Burleigh Grimes

{{Short description|American baseball player and manager (1893–1985)}}

{{Infobox baseball biography

|name=Burleigh Grimes

|position=Pitcher / Manager

|image=Burleigh Grimes.jpg

|image_size = 220

|caption = Grimes, {{c.|1916}}

|bats=Right

|throws=Right

|birth_date={{birth date|1893|8|18}}

|birth_place=Emerald, Wisconsin, U.S.

|death_date={{death date and age|1985|12|6|1893|8|18}}

|death_place=Clear Lake, Wisconsin, U.S.

|debutleague = MLB

|debutdate=September 10

|debutyear=1916

|debutteam=Pittsburgh Pirates

|finalleague = MLB

|finaldate=September 20

|finalyear=1934

|finalteam=Pittsburgh Pirates

|statleague = MLB

|stat1label=Win–loss record

|stat1value=270–212

|stat2label=Earned run average

|stat2value=3.53

|stat3label=Strikeouts

|stat3value=1,512

|stat4label=Managerial record

|stat4value=131–171

|stat5label=Winning %

|stat5value=.434

|teams=

As player

Pittsburgh Pirates ({{Baseball year|1916}}–{{Baseball year|1917}})
Brooklyn Robins ({{Baseball year|1918}}–{{Baseball year|1926}})
New York Giants ({{Baseball year|1927}})
Pittsburgh Pirates ({{Baseball year|1928}}–{{Baseball year|1929}})
Boston Braves ({{Baseball year|1930}})
St. Louis Cardinals ({{Baseball year|1930}}–{{Baseball year|1931}})
Chicago Cubs ({{Baseball year|1932}}–{{Baseball year|1933}})
St. Louis Cardinals ({{Baseball year|1933}}–{{Baseball year|1934}})
New York Yankees ({{Baseball year|1934}})
Pittsburgh Pirates ({{Baseball year|1934}})

As manager

Brooklyn Dodgers ({{Baseball year|1937}}–{{Baseball year|1938}})

|highlights=

World Series champion ({{wsy|1931}})
2× NL wins leader (1921, 1928)
NL strikeout leader (1921)

|hoflink = National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum

|hoftype = National

|hofdate=1964

|hofmethod=Veterans Committee

}}

Burleigh Arland Grimes (August 18, 1893 – December 6, 1985) was an American professional baseball player and manager, and the last pitcher officially permitted to throw the spitball.{{cite news |url=http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1931/09/18/page/27/article/grimes-says-hes-woodsman-others-say-hes-great-hurler |work=Chicago Daily Tribune|last=Burns |first=Edward |title=Grimes says he's woodsman; others say he's great hurler |date=September 18, 1931 |page=27}}{{cite magazine |url=https://www.si.com/vault/1967/07/31/609382/the-infamous-spitter |magazine=Sports Illustrated |last=Weiskopf |first=Herman |title=The Infamous Spitter |date=July 31, 1967 |page=12}}{{cite magazine |url=https://www.si.com/vault/1981/04/13/825541/tricks-of-the-trade-loaded-bats-phantom-dps-and-balls-doctored-with-everything-from-flour-to-fly-line-cleaner-may-be-illegit-but-theyre-as-much-a-part-of-the-grand-old-game-as-well-the-spitter |magazine=Sports Illustrated |last=Wolf |first=Steve |title=Tricks of the Trade |date=April 13, 1981 |page=92}} Grimes made the most of this advantage, as well as his unshaven, menacing presence on the mound, which earned him the nickname "Ol' Stubblebeard."[https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/burleigh-grimes/ Faber, Charles F., Burleigh Grimes,] Society for American Baseball Research Biography Project He won 270 MLB games, pitched in four World Series over the course of his 19-year career,{{cite news|url=http://www.post-gazette.com/opinion/Op-Ed/2016/04/03/The-last-great-spitballer/stories/201604030056 |work=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette |last=Guzzardi |first=Joe |title=Burleigh Grimes, the last great spit-baller |date=April 3, 2016 |access-date=March 7, 2017}} and was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1964. A decade earlier, he had been inducted into the Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame.

Early life

Born in Emerald, Wisconsin, Grimes was the first child of Cecil "Nick" Grimes, a farmer and former day laborer, and Ruth Tuttle, the daughter of a former Wisconsin legislator. Having previously played baseball for several local teams, Nick Grimes managed the Clear Lake Yellow Jackets and taught his son how to play the game early in life.Niese, p. 10. Burleigh Grimes also participated in boxing as a child.Niese, p. 12.

