Donruss Bought Early on the McGriffs

And were halfly rewarded for their cardboard efforts

Sep 23, 2024

As the 1987 season dawned, the Cincinnati Reds were trying to figure out how to get over the second-place hump they’d been stuck on for two summers in the old National League West.

After a three-year run of ugliness in the early 1980s, Cincy had surprised with a surprise runner-up finish to the Dodgers in 1985, then played bridesmaid to the Astros in 1986. The good news was that the Reds were mostly a young team behind veteran MVP candidate Dave Parker — Eric Davis, Tom Browning, Kal Daniels, Paul O’Neill, Barry Larkin, Kurt Stillwell all looked like they had bright futures.

Aside from Parker, though, Cincinnati did have some age accumulating at a couple of positions. In particular, Ron Oester at second base had crossed into his 30s and catcher Bo Diaz was 34 years old in 1987.

There was enough young middle infield talent on hand to smooth over the hole left when Oester started having trouble staying on the diamond, and his bat was never much of a weapon, anyway.

Diaz was a different story, though, as the Reds’ catching corps was thin, with the likes of Sal Butera and Dave Van Gorder picking up any of Diaz’s scraps. It was a good thing Baudilio could be counted on for 130+ games a year!

But the Reds did have at least one glimmer of hope in the pipeline for the future of Riverfront backstops, and it was a name already familiar to baseball card collectors.

In 1986, you might remember, Donruss had treated us to a Fred McGriff Rated Rookie card. This, even though the future Crime Dog had never stepped foot in the big leagues. He had established himself as a 20-homer threat in the highest reaches of the minors, though. He’d finally get a three-game cup of coffee with the Blue Jays in May of 1986.

In the meantime, Terry McGriff was putting the finishing touches on his long climb up the Reds’ minor league ladder. Drafted by Cincinnati in the eighth round in 1981, McGriff plugged away year after year. By 1986, he was still just 22 and had built himself into a .280-ish hitter with double-digit power at the Triple-A level.

Add in the ability to handle a game from behind the plate, and you had the makings of a prospect.

Donruss must have thought so, too, since they carved out a spot for him in their 1987 checklist, again despite no major league experience.

McGriff (Terry) got his first taste of big league action in July of 1987, at the same time Fred was in the midst of his first 20-homer season in the bigs. And they were both in the 1987 Donruss set.

Inquiring cardboard minds wanted to know — were the two McGriffs related? The answer wasn’t all that easy to find back then, but today we know that they’re cousins…though different sources seem to cite different degrees of cousin-ness (mostly first and second).

(Likewise, Terry McGriff is related to former future Marlins catcher Charles Johnson, though the exact relationship varies by source.)

But while Fred’s career took flight at the highest level, Terry’s never quite got off the ground. In parts of four seasons with the Reds, he hit .210 with three home runs and 17 RBI in just 77 big league games.

In early September of 1990, Cincy sent McGriff, Keith Kaiser, and Butch Henry to complete the trade that brought Bill Doran to the Riverfront in August. By then, the Reds had turned to other young options behind the plate — first Jeff Reed, then Joe Oliver.

Oliver stuck.

For his part, Terry McGriff played in the majors, minors, and Mexico all the way through 1997, seeing his last big league action with the 1994 Cardinals. Though he never clicked the way his cuz did, he was still a part of the game we love for a long, long time.

Today, Terry McGriff turns 61 years old.

Blue (Jays) Light Special

Fred McGriff, of course, would eventually end up in the Hall of Fame after a long, well-traveled, and fairly storied career.

He was already a star by the time the 1990s dawned, but that’s also about the time his baseball world quaked for the first time as a big leaguer. And wouldn’t you know it? Kmart was there to help hobbyists cope with the sea change.

Read all about it in our daily Blue Light Special!

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With that, I bid you a happy Monday. May all your McGriffs come up big, and may all your MacGuffins be as aesthetically pleasing as my 1983 Donruss Cesar Cedeño.

Thanks for reading.

—Adam

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