Hal McRae

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Harold Abraham McRae (born July 10, 1945 in Avon Park, Florida) is a former left fielder in Major League Baseball who played for the Cincinnati Reds (1968, 1970-72) and Kansas City Royals (1973-87). Utilized as a designated hitter for most of his career, McRae batted and threw right-handed. He current hitting coach for the St. Louis Cardinals. He is the father of major league outfielder Brian McRae, and his son Cullen McRae is the Florida Marlins video coordinator.

McRae was selected by the Reds in the 6th round of the 1965 draft with the 117th overall pick. He was considered a below-average outfielder with the Reds. In 1972, McRae was traded to the Royals along with Wayne Simpson in exchange for Roger Nelson and Richie Scheinblum. McRae developed as a consistent designated hitter in the American League. His playing career spanned 23 years, including 14 seasons with Kansas City. Selected a three-time All-Star, he hit over .300 six times for the Royals and was named Designated Hitter of the Year three times both by The Sporting News and the Associated Press.

In 1976 McRae was on top of the AL batting title race going into the final game of the season, in which his teammate George Brett went 2-for-4 to clinch the title over McRae by a margin of less than .001; McRae finished second. Oddly, the other two of the top four finishers that season, the Minnesota Twins' Rod Carew and Lyman Bostock, played in that same game.

In a 19-year major league career, McRae posted a .290 batting average (2091-for-7218) with 191 home runs, 1097 RBI, 484 doubles, 65 triples and 109 stolen bases in 2084 games played. He added a .351 on base percentage and a .454 slugging average for a combined .805 OPS.

Following his playing retirement, McRae managed the Royals (1991-94) and Tampa Bay Devil Rays (2001-02). He also served as a hitting coach for the Reds and Philadelphia Phillies, and is currently the hitting coach of the St. Louis Cardinals. McRae, who won a World Series ring playing for Kansas City against the Cardinals in 1985, won a ring as a coach for the Cardinals when they defeated the Detroit Tigers in the 2006 World Series, four games to one.

[edit] Trivia

• While managing the Royals, McRae was involved in an infamous incident after a game on April 26, 1993 (a 5-3 loss against the Detroit Tigers) in which he lost his temper with reporters and trashed his entire office, throwing things off of his desk including a phone, which cut a reporter on impact, and yelling profanities at reporters

[1]. It was recently voted the biggest sports blow-up on The Best Damn Sports Show Period.

[edit] See also

• List of Major League Baseball doubles champions

[edit] External links

• Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference
• Baseball-Reference.com - career managing record
• BaseballLibrary