Fred McGriff Fun Fact

by R.J. Anderson on Jan 12, 2009 11:41 PM EST Comment 6 comments

Because HOF voters like doing silly things like this:

He finished with 493 career homeruns, 27th all time.

Of the 26 ahead, 9 are either active or ineligible.

Of the remaining 17, 16 are in the HOF, Mark McGwire is the only one not elected.

The good (?) news for McGriff is he's ahead of the curve where guys ahead of him are eligible.

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Crime Dog will be first ballot

I am sure he will go first ballot. He was a hell of a fielder and a guy who hit 20-35 HR a year for a LONG time and drove in nearly 90-100 a year as well. Probally the greatest overall left handed 1rst baseman ever. And one of my favorite players growing up as well as a fellow Jefferson High Alumni. If only he would of got to 500HR. But in a era where players cheated and he played clean he deserves to go as much as Jim Rice did. I do not remember Rice winning a World Series like Freddy did in 1995 on one of the greatest defensive and pitching teams ever!

Devil Rays World Series 2009

by Japhei on Jan 13, 2009 7:39 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

I think your love of the man has clouded your judgement

If he goes it will most assuredly not be on the first ballot. That is reserved for guys that absolutely dominated a game. Here are all the first ballot inductees since 1995:

Mike Schmidt
George Brett
Nolan Ryan
Robin Yount
Kirby Puckett
Dave Winfield
Ozzie Smith
Eddie Murray
Dennis Eckersley
Paul Molitor
Wade Boggs
Tony Gwynn
Cal Ripken, Jr.

Hat tip to Baseball Almanac LINK

Is the Crime Dog better than any of those players? Him and Kirby may compare the best IMO.

Anyway, as I was lying in the puddle, I think I may have found a way for us to get Bonds and Griffey, and we wouldn't have to give up that much.

~George Costanza~

by Sandy Kazmir on Jan 13, 2009 9:56 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Using FanGraphs wOBA comparisons

by age him and Puck are close, him and Brett are close, but George had 2 ridiculous seasons, Fred is probably better than Yount, Schmidt wins out there. McGriffs age 24-30 seasons were very, very good, but then he tailed off for a few years before closing out with a couple of good seasons sporadically, his longevity will help, but I still don’t think he will be a first ballot. That said the inclusion of Rice means borderline great player has a legitimate beef to get in. It reminds me of Andrew Jackson’s inauguration we’re going to see all kinds of fools get in now.

Anyway, as I was lying in the puddle, I think I may have found a way for us to get Bonds and Griffey, and we wouldn't have to give up that much.

~George Costanza~

by Sandy Kazmir on Jan 13, 2009 10:14 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Probally the greatest overall left handed 1rst baseman ever.

Ummm… Lou Gehrig? Stan Musial if you count him as a 1B. Willie Stargell. Willie McCovey. There are a lot of very good LH 1B.

by rglass44 on Jan 13, 2009 10:17 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

None of those bums did Tom Emanski Defensive Drills videos

by Erik Hahmann on Jan 13, 2009 10:22 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

You can't be serious.

“Probably the greatest overall left handed 1rst baseman ever.”

I like McGriff and think he has a chance to get into the HOF, although my guess is it will take a while if it happens at all. And I know you are considering his fielding as part of the overall and so downgrade players like McCovey, Gehrig and Stargell. But, especially in the case of Gehrig, their offensive accomplishments are so far beyond Fred’s that there is no way to even it out that way, and in any case, Johnny Mize was better both ways than McGriff was.

by bobr on Jan 13, 2009 1:37 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs