McRae joins Cardinals as hitting coach

ST. LOUIS -- Former major league manager Hal McRae was hired by the Cardinals as their hitting coach Monday, joining a high-scoring team that slumped in the World Series.

McRae, 59, replaced Mitchell Page, who held the job for 3 1/2 seasons before he was let go in October to seek help at an alcohol-treatment site near his California home.

The Cardinals led the National League in hitting (.278) and runs (855) last season, a year after they finished second in both categories. But St. Louis hit just .190 while getting swept by Boston in the World Series, totaling just three runs in the final three games.

McRae got a two-year contract. The remainder of manager Tony La Russa's coaching staff has agreed to two-year extensions.

McRae has been an assistant to the general manager of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays since being fired as manager in September 2002, one day after they finished 55-106 season and tied Detroit for the worst record in the majors.

On April 18, 2001, McRae replaced Larry Rothschild as the Devil Rays' manager and guided them to a 58-90 record over the remainder of the season.

A rough-and-tumble player with Kansas City, McRae managed the Royals from May 1991 through 1994, guiding the team to a 286-277 mark and winning records in three of his four seasons.

He later spent six seasons as a hitting instructor for Cincinnati and Philadelphia before joining the Devil Rays' organization in November 2000 as a bench coach.

In a 19-season playing career with the Royals and Reds, McRae hit .290 with 2,091 hits, 191 home runs and 1,097 RBIs.

McRae, who spent most of his playing days with the Royals, appeared in four World Series.