Lefty Grove

Information about Lefty Grove

Lefty Grove
Pitcher
Batted: LeftThrew: 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
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 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

 •  • [ e]
Major League Baseball | MLB All-Century Team
Nolan Ryan • Sandy Koufax • Cy Young • Roger Clemens • Bob Gibson • Walter Johnson • Warren Spahn • Christy Mathewson • Lefty Grove
Johnny Bench • Yogi Berra • Lou Gehrig • Mark McGwire • Jackie Robinson • Rogers Hornsby • Mike Schmidt • Brooks Robinson • Cal Ripken, Jr. • Ernie Banks • Honus Wagner
Babe Ruth • Hank Aaron • Ted Williams • Willie Mays • Joe DiMaggio • Mickey Mantle • Ty Cobb • Ken Griffey, Jr. • Pete Rose • Stan Musial
 •  • [ e]
300 win club
pitcher is the player who throws the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter who attempts to either make contact with it or draw a walk.
..... Click the link for more information.
April 14 is the 1st day of the year (2nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 0 days remaining.

Events

  • 43 BC - Battle of Forum Gallorum.

..... Click the link for more information.
The following are the baseball events of the year 1925 throughout the world.   This year in baseball
2000s
2009 • 2008 • 2007 • 2006 • 2005
..... Click the link for more information.
September 28 is the 1st day of the year (2nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 0 days remaining.

Events


..... Click the link for more information.
The following are the baseball events of the year 1941 throughout the world.   This year in baseball
2000s
2009 • 2008 • 2007 • 2006 • 2005
..... Click the link for more information.
Boston Red Sox Established 1901

Team Logo Cap Insignia
Major league affiliations
  • American League (1901–present)
  • East Division (1969–present)

..... Click the link for more information.
win (denoted W) is generally credited to the pitcher for the winning team who was in the game when they last took the lead. A starting pitcher must generally complete five innings to earn a win.
..... Click the link for more information.
In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the mean of earned runs given up by a pitcher per nine innings pitched. It bears similar meaning to a hitter's batting average.
..... Click the link for more information.
strikeout or strike out (denoted by SO or K) occurs when the batter receives three strikes during his time at bat. Strikeouts are associated with dominance on the part of the pitcher and/or incompetence on the part of the batter, although for power hitters it
..... Click the link for more information.
Oakland Athletics Established 1901 Based in Oakland since

Team Logo Cap Insignia
Major league affiliations
  • American League (1901–present)

..... Click the link for more information.
Boston Red Sox Established 1901

Team Logo Cap Insignia
Major league affiliations
  • American League (1901–present)
  • East Division (1969–present)

..... Click the link for more information.
World Series is the championship series of Major League Baseball and the culmination of the sport's postseason each October. Since the Series takes place in mid-autumn, sportswriters many years ago dubbed the event the "Fall Classic". The St.
..... Click the link for more information.
The World Series
  
2000s
2007 • 2006 • 2005 • 2004 2003 • 2002 • 2001 • 2000
1990s
..... Click the link for more information.
The World Series
  
2000s
2007 • 2006 • 2005 • 2004 2003 • 2002 • 2001 • 2000
1990s
..... Click the link for more information.
The World Series
  
2000s
2007 • 2006 • 2005 • 2004 2003 • 2002 • 2001 • 2000
1990s
..... Click the link for more information.
Triple Crown refers to:
  1. A batter who (at season's end) leads the league in three major categories -- home runs, runs batted in, and batting average.
  2. A pitcher who (at season's end) leads the league in three major categories -- earned run average, wins, and strikeouts.

..... Click the link for more information.
Major League Baseball recognizes earned run average champions in the American League and National League each season.

American League


Year Player Team(s) ERA
1901 Cy Young Boston Americans 1.
..... Click the link for more information.
Major League Baseball recognizes strikeout champions in the American League and National League each season.

American League


Year Player Team(s) Strikeouts
1901 Cy Young Boston Americans 158
..... Click the link for more information.
Major League Baseball recognizes win champions among pitchers in the American League and National League each season.

American League


Year Player Team(s) Wins
1901 Cy Young Boston Americans 33
..... Click the link for more information.
March 6 is the 1st day of the year (2nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 0 days remaining.

Events

  • 1079 - Omar Khayyám completes the Iranian calendar.
  • 1447 - Nicholas V becomes Pope.

..... Click the link for more information.
19th century - 20th century
1870s  1880s  1890s  - 1900s -  1910s  1920s  1930s
1897 1898 1899 - 1900 - 1901 1902 1903

Year 1900 (MCM
..... Click the link for more information.
May 22 is the 1st day of the year (2nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 0 days remaining.

Events


..... Click the link for more information.
19th century - 20th century - 21st century
1940s  1950s  1960s  - 1970s -  1980s  1990s  2000s
1972 1973 1974 - 1975 - 1976 1977 1978

Year 1975 (MCMLXXV
..... Click the link for more information.
pitcher is the player who throws the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter who attempts to either make contact with it or draw a walk.
..... Click the link for more information.
Sport Baseball
Founded 1876
No. of teams 30
Country(ies)  United States
 Canada

Most recent champion(s) St. Louis Cardinals

TV partner(s) FOX, ESPN, and TBS
Official website MLB.
..... Click the link for more information.
Lonaconing, Maryland

Seal
Motto:
Location of Lonaconing, Maryland
Coordinates:
Country United States
State Maryland
County Allegany
Area
..... Click the link for more information.
City of Baltimore
Downtown Baltimore

Flag
Seal
Nickname: Charm City,[1] Mob Town,[2][3] B-more, Crabtown, The City of Firsts
..... Click the link for more information.
Centuries: 19th century - 20th century - 21st century

1880s 1890s 1900s - 1910s - 1920s 1930s 1940s
1910 1911 1912 1913 1914
1915 1916 1917 1918 1919

- -
-

Events and trends


..... Click the link for more information.
John Joseph Dunn (October 6, 1872 - October 22, 1928) was an American journeyman pitcher in Major League Baseball at the turn of the 20th century who later went on to become a minor league baseball club owner, discovering two future Hall of Famers.
..... Click the link for more information.
Minor League Baseball, formerly the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues and also known in the past as NAPBL, National Baseball Association, and NA
..... Click the link for more information.

This article is copied from an article on Wikipedia.org - the free encyclopedia created and edited by online user community. The text was not checked or edited by anyone on our staff. Although the vast majority of the wikipedia encyclopedia articles provide accurate and timely information please do not assume the accuracy of any particular article. This article is distributed under the terms of GNU Free Documentation License.