The 1998 American League Rookie of the Year, Ben Grieve batted .288 with 18 home runs and 89 runs batted in for a mediocre Oakland A's club in his first full season in the majors. Grieve's early success was not unexpected; his long, easy lefthanded stroke wowed scouts and quickly gave him a reputation as one of the best prospects in baseball. The rookie's smooth swing drew comparisons to Ted Williams, but his maturity, poise and calm most impressed his coaches and teammates.
Grieve lived up to the high expectations in his first taste of big-league action in 1997. In 24 September games with the A's, Grieve batted over .300 and drove in 24 runs. In his major-league debut against the San Francisco Giants, the young slugger had five RBIs and consecutive doubles in the sixth, seventh and eighth. A two-bagger in the opening frame the next day gave him doubles in four consecutive innings. Ten days later, Grieve hit his first big-league home run off Detroit's Willie Blair. Without any bats of his own, Grieve was forced to give a fan one of Jason Giambi's bats in exchange for the ball.
"The Franchise," as teammate Kevin Mitchell referred to him during his rookie season, was born with baseball in his blood. His father, Tom, played nine seasons for the Senators, Rangers, Mets and Cardinals and later became the GM of the Texas Rangers. "As soon as he could walk, I bought him one of those plastic whiffle bats and a balloon," recalled Tom, who coached Ben in Little League. "It was pretty obvious at that young age that he had some ability."
Ben graduated less than ten miles from the future site of The Ballpark in Arlington. As a senior at James W. Martin High (the alma mater of fellow phenom Todd Van Poppel, who had graduated in 1990) he hit .486. His father used to take Ranger players -- including future teammate Kenny Rogers -- on outings to see his son play. Likewise, Ben would often visit Arlington Stadium to see his father and meet the team. "A lot of them were pretty nice to me," Grieve recalled during his rookie season. "Especially guys like Steve Beuchele and Geno Petralli."
When the Oakland Athletics chose the younger Grieve second overall in the June 1994 draft it marked the first time in baseball history that a father and son had both been selected in the first round. Rather than holding out for a huge signing bonus, Grieve signed with the A's on his graduation day. Incredibly, the younger Grieve's "modest" $1.2 million bonus was more money than his father had earned during his entire playing career.
After two solid but unspectacular minor-league seasons, Grieve blossomed in 1997. Between Double-A Huntsville and Triple-A Edmonton, Grieve blasted 31 home runs, led all minor leaguers in slugging average and on base percentage, and was named Minor League Player of the Year by USA TODAY and The Sporting News. Including his September stay in Oakland, Grieve batted .344 with 34 home runs and 160 RBIs in 151 games.
Saddled with lofty expectations following his gaudy 1997 numbers, Grieve led AL rookies in hits, homers, runs, doubles, and RBIs in 1998, but not without some bumps in the road. The 6' 4" right fielder was booed early in the season for defensive lapses, endured a second-half slump, and was nearly involved in a bench-clearing brawl after being hit with a retaliatory pitch thrown by Arizona's Russ Springer in early June.
In July, Grieve was named to the All-Star squad, joining Mark McGwire (1987), Jose Canseco (1986), Matt Keough (1978) and Wayne Gross (1977) as Oakland's only rookies to ever attend the Midsummer Classic. The reserved 22-year-old was so in awe of his achievement that when he arrived in Coors Field for the game, he couldn't bring himself to approach eight-time batting champion Tony Gwynn, whom he had idolized as a youngster and had met at the age of ten at a baseball camp he attended with the sons of players Art Howe and Tom House.
(NJ/AGL/JGR)
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FROM THE BASEBALL CHRONOLOGY
»June 2, 1994: The NY Mets select Florida State P Paul Wilson with the first pick in the amateur draft. OF Ben Grieve is selected 2nd by the Oakland Athletics. The Brewers Sal Bando, a former ASU third baseman, picks another ASU 3rd sacker, Antone Williamson, with Milwaukee's the 4th pick overall. The Brewers do find a good 5th round pick in Steve Woodard. The Marlins use the 5th overall on Josh Booty, rated the top high school QB in the nation. Booty will sign with the Fish for $1.6 million, hit .198 in four years in the minors, have a cup of coffee with the Marlins, and return to college football. The Royals take Jose Rosado on the 12th round. Boston ends up with the best draft, taking Nomar Garciaparra (1st round, 12th pick), Brian Rose (3rd), Brian Barkley (5th), Damien Sapp (10th), Donnie Sadler (11th), and Carl Pavano (18th). The Twins pick Corey Koskie on the 26th round.
»September 3, 1997:
A's blue chip rookie Ben Grieve debuts with a club-record-tying three doubles for five RBIs in a 123 win over the Giants. Grieve had 136 ribbies in 127 minor league games. Brad Rigby wins his first ML game, while the loss leaves SF one 1/2 games behind the Giants.
»April 29, 1998: Oakland rookie OF Ben Grieve gets five hits in the Athletics' 114 win over Cleveland. He scores four runs in the contest while knocking in a pair.
»May 2, 1998: Roger Clemens (7 innings) and Paul Quantrill (2 innings) combine to 1hit the Athletics, 70. Oakland's only hit is a single by rookie Ben Grieve.
»November 3, 1998: Ben Grieve, Oakland outfielder, is named the American League Rookie of the Year. Grieve, in the lineup since Opening Day, hit .288.
»June 23, 2000: The A's defeat the Royals, 10-6, for their 9th straight win. Randy Velarde, Jason Giambi, and Ben Grieve hit consecutive homers for Oakland in the 2nd inning.
»January 8, 2001: In a 3-way deal, the Royals obtain C A.J. Hinch, OF Angel Berroa and cash from the A's, and P Roberto Hernandez from the Devil Rays; the A's receive P Cory Lidle from the Devil Rays, and OF Johnny Damon, IF Mark Ellis, and a player to be named from the Royals; and the Devil Rays receive OF Ben Grieve and a player to be named from the A's.
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