The announcement flashed across the scoreboard at Wrigley Field a few minutes before 3 p.m. Friday.
The final vote from Florida had been counted. Tampa Bay’s Fred McGriff had agreed to waive his no-trade clause to join the Cubs. A wave of cheers followed.
Nineteen days after the Cubs and Devil Rays agreed to swap McGriff for lightly regarded minor-leaguers Manny Aybar and Jason Smith, the veteran slugger finally decided that helping the Cubs chase a pennant beat staying close to his home in Tampa.
“I didn’t want to make a hasty decision,” McGriff said. “I knew I had time to think about it. I wanted to analyze things.”
While McGriff said all along that family issues were paramount, it appears that financial considerations also played a role.
All along Cubs general manager Andy MacPhail was willing to guarantee McGriff’s 2002 option year or let the 37-year-old first baseman depart via free agency. That’s still part of the deal.
MacPhail also agreed early in the process to boost McGriff’s 2002 salary from $6.75 million to $7.25 million.
In another attempt to accommodate McGriff, MacPhail agreed to a mutual option in 2003.
The Cubs either can pay him $8.5 million or buy him out for $500,000. Depending on the team’s decision, McGriff either could play for the Cubs or take the buyout and become a free agent.
“I wanted to construct a scenario where he controlled his own destiny,” MacPhail said.
That was clearly important to McGriff, who also was given a full no-trade clause as long as he remains with the Cubs.
“I had to think about everything as far as do I want to play and where do I want to play and how long do I want to play,” he said.
The Cubs went into this season figuring Hee Seop Choi would take over at first base in 2002. But an injury to his left wrist has slowed the power-hitting Korean since late May.
Choi is expected to return to Triple-A Iowa’s lineup next week, but team officials doubt he’ll be ready for the big leagues on Opening Day in 2002. By convincing McGriff to agree to the trade, the Cubs can be patient with Choi.
“That’s one of the reasons it was a good fit for us,” MacPhail said.
There are countless other reasons.
McGriff, a five-time All-Star who hit .318 with 19 homers and 61 RBIs in 97 games for the Devil Rays, will provide a presence that the Cubs’ lineup has lacked.
“He’s a legitimate [cleanup] hitter,” manager Don Baylor said. “He has hit in big lineups before with the Braves. He’s a clutch RBI guy.”
McGriff is scheduled to be in the Cubs’ lineup Sunday night, which means any roster changes to accommodate him don’t have to be made until then.
The Cubs have gotten subpar results from their five cleanup hitters this season. Matt Stairs, Ron Coomer, Sammy Sosa, Todd Hundley and Rondell White have combined to bat .240 with 14 homers and 68 RBIs in that spot.
Stairs is hitting .215 in July and hasn’t homered since June 24.
Sosa has been walked intentionally 27 times this season, the most of any player in baseball and two shy of the club’s all-time record.
In 1998, the year he hit 66 homers, opposing pitchers intentionally walked him 14 times. He is on pace for 43 this year.
“Sammy’s probably the happiest of everyone,” Delino DeShields said.
DeShields was right.
“That’s an unbelievable move for the whole ballclub,” Sosa said. “We needed a guy like that. Every time they walk me intentionally, I’m on base and hoping someone can hit a double and I can score. But now it’s going to be different.”
Two other factors made the deal appear lopsided. The Cubs will receive $1 million from the Devil Rays if McGriff remains in Chicago next season.
And as for the players the Cubs gave up, the 26-year-old Aybar had been outrighted to Triple-A in June.
And Smith, technically a player to be named because he’s on the disabled list with a hamstring injury, was batting .233 at Iowa with 19 errors in 70 games.
“The more we evaluated,” MacPhail said, “the more it became clear to us that this was our best option.”
Fred McGriff at a glance
By joining the Cubs lineup, Fred McGriff brings more than a powerful bat to a team that can use one. Even in the latter stages of his career, McGriff’s statistics show he is far from finished.
