McGee spent the majority of his 18-year career playing for the Cardinals, helping them win the 1982 World Series with his outstanding performance in Game 3.

[1] Upon graduating from Harry Ells High School in Richmond, California, in 1976, McGee was selected in the seventh round (152nd overall) of the June amateur entry draft by the Chicago White Sox.

McGee declined the White Sox contract offer and opted instead to attend Diablo Valley Community College.

McGee was acquired by the St. Louis Cardinals from the Yankees' farm system on October 21, 1981, in a trade for pitcher Bob Sykes.

This style of baseball took advantage of St. Louis' spacious Busch Stadium and placed strong emphasis on fundamentals, pitching, defense, speedy baserunning, and smart situational in-game play.

In 1985, McGee ranked first in the National League in batting average (.353, which is the second highest mark by a switch hitter in NL history), hits (216), and triples (18).

[6] McGee's efforts helped propel the Cardinals into the postseason, where St. Louis defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL Championship Series.

Again, McGee was a key component to the Cardinals' success as they enjoyed another fine season finishing as Eastern Division champs.

In an effort to begin the team's re-building process, McGee was traded to the American League's Oakland Athletics on August 29 for 25-year-old outfielder Félix José and two minor-league players (third baseman Stan Royer and pitcher Daryl Green).

McGee's brief stint with Oakland, managed by Tony La Russa, helped propel the team to the 1990 World Series.

This would be McGee's fourth trip to the Fall Classic; the Athletics, however, were pounded in the Series as the Cincinnati Reds would sweep the defending world champions in four games.

Despite being traded to the AL, McGee had already accumulated 542 plate appearances in the National League, enough for him to qualify for the NL batting crown.

Attempting to rebound from injury, McGee signed as a free agent with the Boston Red Sox on June 6, 1995, and played in only 67 games that season.

[9] Shocked that the shy McGee would do such an outrageous thing, teammates were enthralled by watching outtakes from the TV spots, some of which can be seen on a commemorative video about the Cardinals' 1996 season.

In St. Louis' 1997 home opener at Busch Memorial Stadium, with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning and the score tied 1–1, McGee hit a pinch-hit home run to win the game, which provided a memorable highlight to cap his remarkable career with the St. Louis Cardinals.

[11] On August 5, 1999, Willie made a brilliant shoestring catch on a looping fly ball hit by San Diego Padres' outfielder Tony Gwynn.

[14] On March 6, 2013, the St. Louis Cardinals announced they had hired McGee as a special assistant to General Manager John Mozeliak.