Taken from the Cleveland Indians organization by the Toronto Blue Jays in December 1983, Kelly Gruber spent time on the Jays' bench during the 1984 season before being sent to the minors. He had brief stints with the major league club in 1985, and was soon expected to take the third base job from the aging platoon of Rance Mulliniks and Garth Iorg, but he had a disappointing season after minor injuries and was used mainly as a utility player. Primarily a third baseman, he made appearances at second base and shortstop and in the outfield as well.
When Mulliniks got injured in the first inning of the home opener against the New York Yankees, Gruber took over in dramatic fashion. He went 4-for-6, tagging two home runs and an RBI double, and from then on was the Blue Jays starting third sacker. He emerged as a key player for the Blue Jays that year, hitting .278 with 16 home runs and 81 RBI.
After toiling in the minors, Gruber had finally shown promise of becoming a fine all-around player, and was named to the 1989 AL All-Star team. 1990 was Gruber's most productive offensive year, as he stroked 31 homers and 36 doubles, and drove in 118. On April 16, 1990, Gruber became the first Blue Jay to hit for the cycle, doing it against the Kansas City Royals in a 15-8 win. As reward for his feat, his teammates bought him a tricycle. By then it was thought that Gruber had joined the elite of baseball's hot corner men.
In 1991, Gruber's stats fell off considerably, and he showed an across-the-board decrease in all offensive categories. The club passed off the poor stats on his injured hand, which he broke in April and aggravated twice during the season.
It would be the 1992 season that would see Gruber's fall from grace. He began the year well, hitting .300 after twenty games, helping lead the Blue Jays to a 15-5 record. But in late April, he took a swing and felt something pop. A bone spur had become rooted in his spinal cord, and the injury's effects were immediate. By the end of the season, he had posted a miserable .229 batting average and .275 on-base percentage over 120 games. Halfway through the season, Gruber started hearing the fans' complaints at SkyDome, particularly in the midst of his several slumps.
Once extremely popular in Toronto, the third baseman became the object of the fans' scorn, with newspaper columnists and even club officials calling him "Mrs. Gruber." With Toronto in the World Series that year, Gruber disappointed legions of Blue Jay fans by hitting just .105 against the Braves in October, despite slamming a key home run in Game Three.
Before the 1993 campaign, Gruber was traded to the California Angels for Luis Sojo. When it was discovered that the third baseman was still injured, the Angels tried to rescind the trade, but league president Bobby Brown rejected the complaint. Following a rehabilitation assignment in Triple-A for shoulder surgery in February 1993, Gruber temporarily replaced Gary Gaetti as the Angels third baseman. However, his neck injury resurfaced, and he lasted just 65 at-bats before being put back on the disabled list. After being released by the Angels in September 1993, Gruber called it quits.
By 1995, his bone spur was growing into the spinal cord, threatening Gruber with paralysis. The ex-All-Star finally underwent surgery to fix the injury that had started three years ago and had ruined his career. In April 1997, he attempted a comeback with the Baltimore Orioles, and while he impressed the coaches in his ability to jump back into the game, he was weathered, and couldn't perform up to task. After hitting .250 over 38 games in Triple-A Rochester, he was given his unconditional release. Gruber then gave up baseball for good. He retired to Austin, eventually owning a limousine service, a florist shop, and a bar. (AG/TF)
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FROM THE BASEBALL CHRONOLOGY
»September 14, 1987: In an 18–3 rout of the Orioles, the Blue Jays erupt for a ML-record 10 home runs. Ernie Whitt leads the parade with three round trippers, Rance Mulliniks and George Bell hit 2, and Lloyd Moseby, Rob Ducey, and Fred McGriff each add one. Mike Hart hits one for Baltimore to tie the 2-team major-league record of 11. In the 7th inning, the Jays Kelly Gruber makes an out and, in his next at bat in the frame, hits into a DP tie a major-league record for most outs-inning. Cal Ripken's streak of 8,243 consecutive innings (908 games) is broken when he is lifted in the 8th for pinch runner Ron Washington.
»April 16, 1989: Kelly Gruber becomes the first Blue Jay to hit for the cycle as Toronto beats Kansas City 15–8. Gruber scores four runs to back David Wells relief effort.
»May 6, 1990: Cecil Fielder clubs three home runs, but the Tigers still lose to the Blue Jays 11–7. Toronto's Kelly Gruber hits two home runs to give him nine for the year, one behind Fielder. Ten home runs are hit in the game, one shy of the ML record.
»September 15, 1990: Despite solo homers in the 5th by brothers Billy Ripken and Cal Ripken, both off David Wells, the Orioles lose 4–3 to Toronto. The Jays score three in the bottom of the 9th on Kelly Gruber's home run to make a winner of reliever Willie Blair. The brothers Ripken will homer together one more time, in 1996, again in the same inning.
»October 8, 1992: The Blue Jays even the ALCS at one game apiece with a 3–1 win over the A's. Kelly Gruber's 2–run home run in the 5th inning is the decisive blow, as David Cone records the victory.
»October 10, 1992: The Blue Jays defeat the A's, 7–5, behind the pitching of Juan Guzman and home runs by Kelly Gruber and Candy Maldonado. Toronto takes the lead in the ALCS by a 2–1 margin.
»October 20, 1992: The Blue Jays take the World Series lead with a 3–2 win over Atlanta on Candy Maldonado's bases–loaded single in the 9th inning. Duane Ward gets credit for the victory in relief of Juan Guzman, and Joe Carter and Kelly Gruber homer for Toronto. In the 4th inning, Blue Jays' OF Devon White's sensational catch nearly results in a triple play. Atlanta OF Deion Sanders was ruled safe on the play, but replays show he should have been the 3rd out. Braves manager is ejected from the game in the 9th, becoming the 1st manager to be thrown out of a Series game since 1985. By starting in RF, Toronto's Carter becomes the 1st player to start the 1st three games of a World Series at three different positions. He started Game One at 1B and Game Two in LF.
»August 17, 2001:
Toronto beats Texas, 11–3, as Jeff Frye becomes the 2nd Blue Jay ever to hit for the cycle. Frye's final hit of the evening is a liner to deep right-center that, in other circumstances, might have gone for a double. But with his team safely in the lead, Frye stops at first to record a single and give himself a cycle. After the game, Frye finds a bicycle leaning against his locker, the traditional reward for the feat. Kelly Gruber is the only other Toronto player to accomplish the feat.
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