Last night, Fred McGriff was officially voted into the Hall of Fame by the Contemporary Baseball Era Players Committee.
Fred McGriff was a part of an eight-player group that was voted on by a 16-person committee. Each player needed at least 75% of the vote to be elected, and McGriff was the only player chosen.
The Crime Dog finished seven home runs shy of 500 homers — a number that almost always results in a player being elected into the Hall-of-Fame. For his career, McGriff hit .284 with a .377 OBP and .509 slugging percentage. He also was a World Series champion as a member of the 1995 Atlanta Braves.
Among the seven players that were not chosen was Braves legend Dale Murphy. He had an unbelievable run from 1980-1987, where he made seven All-Star games and two NL MVPs, but the sustained success doesn’t appear to be there for him to be voted in. Murphy finished his career with a .265 average and 398 home runs.
Other all-time greats like Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens, whose unbelievable careers were marred in controversy in the heart of the steroid era, also didn’t get in. I understand the stance Major League Baseball has taken on cheaters being allowed into the Hall of Fame, but I think it’s well past time for both of them to be elected. They are two of the very best players to ever pick up a baseball. Unfortunately, I’m not sure it will ever happen.
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