THE TRADES
1982: New York Yankees to Toronto
With Dave Collins and Mike Morgan for Dale Murray and Tom Dodd.
1991: Toronto to San Diego
With Tony Fernandez for Roberto Alomar and Joe Carter.
1993: San Diego to Atlanta
For minor league prospects Melvin Nieves, Vincent Moore and Donnie Elliott.
1998: Atlanta to Tampa Bay
Exchange for cash considerations.
2001: Tampa Bay to CUBS
For Manny Aybar and a player to be named.
PROFILE
Name: Frederick Stanley McGriff
Born: 10-31-63
Bats: Left
Throws: Left
Height: 6’3″
Weight: 215
Birthplace: Tampa
Residence: Tampa
Family: Wife, Veronica
Children, Erick and Ericka
%% THROUGH THE YEARS
A look at McGriff’s career batting statistics:
YEAR TEAM G AB R H HR RBI BB SO SB OBP SLG AVG
1986 Tor. 3 5 1 1 0 0 0 2 0 .200 .200 .200
1987 Tor. 107 295 54 73 20 43 60 104 3 .376 .505 .247
1988 Tor. 154 536 100 151 34 82 79 149 6 .376 .552 .282
1989 Tor. 161 551 98 148 36 92 119 132 7 .399 .525 .269
1990 Tor. 153 557 91 167 35 88 94 108 5 .400 .530 .300
1991 S.D. 153 528 84 147 31 106 105 135 4 .396 .494 .278
1992 S.D. 152 531 79 152 35 104 96 108 8 .394 .556 .286
1993 S.D./Atl. 151 557 111 162 37 101 76 106 5 .375 .549 .291
1994 Atl. 113 424 81 135 34 94 50 76 7 .389 .623 .318
1995 Atl. 144 528 85 148 27 93 65 99 3 .361 .489 .280
1996 Atl. 159 617 81 182 28 107 68 116 7 .365 .494 .295
1997 Atl. 152 564 77 156 22 97 68 112 5 .356 .441 .277
1998 T.B. 151 564 73 160 19 81 79 118 7 .371 .443 .284
1999 T.B. 144 559 75 164 32 104 86 107 1 .405 .552 .310
2000 T.B. 158 566 82 157 27 106 91 120 2 .373 .452 .277
2001 T.B. 97 343 40 109 19 61 40 69 1 .387 .536 .318
Career totals 2152 7695 1212 2212 436 1359 1176 1661 71 .381 .513 .287
MCGRIFF AT WRIGLEY FIELD
AVG. AB H HR RBI
Totals .301 136 41 6 26
%%
THE HIGHLIGHTS
1987: Set the Toronto club record for most home runs by a rookie with 20.
1988: Led American League first basemen in fielding with a .997 average. Finished second in AL in home runs, slugging and extra-base hits.
1989: Led AL in home runs despite not hitting one in his last 24 games.
1990: Hit .300 for the first time in his career, was hitting .268 on July 30, but batted .345 (79-229) over the final 60 games.
1992: Selected by fans to start at first base in the All-Star Game at San Diego
1993: Sparked the Braves to a 104-win season upon his arrival from San Diego on July 20. The Braves went 51-17 with McGriff on board.
1994: Named MVP of the All-Star Game helping the NL to an 8-7, 10-inning win.
1996: Became the 71st player in major league history to reach the 300-homer mark.
1997: His two RBIs on Sept. 17 vs. San Francisco put him over 1,000 for his career.
1999: Became the 2nd player in MLB history to hit 30 home runs with 4 different teams.
2000: Became 2nd player in MLB history to hit 200+ home runs in each league.
Chicago Tribune.
Teammates with 400 HRs
%% PLAYERS YEAR
Willie Mays, Duke Snider, SF 1964
Hank Aaron, Eddie Matthews, ATL 1966
Eddie Murray, Dave Winfield, CLE 1995
Jose Canseco, Fred McGriff, TB 2000
Fred McGriff, Sammy Sosa, CUBS 2001
%%
