Skip to main content

Sunday School: Phillies History Lesson 94

Arnold "Bake" McBride patrolled the outfield for the Phillies in the late 1970's and early 1980's. Originally a 37th round draft pick by St. Louis in 1970, McBride, a Missouri native, proved to be a late round steal, as he cruised through the minor leagues, making his big league debut in 1973 and later being named the National League Rookie of the Year in 1974 when he batted .309 with 6 homers, 56 RBI and 30 stolen bases.

McBride was acquired by Philadelphia in June 1977, when the Cardinals swapped him and pitcher Steve Waterbury for Rick Bosetti, Tom Underwood and Dane Iorg.

The Westminster College multi-sport star (McBride played track and basketball in addition to baseball) proved to be a valuable contributor, as he posted a .339 batting average with 11 HR and 27 steals in 85 games going forward that year, to help the Phillies lock down a second consecutive East Division title.

In the years to follow, McBride in right field paired with Garry Maddox in center field gave Philadelphia a stand out defensive tandem, as both men displayed tremendous range and excellent glove work in the outfield.

Bake's nickname was short for Shake 'n' Bake, which many folks felt described his playing style.

McBride saw his best offensive season in 1980, when he finished 10th in National League Most Valuable Player voting thanks to his .309 average, 33 doubles, 10 triples, 9 homeruns and 87 RBI.

The success for McBride became most noticeable down the stretch as he helped the Phils clinch a key victory over the Expos in September with a 9th inning homerun at Veterans Stadium. The win proved vital for the Phils as Montreal won their remaining two games against Philadelphia and later finished just one game back in the division standings, allowing the Phillies to advance to the postseason.

In the World Series opener that year, the Phillies overcame a 4-0 deficit and won, thanks in part to McBride, who put the Phillies ahead with a 3-run homer. Philadelphia went on, of course, to defeat the Royals in 6 games to win their first ever world championship.

Following his dream season, McBride dealt with knee issues in 1981 that required surgery and limited him to just 58 games.

The following off-season, McBride was dealt to the Indians, where he continued his playing career for the next two seasons, before retiring.

______________________________________________

You can follow PhoulBallz on Twitter by clicking HERE.

You can also connect with PhoulBallz on Facebook by clicking HERE.

Comments

Cliff said…
Actually, Bake looks just a tad baked himself on this card. You might enjoy my comments on this card - and many others - on this post:

http://reallybadbaseballcards.blogspot.com/2014/01/mcbride-son-of-gamble.html

Popular posts from this blog

Lidge Shaky, T-Mac Honored in Trenton

TRENTON, NJ- Brad Lidge made his second rehab appearance for the Double A Reading Phillies on Thursday night and it didn't go as well as the veteran reliever or the team had hoped. Lidge struggled with his command and turned in a rather poor outing for the club that entered the night in a playoff race, 1 game behind division rival Trenton for the Wild Card spot in the Eastern Division. On the disabled list since spring training with a strained right rotator cuff, Lidge experienced an elbow strain when he was working back from that issue in late May. In his outing against the Yankees affiliate in Trenton, Lidge displayed difficulty with his control as he threw three wild pitches, hit two batters, walked another and gave up a single, all while letting up two earned runs on 28 pitches in 2/3 of an inning. After the disappointing performance, Lidge was composed and focused on some positive aspects, having reached 89 and 90 MPH on scouts' radar guns, according to some reports. ...

Jason Knapp Q&A

PhoulBallz .com was fortunate enough to meet with Phillies prospect Jason Knapp just one day after he caught the attention of the baseball world with his 7 shut out innings, 14 strike out performance against the Indians' Lake County team. - I asked Jason, the Lakewood BlueClaw , for some thoughts about his big game... I had pretty good command of three pitches (fastball, curve, change up). I was on the same page with my catcher, D'Arnaud , and I ended up, ya know, I felt pretty good. - In a great performance like that, how much credit goes to Travis D'Arnaud , the catcher? More than you might expect, definitely. I didn't shake him off once. He told me what to throw and I do what I'm told. And if it works out, a lot of the credit goes to the catcher. - Does the lack of run support (Lakewood has scored 3 total runs in his 3 starts), in your few starts, increase your stress level, or enhance your focus? No, I just try to go out and do my job every outing. Ya know, we...

Eric B Needs to be Cut (and My Name is Rakim)

While the Phillies are on a hot streak this month, one player on the team is not. Eric Bruntlett is 1-for-12 in July. Since the start of May, Bruntlett's apex in batting average has been .167 on June 14th. Bruntlett's ineptitude can be tolerated no longer. Get rid of this guy NOW! Eric B. is the 2009 Endy Chavez. Remember Endy...the guy who in 2005 managed just 2 hits in his final 42 games played as a Phillie? That is about the sort of output the Phillies are getting from Bruntlett, and it's time to fix this void. Julio Lugo was designated for assignment last week by the Red Sox and is expected to become a free agent. The Metropolitans are rumored to be interested. Why wouldn't the Phillies be interested in a guy who could surely outhit Bruntlett? Lugo was hitting .284 through 37 games played this season with Boston. Suspended Lehigh Valley IronPig Pablo Ozuna is eligible to return next Wednesday. Ozuna is batting .294 through 51 games at triple A. Miguel Cairo is also...