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Home , Alcides Escobar, Andrelton Simmons, Dale Murray, Dave Collins, First baseman, Fred McGriff

Braves Clippings Friday, October 30, 2015 Braves.com

Simmons vying for 3rd straight Gold Glove

By Mark Bowman / MLB.com | @mlbbowman | October 29th, 2015

ATLANTA -- It has been easy to assume might gain the same unique defensive distinction earned by fellow Curacao native , who won 10 consecutive Gold Glove Awards while he was playing for the Braves.

Simmons has won a after each of his first two full seasons at the Major League level. But his bid for a third consecutive year will depend on how managers and coaches compared his defensive prowess to that possessed by San Francisco's and Miami's Adeiny Hechavarria.

Simmons, Crawford and Hechavarria are the three finalists selected to win the Gold Glove for NL this season. The winners will be announced during a one-hour show that will air on ESPN on Nov. 10 at 7 p.m. ET.

Each and as many as six coaches from every staff cast their votes in September, with the stipulation that they could not vote for their own players. This is the second year, Rawlings has used a sabermetric component to account for 25 percent of the vote selection total.

Simmons led all NL shortstops in (25), (17.3) and ' Defensive Runs Above Average (23.9), which accounts for fielding runs and positional adjustment. Hechavarria had a slight advantage (17.7 to 17.5) over the Braves in the UZR/150 category.

Since making his Major League debut during the 2012 season, Simmons has established himself as one of 's most exciting defensive players. Had he not been injured a month into his rookie season, he might currently be bidding for a fourth consecutive Gold Glove Award.

Simmons has been awarded a Major League-best 94 DRS since the start of the 2013 season. Former Braves ranks second with 69. Cincinnati's and Crawford are tied for second among NL shortstops during this span with 30.

If Simmons wins a third consecutive Gold Glove Award, he could also capture the Platinum Glove Award for the second time in three years. This honor is given to the player fans deem to be the game's top overall defender.

Atlanta Journal-Constitution

WHATEVER HAPPENED TO … FRED McGRIFF

By I.J. Rosenberg - For the AJC

What he did: One-time Braves and Fred McGriff, or “Crime Dog’’ as he was named by ESPN’s , is really a statistical wonder.

While he didn’t reach the 500-home plateau, which seems to be a lock to get players into the Baseball Hall of Fame, he led both leagues in home runs, the in 1989 and the National League in 1992.

His 493 career home runs ties him with the great and he is only one of two players (other is former Braves ) to at least 30 homers in one season for five different teams.

Can you guess who the fifth team was? The Braves, Toronto, San Diego and Tampa Bay are obvious. The other was with the Cubs in 2002.

Born in Tampa, Fla., it all started for McGriff when he was drafted by the Yankees out of high school in the ninth round of the 1991 amateur draft. But blocked by at first base, he didn’t stay in the New York system long as the following year he was moved to the Blue Jays along with and for outfielder and in a memorably bad . Dodd lasted only one season in New York, and Murray won only three games in three seasons with the Yankees.

With Toronto, McGriff spent five full seasons in the minor leagues and broke out at -A Syracuse in 1986, when he hit 19 home runs and drove in 74 RBIs.

The next season with the Blue Jays, McGriff hit 34 homers, the first of seven consecutive seasons with over 30 homers. In ’89, he led the league with 36 and hit the first at Toronto’s SkyDome (now ). He hit .300 in 1990.

But in a blockbuster trade in which San Diego sent and to Toronto, McGriff was traded to the Padres, where he made his first of four All-Star appearances in 1992 and led the NL in homers with 35.

McGriff wasn’t there for long, as the Braves were looking for a cleanup hitter and San Diego was looking to dump salary. He was sent to the Braves on July 18, 1993 for prospects , Vince Moore and Donnie Elliott.

Because of a rib injury, McGriff was given an extra day or so to get to Atlanta and in his first game, known for the press-box fire at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium, he hit a key home run in a come-from-behind win over St. Louis and ignited a 51-19 run for the Braves, who won the division championship with 104 wins, one more than San Francisco.

During the strike season in 1994, he finished second in the All-Star game home-run derby to Ken Griffey Jr. and then won the game’s MVP on a ninth- home run.

