#291 Hal McRae #292 Hal McRae In Action

Gifted player whose talent was mired in Red’s outfield depth…then a lynchpin in a savvy trade that catapulted KC into contender status far before their 1969 expansion siblings….latched on with Cincinnati 1970 in a limited role….got more opportunity in 1971 as Bobby Toland was out of action….hit .266 but the Reds faulted without Tolan….sat on bench most of 1972,,,,went west to KC 1973….first suffered from jitters, hitting .234….Kicked into overdrive 1974 starting with .310 BA….1976 participated in a heated batting Championship race….finished second to teammate George Brett…controversial in Hal’s opinion….morphed into an excellent run producer in the following years slightly lowering BA….Best year was 1982 when tallied a league leading 133 RBIs and personal best 27 home runs…twice took top honors of in doubles…slowed up gradually but still an asset….15 years in KC end in 1987…. Still had skills last season hit .313 in 72 at bats…fiery, hard working competitor who took that modality to managing….above .500 at KC but no flag…took over at Tampa Ray 2002…wasn’t able to right that ship….known for tirades about losing.