COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. — Truth be told, Fred McGriff didn’t run into the Cubs’ open arms when they acquired him from the Devil Rays on July 27, 2001. They needed weeks to convince McGriff to leave his hometown team for a chance to deliver the Cubs their first World Series title since 1908.
At the All-Star break, Rays general manager Chuck LaMar told McGriff the team, then the worst in baseball, had a trade in place. McGriff, who had a full no-trade clause, pushed back on the deal.
“Come on, I need a few days,” McGriff said he told LaMar. “I’m getting ready to go on a vacation with my family.”
After the break, the Rays opened in Montreal. McGriff, still vacillating with the decision, became a target for fans who were aware of his situation. In a mostly empty Olympic Stadium, one made himself heard.
“There was this fan in the stands, and he was like, ‘Hey, Fred, look at the Cubbies, look at the scoreboard,’ ” McGriff said. “ ‘The Cubbies are winning, and you’re here with the Rays, and you’re losing.’ It was hilarious.”
In the end, McGriff’s issue wasn’t so much the family vacation as it was the no-trade clause and control of his future. He parlayed that into a new contract with the Cubs, who figured they had strengthened their hold on first place in the National League Central.
Of course, it wasn’t to be, and the Cubs missed the playoffs. But McGriff strengthened his case for the Hall of Fame with the Cubs in 2002 when he hit 30 home runs, becoming the oldest Cub to do so at 38. It was his 10th year with 30 homers. It also was his last full season.
On a stage Sunday with 48 Hall of Famers, including seven who played for the Cubs, McGriff became one after being voted in by the Contemporary Baseball Players Era Committee. He joined Scott Rolen, who was voted in by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America in his sixth year of eligibility.
“When your career is validated by former players and executives who saw you play, that’s as good as it gets,” McGriff said in his induction speech.
The “Crime Dog,” who passed on a logo for his plaque after a 19-year career with six teams, used a helicopter-like swing to hit 493 home runs. He likely would’ve broken 500 had injuries not derailed his 2003 season with the Dodgers, and that might’ve put him in the Hall sooner on a BBWAA ballot.
Nevertheless, he made it, and behind him on stage sat two general managers who traded for him: Pat Gillick with the Blue Jays — McGriff’s first major-league team after being drafted by the Yankees in 1981 — and John Schuerholz with the Braves. McGriff was the last piece to Schuerholz’s puzzle for a World Series winner, which the Braves finally became in 1995.
But McGriff said the best team he played on was the 1993 Braves, who trailed the Giants by nine games when McGriff debuted for them. They went on a heater, passed the Giants and won the National League West on the final day of the season with 104 wins.
“With [Tom] Glavine, [Greg] Maddux and [John] Smoltz pitching, plus [manager] Bobby Cox leading the way,” McGriff said. “Two years later, with a healthy Chipper Jones, it all came together, the proudest team moment of my career.”
After a slow start in rookie ball, McGriff said he improved his hitting after reading former White Sox hitting coach Charley Lau’s book, “The Art of Hitting .300.” McGriff said he read it cover to cover multiple times and it changed the trajectory of his career, putting him on a path even he didn’t see coming.
“My goal was simply to make it to the big leagues, and I exceeded every expectation I could ever imagine and then some,” McGriff said. “Honestly, I would’ve been happy just playing one day in the big leagues.”
