Mark Grace
Mark Grace | |
---|---|
First baseman | |
Born: Winston-Salem, North Carolina, U.S. | June 28, 1964|
Batted: Left Threw: Left | |
MLB debut | |
May 2, 1988, for the Chicago Cubs | |
Last MLB appearance | |
September 28, 2003, for the Arizona Diamondbacks | |
MLB statistics | |
Batting average | .303 |
Hits | 2,445 |
Home runs | 173 |
Runs batted in | 1,146 |
Teams | |
As player
As coach | |
Career highlights and awards | |
|
Mark Eugene Grace (born June 28, 1964) is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) first baseman who spent 13 seasons with the Chicago Cubs and three seasons with the Arizona Diamondbacks of the National League (NL). He was a member of the 2001 World Series champion Diamondbacks that beat the New York Yankees. Grace batted and threw left-handed; he wore jersey number 28 and 17 during his rookie season of 1988, and he kept number 17 for the remainder of his career.
Career
Amateur career
Grace played high school baseball and basketball at Tustin High School in Tustin, California. After graduating from high school in 1982, he attended Saddleback College before transferring to San Diego State University to play for the San Diego State Aztecs. At the age of 19, he was drafted in the 15th round by the Minnesota Twins but did not sign.
Chicago Cubs
The
Grace starred on Cubs teams that included
Grace helped lead the Cubs to the
Grace led the team in average (.325), OBP (.393), hits (193), walks (71), doubles (39), and RBI (98 – a career high) in 1993 and was selected as an alternate to the NL All-Star team for the first time in his career. He also hit for the cycle on May 9 that year,[4] and (as of the end of the 2018 season) is the most recent Cub to have done so. In 1995, Grace hit .326/.395/.516 and hit 51 doubles (which led the NL). He was once again named to the NL All-Star team.
The song that played most frequently on the Wrigley Field organ prior to a Grace at bat was "Taking Care of Business", which Grace explained was due to his bit part in a Jim Belushi film of the same name.
Arizona Diamondbacks
Grace signed with the Arizona Diamondbacks on December 8, 2000, with a $6 million, two-year contract after the Cubs declined to offer salary arbitration. The deal included a mutual $3 million option year in 2003. He received $5.3 million in his last season with the Cubs but accepted less money for the opportunity to live year-round at his home in suburban Scottsdale, Arizona with his family. "For me to remain a Cub, the Cubs would have wanted to want me back and the Cubs would have had to win," Grace said at the time. "Neither of those happened and I'm one proud Diamondback now."[5]
Grace wore his familiar number 17 in Arizona where he played for three more seasons, including helping the Diamondbacks win the 2001 World Series. Having never even visited Yankee Stadium, he belted a home run there in Game 4 of the series.[6] In Game 7, Grace led off the bottom of the 9th inning with a single — his third of the game — off Yankee pitcher Mariano Rivera, which rallied the Arizona Diamondbacks to a come-from-behind victory for the franchise's first championship. His .515 career batting average in League Championship Series play is a record for players in at least ten games.[citation needed]
During a 19–1 defeat by the Los Angeles Dodgers in September 2002, Grace pitched one inning of relief.[7] He surrendered one run on catcher David Ross's first career home run. Grace also impersonated teammate Mike Fetters, who from the stretch would take a deep breath and then quickly turned his head towards the catcher.
On September 26, 2003, Grace announced his retirement from baseball.
Coaching
Grace has stated a desire to manage a major league team at some point.[8] He was considered for the Diamondbacks' managerial position following the 2004 season,[9] but the Diamondbacks hired Bob Melvin instead.
Grace spent 2014 as
Broadcasting career
After his retirement as a player, Grace continued his involvement in the game as a television
Grace also agreed to a deal with
On August 24, 2012, Grace requested an indefinite leave of absence from the booth, and at the end of the 2012 season, the team announced that he would not be returning for the 2013 season.[14]
In February 2017, Grace was named as a baseball analyst for Diamondbacks games by
In February 2020, Grace was hired as an analyst for select Chicago Cubs games on Marquee Sports Network. Grace will continue his role with the Diamondbacks as the lead color commentator on Fox Sports Arizona.[17]
Personal life
Grace was known to smoke cigarettes before and after Cub games, and reportedly at times, during games in the clubhouse.[18]
On August 3, 2006, Grace led the Wrigley Field crowd in singing "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" during the seventh-inning stretch of the second game of a doubleheader between the Cubs and Diamondbacks; his appearance helped to improve his relationship with the Cubs, which had been strained since he left the team after the 2000 season.[19]
Grace became eligible for the
Grace's ex-wife, Michelle, was married to Ray Liotta from 1997 to 2004; they had met at a Cubs game.[20] As of 2006, Grace is divorced from his second wife, Tanya, who starred on the VH1 show Baseball Wives.
