Born:  Fulton, Mo., 2/3/1949

B-L, T-R...  6'2", 184 lbs

 

Bake McBride had one of the sweetest swings in the game in the 1970s. The Phils acquired him from St. Louis in 1977, after which he was a fixture in Right Field for several seasons. In 1980, Bake was placed anywhere from 2-6 in the batting order, and produced in them all. It was McBride's three-run home run that iced game 1 of the World Series for the Phillies.  Though McBride only hit nine home runs on the season, his consistency and run production earned him a 10th place finish in the MVP voting.

 

1980 Statistics

 

Games

 Hits

 HR

RBI

Avg.

1980

    137

171

9

87

.309

LCS

        5

     5

 0

0

.238

WS

        6

     7

1

5

.304

Lifetime Statistics

Year

Team

AB

Runs

Hits

HR

RBI

Avg.

1973

Cardinals

    63

    8

   19

   0

     5

.302

1974

Cardinals

  559

   81

  173

   6

   56

.309

1975

Cardinals

  413

   70

  124

   5

   36

.300

1976

Cardinals

  272

   40

   91

   3

   24

.335

1977

Cardinals

  122

  21

   32

   4

   20

.262

1977

Phillies

  280

  55

   95

  11

   41

.339

1978

Phillies

  472

  68

 127

  10

   49

.269

1979

Phillies

  582

  82

 163

  12

   60

.280

1980

Phillies

  554

  68

 171

   9

   87

.309

1981

Phillies

  221

  26

   60

   2

   21

.271

1982

Indians

    85

    8

   31

   0

   13

.365

1983

Indians

  230

  21

   67

   1

   18

.291

TOTALS

 

3853

548

1153

 63

 430

.299

Phillies Publications

From The Phillies 1980 Media Guide:

 

How Obtained:  Acquired along with Steve Waterbury from Cardinals. 6/15/77, for Tommy Underwood, Rick Bosetti and Dane Iorg.

 

1979 Season:  Finished the season batting .371 in September to boost his final average to .280; he was hitting just .222 on June 1...  Hit .300 on the road and .343 vs. LHP...  Was one of just three NL players to finish in double figures in doubles, triples and HR (Dawson-Hernandez-Winfield also did it)...  Played in a career high 151 games (150 in 1974 was previous high)...  Tied with Andre Dawson and Omar Moreno for second best in triples (12) behind Garry Templeton (19)...  Also had career high totals in AB (582), runs (82), walks (41)...  Hit 2 HR and drove in five runs on 4/17 at Pittsburgh...  25 steals second to Maddox (26).

 

Career:  Was NL Rookie of the Year in 1974 hitting .309 with 30 steals, the second highest stolen base total for a rookie award winner; Sam Jethroe stole 35 in 1950...  He was the Cardinals number 37 draft pick in 1970...  Had knee operation on 8/10/76...  Has hit three inside the park HR...  Hit .339 for the Phillies in 85 games in 1977 after taking over the leadoff spot...  Hit his only career grand slam on 7/8/78 in Philadelphia off Montreal's Rudy May (pinch hit).

 

Personal/Misc:  Has a B.A. in Physical Education from Westminster College (Fulton) where he was a track and baseball star...  Lives in suburban St. Louis during the off-season...  Had a 9.8 time for the 100-yard dash in college.

From The Phillies 1981 Media Guide:

 

1980 Season:  Had his finest offensive year in the majors with a career high 87 RBI and 33 doubles...  Was unquestionably the Phillies most consistent offensive player batting .309, tying him with Cesar Cedeno for fourth best in the NL...  Did not have a three-game hitless streak all season and had a 12-game hitting streak...  A notorious slow starter, he was batting .302 at the end of May as opposed to .227 on the same date a year before...  Hit .354 the month of July and .326 the second half of the season...  Once again had impressive figures in doubles, triples and HR although his HR total (9) prevented him from finishing in double figures in all three categories as he had in 1979...  14 game-winning RBI trailed only Schmidt's 17...  Sore knees limited his base running and his stolen base total dropped to 13...  Biggest hit of season was game winning HR off Expos' Palmer on 9/26 @ Vet.

 

1980 Post-Season:  Continued his steady play batting .304 in the World Series as he won game 1 with a three-run homer that helped wipe out a 4-0 KC lead...  His perfect relay throw to Manny Trillo in Game 5 cut down a KC run at the plate in a picture play.

 

Career:  Was NL Rookie of the Year in 1974 hitting .309 with 30 steals, the second highest stolen base total for a rookie award winner behind Sam Jethroe's 35 in 1950...  The Cardinals #37 draft pick in 1970...  Had knee surgery on 8/10/76...  Hit only career grand slam on 7/8/78 @ Philadelphia off Montreal's Rudy May (pinch hit)...  Has four inside the park HR, last one on 7/31/79 @ Vet off Cubs Mike Krukow...  In 1979, had career high total in games, AB, runs and walks...  He is a lifetime .300 hitter.

 

Personal/Misc:  Has a B.A. in Physical Education from Westminster College (Fulton) where he was a track and baseball star...  Makes his off-season home in suburban St. Louis...  Times at 9.8 in 100-yard dash in college...  Likes to play cards and watch soap operas.

From The 1980 Phillies Yearbook:

  • Favorite Color:  Steel Gray
  • Favorite Singer/Group:  Commodores
  • Favorite Song:  Three Times A Lady
  • Favorite City:  Los Angeles
  • Least Favorite City:  Pittsburgh
  • Person You'd Most Like To Meet:  Ali
  • Boyhood Idol(s):  None
  • Biggest Turn-On:  Playing in front of a large crowd
  • Biggest Turn-Off:  People and kids not knowing how to ask for an autograph
  • Favorite Subject in School:  Psychology
  • Favorite TV Show:  Soap Operas
  • Favorite Book:  Philippians
  • Person You Most Admire:  Ali
  • Greatest Achievement:  Winning Rookie of the Year in 1974.
  • Most Memorable Moment:  Scoring the winning run in a game against the Mets that lasted 25 innings
  • Hobbies:  Hunting
  • Toughest Pitcher You've Faced:  All of them