In 1967, Bobby Grich was the Baltimore Orioles first round draft pick and in 1971 was named the 'Minor League Player of the Year'. In his 1st full season in 1972, Grich hit .278 with 12 homers. Bobby Grich went on to become one of the better fielding second basemen of his era and won four 'Gold Glove Awards'. In 1973, he committed only five errors and set a major league record with a .995 fielding percentage. Bobby Grich's power, (he launched 224 home runs) and clutch hitting helped the Orioles throughout this time in their famous pennant battles. He was traded to the California Angels in 1977, however he hurt his back lifting an air-conditioner and underwent surgery for a herniated disk. Bobby Grich came back in 1979 with his career highs - with 30 doubles, 30 HR's and 101 RBI's and led the Angels to a AL West Title. In 1982, the Angels took the AL West Title only to lose to the Brewers for the pennant. Grich helped them captured another AL West Crown in 1986. Bobby Grich retired with the highest career fielding mark .984 in history for second basemen, (Later Ryne Sandberg set a new record). Bobby Grich's career stats: 2008 games, 6890 at bats, 1033 runs scored, 1833 hits, 320 doubles, 224 HR's, 864 RBI's and had a .266 batting average... baseballhistorian.com |