Bobby Grich

Second Baseman
Montreal Voyageurs (DET, LA, CLE)
1971-1984

When the Commish asked me to write up a HOF piece on Buddy Rich, I was confused. Buddy was awesome with the sticks, but he couldn’t hit the curve. Then The Commish slapped me back into reality and I realized he meant 2B Bobby Grich.

A sure-handed 2B, Muskegon, Mich. native Bobby Grich started his UL career by being drafted by the Detroit Griffins in 1971, as the 5th pick in the second round. And while Detroit in the 1970s wasn’t known for being the place you want to be, the young middle infielder quickly adapted to life in the big leagues and began having an impact. Although the Griffins didn’t make the postseason, Grich definitely was one of the major contributors to the team during his four-year tenure, posting 2.4, 4.4, 5.5, and 5.2 WAR seasons and winning a Gold Glove and being named to the All-UL Team before inexplicably being traded to Montreal.

At Montreal, he started hot, registering a 9.5 WAR for the 1975 season, and over the next five seasons, Grich continued to produce solid WAR, as well as anchor the infield for the expansion Voyageurs. But as 1980 came into view, Grich’s body was no longer up to the task of playing, and he frequently became injured and was unable to make it through a full season, although he was the defensive substitute of choice for wherever he played. With the injury bug seemingly unable to be overcome, the Voyageurs sent Grich to L.A., where he won his only UL championship in 1981, despite only appearing in 52 games. By this point, Grich had become the player in trades that was sent to offset salary or be that defensive substitute, as Cleveland and LA passed him back and forth before LA cut him in 1985, with Grich playing in the minors for three more years before retiring in 1988.

What do we do with Grich? Some fans are not enthralled with the guy at all and cite a lack of offensive production. I would argue that, despite his naysayers and the injuries he faced, Grich managed to play a middle IF position at a high level for an awful long time, compiling a lifetime .267/.346/.423 and .769 OPS with a wRC+ of 119 and a 45.8 WAR. These are pretty darn solid numbers for a guy struggling with injuries.

Grich is one of seven players—and only second baseman—with five Gold Gloves, registering a ZR at 2B of 75.5 – and this number doesn’t even include numbers for his time at Detroit before ZR stats were recorded. These were his glory years, so I could easily see a total ZR near 100.  Naysayers would claim his offensive skills aren’t good enough and that no one should give a player a Hall pass solely based on his defensive skills. If you are one of those, before you vote, take a long look Grich and compare him to Felix Mantilla (1982) and his 44.2 WAR, and then see if Grich’s all-around skills are something you wouldn’t want on your team. (Sean Holloway)