Ultimate Mets Database - Memories of Brian McRae

THE ULTIMATE METS DATABASE IS NOT AFFILIATED IN ANY WAY WITH THE NEW YORK METS OR MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL.

- All-Time Roster Every Met player... EVER!
- Mug Shots The pretty ones and the ugly ones -- we have them all!
- Player Awards Cy Young, Rookie of the Year, Hall of Fame, and more.
- Transactions Over a thousand player transactions -- in chronological order!
- Managers & Coaches The men who have led the Mets, and the men who helped them.
- Mets Staff Executives, General Managers, Broadcasters, and more. (And Jane Jarvis too!)
- Birth Places Perfect for planning your Mets pilgrimages!
- Oldest Living Mets See which Mets players have spent the most time walking the Earth.
- Necrology Mets players and personnel who are no longer with us.

- Game Results
  All the wins, all the losses. Includes box scores and score cards!
- Opening Day
  The first day of each season! See the starting lineups, who started at each position year-by-year, and leaders by position.
- Walkoff Wins & Losses
  Interactively search for the happiest and saddest endings to Mets games.
- Postseason Games How the Mets have fared in the games that count the most!
- No-Hitters & One-Hitters See a list of every no-hitter and one-hitter pitched by the Mets, or against them. One of these categories was frustratingly empty for over fifty years, but not anymore!
- All-Star Games Mets who have appeared in baseball's Mid-Summer Classic
- Opponents & Ballparks See the Mets won-lost record against every team, and in every ballpark in which they've played!
- Daily Standings What was the Mets' pennant outlook on any given day in past seasons?
- Yearly Finishes The heights and the depths: the Mets won-lost record at the end of each season.
- Mayor's Trophy Games A look back at the long-ago annual series between the Mets and their Bronx rivals.

- Leaderboards Career, season, and individual game leaders at your fingertips!
- Team Leaders Players who led the Mets in various categories, from season to season.
- Decade Leaders Mets history broken down into ten-year chunks!
- Post-Season Leaders Mets leaders, by category, in post-season games

- Ultimate Mets Scrapbook The history of the Mets, as it was reported when it happened!
- Forum Visit the Crane Pool Forum to discuss the Mets and just about anything else!
- Fan Memories Insightful. Poignant. Thrilling. Somber. Nutty. Our visitors have submitted thousands of thoughts and memories of the Mets and the games they've played.
- Mets Uniforms It's more than just laundry! Trace the evolution of the Mets official uniform over the years.
- Uniform Numbers In association with Mets By the Numbers, we present a full history of who wore what number, and when!/li>
- Baseball Cards Our collection of home-made baseball cards, in the style of the classic Topps cards of the 1970's.
- This Date in Mets History Births, Deaths, Transactions, Newspaper Covers

- Contact Us
- FAQ Frequently Asked Questions

Mets
Statistics

Situational
Statistics

Brian McRae
vs. the Mets

Brian McRae
vs. Other Teams

Ballpark
Statistics

Monthly
Statistics

Game Log

Memories of
Brian McRae

Brian McRae
Ultimate Mets Database popularity ranking: 257 of 1252 players

Brian Wesley McRae
Born: August 27, 1967 at Bradenton, Fla.
Throws: Right Bats: Both
Height: 6.00 Weight: 195

Brian McRae was the most popular Ultimate Mets Database daily lookup on December 13, 2003, December 14, 2003, and August 3, 2013.

First Mets game: August 8, 1997
Last Mets game: July 30, 1999

Share your memories of Brian McRae

HERE IS WHAT OTHER METS FANS HAVE TO SAY:

Abobo
What do you expect me to say? Yoy's the way! Yoy's the way I say! Brian Mcrae is da coolest! Yoy! He really gave me 20 autographs 'cause me asked him to (in Dawgi land)! Me not sure 'bout real life, though. Anyway, what I'm trying to say is... Brian Mcrae is my idol!!!!!!!! I love him in every which way! I wished I lived with his apple. I mean, even his apple is worth a zillion big bucks! (I'd rather live with him, if your wondering.) I'd put him on broadway! Anything for the big guy!

murphy
When he broke in with the Royals, he looked like he was going to be a star. Developed one of the worst, looping lefthanded swings I've ever seen.

Won Doney
July 5, 2001
Even though he wasn't one of the greatest hitters, I liked him.

DB
November 13, 2001
Good centerfielder and leadoff hitter.

