Fred McGriff: Hall of Fame?

[rogmax11]

I always thought McGriff was the Gil Hodges of his generation: very good, not quite great.

[eleven11]

Yes!!!

[tysok]

Originally Posted by eleven11

Yes!!!

Wow, you had to have dug long and hard to find this thread and revive it.

Such a dedicated McGriff fan deserves something.

[jbergey22]

Originally Posted by tysok

Wow, you had to have dug long and hard to find this thread and revive it.

Such a dedicated McGriff fan deserves something.

Did they just announce he got in or something? It would be kind of funny considering I just voted on this poll and said NO

[tysok]

Originally Posted by jbergey22

Did they just announce he got in or something? It would be kind of funny considering I just voted on this poll and said NO

Nothing I know of.
I loved McGriff, definitely in my hall of very good. But I don't think I'd put him in the hall even if he'd been able to get his 500th.

[jbergey22]

Originally Posted by tysok

Nothing I know of.
I loved McGriff, definitely in my hall of very good. But I don't think I'd put him in the hall even if he'd been able to get his 500th.

Its unfortunate that the juicers are likely going to cost the crimedog the HOF.

[tysok]

Originally Posted by jbergey22

Its unfortunate that the juicers are likely going to cost the crimedog the HOF.

I would agree, but I don't think it's all just the juicers. There's a host of other things that have changed fairly recently that make HRs cheaper. Smaller stadiums, more teams and so talented pitching spread thinner, etc.

I have no doubt that the guys in the 60s and before (and who knows when it may have ever evened out) had to hit the ball farther to get a HR than players do now.

It's not proof of anything, since HRs don't just barely clear the fence, but I remember looking up such information for Bonds record HR year compared to McGwire's record HR year. McGwire had to hit the ball an average of 10 feet further than Bonds did... again, doesn't mean much since neither of them probably hit all that many HRs that just cleared the fence... but in that short period of change HRs were 10 feet cheaper (needed distance) for Bonds - although what price he actually paid (actual distance hit) is also out there somewhere. I wouldn't doubt that if I had looked up the information I would have found that McGwire's HRs were cheaper (needed distance) than Maris' were - although we know that McGwire overpaid on a lot of his (just as Bonds surely did).

It's all a vast conspiracy to inflate HR numbers from the top down. Willie Mays hit 20 HRs at home in 1956, that home was in the Polo Grounds. I don't where those HRs went, but if he got any souvenirs to a fan in CF he had to have hit it 480 or so feet... I think there were 1 or 2 during the HR derby that went that far, let alone a game against a professional pitcher who wouldn't have been throwing 95 mph.

In the Ruth era you had to hit it 380+ feet to get it out to left in some stadiums (Ebbets field) while places today (Houston) challenges a right hander to pull it a whole 315 feet.

They lowered the pitching mound after Gibson showed everyone how to pitch and when they decided that wasn't bulking offense up enough they decided to unofficially shrink the strike zone so the pitchers had to throw it in most batters wheelhouse in order to get a called strike.

McGriff benefitted by a lot of those changes that helped make the HR cheap... he just came along a little early to catch the band boxes they've been building recently.

[Prodigal Son]

McGriff, the #1 victim of the steroid generation.

(assuming he was clean)

[mirrf]

Originally Posted by Prodigal Son

McGriff, the #1 victim of the steroid generation.

(assuming he was clean)

Its a private poll, so I can't see how I voted. If I was voting today, I would say yes, but I don't know how I voted a few years ago. All I really know is that he deserves a heck of a lot better than the 20.7% he got in 2013.

[progen]

I voted No. Remember this quote by a former player(name escapes me)

The Hall of Fame is for the "best of the best", not the "best of the rest."

[Prodigal Son]

Originally Posted by progen

The Hall of Fame is for the "best of the best", not the "best of the rest."

Who are the best hitters from McGriff's time who haven't been linked to steroid use?

[AnotherAlias]

Originally Posted by mirrf

Its a private poll, so I can't see how I voted. If I was voting today, I would say yes, but I don't know how I voted a few years ago. All I really know is that he deserves a heck of a lot better than the 20.7% he got in 2013.

Look at the two answers in the results. Yes or No. Your vote was the one in italics.

Anyway, I think I voted yes because I met his wife in Tampa Bay, back in June of 1988, at a church. Would have met him as well, but he was on a road trip.

[mirrf]

Originally Posted by mirrf

Its a private poll, so I can't see how I voted. If I was voting today, I would say yes, but I don't know how I voted a few years ago. All I really know is that he deserves a heck of a lot better than the 20.7% he got in 2013.

Originally Posted by AnotherAlias

Look at the two answers in the results. Yes or No. Your vote was the one in italics.

Thanks.

I voted no a few years ago and now I wish I could change it. If he got to the magic 500 homers, he would most likely get in.

[Skipaway]

Originally Posted by Prodigal Son

Who are the best hitters from McGriff's time who haven't been linked to steroid use?

Best hitter born in the same year as McGriff: Edgar Martinez. Will Clark was born a few months later, and could be considered better also.

[AnotherAlias]

Bah! The troll that started this thread was banned. Probably can't even dunk a basketball.