Married Kathy ... has two children: Bode and Kaia ... is a 1994 graduate of James W. Martin High School in
Arlington, Texas ... was a *Baseball America* High School All-American his senior year after hitting .486 ... earned
all-district honors as a basketball player ... his father, Tom, who is currently a broadcaster for the Texas Rangers,
spent nine seasons in the majors with Washington, Texas, the New York Mets and St. Louis, hitting .249 with 65
home runs and 254 RBI ... became the first father-son combination to be selected in the first round (Tom was
chosen by Washington in 1966).
2005
Began the season in the Pittsburgh Pirates organization as a non-roster invitee to spring training, but was released on 4/1 ... signed with the Cubs on 4/23 and spent the majority of the season at Class AAA Iowa ... hit .266
(78-293) with 14 home runs and 51 RBI in 86 games with Iowa and .250 (5-20) with one RBI in 23 contests with the Cubs ... began the season with Iowa and homered in his first swing on 4/7 at Albuquerque ... hit a game-ending home run on 4/17 vs. Albuquerque ... spent time with the Cubs on three different occasions (4/23-5/24, 7/15-19
and 9/13-remainder of season) ... hit .278 (5-18) with one RBI as a pinch hitter ... made his Cubs debut on 4/23 vs. Pittsburgh, singling in a pinch-hit attempt ... made lone start in left field on 5/8 vs. Philadelphia ... was optioned to
Iowa on 5/24 ... went 3-6 with two doubles and three RBI on 7/24 at Oklahoma ... hit 11 of his 14 homers with Iowa off right-handers ... was recalled by the Cubs on 9/13 and appeared in just six games before the season ended,
going hitless in six pinch-hit attempts.
2004
Acquired from Milwaukee Aug. 31 in exchange for LHP Andy Pratt, Grieve was 3-for-11 as a pinch-hitter with the Cubs. He made his first start Sept. 6 in right field but had to leave the game in the fifth inning after crashing into the wall. He left the field with a bloody gash above his eye, requiring stitches. On Sept. 17, he recorded his first hit as a Cub with a two-run pinch-hit double and his first homer, a solo shot off Cincinnati's Todd Van Poppel.
2003
Appeared in just 55 games of an injury-riddled season in which he
underwent two separate surgeries.
Was sidelined from April 18 to May 21 with a left thumb infection ...
had exploratory surgery on May 4 ... procedure was performed by
Dr. John Rayhack in Tampa ... missed 27 games.
Was shelved again July 18 with blood clot in his upper right arm and
underwent season-ending surgery July 31 in Texas ... procedure was
done by Dr.Greg Pearl who removed Grieve's first rib to relieve
the impingement under the arm.
Was leading the club with a .371 on-base percentage when his season
ended.
Started the season 1-for-17 ... avg. was as high as .279 on May
30 ... ended his season in a 19-for-97 skid (.196).
First home run came May 25 at Anaheim (Kevin Appier), the Rays'
49th game ... before this year the latest he has ever gone into a season
without homering was 2001 when he hit his first HR in the
Rays' 18th game ... had 11 that year.
Two games later,May 28 vs.Texas, homered twice off Alan
Benes ... was his 4th 2-HR game of his career, first since April 12,
2002 vs.TOR ... Finished with 4 RBI, his most in a game in nearly 2
years, since he collected 5 on July 27, 2001 at Texas.
Has 15 career HR and 48 career RBI against his hometown Rangers,
his most against any club.
Followed that 2-HR game with just one homer in his last 33 games -
June 17 (G1) at Yankee Stadium off Jeff Weaver.
Had only two multi-RBI games on the season ... the other was July 8
at Oakland.
Went 2-for-7 pinch-hitting, his first successful pinch-hits since 2000
for Oakland.
His three-year Tampa Bay totals include a .254 avg. with 34 home
runs and 153 RBI in 345 games.
2002
In his second season with the Rays he set career lows in batting average (.251), games played
(136), at-bats (482), runs (62), hits (121) and RBI (64).
Hit 19 home runs (second on club to Aubrey Huffbs 23), 8 more than he totaled in 2001.
Hit 17 of those as a rightfielder setting the club mark for most home runs from that position
(prev. 10 by Jose Guillen in 2000).
Had career-high 6 home runs in April (had 5 homers his first dozen games - 46 AB)...included
was the 3rd multi-HR game of his career (first as a Ray) April 12 vs.Toronto...was his first since
June 23, 1999 at Texas.
Belted a 435 ft homer Aug. 20 at Baltimore (Jason Johnson) that landed on Eutaw St. beyond
right field just in front of the Warehouse...was one of 29 balls (3rd in 2002) in Camden Yards
history to land on the street.
