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Mark Grace

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Mark Grace
Grace at the 2017 Arizona Diamondbacks Alumni Game
First baseman
Born:(1964-06-28)June 28, 1964(age 60)
Winston-Salem, North Carolina,U.S.
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
Hits2,445
Home runs173
Runs batted in1,146
Teams
As player

As coach

Career highlights and awards

Mark Eugene Grace(born June 28, 1964) is an American formerMajor League Baseball(MLB)first basemanwho spent 13 seasons with theChicago Cubsand three seasons with theArizona Diamondbacksof theNational League(NL). He was a member of the2001 World Serieschampion Diamondbacks that beat theNew York Yankees.Grace batted and threw left-handed; he worejersey number28 and 17 during his rookie season of 1988, and he kept number 17 for the remainder of his career.

Career

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Amateur career

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Grace played high schoolbaseballandbasketballatTustin High SchoolinTustin, California.After graduating from high school in 1982, he attended Saddleback College before transferring toSan Diego State Universityto play for theSan 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

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TheChicago Cubsselected Grace in the1985 Major League Baseball draft.He spent three years playing in the Cubsfarm systembefore making his major league debut May 2, 1988.[1][2]

Grace starred on Cubs teams that includedRyne Sandberg,Andre Dawson,Shawon DunstonandSammy Sosaand was a consistent, steady hitter, compiling 2,445 hits and more than 500 doubles during his 16-year career and for a few years batted clean-up for the Cubs. He had a careeron-base percentageof.383 and collected fourGold Glove Awardsand was a three-time All-Star (1993, 1995, 1997). Grace collected the most hits (1,754) and doubles (364) of any player in the 1990s.[3]Grace andPete Roseare the only Major League Baseball players to lead a decade in hits and not be in theBaseball Hall of Fame.Grace also had the most sacrifice flies in the 1990s with 73.

Grace helped lead the Cubs to theNL Eastdivision title in 1989 and the NLwild cardin 1998. In the1989 NLCS,Grace batted.647 in the five-game contest with a home run and three doubles, while driving in 8 of the total 16 runs scored by the Cubs in the series.

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 NLAll-Starteam for the first time in his career. He alsohit for the cycleon May 9 that year,[4]and (as of the end of the2018 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 theWrigley Fieldorganprior to a Grace at bat was "Taking Care of Business",which Grace explained was due to hisbit partin aJim Belushifilm of the same name.

Arizona Diamondbacks

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Grace signed with the Arizona Diamondbacks on December 8, 2000, with a $6 million, two-year contract after the Cubs declined to offer salaryarbitration.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 suburbanScottsdale, Arizonawith 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 the2001 World Series.Having never even visitedYankee 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 pitcherMariano 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 theLos Angeles Dodgersin September 2002, Grace pitched one inning of relief.[7]He surrendered one run oncatcherDavid Ross's first career home run. Grace also impersonated teammateMike Fetters,who fromthe stretchwould take a deep breath and then quickly turned his head towards the catcher.

On September 26, 2003, Grace announced his retirement from baseball.

Coaching

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Grace has stated a desire tomanagea major league team at some point.[8]He was considered for the Diamondbacks' managerial position following the 2004 season,[9]but the Diamondbacks hiredBob Melvininstead.

Grace spent 2014 ashitting coachfor the Diamondbacks'Class A Short SeasonaffiliateHillsboro Hopsof theNorthwest League.[10][11]In 2015, he was promoted to the Diamondbacks to be their hitting coach.[12]He was fired after the 2016 season.[13]

Broadcasting career

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After his retirement as a player, Grace continued his involvement in the game as a televisioncolor commentatorfor the Diamondbacks and forFox Saturday Baseball.Grace used off-the-wall terms—such as "slumpbuster", "never-say-die-mondbacks", and "Gas!" —during broadcasts. He was paired withThom Brennamanon television from 2004 to 2006, and was paired withDaron Suttonfrom 2007 to 2012.

Grace also agreed to a deal withFox Sportsin 2007. He originally rotated between the studio and the number three booth. He was then promoted to the number two booth withThom Brennamanfor the 2008 and 2009 season, andDick Stocktonfor the 2010 season. He reunited with Brennaman in 2011 before leaving the network at the end of the regular season. He was replaced byEric Karroswho had worked on the number three team withKenny Albert.

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 byFox Sports Arizona.[15][16]

In February 2020, Grace was hired as an analyst for select Chicago Cubs games onMarquee Sports Network.Grace will continue his role with the Diamondbacks as the lead color commentator on Fox Sports Arizona.[17]

Personal life

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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 theWrigley Fieldcrowd in singing "Take Me Out to the Ball Game"during theseventh-inning stretchof the second game of adoubleheaderbetween 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 theNational Baseball Hall of Famein 2009; 75% of the vote was necessary for induction, and 5% was necessary to stay on future ballots. Grace received 4.1% of the vote and was dropped from further ballots.

