McGriff's Hall of Fame journey began with Blue Jays

SAN DIEGO -- Finally, Fred McGriff got the call.

One of the most important figures in Blue Jays history, “Crime Dog” was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame on Sunday with a unanimous vote from the Contemporary Baseball Era Players Committee, ending a long debate with McGriff finding his rightful home.

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McGriff’s candidacy stretched a decade on the BBWAA ballot, from 2010-19, but he never received more than the 39.8 percent support he got in his final year, well short of the 75 percent required for election. That discussion never stopped, though, with appreciation only growing for the great first baseman who launched 493 home runs over 19 Major League seasons, which all began in Toronto.

What many Blue Jays fans remember most, though, is how it ended. On Dec. 5, 1990, after years of failing to get over the top, Toronto dealt McGriff and star shortstop Tony Fernandez to the Padres for Joe Carter and Roberto Alomar, who helped the organization win back-to-back World Series championships in ’92 and ’93.

It’s the single biggest transaction in the history of this franchise. The next morning, the Toronto Star called it “baseball’s deal of the decade.” Looking back, though, McGriff has a deep appreciation for how his career started.

“Jesse Barfield called me [Sunday], and we were talking about old times,” McGriff said Monday. “They taught me how to play the game. [Lloyd] Moseby, Barfield, Willie Upshaw, they were just good people. They brought me up. It was great, because Cito Gaston ended up being a manager. When I started, I hit against right-handed pitchers, and Cecil Fielder played against lefties. They hit us seven and eight, so it was great for us to break in that way.”

Yes, the trade worked. But at the time, the Blue Jays were dealing a 26-year-old superstar who seemed like a lock for 35 home runs and a .900-plus OPS each season. It was a seismic shift, and over the next 14 seasons with five other organizations, McGriff built himself into a Hall of Famer.

McGriff wasn’t always headed in that direction, though. He was a ninth-round Draft pick of the Yankees in 1981 out of Jefferson High School in Tampa, Fla. And even after he put up a nice season as an 18-year-old in Rookie ball with the Yankees, McGriff’s trade to the Blue Jays as a prospect in ’82 wasn’t exactly viewed as a franchise-altering move.

“For me to have the opportunity to get traded to the Blue Jays, it gave me a lot of hope,” McGriff said. “As a young player, I just wanted to play in the big leagues. It doesn’t have to be with this team or that team. Playing with the Blue Jays just gave me an opportunity.”

This was part of the philosophy McGriff took into his playing career, centered on a gratitude that spilled out of him Monday in San Diego as he slid on his Hall of Fame jersey and cap.

Getting this call was a dream for McGriff, but this whole journey started with much smaller goals.

“For me, growing up here in Tampa, I got cut from my high school team in 10th grade,” McGriff said. “For me, just to play one day in the big leagues, I exceeded all expectations. For me, every day, I wanted to go hard. I set goals every year. Hit your 30 homers. Five good swings a month, that’s all you’ve got to do.”

McGriff climbed the ladder with Toronto, playing with Class A Kinston and Florence, Double-A Knoxville and Triple-A Syracuse. He had a cup of coffee with the big club in 1986 before his full debut in ’87, when he quickly became a cornerstone of some stacked lineups featuring the likes of Barfield, Fernandez, Moseby, George Bell and Kelly Gruber.

This past Sunday, while he waited for the announcement, McGriff tried to keep a regular schedule by going to church, taking a walk and settling in to watch football. By announcement time, he was watching with his wife, daughter and a glass of wine when the phone rang.

“I've been totally blessed over the years,” McGriff said. “This is just icing on the cake. And for it to be unanimous, it's a beautiful thing.”

McGriff is the ninth player to be elected to the Hall of Fame after playing for the Blue Jays, a list that includes Roy Halladay, Jack Morris, Frank Thomas, Roberto Alomar, Rickey Henderson, Paul Molitor, Dave Winfield and Phil Niekro.