| Fred McGriff | |
|---|---|
 McGriff with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in 2007 | |
| First baseman | |
| Born: (1963-10-31)October 31, 1963 (age 61) Tampa, Florida, U.S. | |
Batted: Left Threw: Left | |
| MLB debut | |
| May 17, 1986, for the Toronto Blue Jays | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| July 15, 2004, for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .284 |
| Hits | 2,490 |
| Home runs | 493 |
| Runs batted in | 1,550 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
| Member of the National | |
 Baseball Hall of Fame | |
| Induction | 2023 |
| Vote | 100% |
| Election method | Contemporary Baseball Era Committee |
Frederick Stanley McGriff (born October 31, 1963) is an American formerfirst baseman inMajor League Baseball (MLB) who played for six teams from 1986 through 2004. Nicknamed "Crime Dog",[1][2] a word play onMcGruff the Crime Dog, he was one of the most consistently productive power hitters of the 1990s. McGriff posted over 80runs batted in (RBI) every year from 1988 through 2002, and became the first player since thedead-ball era to lead both leagues inhome runs — theAmerican League (AL) in 1989 and theNational League (NL) in 1992. A five-timeAll-Star, he was named theMost Valuable Player of the1994 contest after his pinch-hit home run in the bottom of the ninth inning tied the score at 7–7, with the NL winning in 10 innings. McGriff finished in the top ten in voting for his league'sMost Valuable Player Award every year from 1989 through 1994, during which time he led the major leagues in home runs.
After spending the first third of his career with theToronto Blue Jays andSan Diego Padres, McGriff became a major component in theAtlanta Braves' long run of division champions, posting over 90 RBI for five straight years after joining the club in a midseason 1993 trade, and helped lead the team to the1995 World Series title over theCleveland Indians. In 50 career postseason games, McGriffbatted .303 with 10 home runs and 37 RBI. He then joined his hometownTampa Bay Devil Rays when that club was established in 1998, and was the team's main power hitter for its first four seasons, establishing various franchise records which lasted several years before being broken. He hit 20 or more home runs fifteen times, becoming the first player to hit 30 home runs with five different teams, drove in 100 runs eight times, and batted .300 four times.
McGriff's 493 career home runs were tied for tenth in major league history among left-handed hitters when he retired, and put him only seven away from joining the500 home run club; his 462 home runs as a first baseman ranked fourth. He also ended his career with 1,550 RBI, and a .509slugging percentage. One of the most durable first basemen in history, he ranked third in career games at first base (2,239), ninth inassists (1,447) and third indouble plays (1,775). McGriff currently works in the Braves' front office as Special Assistant to Baseball Operations.[3] In2023, McGriff was inducted into theBaseball Hall of Fame.
McGriff was born inTampa, Florida. His mother, Eliza, was a schoolteacher and his father, Earl, was an electronics repairman. As a child, he hung out atAl Lopez Field duringCincinnati Reds spring training and worked as a vendor atTampa Stadium.[4]
McGriff went out for the baseball team atJefferson High School as a sophomore but was cut. He made the team the following year after undergoing a growth spurt. He was a high school teammate ofAl Pardo. He first attracted the attention of professional ball clubs after hitting a long home run off ofHillsborough High School'sDwight Gooden with scouts in attendance to watch Gooden pitch.[5] McGriff accepted a scholarship offer to playcollege baseball for theGeorgia Bulldogs.[6]
McGriff signed with theNew York Yankees after being selected in the 9th round of the1981 amateur draft. He received a $20,000 signing bonus.[5] In 1982, the Yankees dealt McGriff,Dave Collins andMike Morgan to theToronto Blue Jays forDale Murray andTom Dodd. The trade is now considered one of the most one-sided deals in baseball history; in 2006,Rob Neyer wrote that the trade looked particularly lopsided because it was one of the few instances that a player of McGriff's stature was traded before getting to the majors.[7]
At the time, the trade appeared to make some sense from the Yankees' perspective, since McGriff was blocked from first base byDon Mattingly. Nonetheless, the Yankees didn't get nearly enough in return. Murray won only three games in three years with the Yankees, and was out of baseball by 1986. Dodd was released at the end of the season, and apart from a month with theBaltimore Orioles in 1986 spent the remainder of his career in the minors.[7] Before McGriff became a regular major leaguer, baseball greatTed Williams took note of his power at a batting practice session during spring training. Williams was drawn to McGriff when he heard the sound of the ball leaving McGriff's bat.
