Fred McGriff
Frederick Stanley "Crime Dog" McGriff (born October 31, 1963 in Tampa, Florida) is a former left-handed Major League Baseball player who has starred for several teams since the mid-1980s, including the Toronto Blue Jays and Atlanta Braves. A power-hitting first baseman, the 5-time All-Star became, in 1992, the first player since the dead-ball era to lead both leagues in home runs. Although he has never hit more than 37 homers in a single season, he finished the 2003 campaign only 9 homers away from joining the exclusive company of those who have hit 500. He won a World Series title with the Atlanta Braves in 1995.
His nickname "Crime Dog" was bestowed on him by ESPN sportscaster Chris Berman, noted for his unusual and idiosyncratic player nicknames. The nickname is a play on McGruff, a cartoon dog created for American police to raise children's awareness on crime prevention. Unlike most of Berman's nicknames, the "Crime Dog" nickname entered into standard usage.
In 2004, the Tampa Bay Devil Rays re-signed McGriff in hopes of letting the veteran ballplayer hit 500 home runs. He had played from 1998 to 2001 with the Rays. Unfortunately, he ended up retiring during spring training of 2005. He retired with 493 home runs, and becomes Hall of Fame eligible in 2009. McGriff's record of hitting a home run in 43 different ballparks has recently been tied by Ken Griffey Jr. on June 5th, 2006.
He has appeared in commercials for Tom Emanski Baseball Training videos on ESPN since 1991, which are still aired to this day on the network (one of television's longest running commercials ever). Because of the frequency and longevity of the Emanski commercials, ESPN analyst Kenny Mayne coined a second, less used nickname for McGriff, "Baseball Superstar," as he was refrenced in the commercials as "Baseball Superstar Fred McGriff."
Currently, McGriff hosts a radio show in Tampa and is an assistant baseball coach at Jesuit High School of Tampa.