| Lefty Grove |
|
|
|
| Pitcher |
|
| Born: March 6, 1900 |
|
| Died: May 22 1975
(aged 75) |
| Batted: Left |
Threw: Left |
| MLB debut |
April 14, 1925
for the Philadelphia Athletics |
| Final game |
September 28, 1941
for the Boston Red Sox |
| Career statistics |
| Pitching Record |
300-141 |
| Earned run average |
3.06 |
| Strikeouts |
2266 |
| Teams |
|
|
| Career highlights and awards |
- World Series champion: 1929,
1930
- American League pennant: 1931
- American League Pitching Triple Crown:1930, 1931
- American league MVP: 1931
- American League ERA champion: 1926, 1929-1932, 1935,
1936, 1938, 1939
- American League strikeout champion: 1925-1931
- American League wins champion: 1928, 1930, 1931,
1933
- Ranks 21st in wins (300) in major league history
- 8 20-win seasons
- 1 30-win season
|
| Member of the National |
 Baseball Hall of Fame |
| Elected |
1947 |
| Vote |
76.4% (third ballot) |
Robert Moses "Lefty" Grove (March 6, 1900 -
May 22, 1975) was one of the greatest pitchers in Major League Baseball history.
Born in Lonaconing, Maryland, Grove was a sandlot star in the Baltimore area during the 1910s. His performance caught the eye of
Jack Dunn, the owner of the minor league
Baltimore Orioles, who also discovered Babe
Ruth.
Grove joined the Orioles in 1920 and embarked on an epic minor league career which
saw him regarded by some as one of the best pitchers in baseball, even before he ever threw a pitch in the majors. Breaking into
the team's pitching rotation at midseason, Grove posted a 12-2 record. Over the next four seasons, he posted marks of 25-10,
18-8, 27-10 and 27-6, leading the International League in strikeouts every
season.
Grove remained in the minor leagues through 1924 because Dunn, who ran an
independent operation with no major-league affiliation, refused several offers from the majors to acquire him. Finally, early in
1925, Dunn agreed to sell Grove's rights to the Philadelphia Athletics for $100,500, the highest amount ever paid for a player at the time.
He battled injuries as a rookie and posted only a 10-13 record, despite leading the league in strikeouts. Grove then settled
down in 1926 and won the first of a record nine earned run average (ERA) titles with a mark of 2.51. In 1927, Grove won 20 games for the first time and a year later, he led the league in wins with 24.
In 1928, Grove twice struck out the side on 9 pitches. On August 23, he did it in the second inning of a 3-1 win over the Cleveland Indians to become the third American
League pitcher and seventh pitcher in Major League history to accomplish the feat. On September
27, he did it in the seventh inning of a 5-3 win over the Chicago White Sox, becoming the first pitcher in Major League
history to accomplish the feat twice in a career; since then, only Sandy Koufax and
Nolan Ryan, both Hall of Famers, have joined him. Grove, however, remains the only pitcher to
ever do it twice in the same season, just one month and four days apart.
The Athletics won the pennant in three successive seasons (1929 to 1931), as well as two straight World Championships 1929 and
1930. During the Athletics championship run, Grove led the way as the league's top
pitcher, posting records of 20-6, 28-5 and 31-4 in those years, the last of which being his best. Grove led the league in wins,
ERA (2.06), strikeouts (175), winning percentage, complete games and shutouts. He was also chosen as league MVP in 1931, making him one
of only a handful of pitchers to achieve this honor. His MVP Award is the only one not housed in Cooperstown, instead being
housed at the Georges Creek Library in Lonaconing.
The Athletics continued to contend for the next two seasons, but finished second to the New
York Yankees in 1932 and third behind the Washington Senators and
Yankees in 1933. Following the 1933 season,
team owner Connie Mack sold Grove to the Boston
Red Sox.
At the time, the Red Sox were a bad team, and Grove didn't help much his first year, when an arm injury held him to an 8-8
record. However in 1935, Grove returned to form with a 20-12 record and a
league-leading 2.70 ERA. Grove won his eighth ERA title a year later, and also led the league in that category and winning
percentage in 1938. Grove did not win as many games in Boston as he did in
Philadelphia, as managers protected his arm as he aged. Nevertheless, Grove continued to post outstanding records, including 14-4
in 1938 and 15-4 in 1939.
Grove retired in 1941 with a career record of 300-141. His .680 lifetime winning
percentage is still eighth all-time; however, none of the seven men ahead of him won more than 236 games. His lifetime ERA of
3.06, when normalized to relate to overall league ERA and [[adjusted ERA+|adjusted]] for the parks in which Grove played during
his career, is second only to the still-active Pedro Martínez), at 48 percent above
average.
Grove was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in
1947. He died in Norwalk,
Ohio and was interred in the Frostburg Memorial Cemetery in Frostburg,
Maryland.
In 1999, Grove ranked number 23 on The Sporting News list of Baseball's Greatest Players. He was the
second highest-ranked left-handed pitcher, after Warren Spahn. That same year, Grove was
elected to the Major League Baseball All-Century Team.
See also
External links
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- Lefty Grove 
