Day plays out well for McGriff

Rays first baseman plays three innings, bats twice and mingles with other bay area products.

By MARC TOPKIN

© St. Petersburg Times, published July 12, 2000

ATLANTA -- Fred McGriff had been keeping plenty busy. Batting practice, interviews, parties, autographs, more interviews, more autographs. Visiting with old friends. And trying to keep track of his son, Erick, a 9-year-old in constant motion running through the clubhouse and running after balls in the outfield.

But Tuesday afternoon, a few hours before the All-Star Game, McGriff realized he had made a grievous mistake.

"I'm in trouble now," he said. "I didn't know (Ken) Griffey was leaving, and I didn't get my daughter her picture (with him). That's not good."

Except for breaking the bad news to 7-year-old Ericka, it turned out to be an enjoyable All-Star break for McGriff. He got to play three innings in the field and got two at-bats Tuesday, popping out in the eighth and striking out in the ninth.

"It turned out better than I expected," McGriff said. "(American League manager Joe Torre) took care of me with a couple at-bats, and that was awesome. The only thing that could have made it better was if I went deep. All around, it was great. The whole experience couldn't have been better."

McGriff was having fun before the game as well. He got big chuckles from the number of people who kept asking him about returning to Atlanta; they apparently forgot he had been back last season with the Rays. And he had a proud smile about being joined here by three other Tampa Bay products: pitcher Danny Graves and outfielders Gary Sheffield and Carl Everett.

"I'm always just laughing about the way the talent keeps coming out of Tampa," McGriff said.

At 36, McGriff is the elder statesman of the group. The others are close enough that their amateur careers overlapped. Sheffield, 31, and Everett, 29, played Little League together, and both went to Hillsborough High. Everett played against Graves, 26, who went to Brandon High.

Whenever the bay area players get together, they always have a good time ribbing and razzing each other. To do so at an All-Star Game just makes it better.

"It's one of those rivalry things," Sheffield said. "I take great pride in knowing these guys have worked just as hard as I did and grew up in the same place and are having this much fun."

McGriff, who won one World Series and played in another as Brave, was happy to be back. "It's a great city," he said. "I have a lot of great memories here, and I won a lot of ballgames here."

© St. Petersburg Times. All rights reserved.

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