Derwin McNealy Sr.

Derwin Antonio McNealy

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 6' 1", Weight 160 lb.

• High School Crenshaw High School

• Born April 25, 1960 in Carson, CA USA

BR Minors page

Biographical Information

Derwin McNealy Sr. played eight seasons in the minors, starting at AAA for two of them, but never made the majors. His twin brother Darryl McNealy also played pro ball while his son Derwin McNealy Jr. became a college baseball coach. McNealy Sr. stole over 150 bases in the minor leagues.

McNealy was on a very talented high school squad at Crenshaw High; along with his brother, the team had four others who would go on to the pros, including MLB All-Stars Darryl Strawberry and Chris Brown. Derwin was picked by the New York Yankees in the 21st round of the 1979 amateur draft, 14 rounds after his brother.

Derwin debuted with the Paintsville Yankees, hitting .263/.325/.408 for the club that had the best record in Organized Baseball in 1979. In 1980, McNealy batted .260/.358/.305 with 13 steals in 18 tries for the GCL Yankees. He also fielded .982, one of the best marks by a Gulf Coast League outfielder. He outperformed his twin brother, who was his teammate in Darryl McNealy's last season in pro ball.

In 1981, the Californian flyhawk hit .273/.359/.417 for the Oneonta Yankees, swiping 18 bags in 24 attempts and hitting a career-high five home runs. McNealy put up a .261/.304/.323 line for the 1982 Fort Lauderdale Yankees and was very successful on the basepaths, 20 for 22 in steal attempts. In 1983, the 23-year-old batted .242/.311/.318 with 39 steals in 52 tries for the Nashville Sounds. He had 314 putouts in the outfield, two shy of the Southern League lead. He was also 5th in the SL in stolen bases and fourth in sacrifice hits (15) the year that former high school teammate Strawberry won Rookie of the Year honors in the NL.

On March 13, 1984, McNealy was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays for pitcher Don Cooper. He hit .230/.290/.278 with the '84 Knoxville Blue Jays and stole 31 bases, but was caught 22 times, second-most in the SL. He had 366 putouts, six shy of the SL outfield lead. Derwin made it to AAA in 1985 with the Syracuse Chiefs and batted .265/~.317/.3245 with 22 steals. His six triples were one shy of 1985 Pacific Coast League leader Mike Sharperson but he was thrown out running a league-high 19 times. In 1986, McNealy ended his career back in the Yankees chain with the Columbus Clippers, batting .269/~.344/.322 with 24 stolen bases to end his career.

In 2010, McNealy became assistant coach for his son at Clark Atlanta University.

Sources: 1980-1985 Baseball Guides, 1986-1987 Baseball America Statistics Reports