Fred McGriff and the Hall of Fame
The upcoming BBWAA vote for the Hall of Fame at the end of January means there are new contenders for Cooperstown immortality. For some, the vote is a long shot. For others, a mere formality. For bloggers, it’s a time for reflection; a walk back down memory lane.
*All stats provided by Baseball Reference
Career Review
It’s hard to say that a player up for Hall of Fame consideration has been almost forgotten by the general public, but in the case of first baseman Fred McGriff, it may very well be the case. It’s interesting, too, because he played on some of the most competitive teams of his era: the late 80’s/early 90’s Blue Jays (although he left two seasons prior to their back-to back championships), and the 90’s Braves.
Originally starting out as a Yankees farmhand, McGriff was dealt to Toronto in 1982 in one of the most lopsided trades in MLB history (a hallmark of the tumultuous 80’s reign of George Steinbrenner). McGriff immediately established himself as a power hitter, slugging 20 homers in a little over 100 games during his 1987 rookie year. Two years later, and he was the AL’s homerun leader with 36. He would go on to accomplish the same feat in 1992 as a Padre, becoming the first player to have led both leagues in long balls. As a Blue Jay for four seasons, McGriff averaged 31 homers and a .390 OPS.
Following the 1990 season, McGriff and Tony Fernandez were dealt to Toronto for Joe Carter and Roberto Alomar. Although the Jays would soon become World Champions, McGriff didn’t slow down in San Diego, where he would make his first All Star team. Despite personal success, the Friars were struggling, and sought to deal their expensive veterans, including McGriff. This led to yet another trade, and the slugger was soon packing his bags to Atlanta in 1993, where the young Braves were looking for a return trip to the World Series following an October Classic loss to Toronto the year before. While the team would lead the NL with 104 wins, they were bumped out of the playoffs by the Phillies. The next year, shortened by to the strike, saw McGriff with a monsterous 34 homers in just over 100 games prior to the stoppage. The following season, 1995 saw McGriff lead Atlanta all the way to a World Championship, the first and only of his career.
McGriff continued his run of success into the early 2000’s, where as a member of the Rays, Cubs, and Dodgers, he racked up 127 home runs over his final seven campaigns.
A compelling personality as well as player, McGriff’s consistent production over nearly 18 full seasons was remarkable. So was his career-long under-the-radar status: As a rookie, McGriff hit 20 homers with an .881 OPS in 107 games – and didn’t receive Rookie of the Year votes; from 1988 to 1994 he hit 30 homers in seven consecutive seasons Including strike-shortened ‘94) – making the All Star team only twice; for his career, he reached the 30 homer mark 10 times – and was voted an All Star in just two of those years.
On the more esoteric side of remarkable, McGriff is one of the rare players to have hit 30+ home runs in three different decades; he led his league in home runs twice in 18 seasons – once in the AL and once in the NL, making him the only player ever to accomplish that feat; and, perhaps most notably, starred in arguably the greatest – and almost certainly the longest-running – TV commercials in history, endorsing Tom Emanski’s (back-to-back-to-back AAU National Champions!) Dynamic Practice Organization, becoming the mesh-capped cult hero of a generation in the process. And of course, regardless of any BBWAA vote, known for most of his career as “Crime Dog” Fred McGriff is in the Nickname Hall of Fame, across all major sports.
Sadly, Crime Dog fell just seven home runs short of 500 in his career, and while never an MVP – or even the best player on his own team – McGriff’s career remains one of the most productive of his era, and does not feature the smear of steroid accusations that marr many of his peers.
Numbers that Matter
- 28: McGriff’s place on the all-time home run list, ahead of players like Stan Musial, Adrian Beltre, Miguel Cabrera, and Vladimir Guerrero, to name just a few
- 9: The number of players to have hit 30 homers in seven consecutive seasons (prior to 1994*), a feat McGriff accomplished between 1988-94. Others on the list are Hank Aaron, Mickey Mantle, Lou Gehrig, Mike Schmidt, Jimmie Foxx, Ralph Kiner, Babe Ruth, and Eddie Mathews – all of whom are Hall of Famers. 5: The number of different teams for which McGriff hit 30 home runs
- 7: Number of consecutive seasons McGriff finished in the top 5 in his league in homers and OPS (1988-94), a feat accomplished by just four other players ever (Gehrig, Mantle Ruth, and Schmidt)
- .750: The postseason OPS McGriff achieved or exceeded in eight different postseason series
- 6: Seasons in which McGriff finished in the top 5 for fielding percentage in either the NL or AL
*13 players have done it since ‘94, in the heart of the steroid era
Pessimist’s View
A set of generally mundane and unfortunate circumstances may conspire to keep McGriff out. For one, he lacks the longevity with a single club to have ingrained himself in any one fanbase’s heart of hearts. He was good, but he was good for a bunch of teams for a few years a t a time (although, hilariously, he did manage to become the all-time Tampa Bay leader in Win-Shares in just about 3.5 seasons there). His one World Series doesn’t help, and even though he was the unquestioned offensive centerpiece of that team, those ‘95 Braves will always be remembered for what may be the greatest rotation in history. His steroid era brethren also put a damper on his comparative value. In a cruelly ironic twist, peers like Clemens and Bonds are spurned by the Hall on the basis of their inflated numbers, but guys like McGriff still have their resume measured against league averages inflated by those same steroid users (his mere five All Star nods exacerbate – and are exacerbated by – this issue).
Having never received more than 24% of votes, it appears that McGriff will have to wait until 2022 for the Veterans Committee to seal his HOF fate.
Verdict
- Very doubtful. However, he stands a good chance of getting in from the Veterans Committee.
Should He Get In?
- Yes. In any other era, or had he hit seven more homers, this wouldn’t be a debate. (Editor’s note: this is a travesty. Crime Dog is the epitome of a workmanlike Hall of Famer.