McGriff helped the Braves to their world championship title in ’95, hitting two home runs in the against Cleveland. He had a career- best 106 RBIs for the Braves in ’96, but hit only 22 home runs the next season, and the Braves left him unprotected in the expansion draft. He was selected by his hometown Tampa Bay Devil Rays.

He played there for three-plus seasons and had a solid season in 1999, hitting .310 with 32 home runs. But in 2001, he was traded to the Cubs, and the next season he hit 30 homers and drove in 103 RBIs. The Dodgers then signed him as a free agent, but he spent most of the season hurt, and at age 40 hit just 13 home runs.

Trying to get his home run total to 500, McGriff went back to Tampa Bay, but hit just two homers and was released in July and retired with 493 career homers.

He was a lifetime .284 hitter, drove in 1,305 runs and hit 10 homers and collected 37 RBIs in 50 postseason games.

He reportedly more than $65 million during his career, and McGriff continues to appear on the Hall of Fame ballot but the most votes he has received is 137 which is 23.9 percent of the needed 75 percent to get into Cooperstown. He hopes some day to be put in by the .

Where he lives: Now 52, McGriff lives in Tampa. He always has been a very private person and said he has been married for 27 years and has two children now in their 20s. By the way, the “Crime Dog’’ nickname comes from a cartoon character McGruff the Crime Dog used to raise children’s awareness on crime.

What he does now: McGriff works as a special assistant for baseball operations for the Braves. He spends a lot of time traveling and visiting all the club’s minor league teams as well as working on the amateur draft and was in the war room for the last draft in June.

On how he feels about the current Braves: “I think the organization is going in the right direction. Now the key is for these young prospects to stay healthy and produce on the field. The thing is Ted Turner doesn’t own the team any more, so the strategy is different.’’

On being traded by the Yankees: “(Owner) wanted to win right away, so he was always trading for veteran players. I don’t think a lot of people are complaining about that in New York, considering the number of world championships he won.’’

On his days with the Blue Jays: “They gave me my first chance and at the time were one of the top organizations in baseball. They hit me seventh and eighth in the lineup and let me develop as a player.’’

On being traded from Toronto to San Diego: “The Blue Jays had drafted out of high school and were trying to play him in the outfield, but it didn’t work, so they put him at first and I was moved.’’

On coming to the Braves: “The Padres were having a fire sale, so it didn’t surprise me. The owner at the time () wanted to get out of baseball, but it is interesting that he ended up being the owner in Boston a few years later. It’s funny, but my ribs were really bothering me when I was traded, and the Braves let me go home to Tampa for a day or two to rest them. Then my plan was to come up for the first game in the St. Louis series, but I intentionally left my house in Tampa at noon because I knew I would get up to the game right before it started and would get another night off to rest my ribs. But then came the fire, I was in the lineup and the game started after 9. I spent most of my time before the game in the training room with the trainer working on my ribs. Then I went out and hit that homer. It was crazy.’’

On the best team he played for in Atlanta: “It was 1993 when we had . We had to come from 10 games back of the Giants, and we put it all out there to win the division. I don’t think we had anything left when he played the Phillies in the playoffs.’’ On the ’95 title team: “It was win or bust that year. We had to win it. I remember the World Series against Cleveland. It seems like it kept coming down to one pitch or one at-bat. I wear the ring around a lot. A friend told me you might as well wear it now because you can’t do anything with it when you are not around anymore.’’

On playing in Tampa: “Going back and getting to play in front of my parents in our hometown was really special.’’

On not hitting 500 home runs: “Trust me, I wanted to, but the injuries cut me short.’’

On his nickname: “I hear it to this day. Back then Chris Berman was the man and whatever he said on the air, whether it was true or false, stuck with you.’’

On his legacy: “I think I played great, but will let other people decide on that.’’

Fred McGriff MVP of 1994 All-Star game

By I.J. Rosenberg - For the AJC

In the strike season of 1994, when the at the All-Star game wasn’t a three-hour affair, Braves first baseman Fred McGriff and Seattle Ken Griffey Jr. squared off in what was a great show at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh.

“Yes, I remember it,’’ said McGriff. “I probably remember it more because how crazy the derby has become today. Back then we only got a few swings. Today, they are going on forever. I am not sure how they do it.’’

