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The McRae way

[Times photos: Toni L. Sandys] During 18 seasons as a player, Hal McRae earned a reputation as being aggressive and fearless. As a manager, McRae wants the same from his team.

By MARC TOPKIN, Times Staff Writer

© St. Petersburg Times
published March 1, 2002

ST. PETERSBURG -- Ask Hal McRae to describe the style he wants his team to play and the words and phrases fly out fast and furious.

"Hard-charging . . . aggressive . . . force the opposition to make plays . . . hopefully force mistakes . . . take 'em out at second . . . motion-type offense when needed . . . pitchers who are aggressive . . . everybody aggressive . . . we get after people and try to make things happen and not sit back and wait for something to happen . . . "

“This team doesn’t have that ability to sit back. The personnel we have dictates that we play that aggressive style,’’ says Hal McRae.

The concepts are familiar to those who know McRae, who during an 18-plus season major-league career played about as hard and as aggressively as anyone. Many still tell the story of how he took out Yankees second baseman Willie Randolph in the 1977 playoffs.

As McRae embarks on his first full season managing the Rays, it seems clear he is intent on remaking them in his image.

Call them, if you will, the McRays.

"I grew up playing that way," he said. "That's my nature. I've always been that kind of player. Every sport I played, I played the same way, whether it was basketball or football or baseball.

"I think there's only one way to play. We know there's a lot of ways you can be successful, but I think there's only one way to play."

That's why you'll see the Rays sliding hard into second base, why you'll see runners who have no business stealing taking off, why you'll see them hit-and-run, bunt-and-run, and double-steal. It's why you'll see fielders crash into walls and pitchers throw inside. It's why you'll see them take extra bases, and extra chances, with no remorse. It's why you'll see them play with recklessness and fearlessness.

"I think," McRae said, "that's the way we have to play."

Their signature, their identity, will be to manufacture runs and win with pitching and defense.

"We hope to play low-scoring games where we can put an inning together to win the ballgame," McRae said. "We're not going to outslug anyone, so we have to pitch better and play better defense. We're not going to hit a lot of home runs, but we should be able to manufacture runs at times. You can't try to manufacture runs every night, that's impossible. But when we need to play an aggressive style, when we need to put runners in motion, we'll do that."

It may not be the best approach, and certainly isn't the easiest way to succeed, especially in the American League. But at least until some of their multi-talented prospects such as Rocco Baldelli, Carl Crawford and Josh Hamilton get to the big leagues, it's about the best the Rays can do.

And at least now they have a plan.

"If you don't have a signature, what are you all about?" McRae asked. "How are you going to win? You must have a way to win. You must have a way to play the game. If you don't have a way to do it, you're not very disciplined. Discipline is very important. You must have a way to do it. You have to have a way to play: This is what we do and this is the way we do it. Now we have to perfect that style of play. We have to play consistently.

"But we know going in how we're going to try to win games and how we're going to try to defeat the opposition."

If there is anything McRae likes more than being aggressive, it's being a winner. So he quickly refutes any suggestion that he is stubborn or one-dimensional, insisting that if he had a team full of sluggers he'd be glad to sit back and watch -- to a degree.

"This team doesn't have that ability to sit back," he said. "The personnel we have dictates that we play that aggressive style. I like that style, but what I like and what I do actually varies according to the personnel.

"Even if we were an explosive team, I'd still like to play that way to try to get the opponent on the run. I don't think you play as well, and your thought process is not as clear and precise when you're retreating. The guy that's attacking thinks better than the guy that's retreating."

McRae's philosophies were formed on the field. He played for Sparky Anderson and played with the likes of Pete Rose, Joe Morgan, Tony Perez, Johnny Bench, Bobby Tolan, and Lee May in Cincinnati, then moved on to Kansas City, where he played for Whitey Herzog, Dick Howser and Jim Frey, and played with George Brett and Frank White.

"They were all aggressive kind of clubs, and that's all I'm familiar with," McRae said. "I never played on a Baltimore-type team where you never give any outs, you hit home runs, you pitch, you go station-to-station."

The Rays were 58-90 after McRae replaced the fired Larry Rothschild on April 18 but got better as the year went on. With a revamped roster of young players who were willing and able to play his way, McRae led them to a 35-39 record over the second half, including 24-23 in their final 47 games.

McRae won't say it publicly, but he'd like to think they could finish .500 (81-81) this season. Given the age, lack of experience and physical limitations of their key players, 75 wins might be considered a monumental success.

The transformation, clearly, is a work in progress.

"We do a good job with the style today, but the more speed you possess, the better you are suited for the style, the better defense you play the more you are suited for the style, the better pitching you have ... " McRae said. "We have a model, but I think it requires more speed and better defense to fully complement that style."

More than anything, what McRae wants is for the players to try their best.

"You want athletes," he said. "You want players who'll play for each other. You want players who are not afraid -- not afraid to go out and win a baseball game."

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MARCH (1:05 starts unless noted)

• 1 -- University of Tampa
• 2 -- Braves#
• 3 -- at Braves*
• 4 -- Phillies*#
• 5 -- at Rangers*
• 6 -- Royals*
• 7 -- Yankees*#
• 8 -- Rangers*#
• 9 -- at Yankees*
• 10 -- Pirates*#
• 11 -- at Reds*
• 12 -- at Twins
• 13 -- Blue Jays*
• 14 -- Off day
• 15 -- at Pirates*
• 16 -- at Phillies*
• 17 -- Twins*^
• 18 -- at Tigers, 7:05
• 19 -- at Rangers
• 20 -- Red Sox*^#
• 21 -- at Expos
• 22 -- at Orioles
• 23 -- Braves*#
• 24 -- at Royals
• 25 -- Rangers*
• 26 -- at Blue Jays*
• 27 -- at Phillies, 7:05*
• 28 -- Tigers, 7:05
• 29 -- Twins*#
• 30 -- at Durham (N.C.) Bulls
• 31 -- at Charleston (S.C.) Riverdogs
• * -- Broadcast on WDAE-620 AM
• # -- Broadcast on WLCC-760 AM
• ^ -- Telecast on Fox Sports Net

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