Atlanta Braves greatest all-time home run hitters
FRED McGRIFF. 18. player. 17. . .
Braves all-time home run hitters – No. 18: Fred McGriff
130 HR
In his day, Fred McGriff was quiet, unassuming, and would simply beat your team with his bat as one of the most feared lefty hitters of his generation.
His career spanned 19 seasons, and though he played for six different teams, don’t call him a “journeyman.” McGriff was a notable presence and a centerpiece in the lineup on every team he was with. Teams wanted his offensive firepower.
During this brilliant career, the Crime Dog amassed 493 homers with a .284 average, 134 OPS+, and 52.6 bWAR. A strike-shortened 1994 likely cost him the games needed to get to the 500 plateau.
The 1994 All-Star Game in Pittsburgh stands as a testimony on McGriff’s status at the time. He wasn’t elected as a starter, but was named to the club for the National League and told that his role would be as a situational hitter… just in case his league needed him.
They did. Down by a score of 7-5 going into the bottom of the 9th, the American League had future Hall of Famer Lee Smith on the mound to close out the game.
With a runner on, McGriff was inserted with a chance to tie the game. He did. Over the left-center field fence. The game was tied at 7-all.
The National League won in 10 innings, but it was McGriff being “the man” who set it up.
Starting with a Bang
McGriff was famously acquired from San Diego on July 19, 1993 for three minor leaguers as the Atlanta Braves were struggling to keep pace with the San Francisco Giants.
The aforementioned Gwynn was upset by the deal, and even let his feelings for the players acquired be known:
"“You trade somebody like Freddie McGriff, you expect to get some quality in return,” Gwynn said. “I’m frustrated. I can’t understand why we’re doing what we’re doing.”"
The next day, Atlanta Fulton County Stadium caught fire and so did the Atlanta Braves. But the presence of McGriff propelled his new team to prevail in an epic pennant race as the Braves caught the Giants and then passed them up on the last day of the regular season, 104 wins to 103.
McGriff whacked 19 home runs for Atlanta in that season’s second half, and he hit 130 overall from 1993 through the 1997 season.