Ross Grimsley

Ross Grimsley
Pitcher
Born: January 7, 1950 (1950-01-07) Topeka, Kansas
Batted: Left	Threw: Left
MLB debut
May 16, 1971 for the Cincinnati Reds
Last MLB appearance
September 24, 1982 for the Baltimore Orioles
Career statistics
Win–Loss record	124–99
Earned run average	3.81
Strikeouts	750
Teams
Cincinnati Reds (1971–1973) Baltimore Orioles (1974–1977) Montreal Expos (1978–1980) Cleveland Indians (1980) Baltimore Orioles (1982)
Career highlights and awards
All-Star selection (1978)

Ross Albert Grimsley II (born January 7, 1950 in Topeka, Kansas) is a former left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the Cincinnati Reds (1971–73), Baltimore Orioles (1974–77 and 1982), Montreal Expos (1978–80) and Cleveland Indians (1980). His father, Ross Sr., pitched for the 1951 Chicago White Sox.

Grimsley helped the Reds win the 1972 National League Pennant and the 1973 NL Western Division, and the Orioles win the 1974 American League Eastern Division. He was named to the 1978 National League All-Star Team as a member of the Expos and had his only career 20-win season that year. He also finished 7th in voting for the 1978 National League Cy Young Award after finishing with a record of 20-11, 19 complete games, 3 shutouts, 263 innings pitched, and a 3.05 ERA. Grimsley finished his 11-season playing career during a comeback attempt with the Orioles in 1982 with a 124-99 record, 79 complete games, 15 shutouts, 2,039⅓ innings pitched and a 3.81 ERA.

Grimsley was one of the more colorful players of the 1970s and known for his superstitiousness and often flaky behavior. With the Reds, he was called into manager Sparky Anderson's office and told to stop corresponding with a "witch" who had been sending him good luck charms. Despite being a premier starting pitcher for the Reds, he was traded to the Orioles for Merv Rettenmund, a part-time outfielder, after the 1973 season, largely in part for his constant resistance to the Reds organization's conservative grooming rules. With the Orioles in 1974, he sported a huge mop of curly hair, prominent moustache, and 18 wins.

In an incident on September 16, 1975 at Fenway Park, Grimsley, warming up in the Orioles' bullpen, responded to Boston fans' heckling by throwing into the right field bleachers. The ball passed through the protective netting, injuring a Boston fan. The fan later successfully sued Grimsley and the Orioles in Manning v. Grimsley, a case cited in law casebooks to highlight the scope of employment law as it relates to agency. He was accused by Yankees manager Billy Martin in 1977 of throwing "spitball" pitches using Vaseline hidden in his hair, which was usually somewhat greasy in appearance anyway due to Grimsley's penchant for not showering during winning streaks. In addition to his nickname "Scuz" for his liberal grooming habits, he was also called "Crazy Eyes" and known to wear turquoise contact lenses.

Grimsley is now the pitching coach for the Richmond Flying Squirrels (formerly the Connecticut Defenders), a Double-A minor league baseball team affiliated with the San Francisco Giants.

See also

• List of Major League Baseball leaders in career wins
• List of second generation MLB players
• Ross Grimsley (1950s pitcher), Grimsley's father

External links

• Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference