The Contemporary Baseball Era Committee finally gathered on Sunday to decide the fate of several ballplayers regarding their MLB Hall of Fame chances.
16 people met to vote on whether players such as Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Curt Schilling, Fred McGriff, Don Mattingly, Dale Murphy, Albert Belle, and Rafael Palmeiro deserved to be enshrined.
To be elected, each candidate needed at least 12 yeses, the equivalent of 75 percent of the votes.
After the voting process, only one made it to the National Baseball Hall of Fame: “Crime Dog” Fred McGriff.
“Fred McGriff is headed to Cooperstown! He’s been elected to the @baseballhall by the Contemporary Baseball Era Players Committee,” MLB tweeted.
Fred McGriff is headed to Cooperstown! He’s been elected to the @baseballhall by the Contemporary Baseball Era Players Committee. pic.twitter.com/I9cmJ8SlXL
— MLB (@MLB) December 5, 2022
McGriff received 16 out of 16 votes (100 percent), so there was no question about his credentials.
He won the 1995 World Series with the Atlanta Braves and retired with a .284/.377/.509 line, 493 home runs, and 1,550 RBI.
McGriff took his talents to six different MLB franchises: the Toronto Blue Jays (1986–1990), the San Diego Padres (1991–1993), the Atlanta Braves (1993–1997), the Tampa Bay Devil Rays (1998–2001), the Chicago Cubs (2001–2002), the Los Angeles Dodgers (2003), and a final stint with the Devil Rays in 2004.
A Gifted Power Hitter
He was a slugging first baseman whose 134 career wRC+ indicates he was routinely above-average with the stick.
He had 2,490 hits, went to five All-Star Games (1992, 1994–1996, 2000), took home three Silver Slugger awards (1989, 1992, 1993), and was the league’s home run leader twice (1989, 1992).
His peak came in the late-1980s and early-1990s, when he was a lock to hit more than 30 home runs per season.
McGriff’s name hasn’t been tied to the use of performance-enhancing drugs, and he was a respected teammate.
Baseball writers didn’t deem him good enough to enter the Hall, but a committee of his peers, historians, analysts, and executives voted him unanimously.
McGriff is the newest member of the Hall of Fame, Class of 2023.
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