MLB Hall of Famer Fred McGriff to Appear at Four Winds Field July 26
For Immediate Release SOUTH BEND, IN – Baseball legend Fred “Crime Dog” McGriff will be in South Bend next Friday as the Cubs take the field at home vs the Peoria Chiefs. The former Chicago Cub and five-time Major League Baseball (MLB) All-Star will sign autographs on the concourse for
For Immediate Release
SOUTH BEND, IN – Baseball legend Fred “Crime Dog” McGriff will be in South Bend next Friday as the Cubs take the field at home vs the Peoria Chiefs. The former Chicago Cub and five-time Major League Baseball (MLB) All-Star will sign autographs on the concourse for approximately 30 minutes starting at 7:05 p.m. (time subject to change). He will also throw out a ceremonial first pitch.
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McGriff will be in town as part of a partnership with the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute (ICJI) to promote sober driving. He will sign autographs at the ICJI booth. You can take the pledge to always have a sober driver and be entered to win a VIP experience with the Crime Dog, who was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York last year.
“It’s so great to have another baseball legend and Hall of Famer out to Four Winds Field,” said South Bend Cubs President Joe Hart. “It’s certainly special that he’s a former Chicago Cub and that he’s out here in South Bend supporting a worthy cause.”
McGriff began his 19-year MLB career in 1986 as a 22-year-old with the Toronto Blue Jays. In 1989 he led the American League in homers with 36 and three years later he became an All-Star for the first time, finishing sixth in MVP voting as he led the National League in homers with 35 as a member of the San Diego Padres. From 1993 through 1997 he flourished with the Atlanta Braves, picking up three-straight All-Star nods in 1994, 1995, and 1996, while also winning the 1995 World Series. After a few years with the then Tampa Bay Devil Rays, McGriff was traded to the Cubs in late July of 2001. He finished that year with the Cubs and played one full season with Chicago in 2002, his final season with 30 homers. He retired in the spring of 2005 and was inducted into the National Baseball of Fame 18 years later.
About the South Bend Cubs
The South Bend Cubs are the High-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. Over the past 35 seasons, the team has won five Midwest League titles, most recently in 2022, and captured nine division titles. In 2023, the organization was selected as the Single-A Bob Freitas Award recipient by Baseball America. Four Winds Field, home of the South Bend Cubs, was voted Best High-A ballpark in the country by Ballpark Digest in 2022 and 2023, having also won the award as a Low-A ballpark in 2017. In 2019, the South Bend Cubs hosted the final Midwest League All-Star Game. In 2015 the team was named Ballpark Digest's Team of the Year and received the John H. Johnson President's Award, the highest award in minor league baseball. The team is owned and operated by Swing-Batter-Swing, LLC whose principal shareholder is Andrew T. Berlin of Chicago, Ill.