After averaging .278, 24 home runs and 93 RBI his first 3 full ML seasons, has averaged .258,
15 HR and 68 RBI in two seasons with the Rays.
Started 134 of 161 games (119 in RF, 15 at DH), 285 of 323 the last two seasons.
Led the Rays in walks for a 2nd straight season with 69...his 156 as a Ray are 4th most in club
history...Fred McGriff is tops with 296.
Was also club leader in hit-by-pitches with 8.
Finished April at .284 with a team-high 6 HR and 16 RBI...hit .244 with 13 homers and 48 RBI
the rest of the season.
His lone May home run, May 30 vs.OAK off Tim Hudson, ended a 23-inning scoreless stretch
against Oakland...was his first HR against his former team.
Set a club month record with 14 doubles in June...are the most doubles he has had in a month
(previous 11, May, 2000)...had 11 of his 30 doubles in Interleague play, most of any Ray.
Hit .500 (5-10) with the bases loaded, tied for 8th in AL...in his Devil Rays career is 12-for-22
(.545) with bases loaded.
Produced two of the Raysb 10 walk-off wins this year: gave Rays 5-4 win in 10 innings over
Toronto April 14 and July 13 singled home Steve Cox with the bases loaded in the 10th to give
Rays the 4-3 win over Seattle...were his first "walk-off" RBIs as a Ray.
On Sep 9 at Tropicana Field he became just the 3rd player in 2002 to get 3 hits off Derek Lowe
(also Adam Kennedy and Michael Tucker).
Hit just .226 at Tropicana Field (56/248), tied with TOR Jose Cruz Jr. for the 4th-lowest home
batting avg. in the AL behind SEA Jeff Cirillo (.217), SEA Mike Cameron (.218) and BAL Melvin
Mora (.219).
Struck out 121 times, 58 called...took 61.5% of his pitches seen, 8th-highest percentage in the
AL...SEA John Olerud led at 66.4%.
Swiped a career-high 8 bases (4th on the club)...in fact has 15 steals in 18 attempts as a Ray
(83.3%)... had just 9 total major league stolen bases prior to coming to Tampa Bay.
Twenty-one of his 64 RBI were game-tying, go-ahead, 4th most on the club.
Hit just .221 (29-131, 2-HR) vs. LH pitching, down from a .293 avg. in 2001.
2001
In his first season with the Rays he led the club in games played, at-bats, hits, doubles, walks and strikeouts.
Hit .264 with 11 HR and 72 RBI, all career lows...prior to this season he averaged .278, 24 home runs and 93 RBI his first three full seasons in the majors.
Finished with a career-high and club record 159 strikeouts...only CLE Jim Thome (185), MIL Jose Hernandez, MIL Richie Sexson (178) and PHI Pat Burrell (162) struck out more times in the majors in 2001...his previous career most was 130 in 2000 and the previous club record was 135 by Jose Canseco in 1999.
Set a career high with 87 walks (9th in AL)...previous high was 85 in 1998...Rays record is 101 by Fred McGriff in 2000.
Reached base in a TB record 37 consecutive games April 18-May 30.
Collected three 5-RBI games, matching his career high (done it 5 times): May 2 @ BAL, June 12 vs. PHI and July 27 @ TEX.
Hit two of the Rays´ four grand slams on the year (Greg Vaughn had other two.): June 12 @ PHI (Oropesa) and June 27 @ TEX (Bell)...the slam at Philly was the Rays´ first of the year and 2nd in interleague action (Paul Sorrento vs. Philly on June 27, 1998)...that game he also tied mark for most RBI by a Ray at the Trop.
Swiped a career-high 7 stolen bases, all from July 25..was only caught once...was 2nd on club from that point to Jason Tyner (21)...were his first steals since Aug 24, 2000 for Oakland at Cleveland...had 9 total big league steals entering 2001.
Had 19 game-tying, go-ahead RBI tied with Fred McGriff for 2nd-most on the club behind Greg Vaughn´s 31.
Hit at every spot in the lineup but leadoff and 9th...had his most success batting in the #2 hole, hitting .311 (19/61)...first game there was July 16...had only hit there twice before in his career, last time June 23, 1999 with Oakland.
Hit .583 with the bases loaded (T-3rd in AL), the 2nd-highest avg. in club history behind Fred McGriff´s .615 in 2000.
