Many a sports writer outside St. Louis or a National League city will scoff at the notion of former St. Louis Cardinal outfielder Willie McGee being inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame, however he deserves to be enshrined. If not in this, his first year of eligibility with the 2005 class of nominees, certainly in the near future.
McGee played 18 seasons and was the 1985 National League Most Valuable Player. He hit a sizzling .353 with 216 hits and 56 steals that year.
He won two batting titles, three Gold Gloves and appeared in four World Series.
His bat and glove propelled the Cardinals to the 1982 championship. No baseball fan who witnessed his Game Three home-run robbing catch on Gorman Thomas’ drive will ever forget the moment. He also smacked a pair of home runs in that game.
During his 18 seasons, McGee played with the Cardinals, Oakland A’s, San Francisco Giants and Boston Red Sox he registered a .295 batting average with 2,254 hits. He hit just 79 home runs, but drove in 856 runs and stole 352 bases.
He hit .292 in four League Championship Series, .281 in four World Series and .276 in 11 postseason series. The Cards certainly could have used him during the 2004 postseason, that’s for sure.
McGee also has a bit of historic lore connected with his name. He is only player to win a batting title after being traded to another league.
In 1990, McGee hit .361 with 12 RBI through his first 20 games.
He was hitting .301 on June 15 and on July 4th he was back up to .311. He then hit safely in 40 of his next 43 games, including a 22-game hitting streak in which he batted .414. Over that 43-game stretch (through August 25), McGee had hit .384 and was leading the NL in batting.
Four days later the Cardinals traded McGee, the most popular player on their team, to the Oakland A’s for Felix Jose and two minor leaguers.
McGee was traded while on the road and it would be six seasons before he received the ovation he deserved from Cardinal fans.
In 1996, after a five-year absence, McGee, now 37, came back to the Cardinals. He and longtime friend Ozzie Smith, who had announced his retirement earlier in the season, together won a Labor Day game that helped the Cardinals clinch the 1996 National League East title and he came within a game of returning to the World Series. The Atlanta Braves prevailed in seven games in the last playoff experience for McGee.
However, he did have a few more magic moments as a Cardinal.
After the Redbirds got off to an 0-6 start in the 1997 season, McGee came off the bench on a frigid cold night at Busch Stadium and won the home opener with a home run to right field. Every time McGee came to the plate during his final seasons, he received a standing ovation from the home fans.
McGee’s numbers aren’t flashy, and there is no sure-fire statistic such as 3,000-plus hits that guarantees his selection.
However, many voters saw McGee play and some will appreciate his honest effort, humility and all-out appreciation of the game of baseball.
For me, his numbers and his style are enough to earn him entry into the Hall of Fame.