To improve his skills, McGriff also played for three seasons in the Baseball Winter League of the Dominican Republic for the teams Azucareros del Este (todayToros del Este),Leones del Escogido and Caimanes del Sur (defunct franchise), between 1984 and 1987. He won a Golden Glove in that league during the 1986-87 season and went to the league's postseason in the 1984-85 campaign.[8]
McGriff played two innings at first base on May 17, 1986, and the next day started his first career game as thedesignated hitter. His firstat-bat was in the bottom of the second inning againstDon Schulze, during which he hit a line drive to left field for his first career hit. McGriff played in only one more MLB game that season.[9]
McGriff reached the majors full-time in 1987, and hit 34 home runs the next year, his first of seven consecutive seasons with over 30 homers. He emerged as the top power hitter in theAmerican League in 1989, leading the league with 36 home runs, including the firsthome run hit at theSkyDome, helping the Blue Jays win theAL East division title. His power numbers remained steady in 1990, as McGriff batted .300 and established himself as a consistent producer.
On December 5, 1990, the Blue Jays traded McGriff andTony Fernández to theSan Diego Padres in exchange forRoberto Alomar andJoe Carter.[10]
McGriff hit .278/.396/.474 for San Diego in 1991. He made his first All-Star appearance the following year and led the NL in home runs in 1992, three years after he had accomplished the same feat in the AL.
On July 18, 1993, the Padres, out of contention and seeking to unload their high-priced veterans, dealt McGriff to theAtlanta Braves for prospect Vince Moore,Donnie Elliott andMelvin Nieves.[11] McGriff hit a home run in his first game with the Braves, who acquired him to replace the strugglingSid Bream at first and to provide an offensive spark, and was a key player in the Braves' 51–19 finish to overtake theSan Francisco Giants and claim first place in the National League West for a third consecutive season. He finished with a career high 37 homers and fourth place in theNL MVP voting.[12]
In thestrike-shortened 1994 season, McGriff was batting .318 and had 34 home runs when play ended in August 1994. He won theAll-Star Game MVP Award that year after hitting the game-tying home run for the National League, after the NL trailed, 7–5, in the bottom of the ninth inning. McGriff was runner-up toKen Griffey Jr. in the 1994Home Run Derby.[13]
McGriff remained with the Braves in 1995 and continued to be a successfulcleanup hitter. He hit two home runs in the1995 World Series en route to his only World Serieschampionship ring.[14][15]
Afree agent after the 1995 season, McGriff signed a four-year contract worth $20 million with the Braves.[16] McGriff hit .295/.365/.494 with a career-best 107 RBIs on his way to anotherWorld Series appearance in 1996. McGriff hit 22 home runs in the 1997 season. He was called out on strikes by umpireEric Gregg on a pitch thrown byLiván Hernández during the1997 NLCS, which was the last significant event for McGriff as a member of the Braves. The team allowed him to be picked up by the expansionTampa Bay Devil Rays after the season.
The Braves did not protect McGriff in the1997 expansion draft after the season, and he was not selected. The Braves traded McGriff to the expansionTampa Bay Devil Rays for aplayer to be named later after the draft.[17]
McGriff batted .278 with nineteen home runs in his first season with the Devil Rays. His numbers experienced a minor renaissance in 1999 when he hit .310 with 32 home runs the following season.
