Lou Gehrig sure did play in a lot of consecutive games, 2,130 to be exact, and during that time, he hit a lot of home runs, 493 to be exact. Actually, Gehrig shares his spot on the all-time home run list with a hitter who isn't in the Hall of Fame, but scared pitchers to death when they faced him. His name is Fred McGriff.
Fred "Crime Dog" McGriff played for 19 years in the MLB from 1986-2004 with the Blue Jays, Padres, Braves, Cubs, Dodgers and Rays. The five-time All Star first baseman was feared by pitchers all across baseball for one reason and one reason only: his power. In 15 seasons, McGriff hit 20 or more home runs and, in ten of those years, hit 30 or more home runs, leading the league in the category in 1989 and 1992. But he wasn't all about the long ball. McGriff scored 90 or more runs in four seasons and drove in 90+ runs in a season 12 times, with eight of those times being more than 100 RBIs. Of course, no hitter is complete without his ability to smack the ball all over the field, which Crime Dog could do as well. During his career, he collected 2,490 hits and batted .284 lifetime.
McGriff put up some great statistics, but what's arguably more compelling about his career is the outcomes of the trades in which he was involved. First, after the 1990 season, the Blue Jays shipped him and Tony Fernandez to the Padres for future Hall of Famer Roberto Alomar and 1993 World Series hero Joe Carter. Without that trade, Alomar might not have a plaque in Cooperstown and the Jays wouldn't have won the '93 World Series. If you think I'm done with important trades involving the Tampa, Florida native, then you're wrong! In July of 1993, Toronto traded McGriff to the Atlanta Braves. Without that trade, Atlanta probably wouldn't have beaten out the San Francisco Giants in one of the tightest races for a divisional championship in baseball history. With the Braves in 1993, McGriff hit 19 home runs in 68 games and came in fourth in the MVP voting!
Like I mentioned before, Fred McGriff is not in the Hall of Fame, but hopefully, he will someday deservedly get into the Hall. I think he should get in because he was so close to 500 home runs and even if he didn't make it to the big 5-0-0, he was still one of the best sluggers of his generation. Thanks for reading this post and I hope you enjoyed it. Check back soon for more of "all the buzz on what wuzz."
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