Grace lived in Antioch, Tennessee, during a period of his childhood years. He currently resides in Paradise Valley, Arizona, with his sons Jackson Gene and Preston Torre.
Legal history
Grace has been arrested twice for driving under the influence; once in May 2011 and once in August 2012.[21]
On October 3, 2012, a grand jury in Arizona indicted Grace on four felony counts stemming from his August 23, 2012, arrest in
See also
- List of Major League Baseball career hits leaders
- List of Major League Baseball career doubles leaders
- List of Major League Baseball career runs scored leaders
- List of Major League Baseball career runs batted in leaders
- List of Major League Baseball annual doubles leaders
- List of Major League Baseball players to hit for the cycle
References
- ^ "Chicago Cubs 5, San Diego Padres 2". Retrosheet. May 2, 1988. Retrieved January 8, 2018.
- ^ "Mark Grace Stats".
- ^ "Grace Gets Most Hits In 1990s". CBS News. October 3, 1999. Retrieved June 9, 2023.
- ^ "San Diego Padres 5, Chicago Cubs 4". Retrosheet. May 9, 1993. Retrieved 2008-07-28.
- ^ "D'backs sign Grace to two-year contract". USA Today. December 9, 2000. Archived from the original on January 26, 2001. Retrieved May 12, 2010.
- ^ "Mark Grace". thebaseballpage.com. Archived from the original on 2006-05-07 – via archive.is.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ "Los Angeles Dodgers 19, Arizona Diamondbacks 1". Retrosheet. September 2, 2002. Retrieved January 8, 2018.
- Daily Herald. Arlington Heights, Illinois. Retrieved January 9, 2018 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ McManaman, Bob (October 22, 2004). "Grace won't manage, but hopes to stick around". The Arizona Republic. Phoenix, Arizona. Retrieved January 9, 2018 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ "Hillsboro Hops Field Staff". Retrieved 2014-08-08.
- ^ Smith, Jeff (December 20, 2013). "Hillsboro Hops: Former All-Star Mark Grace joins new manager J. R. House's coaching staff". The Oregonian. Retrieved 21 April 2014.
- ^ "Mark Grace back where he belongs with D-backs". 2 February 2015.
- ^ "Mark Grace, Matt Williams reportedly out as Diamondbacks coaches".
- ^ Marotta, Vince. "Daron Sutton, Mark Grace out as Arizona Diamondbacks broadcasters". Arizona Sports. arizonasports.com. Archived from the original on 14 November 2012. Retrieved 9 November 2012.
- ^ Piecoro, Nick (February 15, 2017). "Mark Grace hired for TV role with 'organization I really love'". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved January 8, 2018.
- ^ Fuoco-Karasinski, Christina (March 30, 2017). "Saving Grace: D-backs' hero Mark Grace returns to Fox Sports Arizona as game analyst". entertainermag.com. Retrieved January 8, 2018.
- ^ Staff, Tribune. "Mark Grace joins Marquee Sports Network as an analyst for select Cubs games". The Chicago Tribune. Tribune Publishing Company. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
- ^ "Grace emerged from Steroid Era with more than his integrity". CNN. January 21, 2010. Retrieved January 28, 2024.
- ^ Sullivan, Paul (August 4, 2006). "Back in good graces". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved January 10, 2018 – via newspapers.com.
- Pottstown Mercury. Archived from the originalon November 19, 2015. Retrieved January 6, 2016.
- ^ "Battles with Alcohol". markgrace.com. Retrieved January 8, 2018.
- ^ "Mark Grace indicted on 4 DUI counts".
- ^ Merrill, Laurie (January 31, 2013). "Mark Grace gets four-month sentence for 2nd DUI". USA Today.
Further reading
- Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: "CHC@SD: Mark Grace gets his first big league hit". YouTube.com.
- Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: "LAD@ARI: David Ross hits first homer off Mark Grace". YouTube.com.
- Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: "Mark Grace talks about time behind bars". YouTube.com.
- Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: "The Local 9: Mark Grace". YouTube.com.
- DeButts, Jimmy (August 30, 2015). "Gracie & me: Catching up with my baseball hero 25 years later". capitalgazette.com.
- Johnson, Tobey (February 16, 2015). "Chicago Cubs: Making a case for Mark Grace's No. 17 to be retired". cubbiescrib.com.
- Rushin, Steve (October 5, 1998). "State of Grace". Sports Illustrated.
External links
- Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors), or Retrosheet
- "The Mark Grace Website".
maintained by longtime fan Brad Wackerlin, known to many as 'The Ultimate Mark Grace Collector'