Outfielder, St. Louis Cardinals
Age: 26
4th season
with Cardinals
Bats – Both,
Throws – Right
Height: 6’1” Weight: 175
Prior to 1985:
A California
native, McGee developed a passion for baseball early on. From a deeply
religious family, and shy and sensitive as a youth, he starred at Henry Ells
High School in Richmond where he batted .408 as a senior and received
All-Northern California Baseball Team recognition. Selected by the White Sox in
the 1976 amateur draft, McGee instead enrolled at Diablo Valley College from
where he was chosen by the New York Yankees in the 1977 secondary draft. After
playing for Diablo Valley in the spring he signed with the Yankees for $7500.
Assigned to Oneanta of the short-season Class A New York-Pennsylvania League,
McGee hit .236 with nine extra base hits in 65 games. Naturally a right-handed
batter, he began to switch-hit in 1978 with Fort Lauderdale of the Class A
Florida State League and hit .251 with little power, although his on-base
percentage improved to .331 thanks to drawing 50 walks. He opened 1979 with
West Haven of the Class AA Eastern League and, suffering from a foot injury and
struggling to hit curveballs, he was sent back to Fort Lauderdale where he
batted .318 with a .378 OBP and stole 16 bases in 46 games. Back in Class AA in
1980 with the Nashville Sounds of the Southern League, he broke his jaw in a
collision with a teammate but hit .283 in 78 games. The Yankees had a glut of outfielders
entering 1981 and McGee returned to Nashville where a hip injury sidelined him
for five weeks, derailing a strong start to the season, and he ended up batting
.322 in 100 games with 20 doubles, 5 triples, 7 home runs, and 63 RBIs. In the
offseason the Yankees traded McGee to the Cardinals for nondescript LHP Bob
Sykes. Impressive during spring training in 1982, he started the season with
Louisville of the Class AAA American Association but was called up to St. Louis
in May because the Cards had a need for a center fielder. He quickly moved into
the lineup and played well in the field while hitting .296 with 24 extra-base
hits, 56 RBIs, and 24 stolen bases. St. Louis won the NL East title. In the
NLCS sweep of the Atlanta Braves, McGee stopped at third base for a triple
which could easily have been an inside-the-park home run in Game 1 and
misplayed a ball in Game 2 which was scored a single and three-base error as
Atlanta shortstop Rafael Ramirez circled the bases. The mistakes didn’t cost
the Cardinals, who advanced to the World Series against the Milwaukee Brewers.
In the Cards’ Game 3 win, McGee hit two home runs and made a spectacular catch
in center field. He also expressed annoyance with the media giving him the tag
“E.T.” due to a perception that he resembled the movie character. The Cardinals
defeated the Brewers in seven games helped along by McGee’s two home runs, 5
RBIs, and 6 runs scored. He finished third in NL Rookie of the Year voting. The
team had a lesser season in 1983 but the second-year centerfielder was an
All-Star for the first time as he hit .286 with 22 doubles, 8 triples, 5 home
runs, and 75 RBIs while stealing 39 bases. He also received a Gold Glove for
his defensive play. The Cardinals led the NL with a club record 220 stolen
bases in 1984 and McGee contributed 43 while also batting .291 with 11 triples,
6 home runs, 82 runs scored, and 50 RBIs.
1985 Season Summary
Appeared in 152
games
CF – 146, PH –
4, LF – 3
[Bracketed
numbers indicate NL rank in Top 20]
Batting
Plate
Appearances – 652 [13, tied with Hubie Brooks & Johnny Ray]
At Bats – 612
[7]
Runs – 114 [3]
Hits – 216 [1]
Doubles – 26
Triples – 18
[1]
Home Runs – 10
RBI – 82 [16]
Bases on Balls
– 34
Int. BB – 2
Strikeouts – 86
Stolen Bases – 56
[3]
Caught Stealing
– 16 [3]
Average - .353 [1]
OBP - .384 [6,
tied with Keith Hernandez]
Slugging Pct. -
.503 [7]
Total Bases – 308
[3]
GDP – 3
Hit by Pitches
– 0
Sac Hits – 1
Sac Flies – 5
[18, tied with thirteen others]
League-leading hits
were +18 ahead of runner-up Dave Parker
League-leading
triples were +5 ahead of runners-up Juan Samuel & Tim Raines
League-leading
batting average was +.033 ahead of runners-up Tim Raines & Pedro Guerrero
Midseason
snapshot: 3B – 10, HR – 3, SB – 36, RBI – 39, AVG - .339, SLG – .472, OBP - .369
Most hits, game
– 5 (in 6 AB) at Chi. Cubs 7/30
Longest hitting
streak – 11 games
Most HR, game –
1 on ten occasions
