Fred McGriff's career is worth celebrating, though not one worthy of Hall of Fame

McGriff is the latest reminder that candidacy fatigue is a real, tangible thing

Fred McGriff is in his penultimate year on the Hall of Fame ballot. He has never earned a vote on so much as 25 percent of the ballots, and it seems this winter he'll lose votes for a fourth time. Barring a miraculous last-chance spike, McGriff is not going to make it to Cooperstown.

By now, all the arguments for and against McGriff have been stated over and over again. He had a brilliant offensive peak, but he wasn't a skilled defender. He never hit any big, magical numbers, yet those are overrated -- and besides, he came close, and could've topped them, were it not for the work stoppage. He was never the best first baseman, though his supporters swear he was clean during a time when many were using performance-enhancing drugs.

Whatever side one comes down on -- and it's clear by now that most voters come down on the "nay" side -- McGriff is the latest reminder that candidacy fatigue is a real, tangible thing.

Arguments about players' Hall of Fame worthiness are repetitive almost by default -- the no-doubters are inducted quickly, in most cases, meaning the stragglers are usually those with good reasons for being left behind -- and can become heated in a quick manner. McGriff seemed to avoid the latter, but he runs the risk of becoming underappreciated due to the former.

The lesson is that it's important to keep things in perspective by compartmentalizing. Just because a player isn't a Hall of Famer does not mean he wasn't of a high quality. In fact, McGriff currently holds the 121st-highest OPS+ of all-time. That isn't as impressive as if it were the 12th or the 21st or the 75th, but it is impressive. Think of how many players have played baseball, and how much talent it necessitates for a player to be one of the 130 or so best hitters.

Naturally, that's just a single example. One could point to McGriff's all-time home-run rank (28th) or games played total (70th) or runs created (53rd) or any other number that portrays him as someone who played for a long time and largely played well. The point is obvious to many, and would be to all outside of a Hall of Fame argument. But once those stakes are placed on a player's career, logic has a way of going out the window. It's understandable. It's also avoidable.

So, McGriff: Pretty good career, and one worth celebrating -- even if it's not in Cooperstown.