After another solid season in 2000, McGriff got off to a good start in 2001 and was heavily pursued by the contendingChicago Cubs around the trade deadline. He waived his no-trade clause to allow himself to be dealt to Chicago on July 27, 2001, forManny Aybar and a player to be named later.[18] He hit .282 with twelve homers in 49 games with the Cubs, but the team did not reach the postseason.
McGriff had thirty home runs during a strong 2002 campaign, which earned him a one-year contract with theLos Angeles Dodgers for the 2003 season.[19] Twenty-two homers shy of 500 for his career, the forty-year-old McGriff only hit thirteen with a .249 batting average and spent a significant amount of time on the disabled list.
During spring training in 2004, the Devil Rays re-signed McGriff.[20] He ended up with a .181 average and had hit just two home runs in his sporadic play from the end of May until mid-July. The Devil Rays released McGriff on July 28, 2004, seven home runs shy of 500.[21]
McGriff worked out for the New York Yankees three days after his release from Tampa Bay but the team ultimately didn't sign him.[22] McGriff officially declared his retirement during spring training of 2005 when he received no calls from any teams requesting his services.
In January 2007, McGriff joined the Devil Rays as a special adviser.[23] He stayed with the Rays until 2010.[24] McGriff joined the Braves as a special assistant to the baseball operations department in 2015, working with their minor league players.[25]
McGriff ended his career with ten seasons of at least thirty home runs. He andGary Sheffield are the only players ever to hit at least thirty home runs in one season for five different teams, with McGriff accomplishing the feat with Toronto three times, San Diego twice, and Atlanta, Tampa Bay, and the Chicago Cubs once each.[26][27][28] He led MLB in total home runs hit from 1989 to 1994, and hit the third-most home runs in the decade from 1988 to 1997 (afterBarry Bonds andMark McGwire). During the latter period, he was eighth in the majors in the fWAR statistic (Wins Above Replacement as calculated byFanGraphs), behind six Hall of Famers and Bonds.[29]
As of 2019, McGriff stood as one of only 16 players to record a career .280 batting average, .375on-base percentage, and .500slugging percentage along with at least 490 home runs.[29]
He became eligible for election to theNational Baseball Hall of Fame in2010. In his first year of eligibility, he was named on 21.5% of the ballots cast by 10-year members of theBaseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA); this fell short of the 75% requirement for induction, but surpassed the 5.0% threshold for continued eligibility on future BBWAA ballots.[30] Over the next four elections, McGriff's vote percentage ranged from a high of 23.9% (137 votes) in2012 to a low of 11.7% (67 votes) in2014. He remained eligible through 2019, when his time on the ballot expired after ten unsuccessful appearances.[29] On his final ballot, McGriff achieved his highest vote total ever of 39.8% (169 votes), still short of the necessary 75%.[29]
On December 4, 2022, it was announced that McGriff wasunanimously elected by theContemporary Era Committee to the Baseball Hall of Fame.[31] McGriff andScott Rolen were formally inducted into the Hall of Fame on July 23, 2023.[32][33]
During the press conference for his acceptance into theBaseball Hall Of Fame, McGriff highlighted going to the Dominican Republic to play winter baseball just before and after his Major League debut with the Blue Jays in 1986. “It was the best thing I ever did because I got a chance to get extra at-bats. In that winter ball, they take things very seriously. And you were facingJosé Rijo,Mario Soto, great pitchers," he said. He went on to encourage players who are starting their careers to play there.[34]
McGriff married Veronica in 1988.[5][35] The couple raised two children.[36][37] McGriff lived in a custom-built home in Tampa from the mid-1990s to 2019, when it was sold.[38]
McGriff's father Earl died of cancer in November 1999.[39] His mother died in 2017.[40]
McGriff appeared in commercials forTom Emanski's Baseball Fundamentals training videos in 1991.[41][42] The commercials ran for over a decade onESPN, making them the longest running sportsinfomercial on television.[43][44]
| Awards and achievements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | American League Player of the Month April 1989 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | National League Player of the Month July 1993 | Succeeded by |