Frederick Stanley McGriff (born October 31, 1963) is an American former professional baseball first baseman, who played for six Major League Baseball (MLB) teams from 1986 through 2004. A power-hitting first baseman, he became a five-time All-Star and led both leagues in home runs in separate years – the American League in 1989 and the National League in 1992. McGriff finished his career with 493 home runs, tied with Hall of Fame player Lou Gehrig, and only seven homers away from joining the 500 home run club. He won a World Series title as a first baseman with the Atlanta Braves in 1995. He currently works in the Atlanta Braves\' front office as Special Assistant to Baseball Operations.\n', '

McGriff\'s nickname, "Crime Dog", created by sports broadcaster Chris Berman, is a play on McGruff, a cartoon dog created for American police to raise children\'s awareness on crime prevention. At first, McGriff stated he would prefer "Fire Dog" (a reference to a fire in the press-box of Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium the day the Braves acquired him from the Padres; symbolically, the then-slumping Braves "caught fire" and ended up winning their division), but since has stated that he is fond of the nickname.\n', '

McGriff was born in Tampa, Florida. His mother, Eliza, was a schoolteacher and his father, Earl, was an electronics repairman. As a child, he hung out at Al Lopez Field during Cincinnati Reds spring training and worked as a vendor at Tampa Stadium.\n', '

Return to Fred McGriff Autograph Profile