HR at home – 3
HR on road – 7
Multi-HR games
– 0
Most RBIs, game
– 5 vs. Atlanta 5/20
Pinch-hitting –
2 for 4 (.500) with 1 R
Fielding
Chances – 402
Put Outs – 382
Assists – 11
Errors – 9
DP - 2
Pct. - .978
Postseason
Batting: 13 G (NLCS vs. LA Dodgers – 6 G; World Series vs. KC Royals – 7 G)
PA – 57, AB – 53,
R – 8, H – 14, 2B – 3,3B – 0, HR – 1, RBI – 5, BB – 4, IBB – 1, SO – 9, SB – 3,
CS – 5, AVG - .264, OBP - .316, SLG - .377, TB – 20, GDP – 0, HBP – 0, SH – 0,
SF – 0
Awards & Honors:
NL MVP: BBWAA
Gold Glove
Silver Slugger
All-Star
Top 5 in NL MVP
Voting:
Willie McGee,
StL.: 280 pts. - 14 of 24 first place votes, 83% share
Dave Parker,
Cin.: 220 pts. – 6 first place votes, 65% share
Pedro Guerrero,
LAD: 208 pts. – 3 first place votes, 62% share
Dwight Gooden,
NYM: 162 pts. – 1 first place vote, 48% share
Tom Herr, StL.:
119 pts. – 35% share
Cardinals went 101-61
to finish first in the NL Eastern Division by 3 games over the New York Mets
while leading the league in runs scored (747), triples (59), RBIs (687), stolen
bases (314), walks drawn (586), batting (.264), and on-base percentage (.335). The
Cardinals battled the Mets into September when a 14-1 stretch put them in a
position to maintain control of the NL East. Won NLCS over the Los Angeles
Dodgers, 4 games to 2. Lost World Series to the Kansas City Royals, 4 games to
3, after leading by 3 games to 1.
Aftermath of ‘85:
Leg injuries
hindered McGee in 1986, limiting him to 124 games in which he batted .256,
although he still received a Gold Glove for his play in center field. In the offseason
he had arthroscopic knee surgery. The Cardinals returned to the top of the NL
East in 1987 and McGee returned to form as he hit .285 with 37 doubles, 11
triples, 11 home runs, and 105 RBIs. He hit .308 in the seven-game NLCS win
over the Giants and .370 with 10 hits and 4 RBIs in a seven-game World Series
loss to Minnesota. The Cardinals re-signed him for three years and $4.1 million
in the offseason. The club wasn’t as productive offensively in 1988 on the way
to a fifth-place finish, but McGee batted a solid .292 although with his RBI
total dropping to 50. He stole 41 bases after being less active on the
basepaths in 1986 and ’87. In an injury-riddled 1989 season he played in only
58 games and hit .236 with 17 RBIs and 8 stolen bases. Rebounding in 1990 with
a team that was heading toward a last-place finish, McGee was hitting .335 when
he was traded to Oakland in late August. He batted .274 in 29 games in the
American League, but his .335 National League average remained high enough to
win another batting championship. A free agent in the offseason, he signed with
the San Francisco Giants for four years and $13 million. He hit a solid .312
for the Giants in 1991, with 30 doubles, a .357 OBP, and 67 runs scored. McGee
hit .297 in 1992 and .301 in ’93. Still dependable at bat although lacking his
former speed, he reached the end of the line with the Giants during the 1994
season. Sidelined in June by a torn Achilles tendon that required surgery he
was released in the offseason. He caught on with the Boston Red Sox in June of
1995. After a brief minor league stint, McGee joined the Red Sox and appeared
in 67 games in which he hit .285. He returned to the Cardinals in 1996, where
he remained for four seasons as a popular veteran leader with a potent bat,
retiring following the 1999 season at age 40. For his major league career, he
batted .295 with 2254 hits that included 350 doubles, 94 triples, and 79 home
runs. He scored 1010 runs and compiled 856 RBIs and 352 stolen bases. His OBP
was .333 and he had a .396 slugging percentage. With the Cardinals, McGee
batted .294 with 1683 hits, 255 doubles, 83 triples, 63 home runs, 678 RBIs,
760 runs scored, 301 stolen bases, a .329 OBP, and .400 slugging percentage.
Appearing in 54 postseason games, McGee hit .276 with 8 doubles, 3 triples, 4
home runs, and 23 RBIs. A two-time batting champion, he was a four-time
All-Star, and won three Gold Gloves. McGee was elected to the Cardinals Hall of
Fame in 2014. He has served the organization as an assistant to the general
manager and as a coach.
---
MVP Profiles feature players in the National or
American leagues who were winners of the Chalmers Award (1911-14), League Award
(1922-29), or Baseball Writers’ Association of America Award (1931 to present)
as Most Valuable Player.
