SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Grant McCray led off the San Francisco Giants’ exhibition recreation towards the Los Angeles Dodgers on Saturday at Camelback Ranch and he hobbled down the primary final analysis after his foot absorbed a reduce fastball. A coach rushed out to test on him. He grimaced and he shook his leg and he jogged in place.
On the following pitch, he stole second base.
“Been ready for that probability to run,” McCray stated. “I’m all the time itching to go.”
McCray is without doubt one of the finest minor-league base stealers in current franchise historical past. In three years at full-season associates, he has been profitable in 109 of 132 makes an attempt. How spectacular is his 82.6 % success charge over that span? Take into account that Rickey Henderson, who swiped a serious league-record 1,406 bases, retired with successful charge of 80.6 %.
McCray, who by no means lacks for confidence, might need introduced up that truth with Henderson this spring. They may have had fun over it whereas partaking in some mild trash discuss. Late final yr, Giants supervisor Bob Melvin talked about to McCray that he would arrange a spring coaching assembly with Henderson, whom he knew effectively from his time with the Oakland A’s. McCray was ecstatic. He patterned a lot of his recreation after the Corridor of Fame legend — not simply the abilities however the brash fearlessness, too. So many occasions all through November and December, McCray daydreamed about how that dialog would go, what questions he would ask, what inspiration he hoped to take.
Then Henderson, who scored extra runs than anybody in major-league historical past, died unexpectedly Dec. 20.
“Sadly, God calls all people residence sooner or later,” McCray stated. “It was a extremely unhappy day for me. I don’t have a variety of idols, and he was an enormous a part of defining my recreation. I felt that starvation and drive and ambition is one thing I try for, and he actually set the tone for me.”
Henderson performed his final major-league recreation in 2003 when McCray was simply 2 years outdated. Henderson shared the sphere with McCray’s father, Rodney, in simply three major-league video games. However some idols are such good paragons that they transcend time and proximity.
“He’s one in one million,” McCray stated of Henderson. “Assembly somebody like that, or assembly Barry Bonds, you may’t overlook it. That’s old-school baseball proper there. There aren’t lots of them round anymore. Simply getting that information from him would’ve been unimaginable.”
Melvin skilled every kind of feelings and recollections after Henderson’s passing. One in every of them was to suppose again to that promised assembly with McCray and to lament that it might by no means occur.
“ Rickey, he’s so nice about all the pieces,” Melvin stated. “Regardless that he’s with the A’s, he would’ve come over to assist us. I simply wished him (McCray) to really feel the significance of a man like Rickey to come back over and discuss baseball. Sadly, it couldn’t occur. However I feel Grant appreciated the trouble to do one thing to make him a greater participant.”
Grant McCray went 5-for-5 on stolen-base makes an attempt for the Giants in 2024. (Tim Warner / Getty Pictures)
If solely the wistfulness ended there. McCray skilled extra disappointment and disappointment in June when Willie Mays died simply two days earlier than the Giants legend was set to be honored in a regular-season recreation at Rickwood Subject in Birmingham, Ala., the place he performed as a young person for the Birmingham Black Barons of the Negro Leagues. The Giants had made journey preparations for each one among their minor-league gamers with any African American heritage to go away their associates and attend the sport. Mays died someday earlier than McCray was ticketed to fly to Alabama from Sacramento, the place he’d simply been promoted from Double A.
“I virtually didn’t really feel like going after that,” McCray stated. “It was devastating.”
Even earlier than Mays handed, it had been decided that the 93-year-old legend was too frail to make the journey from his residence in Atherton, Calif., to attend the Rickwood recreation. However within the weeks main as much as the occasion, McCray assumed he’d lastly get the prospect to fulfill the Say Hey Child. He couldn’t wait to introduce himself to Mays.
There have been 1000’s of Giants prospects over time who by no means reached the massive leagues however got here away from their professional expertise with a Mays autograph or a selfie or merely the prospect to say that they shook his hand. That’s as a result of Mays would go to Scottsdale each spring — together with Willie McCovey and Orlando Cepeda — to talk to your entire minor-league system whereas instilling them with pleasure for the uniform hanging of their locker.
McCray by no means had that probability. The 24-year-old outfielder was drafted in June 2019. Mays spent his final spring coaching in Scottsdale in 2020, when COVID-19 was turning right into a pandemic. Earlier than Mays had an opportunity to go to minor-league camp that spring, the world shut down. Within the years that adopted, the journey to Arizona turned a bit an excessive amount of for him.
McCray, who’s biracial, stated he typically put out feelers with membership officers about letting him spend a little bit time with Mays. He’s past saddened {that a} assembly by no means occurred.
“I simply really feel like we might’ve had loads to speak about,” he stated.
One in every of McCray’s desires is to play in a major-league recreation whereas carrying a Giants throwback uniform that could be a tribute to Mays — one thing he would like to see the Giants do on Mays’ birthday, Might 6, yearly.
Now McCray, who made his major-league debut final season, is seeking to his contemporaries for counsel. He’s typically partaking Willy Adames and Matt Chapman in dialog about how they dealt with themselves as younger gamers whereas in search of to determine themselves within the huge leagues.
Though McCray and Jung Hoo Lee are the one true middle fielders on the 40-man roster, the Giants outfield seems set on Opening Day (Lee, Mike Yastrzemski and Heliot Ramos) and Jerar Encarnacion, who crushed a 111 mph residence run Wednesday, is out of choices and all however sure to make the crew. The fifth outfielder is prone to be a right-handed hitter reminiscent of Luis Matos who can spell Yastrzemski towards left-handed pitching.
McCray flashed energy (5 residence runs, three doubles and two triples) and velocity (5-for-5 on stolen-base makes an attempt) in 37 video games final season however has extra work to do after posting a 43.1 % strikeout charge in 130 big-league plate appearances. On that entrance, he’s nonetheless discovering his footing within the batter’s field this spring (2-for-15, eight strikeouts).
However don’t inform McCray that there isn’t a spot for him on the Giants’ roster from the soar.
“I wish to break camp with the crew,” stated McCray, who was energized when he heard membership president Buster Posey describe his want for an opportunistic and dynamic offense that may rating runs in a number of methods. “I’ve bought energy, I’ve bought velocity. I’ve contact, too, and I haven’t been nice at it proper now, however it’s nonetheless early. I can change the sport in a variety of methods. We’ve got a variety of guys with these talents: Jung Hoo, Matos, Ramos, Fitzy (Tyler Fitzgerald), and if we piece all of them collectively, I really feel like, dude, we’re a scary lineup. Yeah, we’re younger. However I really feel like we get counted out once we’ve bought extra means than a variety of different groups.”
McCray won’t ever get the prospect to take in knowledge from Mays and Henderson. He can solely guess what they’d’ve instructed him: to belief his talents and to play with confidence. As reinforcing as that message would’ve been, although, it’s not fully clear that McCray wanted to listen to it. If a bruised foot received’t preserve him from working, neither would a bruised ego.
“He’s a pushed child,” Melvin stated. “He desires to be good at all the pieces. And he’s one of many few guys in our group who has all of the instruments to be a extremely good participant. There’s loads to love.”
Extra on Rickey Henderson’s life and profession
• All the time on the transfer, Rickey Henderson leaves legacy as one among baseball’s best showmen
• For all his wondrous MLB accomplishments, Rickey Henderson is finest often known as the ‘Man of Steal’
• Rickey Henderson declared his personal greatness and gave permission to do the identical
• Rickey Henderson completed his profession in indy ball. There, a legend confirmed a special aspect
(Prime picture of Grant McCray stealing second base: Joe Camporeale / Imagn Pictures)