AL LEADERS WITH BASES LOADED
Shane Halter, Detroit .714 (5/7)
Corey Koskie, Minnesota .636 (7/11)
Ben Grieve, Tampa Bay .583 (7/12)
Rafael Palmeiro, Texas .583 (7/12)
MORE AL RANKINGS - 6th with 62.9% pitches taken; 8th with 4.05 pitches seen per plate appearance; 3rd with 2.13 groundball-to-flyball ratio; 3rd with 68.1% groundballs; and 10th with a 7.3 plate appearance-to-walks ratio.
Also had the 3rd-lowest avg. in the AL with two strikes - min 100 PA - at .117 (33/283) behind CLE Russ Branyan (.111, 22/198) and BOS Troy O´Leary (.113, 18/159).
Got off to a .190 April, included was a 1-for-31 stretch April 7-16.
Rebounded with a .316 May which was aided by a 21-game stretch May 2-27 in which he hit .367 (29/79) raising his avg. from .184 to .271.
Hit his first HR as a Ray April 21 vs. BAL in his 61st AB (Johnson); first at Tropicana Field in 79 career AB...BLAST - ball glanced off the "D" ring catwalk in CF and landed on the walkway behind the Batter´s Eye Restaurant, the first ball ever to clear the restaurant - 463 ft...the HR snapped a 5-game, 192-AB homerless streak for the Rays.
Collected a season-high 4 hits May 2 @ BAL, including his 2nd HR (Jorge Julio), and 5 RBI...game raised his avg. from .184 to .216.
Totaled 10 games of three or more hits on the season, tied for most on the club with Tyner.
Hit at a .234 clip (61/260) between June 1 and Aug. 31.
Had a career-high 10-game hit streak Aug. 10-19 (12/36, .333).
Hit a team-best .350 (35/100) from Sept. 1 thru season´s end, raising his avg. 20 points from .244 to final .264...hitting safely in 21 of 27 games.
Hit 51 points better in the 2nd half then before the All-Star break (.291 up from .240).
Hit 8 of his 11 HR off righthanders; in 2000 hit 19 of his 27 HR off lefties.
Started 151 games - 60 in RF, 54 in LF, 35 at DH.
Hit .353 (42/119), 5 HR, 24 RBI as the designated hitter; batted .240 (101/421) 6 HR, 48 RBI when playing in the field.
Lead the Rays during spring training in hitting at .415 (3rd in AL)...also ranked among AL leaders this spring with a .755 slugg. pct. (6th) and on-base percentage (.458)...tied for TB lead w/ 4 HR.
1999
Although his averaged tailed off from his Rookie of the Year season in 1998, he did hit a career high 28 home runs and was three RBI short of his total from the previous year with 86...the 28 home runs set an Oakland record for a left fielder ... Batted .265 which marked a 23 point drop from last year ... That was due to a slow start that saw his average at the .131 mark after his first 33 games (May 19) ... Rebounded to hit .303 (115 for 379) with 25 HR and 75 RBI over his final 115 games ... Had never played left field in the majors prior to making the start there on Opening Night ... Ended up making a team leading 127 starts in left field along with five in right field and four at designated hitter ... Hit just .132 (9 for 68) in April after never hitting below .252 in a month in his career prior to that ... The average was the lowest in a month by an A's player with a minimum of 50 at bats since Phil Plantier hit .127 in April of 1996 ... Like many of the A's left handed hitters, left handed pitching was an early season nemesis ... Started the year just 1 for 29 against left handed pitching and was 2 for 42 (.048) at the end of June ... Then hit .224 (15 for 67) off left handers the rest of the season ... Hit .156 (17 for 109) against left handers overall and .297 (112 for 377) with 25 of his 28 HR and 73 of his 86 RBI against right handers ... Also struggled early with just seven multiple hit games over his first 48 games ... Then had 10 multiple hit games over an 18 game span from June 9-27 ... Hit .368 (25 for 68) over that stretch to boost his average 55 points from .193 to .248 ... Also had six HR and 14 RBI during that stretch after tallying just 3 HR and 19 RBI over his first 48 games ... Ended up hitting .342 in June, his best average ever in a month ... Had his lone two homer game of the season on June 23 at Texas ... Has two career two-homer games, both against Texas, and has 8 HR and 23 RBI in his career against the Rangers which are his best marks against any club ... Had his first three-hit game of the season on August 2 against Baltimore after going the first 91 games with two hits or fewer ... Finished August with a .316 average to go with 8 HR and 24 RBI ... The home runs were his most ever in a month and the 24 RBI tied his most from September of 1997 ... Had just one three-hit game over his first 119 games before posting back-to-back three-hit games at New York to start September ... That boosted his average to a season high .273 ... Then went 22 for 94 (.234) over his final 27 games to finish the year at .265 ... Batted .359 (14 for 39) in interleague play with 4 HR and 11 RBI and is a .388 (40 for 103) career hitter against National League West opponents with 6 HR and 27 RBI.
1998
Was named American League Rookie of the Year by the BBWAA and USA Today Baseball Weekly, American League Rookie Player of the Year by The Sporting News and was also named to the Topps Rookie All-Star team ... Set Oakland rookie records in doubles (41) and hits (168) ... The doubles tied Jason Giambi's Oakland record set the previous season ... Led all Major League rookies in runs, hits, walks and on-base percentage and topped all American League rookies in all of the above plus home runs, RBI, total bases, doubles, slugging percentage and extra base hits ... His .288 batting average ranked second among A.L. rookies to the White Sox Mike Caruso (.306) ... Became the fifth Oakland rookie to be named to the All-Star game joining Mark McGwire (1987), Jose Canseco (1986), Matt Keough (1978) and Wayne Gross (1977) ... Ranked among the American League top 10 in doubles (t-7th) and walks (10th) ... Led the A's in games played (155), at bats (583), hits and doubles ... Was ranked first on Baseball America's list of the Top 100 Prospects for 1998 ... Got off to a quick start, batting .300 or better in each of the first three months of the season, but then hit .257 or lower in each of the final three months of the season ... Began a career high eight-game hitting streak on the third game of the season but followed that with a career long 0 for 16 slump ... Had an Oakland record tying five hits on April 29 at Cleveland, the first five-hit game by an A's rookie since Claudell Washington on August 30, 1974 ... Tied another Oakland record with three doubles on May 16 at Chicago, his first of two three-double games (August 29 at Cleveland) ... Started each of the A's first 59 games (58 in right field and one at designated hitter) and played in each of the A's first 65 games before sitting out the first game of his career on June 13, a span of 89 games ... Homered in his first two at bats in his first game in his hometown of Arlington, Texas on June 16 against the Rangers ... Went into the All-Star Break batting .311 with 12 HR and 55 RBI and had a pinch hit walk in the All-Star game ... Then batted just .258 after the break with 6 HR and 34 RBI ... Switched spots with Jason Giambi in the batting order on August 15, moving from third to fifth, and ended up batting .361 when hitting fifth and .281 in the three spot ... Hit a three-run homer in the 12th inning on September 13 at Minnesota to snap a career long 29-game, 109-at bat homerless drought ... It was the third time he homered in the last at bat to give the A's a win ... 15 of his 18 home runs gave the A's the lead and 39 of his 89 RBI either tied the game or put the A's ahead ... Batted .323 on the road, the third best road batting average in the league, with 13 HR and 58 RBI.
1997
Made his major league debut after an outstanding minor league campaign ... Was named Minor League Player of the Year by USA Today and The Sporting News, MVP of the Southern League and was also named to the Howe SportsData All-Prospect team ... Made his major league debut on September 3 against San Francisco and tied an Oakland record with three doubles ... Also drove in five runs which matched the A's season high ... Doubled off Danny Darwin in the sixth inning for his first major league hit ... Also doubled in the seventh and eighth innings and then doubled in the first inning the next night in Kansas City giving him four doubles in four consecutive innings ... Had five multiple hit games in his first seven games ... Connected off Willie Blair for his first major league home run on September 13 ... Drove in 24 runs in 93 at bats which tied for the eighth best RBI total in major league history for a player with fewer than 100 at bats ... Finished with a .355 (11 for 31) average with runners in scoring position ... Began the 1997 season at Double-A Huntsville and had a pair of 14-game hitting streaks ... Finished the first streak with a four-hit, two-homer, six-RBI performance at Greenville on June 23 ... Hit safely in 30 of his final 32 games with Huntsville, including each of his last 11, before his promotion to Edmonton on August 5 ... Reached base safely via hit, walk or hit by pitch in 97 of his 100 games at Huntsville and led the Stars with 81 walks ... Reached base safely via hit or walk in 26 of his 27 games at Edmonton and 22 of 24 at Oakland for a total of 145 of 151 at all three levels ... Had a 19-game hitting streak at Edmonton when he was called up to Oakland ... Combined to hit .350 with 31 HR, 136 RBI, 93 walks and a .461 on-base percentage in 127 games at Huntsville and Edmonton ... Led all of minor league baseball in on-base percentage and slugging percentage (.640) ... Add in his Oakland numbers and he batted .344 with 34 HR, 160 RBI, 106 walks and a .452 on-base percentage in 151 games.