Grace's ex-wife, Michelle, was married toRay Liottafrom 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 theVH1showBaseball Wives.

Grace lived inAntioch, Tennessee,during a period of his childhood years. He currently resides inParadise Valley, Arizona,with his sons Jackson Gene and Preston Torre.

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Grace has been arrested twice fordriving 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 inScottsdaleon suspicion of driving under the influence, driving with a suspended license and without aninterlock device.[22]TheDiamondbacksannounced the following day that Grace would not return to his television broadcasting duties with the club. He subsequently pleaded guilty and was sentenced to four months in jail on January 31, 2013. The sentence included work-release jail time as well as two years of supervised probation. An interlock device was required to be installed in his vehicle for six months.[23]

See also

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References

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  1. ^"Chicago Cubs 5, San Diego Padres 2".Retrosheet.May 2, 1988.RetrievedJanuary 8,2018.
  2. ^"Mark Grace Stats".
  3. ^"Grace Gets Most Hits In 1990s".CBS News.October 3, 1999.RetrievedJune 9,2023.
  4. ^"San Diego Padres 5, Chicago Cubs 4".Retrosheet.May 9, 1993.RetrievedJuly 28,2008.
  5. ^"D'backs sign Grace to two-year contract".USA Today.December 9, 2000. Archived fromthe originalon January 26, 2001.RetrievedMay 12,2010.
  6. ^"Mark Grace".thebaseballpage.Archived from the original on May 7, 2006 – via archive.is.{{cite web}}:CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  7. ^"Los Angeles Dodgers 19, Arizona Diamondbacks 1".Retrosheet.September 2, 2002.RetrievedJanuary 8,2018.
  8. ^Rozner, Barry (October 3, 2003)."Why not Grace for White Sox?".Daily Herald.Arlington Heights, Illinois.RetrievedJanuary 9,2018– via newspapers.
  9. ^McManaman, Bob (October 22, 2004)."Grace won't manage, but hopes to stick around".The Arizona Republic.Phoenix, Arizona.RetrievedJanuary 9,2018– via newspapers.
  10. ^"Hillsboro Hops Field Staff".RetrievedAugust 8,2014.
  11. ^Smith, Jeff (December 20, 2013)."Hillsboro Hops: Former All-Star Mark Grace joins new manager J. R. House's coaching staff".The Oregonian.RetrievedApril 21,2014.
  12. ^"Mark Grace back where he belongs with D-backs".February 2, 2015.
  13. ^"Mark Grace, Matt Williams reportedly out as Diamondbacks coaches".
  14. ^Marotta, Vince."Daron Sutton, Mark Grace out as Arizona Diamondbacks broadcasters".Arizona Sports.arizonasports. Archived fromthe originalon November 14, 2012.RetrievedNovember 9,2012.
  15. ^Piecoro, Nick (February 15, 2017)."Mark Grace hired for TV role with 'organization I really love'".The Arizona Republic.RetrievedJanuary 8,2018.
  16. ^Fuoco-Karasinski, Christina (March 30, 2017)."Saving Grace: D-backs' hero Mark Grace returns to Fox Sports Arizona as game analyst".entertainermag.RetrievedJanuary 8,2018.
  17. ^Staff, Tribune."Mark Grace joins Marquee Sports Network as an analyst for select Cubs games".The Chicago Tribune.Tribune Publishing Company.RetrievedJuly 23,2020.
  18. ^"Grace emerged from Steroid Era with more than his integrity".CNN.January 21, 2010.RetrievedJanuary 28,2024.
  19. ^Sullivan, Paul (August 4, 2006)."Back in good graces".Chicago Tribune.RetrievedJanuary 10,2018– via newspapers.
  20. ^Longsdorf, Amy."Ray Liotta finds intense adrenaline rush in 'Narc'".Pottstown Mercury.Archived fromthe originalon November 19, 2015.RetrievedJanuary 6,2016.
  21. ^"Battles with Alcohol".markgrace.RetrievedJanuary 8,2018.
  22. ^"Mark Grace indicted on 4 DUI counts".
  23. ^Merrill, Laurie (January 31, 2013)."Mark Grace gets four-month sentence for 2nd DUI".USA Today.

Further reading

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Awards and achievements
Preceded by Topps Rookie All-Star First Baseman
1988 		Succeeded by
Preceded by National League Player of the Month
July 1989 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Hitting for the cycle
May 9, 1993 		Succeeded by
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