Grimes threw and batted right-handed, and was listed as {{convert|5|ft|10|in}} tall and {{convert|175|lb}}. He made his professional debut in 1912 for the Eau Claire Commissioners of the Minnesota–Wisconsin League.Christofferson, Jason. Diamonds in Clear Water: Professional Baseball in Eau Claire, 1886–1912. Self-published. 2013. p.143-155. From almost the beginning of his career, he threw a spitball, using slippery elm to alter the baseball's face. He played in Ottumwa, Iowa, in 1913 for the Ottumwa Packers in the Central Association.

MLB career

File:BurleighGrimesGoudeycard.jpg

Grimes played for the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1916 and {{Baseball year|1917}}. In 1917, he lost 13 straight decisions. Before the 1918 season, he was sent to the Brooklyn Dodgers in a multiplayer trade.{{cite news|title=Robins give Pirates two players for three in big trade; Mamaux obtained by Robins in deal|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1918/01/10/archives/robins-give-pirates-two-players-for-three-in-big-trade-mamaux.html|access-date=November 2, 2014|work=The New York Times|date=January 10, 1918}} When the spitball was banned in 1920, he was named as one of 17 established pitchers who were allowed to continue to throw the pitch. According to Baseball Digest, the Phillies were able to hit him because they knew when he was throwing the spitter.

He then pitched for the New York Giants ({{Baseball year|1927}}), the Pirates again ({{Baseball year|1928}}–{{Baseball year|1929}}), the Boston Braves ({{Baseball year|1930}}) and the St. Louis Cardinals (1930-{{Baseball year|1931}}). With the Pirates in 1928, he posted a 25–14 record, posting the most wins, complete games, shutouts, and innings pitched of any NL pitcher. In the 1931 World Series, despite suffering a dislocated vertebra before Game 7, Grimes pitched {{frac|8|1|3}} innings, earning the win to clinch the series victory for the Cardinals. He was traded to the Chicago Cubs before the 1932 season in exchange for Hack Wilson and Bud Teachout.{{cite book|last1=Snyder|first1=John|title=Cardinals Journal: Year by Year and Day by Day with the St. Louis Cardinals Since 1882|date=2010|publisher=Clerisy Press|isbn=978-1578604807|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iUDCkwoHsYkC&pg=PA248|access-date=November 2, 2014}} He returned to the Cardinals in 1933 and {{Baseball year|1934}}, then moved to the Pirates (1934) and the New York Yankees (1934). Grimes was nicknamed "Ol' Stubblebeard", related to his habit of not shaving on days in which he was going to pitch.{{cite web|title=Grimes, Burleigh|url=http://baseballhall.org/hof/Grimes-Burleigh|publisher=Baseball Hall of Fame|access-date=November 1, 2014}}

Grimes was a very good hitting pitcher in his major league career, posting a .248 batting average (380-for-1535) with 157 runs, 62 doubles, 11 triples, 2 home runs and 168 RBI. He also drew 69 bases on balls. He had nine seasons with 10 or more RBIs, with a high of 16 in 1920 and 1928. In four World Series appearances (1920, 1930–1932) he hit .316 (6-for-19) with 1 run and 2 RBI.

At the time of his retirement, he was the last player who was legally allowed to throw a spitball, as he was one of 17 spitballers permitted to throw the pitch after it was otherwise outlawed in 1920.Russo, p. 147 Baseball historian Frank Russo called him "baseball's most aggressive spitballer". Grimes had acquired a lasting field reputation for his temperament. He was known for wanting to win in any way possible. Prior to a game against the Giants late in 1924, Grimes organized a team meeting and said, "Anyone who doesn't want to play today's game to win, let me know right now."Russo, p. 147-48 Then, on his first pitch, he knocked down a Giant.Russo, p. 148 He is listed in the Baseball Hall of Shame series for having thrown a ball at the batter in the on-deck circle.Bruce Nash, The Baseball Hall of Shame 2 The only two batters Grimes apparently could not intimidate were Hall of Famers Frankie Frisch and Paul Waner. If Grimes threw a close pitch to them, the batters usually followed it up with a hard-hit line drive. Grimes's friends and supporters note that he was consistently a kind man when off the diamond. Others claim he showed a greedy attitude to many people who 'got on his bad side.' He would speak mainly only to his best friend Ivy Olson in the dugout, and would pitch only to a man named Mathias Schroeder before games. Schroeder's identity was not well known among many Dodger players, as many say he was just 'a nice guy from the neighborhood.' Dodger manager Wilbert Robinson did not get along well with Grimes, using a clubhouse attendant to tell Grimes when he pitched so that he could talk to Grimes as little as possible.

