Fred McGriff’s career with the Braves began with a bang 26 years ago.
On July 18, 1993, McGriff was acquired in a trade with the Padres for prospects Melvin Nieves, Vince Moore and Donnie Elliott. Two days later, in his first game with the team, McGriff homered to help the Braves to a come-from-behind win over the Cardinals in what became known as the press-box fire game.
During batting practice before the game, McGriff and his new Braves teammates watched from the field as the press box at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium caught on fire and burned for nearly an hour.
“Fred sure lit a fire under us I guess,” pitcher Tom Glavine said while being interviewed on the field during the fire. “Kind of a strange set of circumstances.”
McGriff helped the Braves to a MLB-best 104 wins in 1993 and had team highs of 27 homers and 93 RBIs in the World Series championship season of 1995.
