Lefty Grove

From SoSH

Lefty Grove

Born:	March 6, 1900
Birthplace:	Lonaconing, Maryland
Hometown:	Norwalk, Ohio (d. 1975)
Height:	6' 3"
Weight:	190 lbs
Bats:	Left
Throws:	Left
Drafted:	1924: Purchased by the Philadelphia Athletics
College:
High School:
Other Teams:	Philadelphia A's 1925-1933
Years with Boston:	1934 - 1941

Robert Moses "Lefty" Grove (born March 6, 1900 in Lonaconing, Maryland), made his major league debut with the Philadelphia Athletics on April 14, 1925. His career lasted from then until 1941 when he retired with the Boston Red Sox, with a career 300-141 record. He was inducted into the baseball hall of fame in 1947.

1 Overall Career
2 Awards
3 Achievements
4 Moment in the Sun
5 Trivia
6 Transactions
7 External Links

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Overall Career

Grove joined the Orioles in 1920 to begin his minor league career. He broke into the team's starting pitching rotation at midseason, Grove posted a 12-2 record his first year. Over the next four seasons, he earned records of 25-10, 18-8, 27-10 and 27-6, leading the International league in strikeouts during each season.

Grove remained in the minor leagues through 1924 because Dunn, who ran an independent operation with no major-league affiliation, denied major league offers for Grove. Finally, in early 1925, Dunn agreed to sell Grove's rights to the Philadelphia Athletics for $106,000, the highest amount ever paid for a player at the time.

Lefty had only a 10-13 record his first season due to injury, but he still managed to lead the league in strikeouts. Grove then settled down in 1926 and won the first of a record nine ERA at 2.51. Grove had his first 20 win season in 1927, and a year later won 24 leading the league in wins.

During the Athletics championship run (’29-’31), Grove led the way as the league's top pitcher, with 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 MVPin 1931, making him one of only a handful of pitchers to achieve this honor.

After the 1933 season, team owner Connie Mack sold Grove to the Boston Red Sox. At the time, the Red Sox were a struggling team, and Grove didn't help much his first year, when an arm injury held him to an 8-8 record. However in1935, Grove was back to normal with a 20-12 record led the league with a 2.70 ERA. Grove won his eighth ERA title a year later leading the league, and also led the league in 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 adjusted for the parks in which Grove played during his career, is second only to the still-active Pedro Martinez.

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Awards

Elected to Hall of Fame by Baseball Writers in 1947 (76.4%)

1931 American League MVP
2-Time American League Triple Crown Winner (1930 & 1931)
6-Time American League All-Star (1933, 1935 - 1939)

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Achievements

Member of the 300 Win Club (300 Wins)

1930 American League Games Pitched Leader
1930 American League Saves Leader
9-time American League ERA Leader (1926, 1929-1932, 1935, 1936, 1938 & 1939)
7-time American League Strikeouts Leader (1925-1931)
4-time American League Wins Leader (1928, 1930, 1931 & 1933)
4-time American League Winning Percentage Leader (1930, 1931, 1933 & 1938)
3-time American League Complete Games Leader (1931-1933)
3-time American League Shutouts Leader (1931, 1932 & 1936)
15 Wins Seasons: 11 (1927-1933, 1935-1937 & 1939)
20 Wins Seasons: 8 (127-1933 & 1935)
25 Wins Seasons: 3 (1930-1932)
30 Wins Seasons: 1 (1931)
200 Innings Pitched Seasons: 11 (1926-1933 & 1935-1937)
200 Strikeouts Seasons: 1 (1930)

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Moment in the Sun

September 3, 1927: Lefty Grove pitches his only shutout of the year, beating the Yankees 1-0.
September 27, 1928: For a remarkable 2nd time in five weeks, Lefty Grove strikes out three batters on nine pitches, this time victimizing the White Sox (Berg, Thomas and Mostil) in the 7th inning.

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Trivia

From July 25, 1930, through September 24, 1931, Lefty Grove was an incredible 46-4.
Lefty Grove was the first American League pitcher to lead the league in K's and walks in the same season (1925).
No pitcher/batter has ever struck out as many times as Lefty Grove. Grove fanned 593 times in 1,369 official at-bats, or 43% of the time
Lefty Grove earned seven straight ERA titles.
He led the league for a record nine years.
On February 5, 1931, A court finds Lefty Grove not liable in a shooting accident that occurred in November 1928. Grove was hunting with a friend Roberdeau Annan in West Virginia and when Annan crested a hill, Grove shot him by mistake, partially blinding him in the left eye.

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Transactions

October 8, 1924: Purchased by the Philadelphia Athletics from the Baltimore (International) for $100,600.
December 12, 1933: Traded by the Philadelphia Athletics with Max Bishop and Rube Walberg to the Boston Red Sox for Bob Kline, Rabbit Warstler, and $125,000.

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