The ’94 derby lineup was an amazing one, and it lasted only one round.

Griffey finished with nine homers, followed by McGriff with seven, Ruben Sierra of Oakland and Frank Thomas of the White Sox each had four, of Houston had three as did of Colorado, of Cleveland hit two and of the Dodgers didn’t hit any.

“I remember hitting a few big shots,’’ said McGriff. “Ken was the man back then, and it was very exciting for the fans. A lot of very good talent in that group.’’

McGriff, however, was the hero in the All-Star game, the 65th edition of the midsummer classic, as he belted a pinch hit, game-tying home run in the ninth in a game the National League came from behind to win 8-7 over the AL.

McGriff hit the homer off Baltimore’s , perhaps baseball’s best at the time, and after the game said, “I was just hoping (NL manager) Lee Fregosi would find a way to get me into the game. As I walked to the plate, I told myself to be ready, take three hacks and get him if you can. That homer is the kind of thing you dream about, and dreams do come true.’’

McGriff was named MVP of the game and said looking back, “It as one of my better moments. I was fortunate to do a lot of things in my career, but that had to be one of the cooler ones.’’

So: Should the Braves model themselves after the Royals?

By Mark Bradley

In yesterday’s missive regarding the 2015 baseball playoffs and what they might augur for the rebuilding , I mentioned the importance of young pitching and deft drafting and daring dealing. One thing I didn’t mention was building a lineup of contact hitters, which the have done.

Seeing that the Royals are playing in their second consecutive World Series and are leading this one 2-nil, and seeing that the Braves made a concerted effort to cut back on under new administration, this omission might have seemed an oversight by yours truly. It wasn’t. I didn’t include the contact-hitting stuff because I’m not sure contact hitting – at least the way the Royals do it – will work long-term for any team but the Royals.

Here’s what I mean. The Royals had the fewest strikeouts of any team in baseball and won 95 games. The Braves had the second-fewest strikeouts and lost 95 games. Putting the ball in play is a noble enough concept but, in and of itself, it’s not enough. The Braves cut their strikeouts by 262 from last year to this – and scored the same number of runs (573). They went from being the second-worst offense in baseball to the absolute worst.

Even as we marvel at the Royals’ capacity to string together hits – “Keep the line moving,” is their slogan; it’s also something Fredi Gonzalez and presumably every manager preaches – we should note that the inability to avoid striking out doesn’t a mighty offense make. Sabermetricians differ over what the most important offensive stat is: Some say on-base percentage; others say, duh, runs. The Royals were only pretty good at both. They ranked sixth in the 15-team American League in runs, seventh in OBP. And being skilled at putting the ball in play doesn’t mean the Royals were selective: They were last in the AL in walks. They don’t necessarily wait for good pitches to hit – , of whom we’re about to hear more, swings at almost anything – but they hit the ball when they swing.

What the Royals have done is maximize an offense that lacks power (next-to-last in the AL in homers ), but I wouldn’t deem it a new paradigm. They’re very good at what they do — Jeff Sullivan of FanGraphs dubbed thisthe best contact-hitting team ever — but some of what they do defies rational thought.

Case study: The aforementioned Alcides Escobar. The sabermetric set has spent the postseason scratching its collective head over the thought of deploying a guy with an OBP of .293 as leadoff man. (In 2014, the player then known as B.J. Upton had an OBP of .287 for your Atlanta Braves.) As Sam Miller of Baseball Prospectus wrote today: “Sometimes it’s important to remember that Alcides Escobar is one of the very worst hitters in baseball.”

And yet: He’s hitting leadoff for a team that’s two games from a World Series title, and he was MVP of the ALCS. He led off Game 1 of the Series with an inside-the-park home run — should have been scored an E-8, not that you asked — on ’s first pitch; he had the biggest hit of Game 2, an RBI after falling behind Jacob deGrom 0-2, the two strikes having come on fouled attempts.

In this postseason, Escobar hasn’t just kept the line moving – he’s the line leader. But I’m not sure the Braves should model themselves on a team that has its worst everyday player (going by WAR value) hitting first. As the stat guys would say, that’s not sustainable.