Last Monday, I featured future HOF inductee Scott Rolen. It’s only fitting that this week, we take a look at Fred McGriff who was elected to the Hall of Fame by the Contemporary Baseball Era Committee in December.
Specifically, let’s look at McGriff’s 1994 card provided again by William Abraham.
While McGriff’s playing time in 1994 was a bit limited (113 games and 424 at-bats), it was hardly his fault. The 1994 season was plagued by the MLBPA players’ strike which suspended the season in mid-August. McGriff still managed to hit 34 homeruns and drove home 94 runs.
As a smooth-fielding firstbaseman, Crime Dog batted a nifty .318 for the Braves with 25 doubles. McGriff even stole seven bases.
| Split | G | PA | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | BA | OBP | SLG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 Totals | 113 | 478 | 424 | 81 | 135 | 25 | 1 | 34 | 94 | 7 | 50 | 76 | .318 | .389 | .623 |
Fred McGriff 1994 card brings power, hitting and defense to the table… and a little bit of speed. With 25 doubles, he has double columns and a 44-0. Of course, his 34 homeruns in a short season is more than enough to receive double ones. Crime Dog gets power numbers 1-1-0-0-0.
With a .318 batting average, that was enough to garner a 55-7 too.
His seven steals could have warranted a 15-10. However, the APBA cardmakers probably saw there was room in his second column for singles so they planted some 11s there instead. Six to be exact. I actually went to Steve’s APBA-compatible Card Computer and forced it create a single column for 1994 McGriff. It’s much tastier.
His card is rated as 1B-4 which is pretty darn solid. Last I checked, the Master Game considers that Fielding One. He is NOT rated as a slow baserunner which is not bad considering he’s a firstbaseman, a slugger and in his 30s at the time. Looking at his MG Sp rating of 6, it looks like he just missed getting a (S) rating for the Basic Game.
The only big knock I have on this card is the dearth of 14s. Fred only has two which is pretty low for a slugging first baseman like him.
I always wondered if Fred McGriff would get into the Hall of Fame. It seemed strange to think about McGriff in the HOF… until you looked at his stats. He is currently 29th all-time in homeruns and at the time of his retirement, he was probably a lot higher than that. His total of 1550 career rbis is a worthy stat too.
I think not attaching himself to one particular team hurt his chances with the BBWAA.
I am new to APBA. Although I (think I) understand “Crime Dog gets power numbers 1-1-0-0-0”, why is there no reference to the six 1s in the second column? Aren’t his second column homeruns a function of (a) how often he can get to the second column (3/36) times (b) the second column opportunities (6/36)?
The first column ones are referenced because they are instant home runs, where you still have to get the second column 1, which only has a 16% chance of being reached on this card.
Looking at this card, you are far more likely to get a double than a home run, but with the 44-0 you are going to get a LOT of them, which isn’t a bad thing since he isn’t slow.
3/36 (8% chance to get to the second column and get another roll) and (6/36) for the HR, correct?
Correct
Hi Tom!
“With 25 doubles, he has double columns and a 55-0… ” I think you meant 44-0.
Keep up the great work!
Thanks as always, Dan!