Former Cubs 1B Fred McGriff elected to Hall of Fame originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
Fred McGriff is headed to Cooperstown.
McGriff, the one-time Cubs first baseman and longtime big-league slugger, was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame on Sunday through the Contemporary Baseball Era ballot.
McGriff, who fell of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America ballot in 2019 (his 10th and final season of eligibility), was unanimously elected, receiving all 16 possible votes. Candidates need at least 75 percent of votes for election.
Nicknamed “The Crime Dog,” McGriff spent 1 1/2 of his 19 big-league seasons with the Cubs, coming over from the Tampa Bay Devil Rays at the 2001 trade deadline.
He hit .276/.361/.518 with 42 home runs and 144 RBIs in 195 games on the North Side, including .273/.353/.505 with 30 homers and 103 RBIs in 146 games in 2002.
Other than the Cubs, McGriff played five seasons with each of the Devil Rays, Braves and Blue Jays, three with the Padres and one with the Dodgers.
He hit 493 home runs, retiring tied with Lou Gehrig on the all-time leaderboard. He won the 1995 World Series with Atlanta, made five All-Star teams and earned three Silver Slugger Awards.
Of those on the 16-person voting panel, over a handful have Chicago baseball ties. The committee includes:
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Cubs Hall of Famers Greg Maddux, Ryne Sandberg and Lee Smith
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White Sox Hall of Famer Frank Thomas
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White Sox executive vice president Ken Williams
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Former Cubs president Theo Epstein
The National Baseball Hall of Fame will reveal the voting results for the 2023 writers’ ballot on Jan. 24.
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