McRae was a switch hitter and threw right-handed. His batting average was 38 points higher from the right side with a slugging average 24 points higher but his on-base percentage was only seven points higher. McRae was a leadoff batter far more often (47%) than any other position in the lineup (second most was 22% batting second). He had a good history of injury avoidance, playing 150 or more games in five different seasons. The only seasons he did not play at least 130 games were his rookie season and the strike-shortened 1994 season when he finished second in the National League in games played. McRae never played in the playoffs, enduring a few near misses.\n', '

Born in Bradenton, Florida, McRae attended Manatee High School and Blue Springs High School where he was a Missouri 2nd Team All State Selection in football and 1st Team selection baseball. In 1985, McRae was predicted to be a lower-round draft pick in baseball. When he claimed that he would attend college and play both sports, the University of Kansas offered him a football scholarship. When the Kansas City Royals defied the predictions and chose the 17-year-old McRae in the first round (as the 17th pick), offering him a six-figure signing bonus, he changed his mind and bypassed college sports altogether.\n', '

McRae did not hit particularly well in the Royals\' minor league system and did not reach AA until his fourth season. He did steal bases well though with 88 thefts in his first three seasons. He and his father, long-time Royal Hal McRae, became the first father-son combination to appear in a major league game when they were in the lineup together in a spring training game in 1987. McRae hit only .201 for the Memphis Chicks in 1988 and only .227 in 1989. In 1990, Kansas City\'s regular center fielder, two-sport all-star Bo Jackson, was having the best season of his baseball career when he went on the disabled list with a shoulder injury. After trying veterans Jim Eisenreich and Willie Wilson in center, the Royals gave McRae a chance in early August. He responded by posting a better average in the majors than in any of his three seasons at AA. When he returned from the disabled list, Jackson was moved to left field and McRae became the everyday center fielder for the rest of that season and for the four subsequent seasons as well.\n', '

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