Deron McCue, Six Innings - PC3145

It was the first game of the year and Everett started off slow, giving up five runs. Manager Deron McCue, though, didn't panic, The Seattle Times wrote.

For his patience, McCue was rewarded with a 9-5 Everett victory.

"It's rookie ball," McCue told The Times. "I just wanted to throw them out there and see what they've got. We just had one bad inning. I knew we had six innings still to play."

McCue was in his second year as a manager in the Giants system, after a professional playing career that lasted six seasons, but never saw the majors.

McCue's professional career began in 1983, taken by the Giants in the 12th round of the draft, out of Hutchinson Community College in Kansas.

McCue started at rookie Great Falls, hitting .216 over 55 games. He moved to single-A Clinton for 1984, then single-A Fresno in 1985. At Fresno, his average jumped to .316.

For 1986, McCue hit AA Shreveport and even got a game at AAA Phoenix. On the year, he hit .265.

McCue played two more seasons, 1987 at Shreveport and 1988 between Shreveport and Phoenix. In 28 games at Phoenix that final season, McCue hit .200.

By 1989, McCue was managing with the Giants at rookie Pocatello, taking his team to a 29-38 record. For 1990, he moved to short-season Everett, going 35-41 His team picked up one of those wins in an early-August, by a 7-2 score. Most of the runs in the victory came through small ball.

"You get eight or nine singles and scored four or five runs, that's fine," McCue told The Eugene Register-Guard afterward. "You're not going to win with the long ball every time."

McCue's stint in the minors, though, ended the next year, in 1991, serving as hitting coach at single-A Clinton.

In recent years, McCue has gotten back into the game in his hometown, serving as head coach for the collegiate league Hutchinson Monarchs.

"It is exciting," McCue told The Hutchinson News in 2012. "It's my hometown, and I played here as a Bronc in the '80s. I know how important baseball is here, and this is an opportunity for me to get back into it. I love baseball, and this is my hometown."

• Seattle Times, June 19, 1990: Reid's Hitting, Mcleod's Pitching Spark Giants' Rally
• Eugene Register-Guard, Aug. 9, 1990: Errors cost Ems in loss to Everett, Part 2
• Hutchinson News, May 29, 2012: Love of baseball alive

1990 CMC-Pro Cards Tally
Players/Coaches Featured: 971
Made the Majors: 624 - 64.3%
Never Made Majors: 347-35.7%-X
5+ Seasons in the Majors: 277
10+ Seasons in the Minors: 166