10 reasons McGriff's HOF case is overlooked

This browser does not support the video element.

Travel back in time, for a moment, to the conclusion of the 1994 season. While tensions were rife amid the player strike, Braves first baseman Fred McGriff had just wrapped up another stellar campaign in which he recorded a 1.012 OPS with 34 home runs and 94 RBIs.
McGriff placed eighth in National League Most Valuable Player Award voting that fall, marking his sixth top-10 finish in as many seasons. Those 34 homers gave him a career total of 262, the third most of any player since he debuted in 1986. At this moment in time, there weren't many sluggers more feared than "The Crime Dog," and McGriff seemed like a pretty sure bet to reach the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
What happened next was out of McGriff's control. Baseball's highest-scoring era since the 1930s was underway, unleashing a level of offense that would change the record books forever. While McGriff maintained his steady production for many more years, he wound up being somewhat left behind. Now, in his second-to-last year of eligibility on the Baseball Writers' Association of America Hall of Fame ballot, McGriff is currently tracking below 20 percent on public ballots -- far from the necessary 75 percent needed for election.
McGriff ranks among the more unfortunate Hall candidates in recent memory in terms of the timing of his career. While his resumé will likely be passed on to the Veterans Committee, it's worth remembering where McGriff stood at the time of his peak, along with how quickly his candidacy turned amid baseball's changing landscape. Below are 10 facts you should know while evaluating McGriff's case for Cooperstown.
• McGriff finished his career with 493 home runs, tied with the legendary Lou Gehrig. Two decades ago, hitting 500 home runs, or close to it, equaled near-automatic consideration for the Hall. In fact, had McGriff retired with 493 homers in 1995, he would have been tied with Gehrig for 15th-most all-time. When McGriff actually retired in 2004, he had dropped all the way down to a tie for 26th.

This browser does not support the video element.

• McGriff captured two league home-run titles in his career, and as it turns out, they marked the end of an era. After capturing the American League homer title with 36 for the Blue Jays in 1989, McGriff sealed the NL crown with 35 for the Padres in '92. No league home-run champion has hit fewer than 36 home runs since then, and, in fact, the homer kings have averaged 48.5 dingers over the quarter-century since McGriff's second crown. The introduction of performance-enhancing drugs, in parallel step with a greater offensive environment, simply changed the expectations of a home-run champ.
• McGriff became the first player in the Live Ball Era (dating back to 1920) to win a home-run crown in each league when he captured the NL title in '92. True to the theme of McGriff's career, however, Mark McGwire equaled the feat with his then-record 70-homer season for the Cardinals six years later.
• McGriff's 34 home runs during the strike-shortened 1994 campaign made him just the ninth player to knock 30-plus homers in seven consecutive seasons. The eight players who did it before McGriff were some of the most renowned sluggers in history: Hank Aaron, Jimmie Foxx, Gehrig, Ralph Kiner, Mickey Mantle, Eddie Mathews, Babe Ruth and Mike Schmidt. Other inner-circle Hall of Famers like Willie Mays, Joe DiMaggio and Ted Williams never reached the 30-homer plateau with such consistency.
Meanwhile, 13 players have put up runs of seven consecutive 30-homer seasons since 1995, with Edwin Encarnación poised to become the 14th if he hits at least 30 dingers again this year. McGriff's streak was a historic marker of consistency at the time, but it became much more commonplace after he achieved it.

This browser does not support the video element.

• McGriff's power traveled throughout his career. Involved in four trades, McGriff belted 30-plus homers for five different ballclubs (Blue Jays, Braves, Cubs, Rays and Padres). Gary Sheffield is the only other player with a 30-plus-homer season for five teams.
• Spending time in both circuits, McGriff averaged 35 home runs per season and compiled a .935 OPS during a seven-year stretch from 1988-94. Incredibly, McGriff placed in his league's top five in both home runs and OPS in each of those seven campaigns. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, only four other players can claim a run of seven straight seasons in which they finished within the top five of their league's homer and OPS lists at the same time: Gehrig, Mantle, Ruth (twice) and Schmidt.
• McGriff's 134 OPS+, which normalizes a player's OPS for the external factors (ballparks, offensive environment, etc.) around him, is tied for 61st in modern history among players with at least 7,000 plate appearances. However, 22 players -- or more than one-third of those ranked above McGriff in OPS+ -- began their careers in 1986 or later. Had McGriff retired in '86, instead of making his Major League debut, he would have been tied for 38th on the all-time OPS+ list.
• McGriff debuted in the same season as Barry Bonds, McGwire and Rafael Palmeiro, three players who either failed a sanctioned test for performance-enhancing drugs, admitted to using them or were strongly linked to them during their careers. Through each player's age-30 seasons, McGriff ranked second to Bonds in that quartet in both home runs and Baseball-Reference's Wins Above Replacement. McGriff continued to produce as he aged, totaling 231 homers and 15.9 bWAR after his age-30 season. However, those totals pale in comparison to the incredible second-half careers of Bonds (470 home runs, 88.7 bWAR), McGwire (345, 34.2) and Palmeiro (375, 35.7).

