Doggone it, McGriff out of HoF would be a crime

By By Will Bardwell / sports writer
June 3, 2004
I started writing this column determined to convince myself that Fred McGriff is not a worthy Hall of Famer.
I've seen McGriff's act too many times in recent years. An aging, broken-down slugger clings to a once-respectable career, begging opposing pitchers for his 500th home run and an automatic ticket to Cooperstown.
Eddie Murray, whose 504 home runs is the fewest among 500-homer hitters, pulled it off. Dave Winfield and Jose Canseco both came up short, but Winfield managed to pad his stats enough to get into the Hall of Fame anyway.
So when the Tampa Bay Devil Rays called up McGriff from the minors last week, I groaned. After he batted .249 with 13 homers for the Dodgers in 2003, I hoped the Crime Dog would just gracefully go away. I have very fond memories of McGriff from his time with the Braves, and I preferred to remember him as a feared slugger than a joke.
McGriff won't play every day, but with the D-Rays desperate for some pop in their lineup, he'll likely be Tampa Bay's designated hitter at least half the time. He hit his 492nd home run on Monday incidentally, it was only his second game since being called up and barring injury, McGriff will almost certainly reach the 500-homer mark before the end of the season.
As much as I wanted to see McGriff reach that milestone, there's no denying that hitting 500 home runs means less today than it did 10 years ago. I was convinced that McGriff should be the first 500 Club member to be snubbed by the Hall of Fame.
I was wrong. Big time.
McGriff's statistics don't boggle the mind, but they're good enough to get him into Cooperstown. Sadly, the standard to get into the Hall of Fame has been lowered in recent years but even if it hadn't, McGriff would still be a Hall of Famer.
He already has 1,500 RBIs, and he will also reach the 2,500-hit plateau this season. His .285 career batting average isn't terribly sexy, but it's a lot better than other players who went into the Hall with little debate.
Willie McCovey, a first-ballot Hall of Famer who swatted 521 homers, batted just .270. Willie Stargell, who also was elected in his first year of eligibility, hit .282 during his career, and McGriff already has more home runs and RBIs than Pops. Even Mike Schmidt, one of the game's all-time greats, only batted .267 over his 18 seasons.
McGriff is a five-time All-Star, and his home run in the 1994 All-Star game helped him win the game's MVP award. He hit an American League-best 36 home runs in 1989 (looks pretty shabby nowadays, doesn't it?), then led the National League three years later with 35 homers.
McGriff also drove in 100 or more runs in eight of his 19 seasons. McCovey never did that. Stargell didn't either, nor did Eddie Mathews, another 500 Club member who had fewer RBIs and a lower batting average than McGriff.
I don't believe in justifying one player's Hall of Fame credentials based on someone who may have slipped through (like Bill Mazeroski). I do believe the bar should be higher because of modern era's skyrocketing offense. Voting McGriff into the Hall of Fame doesn't conflict with either of those beliefs.
Fans of McCovey, Stargell and the like quickly point to intangible qualities that can't be displayed in a box score. Pops led the Pirates to two world titles, and Mazeroski hit a championship-winning homer for the Pirates in Game 7 of the 1960 World Series.
McGriff's supporters can point just as quickly to the Braves' magical pennant run in 1993. Down by as many as 10 games in the NL West in mid-July, Atlanta picked up McGriff from San Diego and never looked back. McGriff led the Braves to the division title in one of the greatest pennant races of all time as Atlanta edged San Francisco on the final game of the season. The Braves lost just 15 games in the final eight weeks of the season.
On the last day of the regular season, the Braves and Giants were tied. Atlanta hosted Florida, and San Francisco was at Los Angeles. At church, I prayed for the Braves and Dodgers. Perhaps not so coincidentally, both won their season finales. Thanks to McGriff (and a benevolent higher power), Atlanta completed its improbable comeback.
Whether or not he gets to 500 home runs, Fred McGriff doesn't need prayer to get into the Hall of Fame. He's earned it on his own.