TODAY IN BASEBALL HISTORY

In one of the St. Louis Cardinals' wisest trades ever, the knock-kneed McGee was acquired from the Yankees farm system in 1981 for pitcher Bob Sykes. He was a bad-ball switch-hitter, swinging at anything thrown, yet he got results throughout the '80's and stayed effective into the '90's. "I just want to be consistent," McGee maintained from his early days on. "That's the way I want to finish out my career." And more or less, that's what he achieved. Though this popular Cardinal had stints with other clubs, his heart was always in St. Louis, and he ultimately returned there at the end of his career.

In 1982, McGee was called up to the bigs to replace injured outfielder David Green, and never looked back. He batted .296 through the rest of the season while swiping 24 bags, coming in third in the Rookie of the Year voting, as the Cardinals defeated the Milwaukee Brewers in the World Series.

Teamed with other speedy contact hitters Ozzie Smith, Tom Herr, and eventually Vince Coleman, McGee helped form the foundation of a team that would reach the World Series twice more in the decade after their 1982 victory. In 1985 his league-leading .353 average was the highest in history for a switch-hitter, and he established other career highs with 114 runs, 56 stolen bases, and a league-leading 18 triples. Hitting behind Jack Clark, the 1987 National League leader in on-base percentage, McGee responded with a career-high 105 RBIs.

The pigeon-toed McGee was a good basestealer due to sheer speed rather than ability to read pitchers. His swiftness gave him enormous range in the field and, coupled with a strong arm, won him three Gold Gloves. Although criticized at times for lack of concentration at the plate and in the field, McGee was still regarded as one of the best outfielders of the 1980s until a variety of injuries kept him out for much of the 1989 season.

Like most successful Cardinals of the '80's, McGee was mostly a slap hitter. Often his line-drive singles would be turned into doubles, thanks to his blistering speed and the deep dimensions of Busch Stadium. Though Willie ended up with three homers in 24 World Series games, he tallied double-digit homers just three times in his career.

In August 1990, McGee was traded to the Oakland Athletics for prospect Felix Jose and two other players as the West Coast team was making its way towards the World Series. Oddly enough, although Willie was traded with a little over a month left to play, he had enough plate appearances to have his .335 average qualify for the National League batting crown. When the season ended, McGee wound up winning the race despite playing the last six weeks of the season in the American League.

McGee's tenure with the A's didn't last long. After he helped boost the team into the World Series, he signed with the San Francisco Giants in December 1990. With the Giants, McGee performed as usual, hitting around .300 with very little power. However, an upper back inflammation in July 1993 and a torn Achilles tendon in June 1994 greatly hampered his speed and flexibility.

McGee didn't return to the majors until June 1995, when he signed a minor-league deal with the Boston Red Sox. He logged some playing time with Boston, but in the offseason happily signed a one-year deal with the Cardinals. Invigorated by his return to his original club, McGee showed signs of the ballplayer of old, hitting over .300 for the next two years, playing all three outfield positions, and being an invaluable bat off the bench (with 16 pinch-hits) for manager Tony LaRussa.

In 1998, Busch Stadium was clearly not the speedy singles-hitter home it had been for McGee's 1980s Cardinal team. New Redbird Mark McGwire helped hammer home that point by bashing 70 dingers that year. McGee was still used as a reserve outfielder and pinch-hitter, but he slumped down to .253 and then .251 the following year. By the end of 1999, McGee decided to retire, a .295 lifetime batting average in tow. Willie worked with the Cardinals as a part-time instructor in training camp the next spring, but expressed no regret giving up the game that he loved. "I've had my shot," he said. "I don't have any desire to pick up a bat...It's really strange, but I don't want to do it."

Take a quick walk down memory lane with this video . . .

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Willie McGee has over 79 games he played in on Classic Baseball Broadcasts. Including 82, 85 and 87 World Series.

