An excellent fielder with a surprisingly powerful bat, Grich was one of the AL's
best all-around second basemen for over 15 seasons with the Orioles and Angels, earning
All-Star recognition six times. The 6'2" 180-lb Grich was big for a middle infielder,
but as a converted minor league shortstop he had plenty of range in the field, and
he generated considerable power with a strong-wristed righthanded batting stroke.
Grich
was TSN Minor League Player of the Year at Rochester (International League) in 1971, hitting .336 with 32 HR and leading the
league's shortstops in fielding, and as a 23-year old rookie with the Orioles in
1972, he played shortstop for the AL in the All-Star Game, finishing the season at
.278 with 12 HR. Grich moved to second base full-time in 1973 and promptly set a
ML record for that position with a .995 fielding percentage, and from 1973-76 he
reached double figures in home runs and stolen bases each year while hitting near
.260.
Grich became a free agent after the 1976 season and signed with the Angels
for 1977, only to spend most of the year on the DL. He then had a miserable year
offensively in 1978, but rebounded in 1979 to hit .294 with career highs in HR (30)
and RBI (101) as the Angels won the AL West. In the strike-shortened 1981 season,
Grich was one of four AL players to tie for the league home run title with 22, and
also led the league with a .543 slugging percentage while batting a career-high .304.
In the field, Grich had lost some range, but was still sure-handed, and in 1985 he
regained his ML fielding record (which had been broken by Rob Wilfong in 1980) with
a .997 percentage, committing only two errors at second base all season.
Grich
played in the ALCS five times, yet never reached the WS. He came closest in his final
ML season (1986), when the Angels blew a 5-2 lead to the Red Sox in the ninth inning
of Game Five, then lost Games Six and Seven as well. Grich is second behind Brian
Downing on the Angels all-time home run list.
(SCL)
FROM THE BASEBALL CHRONOLOGY
»June 7, 1967:
The last-place Yankees have the first pick in the free-agent draft and use it to take Ron Blomberg. With the next pick, the Cubs tap SS Terry Hughes, who will have just 86 ML at bats. All 20 first-round picks are high school players, and only 11 will eventually reach the major leagues, including John Mayberry (#6, Astros), Jon Matlack (Mets), Wayne Simpson (#8, Reds), Ted Simmons (#10, Cards), and Bobby Grich (#20, Orioles). The O's take Don Baylor with their 2nd pick, then in the secondary phase, select P Mike Adamson. Adamson will leap directly to the O's, debuting July 1, the first player in draft history to bypass the minors. Other selections today include Dusty Baker (26th round, Braves), Matlack (1st round, Mets), Steve Yeager (3rd round, Dodgers) and Richie Zisk (3rd round, Pirates), The Phils strike out as none of their picks will reach the majors.
»June 14, 1972: In another tight pitching duel, the Orioles Dave McNally wins, 2–1, over the A's Catfish Hunter when Bobby Grich hits a 10th inning homer. The O's have now won seven straight.
»October 10, 1973: Bobby Grich's 8th-inning home run gives Baltimore a come-from-behind 5–4 victory in game 4.
»June 15, 1974:
Baltimore beats the White Sox, 4–3, in 11 innings. Don Baylor enters the game in the 9th as a pinch runner and makes the record books with a steal and twice getting caught stealing, thanks to misplays by the Sox. Bobby Grich opens with a single and Tommy Davis singles him to 3B. Davis is then picked off, but an error by Dick Allen at 1B allows both runners to move up. After an out, Ellie Hendricks singles Davis home and Baylor pinch runs. Baylor gets caught stealing second but 2B Ron Santo drops the throw from Ed Herrmann. Baylor then swipes 3B and, following a intentional walk to Brooks Robinson, he is caught stealing home, Herrmann unassisted. Andy Etchebarren strikes out to end the unique frame. Baylor's mark is a ML record, but will be matched four times in the National League between 1987 and 1992.
»June 18, 1974: Orioles 2B Bobby Grich makes Ross Grimsley's home win over the Twins a little easier by belting three consecutive homers. The O's win 10–1.
»June 1, 1975: The Angels Nolan Ryan pitches his 4th career no-hitter, winning 1–0 over the Orioles, to tie the record set by Sandy Koufax. Ryan strikes out 9, including Bobby Grich on a change-up for the last out, and runs his record to 9–3. Ryan has now struck out 96 in 96 innings. Today's win is his 100th.
»October 12, 1986: One loss away from elimination and trailing 5–2 entering the 9th, the Red Sox stage one of the most improbable comebacks in post-season history winning 7–6 over the Angels in 11 innings. After Don Baylor's 9th-inning home run reduces the deficit to 5–4, reserve outfielder Dave Henderson slugs a 2-out, 2-run home run off Donnie Moore to give Boston a 6–5 lead. California ties the score with a run in the bottom of the 9th but Henderson, who had appeared to be the goat when he dropped Bobby Grich's long fly ball over the fence for a home run in the 7th inning, delivers a sacrifice fly in the 11th for the winning run.
»October 15, 1986:
Boston routs California 8–1 in the 7th game of the ALCS and advances to the World Series. The game caps yet another heartbreaking failure for Angels skipper Gene Mauch, who in game five was one strike away from reaching his first World Series in 25 seasons as a ML manager. After the game, veteran 2B Bobby Grich retires.
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