Fred McGriff: Hall of Famer?

It's time to take a new, long look at the Crime Dog, knowing what we know now about many of his peers.

493 HRs.
134 OPS-plus.
.377 OBP

I'm having difficulty constructing an argument against, to be honest.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/mcgrifr01.shtml

 

Damn right I'm a Hall of Famer.

 

Hall of very good, not very great. I've debated his numbers and the Crime Dog doesn't merit immortal status. Great guy. Just doesn't get a free ride to Cooperstown.

 

Yeah, it's so untimely considering: (1) The HOF just had Induction Day; and (2) the A-Rod scandal.

 

McGriff might be.

He had around 20-25 percent of the vote so far. Same as Tim Raines had his first few years on the ballot. Tim Raines is going to be a Hall of Famer. Bert Blyleven had 14 percent one of his early years on the ballot. Bert Blyleven is a Hall of Famer.

 

But I'm a Major League Super Star! You can't keep me out of the Hall of Fame!

 

I guess I'm speaking to a larger question: Considering how many of a guy like McGriff's peers are tainted by steroids, does someone like McGriff deserve consideration? I know you don't care about this, but he has a higher OPS-plus than Tony Gwynn.

I think the biggest thing that hurts McGriff is that he played for so many teams that he feels like a journeyman.

Also, I think he's interesting because he barely missed a couple milestones: 493 home runs, 2,490 hits. If that's 500 HRs and 2,500 hits, what are his vote totals like? I get that 2,500 isn't the coup de grace, but it's a nice round number that people like.

And people do care about that stuff. The other day, I heard a voter saying he needs Ichiro to get to 3,000 hits.

 

I'd like to bet folding money that not every position player currently in baseball's Hall of Fame won an MVP award during his career (including only those who played since the MVP award was created).

I'm not a baseball guy, nor have I looked this up. I'm just guessing. But I feel pretty secure about that guess.

 

Excellent point. He was very good. Just not great. No crime in that except he is nicknamed The Crime Dog.