For Tampa’s Fred McGriff, a case of Hall of Fame nervousness

COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. — Fred McGriff played in plenty of anxiety-inducing games during a 19-season major-league career, including five trips to the postseason and the inaugural contest in Rays franchise history.

And he was pretty good at handling the stress.

“During the regular season, you’re fine every night for the most part,” the Tampa native said Saturday, on the eve of his induction into baseball’s Hall of Fame.

"When you get into the playoffs, and the World Series, that first inning you usually get butterflies and so forth. Then once you get that ground ball hit to you, or you have the first at-bat now it’s just another baseball game.

“I’m pretty sure (Sunday), or even later (Saturday), you start getting butterflies and I’ll rehearse my speech again. And then once I board that bus to head over to the sports center (where the induction is held), that’s when it’s going to really start, like, ‘Oh boy, Fred, it’s almost game time.’ ”

So a World Series game was easier to prepare for?

“No doubt,” he said.

The nerves even effected McGriff on Saturday during his usual safe haven — playing golf. Asked how he felt after taking his first swing around 8:30 a.m. at the Leatherstocking Golf Course adjacent to the Otesaga Resort, he said, “You see my first tee shot, right? But (Sunday) I’ll be ready.”

Then when he got to a media session around 1:30, McGriff announced, "I’ll start off by saying don’t ask me about my golf today, it wasn’t very good."

McGriff said he has been working on his speech, which is roughly 15 minutes, for much of the seven-plus months since he was voted in, and has revised it often, losing track of how many hours he spent on it.

“I can’t tell you how many days, nights,” he said. “You can be tossing and turning in your bed and be like, ‘Uh oh, I’m going to have to include this guy,’ and ‘I don’t know about this guy.’ So, a lot.”

Tampa Bay ties

Wade Boggs may be just as excited as McGriff over his induction into the Hall, as it adds a fourth member from the Tampa Bay area, along with managers Al Lopez and Tony La Russa.

“No. 4 — it’s like old home week,” Boggs said Saturday morning. “I couldn’t be more proud of Tampa Bay. I really couldn’t. It was a long time coming for Freddie.”

Boggs showed his affection after seeing McGriff in Cooperstown for the first time a few days ago. "He gave me a big old hug and a kiss here and there," McGriff said.

(Although Scott Rolen, the other inductee, said, "Wade kissed me, too.")

Boggs, and other Hall of Famers such as Chipper Jones, said they gave McGriff similar advice: to relax and slow things down.

McGriff also talked about the benefit of growing up near Al Lopez Field, the former Reds facility that was adjacent to where Raymond James Stadium is now, watching the powerhouse Cincinnati teams in the spring and the minor-league Tarpons in the summers.

"At that time, the Big Red Machine, they’re winning championships and so forth," McGriff said. "So to be able to watch them play, learn, hang out, try to get bats and balls and so forth, etc., it was great."

Ceremonially speaking

Saturday is a full day for the inductees, as McGriff played in the morning golf tournament, did a joint media session with Rolen, then was to ride in a parade of Hall of Famers down Main Street, attend a reception at the Hall and then a party co-hosted by the Rays, Braves and Blue Jays, the three teams he spent the most time with.

The Rays’ contingent in Cooperstown was led by team president Matt Silverman, baseball operations president Erik Neander (who grew up in the area and used to work summers at Sal’s Pizzeria down the street from the Hall), and longtime team officials Tom Foley and R.J. Harrison.

McGriff said he had roughly 100 relatives (including his wife, two kids, two grandkids) and friends in Cooperstown. The list didn’t include too many other Tampa Bay-area big-leaguers, but one on it was Dave Magadan, who played in McGriff’s Saturday foursome (along with Port Charlotte product Matt La Porta).

Among Hall of Famers, McGriff said it was notable meeting and talking with George Brett (“The guy I really admired when I was coming up in the minors”) and Dave Winfield (“We had lunch and ended up having a two-hour conversation, talking about hitting and so forth”).

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