Rookie of the Year: Mark McGwire, 1987

First Baseman, Oakland Athletics

Age:  23

Bats – Right, Throws – Right

Height: 6’5”    Weight: 215

Prior to 1987:

A native of Pomona, California, McGwire grew up in a sports-minded household (his brother Dan became an NFL quarterback). He established himself as a slugger and effective pitcher while playing Little League baseball. He continued to be impressive as a hitter and pitcher in high school. Upon graduation in 1981, he was drafted by the Montreal Expos but chose to attend USC on a baseball scholarship. In three seasons at USC he hit 53 home runs while batting .302 along with 147 RBIs. As a pitcher during 1982 and ’83 he had a 7-5 record. He also was a member of the bronze medal-winning US baseball team in the 1983 Pan American Games and the 1984 Olympics, where Team USA won the silver medal. Chosen by the Athletics in the first round of the 1984 amateur draft, he was first assigned to Modesto of the California League where he appeared in 16 games in ’84 and spent the entire season in 1985, hitting .274 with 24 home runs and 106 RBIs. He split 1986 with Huntsville of the Class AA Southern League and Tacoma of the Class AAA Pacific Coast League and batted a combined .312 with 23 home runs and 112 RBIs. Called up to the A’s for a late-season trial, McGwire hit his first three major league home runs. He became Oakland’s starting first baseman in 1987.

1987 Season Summary

Appeared in 151 games

1B – 145, 3B – 8, RF – 3, PH – 2

[Bracketed numbers indicate AL rank in Top 20]

Batting

Plate Appearances – 641

At Bats – 557

Runs – 97 [14, tied with Ruben Sierra, Cal Ripken & Willie Wilson]

Hits – 161

Doubles – 28

Triples – 4

Home Runs – 49 [1]

RBI – 118 [3]

Bases on Balls – 71

Int. BB – 8 [10, tied with four others]

Strikeouts – 131 [12]

Stolen Bases – 1

Caught Stealing – 1

Average - .289

OBP - .370

Slugging Pct. - .618 [1]

Total Bases – 344 [2]

GDP – 6

Hit by Pitches – 5

Sac Hits – 0

Sac Flies – 8 [8, tied with five others]

League-leading home runs were +2 ahead of runner-up George Bell

League-leading slugging percentage was +.013 ahead of runner-up George Bell

Midseason snapshot: HR - 33, RBI - 68, AVG - .294, SLG - .692, OBP - .383

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Most hits, game – 4 (in 5 AB) at Cleveland 6/27, (in 5 AB) at Cleveland 6/28, (in 5 AB) at Detroit 7/22, (in 5 AB) at KC Royals 9/20

Longest hitting streak – 12 games

Most HR, game – 3 (in 5 AB) at Cleveland 6/27

HR at home – 21

HR on road – 28

Multi-HR games – 7

Most RBIs, game – 5 at Cleveland 6/27

Pinch-hitting – 1 for 2 (.500)

Fielding

Chances – 1273

Put Outs – 1173

Assists – 90

Errors – 10

DP - 91

Pct. - .992 

Awards & Honors:

AL Rookie of the Year: BBWAA

All-Star

6th in AL MVP voting (109 points, 28% share)

AL ROY Voting (Top 5):

Mark McGwire, Oak.: 140 pts. – 28 of 28 first place votes, 100% share

Kevin Seitzer, KCR.: 64 pts. – 46% share

Matt Nokes, Det.: 32 pts. –  23% share

Mike Greenwell, Bos.: 9 pts. – 6% share

Devon White, Cal.: 5 pts. – 4% share

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Athletics went 81-81 to finish third in the AL Western Division, 4 games behind the division-winning Minnesota Twins. The slow-starting A’s rose to second place in the AL West by mid-June, benefiting from the addition of rookies McGwire and catcher Terry Steinbach, and the continued development of young outfielder Jose Canseco. Just a game-and-a-half out of first coming into September, the club did poorly down the stretch to drop out of contention.