This browser does not support the video element.

• Runs created is an advanced statistic created by Bill James that estimates a player's offensive contributions in terms of total runs. McGriff created 1,054 runs by this metric from 1988-97, and only Bonds (1,320) created more runs during that decade-long time span.
• Looking for postseason moments? McGriff had plenty. According to STATS, McGriff's career .912 OPS in postseason play ranks 12th highest among more than 150 players who logged at least 150 plate appearances in October. That OPS slots in above a host of recognized postseason heroes, including Mickey Mantle (.908), Reggie Jackson (.885), Willie Stargell (.871), Derek Jeter (.838) and Yogi Berra (.811).
McGriff didn't build that resumé with just one hot autumn; he slugged at least .600 in six different postseason series, including all three of the Braves' postseason matchups on their way to the 1995 World Series title. He recorded an OPS above .750 in eight different series.

More from MLB.com

seductrice.net
universo-virtual.com
buytrendz.net
thisforall.net
benchpressgains.com
qthzb.com
mindhunter9.com
dwjqp1.com
secure-signup.net
ahaayy.com
tressesindia.com
puresybian.com
krpano-chs.com
cre8workshop.com
hdkino.org
peixun021.com
qz786.com
utahperformingartscenter.org
worldqrmconference.com
shangyuwh.com
eejssdfsdfdfjsd.com
playminecraftfreeonline.com
trekvietnamtour.com
your-business-articles.com
essaywritingservice10.com
hindusamaaj.com
joggingvideo.com
wandercoups.com
wormblaster.net
tongchengchuyange0004.com
internetknowing.com
breachurch.com
peachesnginburlesque.com
dataarchitectoo.com
clientfunnelformula.com
30pps.com
cherylroll.com
ks2252.com
prowp.net
webmanicura.com
sofietsshotel.com
facetorch.com
nylawyerreview.com
apapromotions.com
shareparelli.com
goeaglepointe.com
thegreenmanpubphuket.com
karotorossian.com
publicsensor.com
taiwandefence.com
epcsur.com
southstills.com
tvtv98.com
thewellington-hotel.com
bccaipiao.com
colectoresindustrialesgs.com
shenanddcg.com
capriartfilmfestival.com
replicabreitlingsale.com
thaiamarinnewtoncorner.com
gkmcww.com
mbnkbj.com
andrewbrennandesign.com
cod54.com
luobinzhang.com
faithfirst.net
zjyc28.com
tongchengjinyeyouyue0004.com
nhuan6.com
kftz5k.com
oldgardensflowers.com
lightupthefloor.com
bahamamamas-stjohns.com
ly2818.com
905onthebay.com
fonemenu.com
notanothermovie.com
ukrainehighclassescort.com
meincmagazine.com
av-5858.com
yallerdawg.com
donkeythemovie.com
corporatehospitalitygroup.com
boboyy88.com
miteinander-lernen.com
dannayconsulting.com
officialtomsshoesoutletstore.com
forsale-amoxil-amoxicillin.net
generictadalafil-canada.net
guitarlessonseastlondon.com
lesliesrestaurants.com
mattyno9.com
nri-homeloans.com
rtgvisas-qatar.com
salbutamolventolinonline.net
sportsinjuries.info
wedsna.com
rgkntk.com
bkkmarketplace.com
zxqcwx.com
breakupprogram.com
boxcardc.com
unblockyoutubeindonesia.com
fabulousbookmark.com
beat-the.com
guatemala-sailfishing-vacations-charters.com
magie-marketing.com
kingstonliteracy.com
guitaraffinity.com
eurelookinggoodapparel.com
howtolosecheekfat.net
marioncma.org
oliviadavismusic.com
shantelcampbellrealestate.com
shopleborn13.com
topindiafree.com
v-visitors.net
djjky.com
053hh.com
originbluei.com
baucishotel.com
33kkn.com
intrinsiqresearch.com
mariaescort-kiev.com
mymaguk.com
sponsored4u.com
crimsonclass.com
bataillenavale.com
searchtile.com
ze-stribrnych-struh.com
zenithalhype.com
modalpkv.com
bouisset-lafforgue.com
useupload.com
37r.net
autoankauf-muenster.com
bantinbongda.net
bilgius.com
brabustermagazine.com
indigrow.org
miicrosofts.net
mysmiletravel.com
selinasims.com
