MLB history: The 10 greatest games of Hall of Famer Fred McGriff
By Bill Felber
9. Sept. 20, 1998, Blue Jays, 7, Devil Rays 5. McGriff was the DH for the expansion Devil Rays, having been purchased from the Braves the previous November. This game also went extra innings (12 of them) and again McGriff’s team lost through no fault of his. After drawing a first-inning walk, McGriff drove in Tampa Bay’s first run with a third-inning base hit off Roy Halladay.
He walked again in the fifth and singled in the seventh, both leading to no damage. But McGriff did plenty of damage in the bottom of the ninth, when his leadoff home run off Robert Person tied the game 5-5 and sent it into extra innings. Win Probability Added: +0.521.
8. July 16, 1994, Braves 7, Marlins 5.The Braves and Montreal Expos were deadlocked atop the NL East in the pennant race that never ended. Atlanta trailed 4-3 when Tony Tarasco opened the bottom of the seventh with a two-base hit and Roberto Kelly followed with a single. Two outs later, McGriff came to the plate facing left-handed reliever Yorkis Perez.
He worked the count to 2-2 before unloading on a pitch and sending it deep into the right-center field seats at Turner Field. The three run home run put Atlanta ahead 6-4, a margin that relievers Mike Stanton, Steve Bedrosian and Greg McMichael would protect through the final six outs. Win Probability Added: +0.550.
7. April 22, 2000, Tampa Bay 11, Anaheim 9. McGriff saved two of his best efforts for the 2000 Angels, the first of those a 10-inning thriller coming in mid-April at Tropicana. Stationed at first base, McGriff followed Greg Vaughn’s fourth-inning walk with a home run over the center field wall, tying the game 3-3.
The game was still tied, this time at 6-6, when McGriff came up in the home half of the seventh. His second home run, a three-run shot, cleared the right field wall. But Anaheim fought back to tie the game 9-9 and send it into extra innings. McGriff led off the bottom of the 10th with a line single, setting up Bubba Trammell’s walk-off home run. Win Probability Added: +0.632.