Aftermath of ‘87:

The A’s, who had been developing young talent and swinging deals for helpful veterans, topped the AL West in 1988. McGwire contributed 32 home runs and 99 RBIs, although his batting average dropped to .260. Advancing to the World Series against the Dodgers, Oakland lost in five games. McGwire managed only one hit in the Series, but it was a big one, a game-winning home run in Game 3 that gave the A’s their only victory. The Athletics won the division and the pennant again in 1989. Although hindered by a back injury in April, McGwire produced 33 home runs and 95 RBIs while batting .231. He drove in six runs during the postseason as the A’s won an earthquake-interrupted World Series over the Giants. Oakland won a third straight pennant in 1990 and McGwire became the first player to hit at least 30 home runs in each of his first four seasons as he totaled 39 with 108 RBIs and batted .239, although his league-leading 110 walks drawn pulled his on-base percentage up to .370. As one of the “Bash Brothers” along with slugging right fielder Jose Canseco, he was a key power presence in the lineup, although McGwire also was a Gold Glove recipient for his defensive performance at first base. The power production dried up as the A’s were swept by Cincinnati in the World Series. Oakland was a fourth-place club in 1991 and McGwire slumped to .201 with 22 home runs, 75 RBIs. He returned to form in 1992 with 42 home runs, 104 RBIs, a .268 average, and a league-leading .585 slugging percentage. Off to a strong start in 1993 he was sidelined by a heel injury that required surgery. Limited to 27 games, McGwire still hit 9 home runs with a .726 slugging percentage. Still troubled by the heel injury during the strike-shortened 1994 season, McGwire appeared in 47 games and hit .252 with 9 home runs and 25 RBIs. Nagged by injuries in 1995, he slugged 39 home runs in 104 games and batted .274 with 90 RBIs and a .441 OBP. McGwire put up impressive numbers in 1996 by hitting .312 with 113 RBIs and leading the AL in home runs (52), OBP (.467), and slugging (.730). He finished seventh in league MVP voting and was awarded a Silver Slugger. With the A’s shedding salaries and McGwire in the last year of his contract, he was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals for three players at the end of July in 1997. Up to that point he was batting .284 with 34 home runs and 81 RBIs. In 51 games with the Cardinals, he added 24 home runs to end up with a major league-leading total of 58. His combined production beyond the homers was .274 with 123 RBIs, a .393 OBP, and a .646 slugging percentage. The first player to hit over 20 home runs with two teams in the same year, he was named Sportsman of the Year by The Sporting News. “Big Mac” signed a contract extension to stay in St. Louis at least through 2000. In 1998, he hit home runs at a prodigious rate and found himself in a race for the single season record with Sammy Sosa of the Cubs, which McGwire won by hitting 70. He also led the NL in walks drawn (162), OBP (.470), and slugging (.752), while batting .299 with 147 RBIs. It was reported during the season that he was taking the substance Androstendione, a performance-enhancing drug that was legal at the time (it wasn’t until 2010 that he acknowledged also taking steroids), which had little effect on his popularity at the time. He finished second in league MVP voting. In 1999 McGwire led the NL in home runs (65), RBIs (147), and intentional walks (21) while hitting .278. He placed fifth in NL MVP balloting. Hindered by a knee injury that required surgery in 2000, “Big Mac” was limited to 89 games and 321 plate appearances, but his bat remained potent as he slugged 32 home runs and batted .305 with 73 RBIs, a .483 OBP, and a .746 slugging percentage. He lasted one more season in 2001 in which he played in 97 games and batted a paltry .187 along with 29 home runs and 64 RBIs. Finished at age 37, for his major league career McGwire batted .263 with 1626 hits that included 252 doubles, 6 triples, and 583 home runs. He scored 1167 runs and compiled 1414 RBIs, drew 1317 walks, and had a .394 OBP and .588 slugging percentage. With Oakland he batted .260 with 1157 hits, 773 runs scored, 195 doubles, 5 triples, 363 home runs, 941 RBIs, 847 walks drawn, a .380 OBP, and a .551 slugging percentage. Appearing in 42 postseason games he hit .217 with 5 home runs and 14 RBIs. A 12-time All-Star, he placed in the top five in league MVP voting five times. Caught up in the controversy regarding steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs in baseball following his retirement, McGwire had difficulty landing a job in baseball until he returned to the Cardinals as a hitting coach in 2010, after first admitting to his use of steroids dating back to 1990. McGwire later coached for the Dodgers and Padres. While the questions regarding his steroid use have kept him from gaining election to the Baseball Hall of Fame (as well as some concerns that he was a one-dimensional player), he was elected to the St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame in 2017 and the Oakland Athletics Hall of Fame in 2019.

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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.