Rookie of the Year: Bake McBride, 1974

Outfielder, St. Louis Cardinals

Age:  25

Bats – Left, Throws – Right

Height: 6’2”    Weight: 190

 

Prior to 1974:

Arnold Ray McBride, a native of Fulton, Missouri, was the son of a Negro League pitcher nicknamed “Bake” and so he came to be called “Little Bake”, which eventually was shortened to “Bake”. In a high school with no baseball team, he was a three-sport star competing in football, basketball, and track, and severely injured his ankle at one point. Moving on to Westminster College, he excelled in track and joined the baseball team as well. Although inexperienced, he showed an aptitude for baseball where his hitting and speed were impressive. McBride dropped out of college after two years (although he later returned and received a degree), but following a tryout with the Cardinals, they chose him in the 1970 amateur draft. Initially assigned to the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League, he batted .423 in 17 games and finished the year at Modesto of the Class A California League where he hit .294 in 26 games. Still with Modesto in 1971, McBride batted .303 with 19 doubles, 5 triples, 8 home runs, 54 RBIs, and 40 stolen bases. Promoted to the Arkansas Travelers of the Class AA Texas League in 1972, he earned a further promotion to Tulsa of the Class AAA American Association. For the year he hit a combined .322 with 17 home runs, 58 RBIs, and 42 stolen bases. Back with Tulsa to start 1973, he was called up to the Cardinals in July and over the course of 40 games batted .302. He came into 1974 as the likely starting center fielder.

 

1974 Season Summary

Appeared in 150 games

CF – 144, PH – 8, PR – 1

 

[Bracketed numbers indicate NL rank in Top 20]

 

Batting

Plate Appearances – 625

At Bats – 559

Runs – 81

Hits – 173 [13]

Doubles – 19

Triples – 5

Home Runs – 6

RBI – 56

Bases on Balls – 43

Int. BB – 9

Strikeouts – 57

Stolen Bases – 30 [11]

Caught Stealing – 11 [11,tied with Bobby Bonds & Larry Bowa]

Average - .309 [8, tied with Reggie Smith]

OBP - .369 [19]

Slugging Pct. - .394

Total Bases – 220

GDP – 7

Hit By Pitches – 13 [2]

Sac Hits – 5

Sac Flies – 5 [19, tied with nineteen others]

 

Midseason snapshot: 2B – 12, HR - 5, RBI – 29, AVG – .292, OBP - .350

 

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Most hits, game – 4 (in 5 AB) vs. Chi. Cubs 5/18, (in 10 AB) at NY Mets 9/11 – 25 innings, (in 7 AB) at Philadelphia 9/13 – 17 innings, (in 5 AB) at Philadelphia 9/14

Longest hitting streak – 12 games

Most HR, game – 1 on six occasions

HR at home – 4

HR on road – 2

Multi-HR games – 0

Most RBIs, game – 3 vs. Chi. Cubs 5/19

Pinch-hitting/running – 3 for 7 (.429) with 2 R, 2 SB, 1 BB & 1 RBI

 

Fielding

Chances – 408

Put Outs – 395

Assists – 9

Errors – 4

DP - 1

Pct. - .990

 

Awards & Honors:

NL Rookie of the Year: BBWAA

21^st in NL MVP voting, tied with Richie Hebner, Pitt. & Lynn McGlothen, StL. (2 points, 1% share)

 

NL ROY Voting:

Bake McBride, StL.: 16 of 24 votes, 67% share

Greg Gross, Hou.: 7 votes, 29% share

Bill Madlock, ChiC.: 1 vote, 4% share

 

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Cardinals went 86-75 to finish second in the NL Eastern Division, 1.5 games behind the division-winning Pittsburgh Pirates while leading the league in stolen bases (172). The Cardinals got off to a 6-1 start, survived a 1-13 July stretch to remain in contention, and finished at 18-10 to just come up short of the NL East title.

 

Aftermath of ‘74:

Despite spending three weeks on the disabled list with a shoulder injury in 1975, McBride batted .300 with 9 triples and 26 stolen bases. The Cardinals had a mediocre season in 1976 and McBride, who was an All-Star for the only time in his career, was finished in August due to a knee injury that required surgery. Playing in 72 games he hit .335 with 10 stolen bases. Still dealing with lingering shoulder problems in 1977, and unhappy under new manager Vern Rapp, McBride was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies in June. Inserted in right field, he provided a big boost to the defending NL East champions, batting .339 in 85 games, with 11 home runs, 41 RBIs, and 27 stolen bases as the Phillies again finished atop the division. Dealing with nagging injuries in 1978, his average dropped to .269, although with a .315 OBP, and he still accounted for 10 home runs and 28 stolen bases along with 49 RBIs. “Shake n’ Bake” appeared in a career-high 151 games in 1979 and hit .280 with 12 triples, 12 home runs, 60 RBIs, and 25 stolen bases. The Phillies returned to the top of the NL East in 1980 and McBride hit .309 with 33 doubles, 10 triples, 9 home runs, and 13 stolen bases, finishing tenth in league MVP voting. In the World Series triumph over the Kansas City Royals, he contributed a .304 average and a home run. Dealing with injuries during the strike-shortened 1981 season, McBride hit .271 in 58 games. With the Phillies revamping their roster, he was dealt to the Cleveland Indians for 1982. An eye infection sidelined McBride after just 27 games, at which point he was hitting .365. A tear to his right rotator cuff during 1983 limited him to 70 games in 1983, after which the Indians let him go. McBride joined the Oklahoma City 89ers of the Class AAA American Association in 1984 but retired after 32 games. For his major league career, he batted .299 with 1153 hits that included 167 doubles, 55 triples, and 63 home runs. He scored 548 runs and compiled 430 RBIs and 183 stolen bases. With the Cardinals he batted .307 with 439 hits, 220 runs scored, 50 doubles, 19 triples, 18 home runs, 141 RBIs, and 75 stolen bases. Appearing in 22 postseason games, McBride hit .244 with 3 home runs, 8 RBIs, and two stolen bases. He became a minor league coach with the Mets and Cardinals following his playing career. 

 

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Rookie of the Year Profiles feature players who were recipients of the Rookie of the Year Award by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (1947 to present). The award was presented to a single major league winner from its inception through 1948 and from 1949 on to one recipient from each major league.