spellcubesapp.com
usa-faction.com
hypoallergenicdogsnames.com
dailyupdatez.com
foodphotographyreviews.com
cricutcom-setup.com
chprowebdesign.com
katyrealty-kanepa.com
tasramar.com
bilgipinari.org
four-am.com
indiarepublicday.com
inquick-enbooks.com
iracmpi.com
kakaschoenen.com
lsm99flash.com
nana1255.com
ngen-niagara.com
technwzs.com
virtualonlinecasino1345.com
wallpapertop.net
casino-natali.com
iprofit-internet.com
denochemexicana.com
eventhalfkg.com
medcon-taiwan.com
life-himawari.com
myriamshomes.com
nightmarevue.com
healthandfitnesslives.com
androidnews-jp.com
allstarsru.com
bestofthebuckeyestate.com
bestofthefirststate.com
bestwireless7.com
britsmile.com
declarationintermittent.com
findhereall.com
jingyou888.com
lsm99deal.com
lsm99galaxy.com
moozatech.com
nuagh.com
patliyo.com
philomenamagikz.net
rckouba.net
saturnunipessoallda.com
tallahasseefrolics.com
thematurehardcore.net
totalenvironment-inthatquietearth.com
velislavakaymakanova.com
vermontenergetic.com
kakakpintar.com
begorgeouslady.com
1800birks4u.com
2wheelstogo.com
6strip4you.com
bigdata-world.net
emailandco.net
gacapal.com
jharpost.com
krishnaastro.com
lsm99credit.com
mascalzonicampani.com
sitemapxml.org
thecityslums.net
topagh.com
flairnetwebdesign.com
rajasthancarservices.com
bangkaeair.com
beneventocoupon.com
noternet.org
oqtive.com
smilebrightrx.com
decollage-etiquette.com
1millionbestdownloads.com
7658.info
bidbass.com
devlopworldtech.com
digitalmarketingrajkot.com
fluginfo.net
naqlafshk.com
passion-decouverte.com
playsirius.com
spacceleratorintl.com
stikyballs.com
top10way.com
yokidsyogurt.com
zszyhl.com
16firthcrescent.com
abogadolaboralistamd.com
apk2wap.com
aromacremeria.com
banparacard.com
bosmanraws.com
businessproviderblog.com
caltonosa.com
calvaryrevivalchurch.org
chastenedsoulwithabrokenheart.com
cheminotsgardcevennes.com
cooksspot.com
cqxzpt.com
deesywig.com
deltacartoonmaps.com
despixelsetdeshommes.com
duocoracaobrasileiro.com
fareshopbd.com
goodpainspills.com
hemendekor.com
kobisitecdn.com
makaigoods.com
mgs1454.com
piccadillyresidences.com
radiolaondafresca.com
rubendorf.com
searchengineimprov.com
sellmyhrvahome.com
shugahouseessentials.com
sonihullquad.com
subtractkilos.com
valeriekelmansky.com
vipasdigitalmarketing.com
voolivrerj.com
zeelonggroup.com
1015southrockhill.com
10x10b.com
111-online-casinos.com
191cb.com
3665arpentunitd.com
aitesonics.com
bag-shokunin.com
brightotech.com
communication-digitale-services.com
covoakland.org
dariaprimapack.com
freefortniteaccountss.com
gatebizglobal.com
global1entertainmentnews.com
greatytene.com
hiroshiwakita.com
iktodaypk.com
jahatsakong.com
meadowbrookgolfgroup.com
newsbharati.net
platinumstudiosdesign.com
slotxogamesplay.com
strikestaruk.com
trucosdefortnite.com
ufabetrune.com
weddedtowhitmore.com
12940brycecanyonunitb.com
1311dietrichoaks.com
2monarchtraceunit303.com
601legendhill.com
850elaine.com
adieusolasomade.com
andora-ke.com
bestslotxogames.com
cannagomcallen.com
endlesslyhot.com
iestpjva.com
ouqprint.com
pwmaplefest.com
qtylmr.com
rb88betting.com
buscadogues.com
1007macfm.com
born-wild.com
growthinvests.com
promocode-casino.com
proyectogalgoargentina.com
wbthompson-art.com
whitemountainwheels.com
7thavehvl.com
developmethis.com
funkydogbowties.com
travelodgegrandjunction.com
gao-town.com
globalmarketsuite.com
blogshippo.com
hdbka.com
proboards67.com
outletonline-michaelkors.com
kalkis-research.com
thuthuatit.net
buckcash.com
hollistercanada.com
docterror.com
asadart.com
vmayke.org
erwincomputers.com
dirimart.org
okkii.com
loteriasdecehegin.com
mountanalog.com
healingtaobritain.com
ttxmonitor.com
nwordpress.com
11bolabonanza.com