DURHAM, N.C. (WECT) – Quinton McCracken, a former dual-sport standout at Duke University who went on to play 12 seasons in Major League Baseball, will be inducted into the Duke Athletics Hall of Fame, the university announced June 18.
According to Duke, the Southport native played football and baseball for the Blue Devils between 1988-92.
“As a second baseman on the baseball team, he earned first-team All-ACC and third-team All-America accolades in 1992 and graduated as the program’s career leader in hits (236), runs scored (187), walks (108), triples (22), stolen bases (98) and on-base percentage (.432),” the Duke announcement states.
These accomplishments, including a career .349 batting average, landed him a spot on the ACC’s 50th Anniversary Team.
“In football, McCracken was a three-year starter at cornerback and member of Duke’s ACC Championship squad in 1989, finishing his career with 158 tackles, five interceptions and 24 pass breakups,” the release states. “In addition to setting Duke’s single-game record for pass breakups with six in a 35-26 win over N.C. State on November 11, 1989, he was a standout on special teams by returning 54 career kickoffs for 1,230 yards, good for a 22.78 yards per return average which was the second highest in school history upon his graduation.”
The South Brunswick High School alumni was selected by the Colorado Rockies in the 1992 MLB Amateur Draft. Over the course of his 12-year MLB career, McCracken played for the Rockies, Tampa Bay Devil Rays, Minnesota Twins, Arizona Diamondbacks, Seattle Mariners and Cincinnati Reds.
“In 999 career games, McCracken batted .274 with 118 doubles, 32 triples, 21 home runs, 244 runs batted in and 89 stolen bases. In 2002, he helped the Diamondbacks to the postseason and batted .364 with an on-base percentage of .417 as Arizona fell to St. Louis in the National League Division Series,” Duke adds.
Monique Currie, John Danowski, Matt Danowski, Anna Grzebien Vanderlinde, Abby Johnston McGrath, Chris Port, JJ Redick and Becca Ward will also be inducted at the ceremony, slated for Oct. 25.
More information about the Duke Athletics Hall of Fame can be found here.
A 12-year MLB vet and .349 career hitter for us, Quinton McCracken will be inducted into the Duke Hall of Fame later this year! https://t.co/l2zhVd0CTm
— Duke Baseball (@DukeBASE) June 18, 2024
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