ST. LOUIS — When you go to a Cardinals opening day, you'll hear the loud cheers from the crowd for stars like Nolan Arenado and Yadier Molina, but there's always one that sticks out.
The cheers for current Cardinals outfield coach and Cardinals Hall of Famer Willie McGee are almost always the loudest.
And the love from the fans is not lost on the 63-year-old from San Francisco.
"I don't know even how to explain it, man. It lets me know, or feel like I did something right," McGee told 5 On Your Side's Frank Cusumano for a Sports Plus interview. "I thank God and I appreciate my upbringing. My mother, father, family and God. Being raised in a church atmosphere, a Christian atmosphere, not that I'm professed that 100% now, but I still carry the values of that lifestyle. The way I was raised and values I learned in church."
McGee has been on the Cardinals' coaching staff for five seasons, and helps instruct the Cardinals outfielders in the same place he once was.
And McGee pulls his coaching influences from everywhere.
"I've got a little bit of everything. I've got my experiences coming up in little league, coaching girls softball, fast-pitch managing, coaching at a junior college in the offseason, coaching little league, I've got all kinds of stuff," McGee said.
"I take from everything. I take from when I was a player in the minor leagues, the coaches I liked, the coaches I didn't like, the things I liked about them, the things I didn't like they did... And certain situations where I said, 'I'd never do that to a kid if I'm ever a coach.' And that's how you learn and you mold yourself."
When he played, McGee was the soft-spoken, unassuming player without much emotion. But with a lot of players today, like current Cardinals center fielder Harrison Bader, have no problem showing lots of emotion. McGee likes that, too.
"I love it. That's who (Bader) is. Everybody out here has their own personality. And whatever they're happy doing, and as long as it's respecting the opposition and the fans, to me it's not a problem. You are who you are," McGee said.
"Bader, that's what makes him go. I don't think he offends anybody or does it for show or anything like that. That's just who he is. And you can't take that away to a point. And you can't make me, or Tyler O'Neill, or somebody a rah-rah guy or somebody emotional like Bader is."
McGee may not have been an emotional player on the field, but his production certainly did the talking for him.
A four-time All-Star, three-time Gold Glover, two-time batting champion and 1985 National League MVP, McGee is one of the most decorated players in Cardinals history.
McGee was the best player in baseball in 1985, but it didn't come without lumps throughout his career.
"Everything just came together (in 1985). I'll tell you what, out of 18 years of Major League Baseball I probably slept good four of those years knowing that I was gonna come out there on a daily basis and hit the ball hard and do this. That's out of 18 years," McGee said.
McGee told the story of a year he was hitting .230 in the first half of the season, before some advice from Pittsburgh Hall of Famer Willie Stargell flipped a switch for him.
"(Stargell) told me, 'Hey man. Quick feet make slow hands, slow feet make quick hands.' I went out there that day, and boom ... the rest of the season. That's the only thing somebody ever told me where it clicked that day," McGee said.
And McGee said the feeling of immediate results is something he has always enjoyed most about baseball.
"Baseball it's like overnight. That's what I love about this game. It teaches you how to deal with failure and how to deal with success," McGee said. "If you're three out of 10 in this game, you're great. And you're gonna fail seven times. So as soon as you're able to deal with that, and cope with that, you're gonna be alright."
McGee was a star on the Whitey Herzog-led Cardinals teams of the '80s.
"Whiteyball" was a different style of play than today's game, focused more on speed and defense. But McGee said he thinks that type of strategy could still be successful in today's MLB.
"Yes, most definitely. Especially with the shifts and stuff. Because guys put the ball in play, guys put pressure on the opposition and the defense," McGee said.
"(Herzog) was the perfect type of manager for the player I was because he just let you play. He had two rules. Show up on time and run hard. And I do that anyways. That's easy," McGee said.
McGee's humble nature is one reason he's become so endured among Cardinals fans over the years. And there may not be a story that exemplifies that quality more than the story of what he did when he first started making big money in the major leagues.
"(I bought) my mom a house and my dad a car—a Caprice Classic. I took him to the car lot, a Chevy dealer in Compton. He loved Chevys. I got out of the car and said, 'Pop, pick which one you want' ... and he looked at me and said, 'Are you serious?' It's just to see him melt, he picked it and he went to his knees. That's why I played. I didn't play for me to get a big house, for me to get cars. I wanted to take care of them first and then I can take care of myself," McGee said.
So, how much longer does McGee see himself continuing to put in the long hours of a dedicated Cardinals coach?
"I love it. I love the game. I love teaching and I love the game. And you know, I've got bills. I'm doing alright, I don't need to do it, but I love it," McGee said.