We've done this baby already (
http://www.ootpdevelopments.com/boar...hlight=mcgriff ) but I'm more than happy to do it again!
I'm not more than happy to retype, so here's my initial post again!:
Yes, I know if he gets 500 he'll probably go, but if he doesn't make the big-league club, he might get passed over.
And that's a damn shame.
The Crime Dog was one of the top 5 hitters in OPS+ in his leagye for seven years at his peak between '88 and '94 (excepting '93, when he was seventh). In each of these years, he was in the top 5 in homers and in slugging (barring '91), in the top 5 of straight OPS, and in all but '91 the top 7 of extra-base hits. From 1988-92, he posted 4 straight years in the top5 of BBs as well. At his peak, which lasted for seven years, he was one consistently one of the top 5 hitters in the game.
If we exclude last year and his rookie year (neither did he play enough), only 3 of his 16 seasons had an OPS+ under 120 (the lowest of the 3 being 106 in the 97' NL, where it could be argued that the league totals were affected by McGwire and Sosa's mammoth years), and none of those 16 did he post an OBP under .350. This is one guy who has been consistently excellent for 16 years - in his case, longetivity should count. While some may consider it a weakness that McGriff has been playing for 18 years, the fact he has consistently performed at such a high level is pretty amazing.
Thus, I'd say McGriff had seven great years, and 9 very good years. To me, that's enough. Others?