Willie McGee
A switch-hitting maestro whose graceful, headlong style in center field defined an era of St. Louis Cardinals baseball and captured an improbable MVP crown.
Born 1958 (age 68)·American baseball player and coach·Birthday: November 2·Baby Boomers
Biography
Willie McGee emerged from the Bay Area not as a can't-miss prospect but as a wiry athlete with a unique, slashing swing from both sides of the plate. His 1982 rookie season with the Cardinals ended with a World Series ring, a sign of things to come. McGee’s game was a blend of elegant, gliding defense—earning three Gold Gloves—and an unorthodox, contact-heavy offense that twice made him the National League’s batting champion. The pinnacle was 1985, a year where he led the league in hits, triples, and average, securing the MVP award while propelling the Cardinals to another pennant. His later career saw journeyman stretches, but his heart remained in St. Louis, where he returned to close out his playing days and later served as a coach and advisor, his quiet professionalism leaving a lasting imprint on the franchise.
Baby Boomers
1946–1964
The largest generation in history at the time. Shaped by postwar prosperity, the Vietnam War, the sexual revolution, and Watergate. They questioned every institution their parents built — then ran them.
Willie was born in 1958, placing them squarely in the Baby Boomers. The events that shaped this generation — postwar prosperity, civil rights, Vietnam, and the counterculture — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Willie Was Born
The biggest hits of 1958
#1 Movie
South Pacific
Best Picture
Gigi
#1 TV Show
Gunsmoke
Willie's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1958Born
NASA founded
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $11,050Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Volare" — Domenico ModugnoBest Picture: Gigi
1963Started school
JFK assassinated in Dallas; Martin Luther King's 'I Have a Dream' speech
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $13,100Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"Sugar Shack" — Jimmy Gilmer & The FireballsBest Picture: Tom Jones
1971Became a teenager
Voting age lowered to 18 in the US
Gas: $0.36/galHome: $18,100Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Joy to the World" — Three Dog NightBest Picture: The French Connection
1974Could drive
Nixon resigns the presidency
Gas: $0.53/galHome: $22,600Min wage: $2.00/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"The Way We Were" — Barbra StreisandBest Picture: The Godfather Part II
1976Could vote
Apple Computer founded; US bicentennial
Gas: $0.59/galHome: $29,300Min wage: $2.30/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"Silly Love Songs" — WingsBest Picture: Rocky
1979Turned 21
Iran hostage crisis begins; Three Mile Island accident
Gas: $0.86/galHome: $37,900Min wage: $2.90/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"My Sharona" — The KnackBest Picture: Kramer vs. Kramer
1988Turned 30
Pan Am Flight 103 bombed over Lockerbie
Gas: $0.90/galHome: $74,800Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Faith" — George MichaelBest Picture: Rain Man
1998Turned 40
Google founded; Clinton impeachment
Gas: $1.06/galHome: $107,300Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Too Close" — NextBest Picture: Shakespeare in Love
2008Turned 50
Barack Obama elected first Black US president; financial crisis
Gas: $3.27/galHome: $153,100Min wage: $6.55/hrPresident: George W. Bush"Low" — Flo RidaBest Picture: Slumdog Millionaire
2018Turned 60
Royal wedding of Harry and Meghan; Parkland shooting
Gas: $2.72/galHome: $211,800Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Donald Trump"God's Plan" — DrakeBest Picture: Green Book
2026Age 68 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Won the National League Most Valuable Player Award in 1985 after leading the league in batting average (.353), hits (216), and triples (18).
- Captured two National League batting titles, in 1985 and again in 1990 with a .335 average.
- Earned three Rawlings Gold Glove Awards for his defensive play in the outfield (1983, 1985, 1986).
- Was a four-time National League All-Star selection (1983, 1985, 1987, 1988).
- Won a World Series championship with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1982.
Did You Know?
He was famously discovered by a Cardinals scout while playing in a semi-pro league in San Francisco, having never been drafted.
McGee's 1985 season is one of only a handful in MLB history where a player led the league in both batting average and triples.
He is one of only a few switch-hitters to win multiple batting titles.
After retirement, he served as a baserunning and outfield instructor for the Cardinals, often working with young players.
His son, D.J., was drafted by the Cardinals in 2012.
“I just tried to play the game right. I wasn't a home run hitter, so I had to do the little things.”
