Place an Ad Calendars Classified Forums Sports Weather

sptimes.com Text-only News sections Arts & Entertainment AP The Wire Business Citrus County Columnists Floridian Hernando County Hillsborough Letters Movies Neighborhood Times News Update North Pinellas North of Tampa Obituaries Opinion Pasco County South Pinellas Sports State Tampa Bay TV Times World & Nation  Find your local news section Weekly sections Brandon Times City Times Homes Outdoors Perspective Personal Tech Taste Travel Weekend Xpress Special Sections Arena football Buccaneers College football Devil Rays Lightning Police reports Schools Seniority Subscriber Services Subscribe Renew Help Advertise Place an ad In print Online Market Info Join Us Internships Scholarships Times Jobs Contact us

A guiding force set to return

Hal McRae is the Rays manager, but he is a Royals legend.

By JOHN ROMANO

© St. Petersburg Times, published May 15, 2001

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Above a stretch of Interstate 70 outside of Kauffman Stadium is a well-placed overpass called the George Brett Bridge. Inside the stadium is a less tangible monument that recalls another Royal great. It is an ideal known by some as the McRae way.

There are no signs to signify this. No image the common fan can capture with a camera.

The McRae way was a style. A state of mind on the ballfield. The McRae way meant playing hard, never quitting, always caring. More than anything, the McRae way stood for winning.

Tonight, the originator returns to Kauffman Stadium for the first time in the uniform of another team. Devil Rays manger Hal McRae has not been back for a game in this city since he was fired as Royals manager in 1994. The dismissal abruptly ended a two-decade partnership between a city and a ballplayer. It was a parting of ways that the team president now says was one of the worst decisions of his career.

"Hal played to win every game and the fans appreciated that," said Gerry Winship, a 26-year member of the Royals Lancers fan organization. "It's too bad we don't have that quality in a lot of players today. I don't mean that in a derogatory way, but Hal and George Brett were special players that way. There are going to be a lot of people who will be very happy to see Hal again."

If he is feeling sentimental about his return to Kansas City, McRae is not letting it show.

He normally has bench coach Billy Hatcher bring the lineup card to umpires before the game and says he has no plans to deviate from that routine tonight. With a team at the bottom of the AL East, McRae said he has too many worries to bask in the glow of a homecoming.

If McRae is not of a mind to tell his current players about his glory days as a Royal, they need only pay attention when they reach the ballpark tonight.

Pulling into the parking lot by Gate B, one can see a large banner hanging from the upper concourse with a picture of McRae in a batting stance, along with his portrait. Just behind the seats along the third base line is McRae's plaque in the Royals Hall of Fame. Upstairs is the Hal McRae suite on the media level behind home plate.

"They're nice, but those things are more for other people, not me," McRae said. "It's nice, but it's not something I talk about. Maybe one day, but that day hasn't arrived."

At least one player in a Rays uniform can appreciate the meaning of McRae's return. Infielder Damian Rolls grew up in Kansas City as a Royals fan and has emulated his game after the team's rough-and-tumble style.

"Everybody loves Hal McRae there," Rolls said. "The way those guys played, they left it all on the field every day.".

McRae came to Kansas City in a trade from Cincinnati in 1973. On the team that year were rookies George Brett and Frank White. The three would play together for 15 years, winning six division titles, two pennants and Kansas City's only World Series.

They also taught a generation of young players how the game was meant to be played. "He was a very, very hard-nosed player," said Buddy Biancalana, who played six seasons with the Royals and now manages the Rays' Class A team in Charleston, S.C. "I learned how to play the game from guys like him and George Brett. And it's the way I teach players today."

Even though the bulk of his career was played in the era of free agency, the Royals remained remarkably intact during McRae's time in Kansas City.

Along with Brett and White, he played 11 seasons with Amos Otis, 12 with Willie Wilson, 13 with Dennis Leonard and 12 with Paul Splitorff.

McRae, a Florida native, kept a home in the Kansas City suburbs so his family could stay with him during the season. His children would spend half the school year in schools in Missouri and the other half in Sarasota.

"We did a lot of winning during those years and Hal was a major part of it," said Royals president Herk Robinson, who hired and fired McRae as manager during his tenure as general manager. "The players expected to win and that was because Hal and George helped instill that expectation with the way they handled themselves."

McRae was not the hitter Brett was, nor was he slick in the field like White. But he was the best designated hitter of his era, hitting better than .300 seven times and he still ranks in the top five in Royals history in hits, home runs, runs and RBI.

Although White and Brett have remained with the organization (White as a coach and Brett in the front office) and both have had their numbers retired, McRae has had little contact with the Royals since he was fired during the player's strike.

He says he returns to the city once a year to visit his son Brian, but the closest he gets to Kauffman Stadium is when he goes next door for Chiefs games at Arrowhead Stadium.

"It's like losing a girlfriend," he joked. "You go out and get another."

McRae said there are no special plans for the next three days other than a luncheon he is supposed to attend Wednesday. When asked how he thinks he is remembered by Kansas City fans, he says he was just another ballplayer.

"I think he's bigger than he thinks he is," White said. "I think his ex-teammates, and the front office personnel and all the way down to the fans, those people know how valuable he was to the organization and what he brought to the organization.

"He pretty much helped us grow up in terms of the style of play and how aggressive we were going to be. He set a good tone for leadership, both in the clubhouse and on the field.

"I think the fans really appreciate everything he did for the organization and the city while he was there."

© 2006 • All Rights Reserved • Tampa Bay Times
490 First Avenue South • St. Petersburg, FL 33701 • 727-893-8111

Contact the Times | Privacy Policy
Standard of Accuracy | Terms, Conditions & Copyright