Career
As a player, Grich won four consecutive Gold Glove Awards and made the American League All-Star squad six times.
In 1973, the Orioles traded Davey Johnson to the Braves in order to make room for Grich at second base. He was an excellent fielder, with good range, soft hands, and a good arm, and he was steady turning the double play. In 1973, he set an all-time major league fielding record with a .995 fielding percentage, and 12 seasons later in 1985, he broke the record again (.997).
With the bat, Grich hit 19 home runs with 82 RBI in 1974. Then, in 1979, he batted .294, adding 30 homers and 101 RBI, but he had his best offensive performance in the strike-shortened 1981 season. Grich tied the lead in home runs (22, along with Tony Armas, Dwight Evans, and Eddie Murray), led in slugging average (.543), and hit a career-high .304.
While with the Orioles, the team lost the American League Championship Series (ALCS) to the Oakland Athletics in both 1973 and 1974. He later joined the Angels lost the 1979 ALCS to his former team, and then lost again to the 1982 Milwaukee Brewers. Grich came closest in his final MLB season (1986), when the Angels, leading the ALCS by a 3-1 margin and thus needing just one more win to advance to the World Series, blew a 5-2 lead to the Boston Red Sox in the ninth inning of Game 5, then lost Games 6 and 7 as well. Grich hit a home run in Game 5 that deflected off center fielder Dave Henderson's glove, putting the Angels on top 3-2 but with the Red Sox down to their final strike, Henderson came out as the hero with a homer of his own to put his team ahead. In the post-game interviews following Game 7, Grich announced his retirement.
In 17-years career Grich batted .266, with 224 home runs, 864 RBI, 1033 runs, 1833 hits, 320 doubles, 47 triples, 104 stolen bases, and a .371 on base percentage in 2008 games.
Highlights
- 6-time All-Star (1972, 1974, 1976, 1979–80, 1982)
- 4-time Gold Glove (1973–76)
- Twice Top 10 MVP (1974, 1979)
- Led league in slugging average (1981)
- Led league in home runs (1981)
- First second baseman to lead AL in home runs since Nap Lajoie (1901) and in either league since Rogers Hornsby (1929).
- Hit three consecutive home runs in a game (1974)
- Set an AL 2B record with 484 putouts in a season (1974)
- The first player elected to the Angels' Hall of Fame (1996)
Read more about this topic: Bobby Grich
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