Top-5 Blue Jays that deserved a longer Hall of Fame look

#2 Fred McGriff
Best Ballot Year 23.9 %
Years on Ballot – 6 so far

The Crime Dog always seemed to come up big whenever his team needed him, mostly known for handing out punishment to opposing pitchers as he was one of the best offensive forces during his generation. Over his 19 year career he would rake, with eight seasons of over 100 RBI and 10 seasons with at least 30 homers. The amazing thing about McGriff was that, regardless of the ability to drive in runs, he was also a premier hitter for his time. The consistent stroke of McGriff found him batting in the area off a .300 average, 25+ homers, and 90+ RBI’s year in and year out.

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McGriff played on 6 teams after being traded to the Padres in the Joe Carter/ Roberto Alomar trade.  As an established high-end player he really hit his stride with the Atlanta Braves and helped lead the team to the playoffs for years. In 1995 he would help get the Braves to the World Series where they would eventually win against the Cleveland Indians. McGriff would hit 4 homers and drive in 9 while pounding out 19 hits in the 14 total games. McGriff  excelled in the postseason spotlight, where he hit .303 with 10 homers and 31 RBI over 50 games.

McGriff is a 5 time All Star and 3 time Silver Slugger at First Base. Over 19 seasons he collected a 52.4 WAR

McGriff’s career resume includes a .284 Batting Average, 441 doubles, 493 homers, and 1550 RBIs

Comparable Players that got more consideration for the Hall of Fame would be Jeff Bagwell.  Bagwell had a magnificent 15 year career and was one of the best first basemen of a generation. If you look at the total numbers it is interesting how close the two are. If you ignore the fact that Bagwell won an MVP award and a Gold Glove award the rest of their resumes look close. Mcgriff played in 5 All Star games and Bagwell played in 4 and they both won 3 Silver Slugger awards. Their career numbers in batting average, homers, and RBI’s are nearly identical but Bagwell has seen a higher percentage of the vote in his 5 years so far on the ballot. Thus far, Bagwell’s best ballot was 2013 with 59.6%.

Next: Number 1: Del GOT IT!