Mr. Sparkle
November 15, 2001
I hated the day Phillips made this trade. McRae was never much of a player to begin with and now the Mets had him and lost Lance Johnson. McRae did zero the rest of the year and it wasn't until the second half of the following season before he contributed at all. He was a very good fielder and did have a few clutch hits at the end of his second year but overall was not a good acquisition for the Mets. I always called him Hal since his father was a much better player. I loved it when we finally dumped this loser in his third season. And I couldn't believe it when I saw him on ESPN the following season although not totally surprised he was washed up and retired at the age of 32. If it weren't for getting Turk Wendell, Steve Phillips' first trade would have been a total bust.

metsman22
March 6, 2002
I kinda sorta liked "B-Mac." He was awesome the second half of 98 but in 99 he sucked, except for that one diving catch in CF he made, against the Marlins I think. They upgraded when they got Hamilton.

Shari
May 23, 2002
What was Steve Phillips thinking? I cannot believe that Hal McRae is this guy's father. Who taught him how to hit? It must have been his Mom because it certainly was not Hal. I can't believe we got him for Lance Johnson who had a .336 batting average at the time. I threw a fit when I found out about this trade.

Jon
June 6, 2002
McRae was never great shakes, but seems like too many fans forget the deal to acquire him worked out well for the good guys. Lance Johnson did even less than McRae did the rest of his career and we got Turk, who begat Chen, who begat Strickland. As for McRae, it seemed as if whenever there was an article about an unhappy, grumbling Met, McRae was quoted.

David Lassen
June 6, 2002
I watched Brian play short season Class A ball a ton back in the summer of '86. He was a very kind player. it was cool that he ended up with the Mets for a while.

Gregory Gewirtz
April 1, 2003
The whole point behind trading Lance Johnson, as I understood it until news of the August 1997 six player trade with the Cubs came down, was that Carl Everett would get a regular job, as he had looked good in Lance's place when Lance was out with shin splints. So when we finally dealt Johnson, we get back a CF with a contract just as long.
McRae had no obvious position in the batting order, and was generally an overpaid mediocrity.

Shari
April 3, 2003
I almost cried when I heard about the trade that brought him to the Mets. Lance Johnson for him? Lance had a .336 average when they traded him. When your Dad is Hal McRae you would think that he could at least bat .250 which means he should get a hit every 4th time up at the plate. He had one good year that he hit 21 homers and batted somewhere near .270 or so. Otherwise he couldn't hit if his life depended on it.His average hovered around .225 People like him should just give up switch hitting, I believe he was a better right handed hitter if memory serves me right, usually it's the other way around.

Neil Toronto
June 7, 2004
The most irritating career ever! Came up as a big-time 5-tool prospect; peaked at age 25; had a front-row seat for his daddy's meltdown in KC; never helped any team win anything; retired at age 31; and instantly started showing up on TV and radio, prancing around as if he's a Hall of Famer. How did this happen? If anyone else listens to MLB Radio on the internet occasionally as I do, you'll know that he is the worst analyst ever. He doesn't even know what the hosts are asking him, and yet they buy into this whole "B-Mac" myth. Note that the Mets traded him away during the 1999 pennant race, and the team got better without him.

Shorty Larson
November 23, 2005
Let's face it. He was fast. He had some pop in his bat. He had a good glove in center, and made good accurate throws. Those four things combined usually mean that this guy should have a long major league, plus, Daddy was a pretty decent player in his own respect. Working as a former player on ESPN at age 32; he could still be playing now. I'm not saying he was good, I have no memories of this guy contributing anything to MLB as a player and would never boast about him. But, folks, the facts are there, he could still be playing.

Jonathan Stern
December 1, 2005
One reason why I no longer have cable is because one of the few stations I watched towards the end, ESPN, became too silly and sophomoric for me to tolerate. One lingering memory of that station - a ridiculous commercial in which McRae and the "Baseball Tonight" gang try to sing doo wop in a radio studio. He looked as undercommitted there as he looked at Shea. I wonder if having such a great ballplayer for a father made it hard for McRae to reach his potential. It couldn't have made it easy.

Mark Corrao
December 9, 2005
Was well liked by Met fans. Plyed hard, had some pop in his bat and speed. Always remember him having an omnipresent 5 o'clock shadow.

Alex
June 22, 2024
McRae's statistical log says he was anemic offensively overall, but I'm pretty sure I got into the Mets when he was in the middle of a hot streak in 1999 (from late April to early June he hit .333/.410/.546), so that colors my impression of his offensive abilities a bit. I do, of course, recall his post-hot streak offensive decline. He just got worse and worse.
I remember McRae being one of the guys we sent to get Darryl Hamilton, who was a decent piece for a few years.
I also recall his defense, which to my nine-year-old eyes was pretty excellent.
Since November 2022, I've written him three autograph requests—once through his home address and twice through Sports Radio 810 WHB in Kansas. He signs for everyone else, it seems, but not me. What am I doing wrong, Brian? WHAT AM I DOING WRONG??