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Todays Podcast

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This day in baseball has a deeper dive into every event from November 2

November 2, 2016, in an epic game 7, the Chicago Cubs win their first World Series title in 108 years by defeating Cleveland, 8 – 7, in Game 7, making up a three games to one deficit in. Dexter Fowler hits a lead-off homer off Corey Kluber, but the Indians manage to tie the score in the 3rd. In the 4th, the Cubs score twice, including one run on a daring rush to the plate by Kris Bryant on a fly ball to CF Rajai Davis that travels perhaps 150 feet. Javier Baez and David Ross also homer for Chicago as the Cubs build up their lead, but Cleveland scores two runs on a wild pitch by Jon Lester in the 6th, then trailing 6 – 4 with two outs in the 8th, Davis homers off Aroldis Chapman to tie the game again.

Play is stopped briefly by rain after the 9th inning, but in the 10th, Ben Zobrist, who is named World Series MVP, puts the Cubs ahead with a double and Miguel Montero adds an insurance run with a single, a run which proves important as the Indians manage to score once in the bottom of the 10th before Mike Montgomery retires Michael Martinez on a grounder to third to clinch the title.

Cleveland now takes over as owners of the longest championship drought in the majors, their last title having come in 1948.

Rewatch the full game:

November 2, 1926 – The Detroit Tigers release Ty Cobb. The release ends his 22-year association with the team. The Georgia Peach, was Detroit’s player-manager for the past six seasons, he compiled a 479-444 (.509) winning record. Despite the winning record the club never finished closer than 16 games from first place. Mainly because the New York Yankees were dominating the American League.

November 2, 1938 Boston Red Sox first baseman Jimmie Foxx (.349, 50, 175), receiving 19 of 22 first-place votes, becomes the first player to win the Most Valuable Player award three times. He also won the award in 1932 and 1933 with the Philadelphia A’s. The 31 year-old slugger was also the recipient of the honor in 1932 and ’33 playing for the Philadelphia A’s. New York Yankees catcher Bill Dickey is second in the voting.

November 2, 1972 — Leading the league in victories (27), ERA (1.97), starts (41), complete games (30), and strikeouts (310), Steve Carlton wins the 1972 National League Cy Young Award, the first of three he will win. ‘Lefty’s’ 27 victories account for nearly half (45.8%) of the last-place Philadelphia Phillies 59 wins.

November 2, 1974, Hank Aaron’s career with the Atlanta Braves comes to an end. The Braves deal the all-time home run king to the Milwaukee Brewers for outfielder Dave May and minor league pitcher Roger Alexander. The move allows the all-time career home run champ to finish his career in Milwaukee, the city in which he started in the majors.

November 2, 1979 — Nolan Ryan and Joe Morgan are the top names available in the free agent reentry draft held at the New York Plaza Hotel.

November 2, 1988, for the third straight season a member of the Oakland A’s is named American League Rookie of the Year, as shortstop Walt Weiss wins the award. The previous two season, sluggers Jose Canseco and Mark McGwire had won the award.

November 2, 2009, At Citizens Bank Park, Chase Utley ties Reggie Jackson’s 1977 record with his fifth home run of the World Series, going deep twice in the Phillies’ 8-6 victory over the Yankees in Game 5. The Philadelphia second baseman becomes the second player to have two multi-homer games in the World Series, joining Royals’ outfielder Willie Aikens, who accomplished the feat against the Phillies in 1980.

 ANSWER TO TODAY’S TRIVIA

TRIVIA ANSWER:  WILLIE McGEE  - 

He had 13 3B in 1985 when he was the NL MVP.

- #1 In 1983, McGee was AS & GG, the 1^st of 4 AS appearances & 3 GG.

- #2 McGee hit .353 in 1985 to lead the NL. He captured his 2^nd NL batting title in 1990 with a .335 average even though that year he finished the season with OAK after a late-season trade from STL for Daryl Green, Felix Jose & Stan Royer. He did get to play in his 4^th WS.

Thank you Horsehide Trivia

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