Grimes had a total of 36 Major League teammates who would later be elected to the Hall of Fame. No other Hall of Famer had more Hall of Fame teammates.{{cite news |last1=Stark |first1=Jayson |title=Three Strikes: A whole lot more of Rickey |url=https://www.espn.com/blog/jayson-stark/post/_/id/374/whole-lot-more-rickey |access-date=16 September 2019 |publisher=ESPN |date=January 15, 2009}}

Post-playing career

Grimes moved to the minor leagues in 1935 as a player-manager for the Bloomington Bloomers of the Illinois–Indiana–Iowa League. He started 21 games for the team, recording a 2.34 ERA and a 10–5 record.{{cite web|title=Burleigh Grimes Minor League Statistics & History|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/player.cgi?id=grimes001bur|website=Baseball-Reference.com|access-date=December 4, 2014}} He did not pitch again after that season, moving on to manage the Louisville Colonels of the American Association.

Grimes was the manager of the Dodgers in 1937–38. He followed Casey Stengel's term as Dodgers manager. He compiled a two-year record of 131-171 (.434), with his teams finishing sixth and seventh respectively in the National League. Babe Ruth was one of Grimes's coaches. Leo Durocher was the team's shortstop in 1937 and a coach in 1938. When Grimes was fired by general manager Larry MacPhail after the 1938 season, Durocher was hired to replace him. MacPhail said the team's morale had not been right for a long period of time.{{cite news|title="Lippy" peps up Dodgers|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1144&dat=19381013&id=cl8qAAAAIBAJ&sjid=K0wEAAAAIBAJ&pg=2304,4501027|access-date=December 4, 2014|work=Pittsburgh Press|date=October 13, 1938}}

Grimes remained in baseball for many years as a minor league manager and a scout. He scouted for the Yankees, Athletics, and Orioles.

He managed the Toronto Maple Leafs of the International League from 1942 to 1944, and again in 1952 and 1953, winning the pennant in 1943.

As a scout with the Baltimore Orioles, Grimes discovered Jim Palmer and Dave McNally.{{cite news|title=Grimes back at "home"|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1368&dat=19720204&id=QZlRAAAAIBAJ&sjid=EBEEAAAAIBAJ&pg=7083,1518465|access-date=December 4, 2014|work=Milwaukee Sentinel|date=February 4, 1972}}{{Dead link|date=August 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}

Grimes also assisted in managing the Independence Yankees in Independence, Kansas in 1948 and 1949, where Mickey Mantle started his professional career in 1949.{{cite book|last1=Niese|first1=Joe|title=Burleigh Grimes: Baseball's Last Legal Spitballer|date=2013|publisher=McFarland & Company|isbn=978-1-4766-0179-3}}

Later life

Grimes was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in {{Baseball year|1964}}. In 1981, Lawrence Ritter and Donald Honig included Grimes in their book The 100 Greatest Baseball Players of All Time.[https://www.si.com/vault/issue/70933/108/1 (1981 photo)]

Grimes died following a protracted battle with cancer at age 92 on December 6, 1985, in Clear Lake, Wisconsin. His wife Lillian survived him.{{cite news|last1=Yannis|first1=Alex|title=Burleigh Grimes, ex-pitcher and Hall of Fame member|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1985/12/10/sports/burleigh-grimes-ex-pitcher-and-hall-of-fame-member.html|access-date=November 1, 2014|work=The New York Times|date=December 10, 1985}} He is buried in the Clear Lake Cemetery.

Notes

References

Niese, Joe (2013). [https://books.google.com/books?id=6QKTmVNGltIC Burleigh Grimes: Baseball's Last Legal Spitballer]. McFarland. {{ISBN|0786473282}}.
{{cite book|last=Russo|first=Frank|title=The Cooperstown Chronicles: Baseball's Colorful Characters, Unusual Lives, and Strange Demises|location=New York|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|year=2014|isbn=978-1-4422-3639-4}}

External links

{{bbhof|grimes-burleigh}}
{{baseballstats|mlb=115162|espn=|br=g/grimebu01|fangraphs=1005061|brm=grimes001bur|retro=G/Pgrimb101}}　
{{baseball-reference manager|grimebu01}}
[https://web.archive.org/web/20040527222152/http://www.cmgworldwide.com/baseball/grimes/ cmgworldwide.com] Official website
{{Find a Grave}}
[https://collection.baseballhall.org/PASTIME/burleigh-grimes-oral-history-interview-1983-july-30-0 Burleigh Grimes Oral History Interview (1 of 2) - National Baseball Hall of Fame Digital Collection] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190703130434/https://collection.baseballhall.org/PASTIME/burleigh-grimes-oral-history-interview-1983-july-30-0 |date=2019-07-03 }}
[https://collection.baseballhall.org/PASTIME/burleigh-grimes-oral-history-interview-1983-july-30-3 Burleigh Grimes Oral History Interview (2 of 2) - National Baseball Hall of Fame Digital Collection] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190703130433/https://collection.baseballhall.org/PASTIME/burleigh-grimes-oral-history-interview-1983-july-30-3 |date=2019-07-03 }}