Congratulations to Fred McGriff, who was unanimously elected to the Hall of Fame by the Contemporary Era Baseball Committee. He was one of the most consistent sluggers of his era, producing 10 seasons with 30 homers from age 24 to 38.

Besides the power -- and the Tom Emanski videos, of course -- when I think of McGriff, the first three trades of his career also come to mind. They all were notable for different reasons.

The Blue Jays crushed scouting at all levels throughout the 1980s, enabling them to go from expansion franchise to perennial contender in short order. One example came at the 1982 Winter Meetings, when they stole McGriff as the third player in a deal that sent Dale Murray and Tom Dodd to the Yankees for Dave Collins and Mike Morgan. McGriff was a 1981 ninth-round pick out of a Florida high school who had repeated Rookie ball, so he wasn't a top prospect by any means, but Toronto liked his left-handed power potential.

McGriff didn't become a regular with the Jays until 1988, then swatted 105 homers over the next three seasons before he was involved in the biggest Winter Meetings blockbuster I can remember. The Blue Jays shipped a Hall of Famer (McGriff) and a five-time All-Star (Tony Fernandez) to the Padres for another future Cooperstown inductee (Robert Alomar) and another five-time All-Star (Joe Carter) in December 1990. Baseball was buzzing for weeks about the audacity of that deal, which helped Toronto win a pair of World Series.

When the Braves were looking to bolster their lineup in mid-1993, they acquired McGriff from San Diego in exchange for prospects Donnie Elliott, Vince Moore and Melvin Nieves. McGriff was more productive in the second half of that season than those players were in their entire careers, and he played a key role in Atlanta's 1995 World Series championship. That deal was one example of why executives from other clubs marveled at the Braves' scouting acumen, not just for knowing which amateurs to sign but also which farmhands to trade.

DRAFT LOTTERY MUSINGS

On Tuesday night, the order at the top of the Draft will be determined by a lottery rather than by winning percentage for the first time. All 18 non-playoff clubs are eligible for the No. 1 overall choice, with odds ranging from 16.5 percent for the Nationals, Athletics and Pirates to 0.2 percent for the Brewers.

This got me to wondering which team had the highest winning percentage yet claimed the No. 1 pick. From 1965-2004, the picks alternated by league, so the absolute worst record didn't necessarily earn the top selection. After that, the order was determined strictly by winning percentage with no regard to leagues.

Only 13 times in the first 58 Drafts did a club own the No. 1 choice after winning as many as 40 percent of its games the season before. The best record among those teams belongs to the Yankees, who went 70-89 (.440) in 1966 and took Ron Blomberg to start the 1967 Draft. The last time this happened was when the 2007 Devil Rays went 66-96 (.407) and popped Tim Beckham with the first selection in 2008.

Here's the list of all .400 or better clubs who grabbed the No. 1 selection and whom they wound up taking:

1966 Yankees, 70-89 (.440) -- Ron Blomberg

2000 Twins, 69-94 (.426) -- Joe Mauer

1974 Angels, 68-94 (.420) -- Danny Goodwin

1983 Mets, 68-94 (.420) -- Shawn Abner

1997 Phillies, 68-94 (.420) -- Pat Burrell

1984 Brewers, 67-94 (.416) -- B.J. Surhoff

1986 Mariners, 67-95 (.414) -- Ken Griffey Jr.

1990 Yankees, 67-95 (.414) -- Brien Taylor

2007 Devil Rays, 66-96 (.407) -- Tim Beckham

1994 Angels, 47-68 (.409) -- Darin Erstad

1995 Pirates, 58-86 (.403) -- Kris Benson

1988 Padres, 65-97 (.401) -- Andy Benes

1991 Astros, 65-97 (.401) -- Phil Nevin

RECOMMENDED READING

• For more on the Draft Lottery, Anthony Castrovince explains how MLB's version differs from the NBA and NHL.
• Wondering which prospects might get traded or selected in the Rule 5 Draft at the Winter Meetings? We have you covered here and here.
• And on the subject of the Rule 5 Draft, Jonathan Mayo details the best picks from the last decade.

TRIVIA

Which of these Hall of Famers was not selected in the Rule 5 Draft?

A. Roberto Clemente

B. Trevor Hoffman

C. Christy Mathewson

D. Hack Wilson

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ON THIS DAY

At the 2007 Rule 5 Draft, held Dec. 6 at the Winter Meetings in Nashville, the Rays used the first pick on Twins right-hander Tim Lahey. Immediately sold to the Cubs, Lahey didn't stick with Chicago and never advanced past Triple-A. Another Twins righty, selected 12th in the Rule 5 Draft, would enjoy much more success. The Mariners chose R.A. Dickey and eventually sent catching prospect Jair Fernandez to Minnesota in order to retain his rights. A 1996 Rangers first-rounder, Dickey had posted a 5.72 ERA in five seasons with Texas before returning to the Minors and trying to reinvent himself as a knuckleballer. It took some time, and he first would bounce back to the Twins and then the Mets as a Minor League free agent, but he would win 98 games from 2010-17 with the Mets, the Blue Jays and Braves. Dickey earned National League Cy Young Award honors in 2012, when he posted 20 wins, a 2.73 ERA and an NL-best 230 strikeouts.

BUFFALO BALLPARK GUIDE

Our newest Ballpark Guide features Buffalo's Sahlen Field, home of the Bisons, the Triple-A affiliate of the Blue Jays. I visited the park in one of my early years at Baseball America -- 1989 or 1990, so long ago I can't remember which one! -- when the Bisons annually drew 1 million fans and were making a bid for a big league expansion team. Sahlen Field was the first classic retro ballpark, opening four years before Oriole Park at Camden Yards and serving as a precursor to the Minor League ballpark boom of the 1990s. As Ben Hill details, it may be the only Minor League destination with a Conehead beer vendor and it offers the local Buffalo delicacy, beef on weck.

TRIVIA ANSWER

B. Trevor Hoffman. Hoffman was selected by the Marlins from the Reds in the 1992 Expansion Draft, but he wasn't a Rule 5 pick. Mathewson (1900 by the Reds) and Wilson (1925 by the Cubs) were taken from Minor League clubs, while Clemente (1954 by the Pirates) was plucked from the Dodgers.

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Contact Jim.Callis@mlb.com

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