Fred McGriff crushed 493 home runs playing for six different MLB teams.
So when the player affectionately nicknamed “Crime Dog” was voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in December, speculation started about which team logo he would choose for his plaque in Cooperstown.
McGriff ended the drama Friday, telling MLB.com he will not have a team logo on his plaque.
“At each stop, I was lucky to be a part of memorable teams and to play in front of some of the best fans in baseball,” McGriff told MLB.com.
“In discussing my career with the Hall of Fame, we decided that with no logo on my plaque, I can equally represent these cities and the incredible fans in Toronto, where I got my start, Atlanta, where we won the World Series, and my hometown of Tampa Bay, as well as my time in San Diego. I can’t wait to see my plaque when it’s unveiled this July in Cooperstown.”
McGriff, 59, got his start with the Toronto Blue Jays, and went on to play with the San Diego Padres, Atlanta Braves, Tampa Bay, Chicago Cubs and Los Angeles Dodgers.
Aside from his five All-Star selections, McGriff is almost better known to many fans for his iconic appearance in an old commercial for Baseball World’s Defensive Drills video, which featured Tom Emanski, then a scout.
That, of course, led some fans to joke McGriff’s HOF logo decision should have been easy.
If he can't choose between teams, there's no excuse to not go down the Tom Emanski hat road https://t.co/p4P9GRdyda
— Michael Dixon (@mfdixon1985) February 18, 2023
He needs to go in with the Tom Emanski hat. https://t.co/xFbWDpTDnh
— Matt Clapp (@TheBlogfines) December 5, 2022
Somewhere, @realTomEmanski has a single tear streaming down his cheek… https://t.co/Mah9iUwxEJ
— Keith Leventhal (@KeithLeventhal) February 18, 2023
[MLB.com]
