Crime Dog is back with the Braves.
Fred McGriff, the popular former Braves slugger whose nickname was “Crime Dog,” and former Braves hitting coach Greg Walker have been hired as special assistants in the team’s baseball operations department.
McGriff, 51, hit .284 with 493 home runs and a .377 on-base percentage in 19 major league seasons, including parts of five seasons with the Braves through 1997. The five-time All-Star first baseman will attend Braves spring training as an instructor and then focus primarily on pro scouting during the regular season.
McGriff was a Blue Jays consultant in 2014 and previously served as a part-time instructor at several Braves spring trainings. His new role is a siginficantly expanded, full-season position.
“He wanted to learn all aspects, on and off field,” said John Hart, Braves president of baseball operations. “We will involve Fred in (the major league team), player development, scouting, etc. His skill set is of course working with the players and hitting, but we feel he can contribute in a lot of ways. He’s a class act.”
McGriff was traded from San Diego to Atlanta midway through the 1993 season and was an All-Star each of the next three seasons. He averaged nearly 28 homers and 98 RBIs in four full seasons with the Braves and finished eighth in National League MVP balloting in 1994 after hitting .318 with 34 homers and a career-best 1.012 OPS.
A worthy Hall of Fame candidate in the view of many, McGriff was a top-10 finisher in MVP balloting six times and hit 30 or more homers 10 times.
Walker served three seasons as Braves hitting coach before stepping down in October. His new role will be working with minor league hitters at spring training and traveling to work with hitters at minor league affiliates during the season.
The Braves scored the second-fewest runs in the majors in 2014. They led the NL in homers (181) in 2013 but slipped to 22nd in that category with 123 in 2014.
Almonte impresses: Outfielder Zoilo Almonte, a former Yankees prospect whom the Braves signed as a free agent, finished second in the Dominican Republic winter league batting race with a .338 average (and .395 OBP) in 35 games. Almonte feasted against right-handers, batting .360 (31-for-86) with 11 doubles, two homers and a .973 OPS. He could begin the season in a left-field platoon with veteran Jonny Gomes, another offseason signee.
