found his stroke again with St. Louis. He batted .307 and .300 in 1996 and 1997, respectively and provided fans with dramatic offensive sparks that recalled his earlier years. He played his final game on October 3, 1999 when he was the third-oldest player in the majors. His humble demeanor, strong personal character, and memorable on-field performances in St. Louis have made McGee one of the most loved players among Cardinals fans. There is currently avid fan support for the St. Louis Cardinals to retire McGee's uniform number, 51.

In his career, he played 2201 games, batted .295, hit 79 home runs, drove in 856 runs, and stole 352 bases. He had a total of 1010 runs scored and 2254 hits in his career, in 7649 at bats. He ended his career with 3029 total bases.

He had a .976 fielding percentage overall, including the 18 games he played not in the outfield.

Contents

[edit] Postseason

He won a World Series with the Cards in 1982 and lost his following three: in 1985 and 1987 with St. Louis, and in 1990 with Oakland.

In the postseason, he had a .276 batting average, four home runs and 23 RBIs. He had 16 stolen bases, including four in World Series games.

In the third game of the 1982 World Series against the Milwaukee Brewers, he became the third rookie to hit two home runs in a World Series game, joining two New York Yankees: Charlie Keller and one of the announcers for this Series, Tony Kubek. (A fourth rookie, Andruw Jones of the Atlanta Braves, joined them in Game 1 of the 1996 World Series against the Yankees.) Coincidentally, both McGee and Kubek, a native of Milwaukee, performed their feats at Milwaukee County Stadium. Keller's and Kubek's two-homer games also occurred in a Game 3—in the 1939 World Series against the Cincinnati Reds and the 1957 World Series against the Milwaukee Braves, respectively.

[edit] Trivia

  • McGee is so loved in St. Louis that a grassroots movement, spearheaded by Tim McKernan of KFNS Radio and insidestl.com[1], is trying to convince the St. Louis Cardinals to retire his number through an online petition. (However, Bud Smith is the only Cardinal to wear #51 since his retirement, doing so briefly in 2001.)

[edit] References

    [edit] External links

    Preceded by
    Keith Hernandez    		 National League Player of the Month
    August 1985    		 Succeeded by
    Gary Carter
    Preceded by
    Tony Gwynn    		 National League Batting Champion
    1985    		 Succeeded by
    Tim Raines
    Preceded by
    Ryne Sandberg    		 National League Most Valuable Player
    1985    		 Succeeded by
    Mike Schmidt
    Preceded by
    Tony Gwynn    		 National League Batting Champion
    1990    		 Succeeded by
    Terry Pendleton
    Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org../../../w/i/l/Willie_McGee_498b.html"