#283 Fred McGriff
Here is another extremely cool Padrograph that Rod sent me. For me, this one is definitely in the top five out of all of the cards that he sent me. You can't beat the Crime Dog and his hat that sits high on his head.
McGriff is probably most famous for ending up 7 home runs shy of 500. I really thought that he was going to make it. In 2002, at the age of 38, Fred had a stellar year for the Cubs where he had 30 homers and 103 RBI. That was his sixth and final 100 RBI season for his 19-year career. But, his numbers fell dramatically the next season while with the Dodgers. He only had 13 homers and he average fell to .249, which was his lowest since his rookie season. The Dodgers let him go after the season and the Devil Rays signed him, hoping to add some excitement to their season as he closed in on 500. He started the season 9 home runs shy.
But, it wasn't meant to be. He only got into 27 games with the D-Rays and he hit only .181 with two homers. The Rays released him right before the trading deadline. He must have got hurt that year since he only played in 27 games throughout the first half of the season.
So, there he stands at 493, tied with Lou Gehrig.
I wrote to McGriff for some autographs back in November, but I still haven't received anything back.
That is one huge autograph.
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