I never saw Fred McGriff play in person. And yet, here he is in Fenway Park circa 1989-1990. A friend of mine used to have tickets about 20 rows behind home plate and I remember going to a number of games around that time. Nor did I ever really watch games that McGriff played in. My family, like everybody else who got cable, got all the Braves games on TBS. But that didn't mean I watched them. So then here's my question: Can I legitimately call McGriff my favorite player if I a) never saw him play in person and b) never made much of an effort to catch his games on TV? I think I'm safe.
McGriff fit what I was looking for in a baseball hero. To me, he was obscure. And if you know anything about my values system, obscurity ranks very high. Oh sure, he wasn't a face in the crowd to fans of the game. But ask a random person on the street who McGriff was and I'd bet nine out of ten wouldn't know. And yet, here's the funny thing: if McGriff had spent his career in a baseball mecca like Boston or New York, I'm completely convinced that his national presence would've rivaled that of Boggs, Mattingly or any other of his more famous contemporaries.
I saw him hit extensively while in San Diego. He hit the most monstrous moon shot hr's I had ever seen. You know the type, no doubters. He was indeed a great player.
ReplyDeleteI am enjoying your read on McGriff. I was him play at the Skydome. Like most great Jays of that pre-world series era very underated. Dave Steib, Tony Fernandez and Lloyd Mosby as well.
ReplyDeleteIts weird to me reading this because I go 2 school with his son right now in florida and his son is an awesome baseball player and when he told me who his dad was at first i did believe him but its fun!!
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