Alfredo Griffin
Alfredo Griffin (formerly of the Oakland A’s and currently a Los Angeles Angels coach)
The A’s and Angels are currently battling for first place in the American League West. My A’s lead by four and a half games and let’s hope it stays that way. Griffin had his best season with the A’s back in 1986. He won the Rookie of the Year Award back in 1979, but that had more to do with his lack of competition (he hit only two home runs and got caught stealing 16 times in just 37 attempts that year) than having had an amazing season.
Alfredo is today’s photo not because of his presence on the A’s or Angels though. A couple of recent events made me think of him.
First, who did the A’s receive when they traded Griffin in 1987 to the Los Angeles Dodgers? Bob Welch. Welch went 17-9, 17-8, and 27-6 in his next three seasons with the A’s. Bob died this past week.
Second, I remember getting Tony Gwynn’s autograph in the Westin St. Francis Hotel in San Francisco when the 1984 All-Star Game was played in San Francisco that year. It was Gwynn’s first (of many) MLB all-star games. I turned around after thanking Gwynn and there was Griffin. What was he doing there? Griffin was no all star. However, he happened to be there with his friend and teammate, Damaso Garcia, who was on the AL squad. Someone got injured and Griffin was actually put on the team at the last minute even though he didn’t really have all-star numbers. Anyway, Gwynn died this past weekend too.