Hal McRae

Playing career[edit]

McRae was selected by the Reds in the 6th round of the 1965 draft with the 117th overall pick. In the pre-1969 offseason, playing winter ball in Puerto Rico, McRae suffered a multiple leg fracture sliding on the basepaths. In the words of Bill James in The Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract, "Before the accident, McRae was a burner, a center fielder who could fly...after the accident, his speed was major league average." He was considered a below-average outfielder with the Reds.


In spring training 1969, McRae came to the Reds' camp with his leg still in a cast from the fracture. The same offseason, St. Louis Cardinals announcer Harry Caray had suffered multiple fractures being struck by a car while on foot. During a Reds-Cardinals preseason game where Caray was interviewing ballplayers on the field while still on crutches, Reds Manager Dave Bristol pointed in Caray's direction and said to McRae, "Look at that. There's an old man. Broke two legs. Broke his shoulder. Broke his everything. And here he is walking around doing his job, doing anything he wants. Here you are, all you did was break your leg sliding into second base, and you can't get your leg out of your goddam cast! You ought to be ashamed of yourself."


McRae later mentioned to Caray that it was "one of the best motivational speeches he'd ever heard. He learned that he had to want to recover before he'd really be able to." Later in his career, Royals teammate Dan Quisenberry recalled, whenever a Royals player took time off because of injury, "McRae gets dressed like a commando, hides in a trash can in the clubhouse, and then jumps out and 'shoots' the guy...McRae believes that if a guy is hurt and can't play, he's dead to the club, so McRae shoots him and kills him."


McRae was traded along with Wayne Simpson to the Royals for Roger Nelson and Richie Scheinblum on December 1, 1972.^[1] McRae developed as a consistent designated hitter in the American League (AL). His playing career spanned 23 years, including 14 seasons with Kansas City. He was 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.


McRae led the AL batting title race entering the final game of the 1976 regular season which was a 5–3 loss to the Minnesota Twins at Royals Stadium on October 3. He lost out to teammate George Brett .3333 to .3326, with the race decided in the ninth inning when he grounded out to the shortstop immediately after Brett hit an inside-the-park home run to left field. He confronted Twins manager Gene Mauch on the field, with both being restrained by players and umpires. McRae accused Mauch of racism for allegedly ordering left fielder Steve Brye to let Brett's fly ball drop in front of him. His claim was declared unsubstantiated by a post-season league investigation.^[2][3] Oddly, the other two of the top four finishers that season, the Minnesota Twins' Rod Carew and Lyman Bostock, played in that same game. McRae did end up leading the AL with a .407 on-base percentage. The following season, he led the majors with 54 doubles.