Kevin McReynolds

Walter Kevin McReynolds

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 1", Weight 210 lb.
• School University of Arkansas
• High School Sylvan Hills High School
• Debut June 2, 1983
• Final Game August 11, 1994
• Born October 16, 1959 in Little Rock, AR USA

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Biographical Information

Kevin McReynolds was a slugging outfielder who played eleven seasons in the big leagues, appearing with the San Diego Padres, New York Mets, and Kansas City Royals.

Early days

McReynolds, who was born in Arkansas, attended the University of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981. His time there overlapped with that of Johnny Ray and Ronn Reynolds.

In the 1981 amateur draft, he was a first-round draft pick (# 6 overall) by the San Diego Padres. Due to injuries, he did not play in the minors in 1981, but in 1982 and 1983 he dominated his leagues by hitting over .350 with power at the A, AA, and AAA levels.

In the major leagues

By June 1983 he was up in the majors, getting 140 at-bats in his first major league season. The next year he became a regular, and from 1984 to 1991 he would appear in at least 140 games each season.

The 1984 Padres won their division, partly due to McReynolds' .465 slugging percentage, which was ninth-best in the National League. In post-season play, he slugged .600 in four games in the NLCS against the Chicago Cubs, but he missed the World Series because of an injury.

McReynolds was originally a center fielder in the majors but was gradually shifted to left field in 1986. Thereafter in his major league career he was primarily a left fielder.

After an off-season with the bat in 1985, Kevin slugged .504 in 1986, good for fourth in the NL. His 96 RBI were sixth in the league.

In December 1986 the Padres traded McReynolds to the New York Mets. He produced for them, hitting his peak home run total of 29 in 1987. The following season, 1988, he was in the top five in the National League in both HR and RBI, and was third in the National League MVP voting. In 1988 post-season play with the Mets, he slugged .536 in the NLCS against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

McReynolds was also stealing bases well - in the period 1987-1990 with the Mets, he stole 59 bases while getting caught only 10 times. He holds the Major League record for most stolen bases in a season without being caught: 21 SB to 0 CS in 1988.

After declining somewhat with the bat in 1991, Kevin was traded to the Kansas City Royals in December in a deal that involved Bret Saberhagen. He spent two years with the Royals, getting between 350-375 in both 1992 and 1993. In 1994 he was traded back to the Mets (in a deal involving Vince Coleman) and closed out his major league career.

Career analysis

As sometimes happens, McReynolds seems better than most of the comparisons shown by the similarity scores method. Of the ten players shown by the method, only the bottom two on the list, Jackie Jensen and Ben Oglivie, have higher lifetime Adjusted OPS+ scores than McReynolds.

Notable Achievements

• 1983 The Sporting News Minor League Player of the Year, Las Vegas Stars, Pacific Coast League
• 1982 MVP California League, Reno Padres
• 1983 MVP Pacific Coast League, Las Vegas Stars
• 20-Home Run Seasons: 6 (1984 & 1986-1990)

Related Sites

• Kevin McReynolds at the SABR Bio Project