Burleigh Grimes
Burleigh Arland Grimes
(Ol' Stubblebeard)
- Bats Right, Throws Right
- Height 5' 10", Weight 175 lb.
- Debut September 10, 1916
- Final Game July 17, 1934
- Born August 18, 1893 in Emerald, WI USA
- Died December 6, 1985 in Clear Lake, WI USA
Inducted into Hall of Fame in 1964
Biographical Information[edit]
"Never mind . . . Grimes will dust me off this afternoon." - Gabby Hartnett to a Pullman porter at the train station who was about to brush him off, about facing Burleigh Grimes later that day (according to Grimes himself in Baseball Digest, May 1960)
Burleigh Grimes, with 270 major league victories, was the last legal spitball pitcher. He learned the spitball by watching Hank Gehring pitch for the St. Paul Apostles as a youth in 1906 and imitating him. When the spitball was banned in 1920, Grimes was among the several grand-fathered pitchers who were allowed to continue throwing the pitch until their retirements, with Grimes doing so until his final season in 1934.
His nickname comes from his habit of not shaving on days when he pitched. He chewed slippery elm when pitching to improve the lubricating properties of his saliva, and the stubble helped to protect his face from the irritating effects of the slippery elm.
Grimes was already a successful pitcher before the spitball was banned, leading the Brooklyn Robins with 4.4 WAR in 1918 while collecting three shutouts allowing two or fewer hits, the latter feat still tied for the franchise single-season record. But, Grimes's best seasons would come in the 1920s, ranking fourth in the NL with 38.6 WAR for the decade (1920-29), including back-to-back 7 WAR seasons in 1920 and 1921, and back-to-back 5 WAR seasons in 1928 and 1929.
Grimes was an excellent athlete when young, and actually made his first professional appearance at shortstop for the Eau Claire Commissioners of the Minnesota-Wisconsin League in 1912. He was also used many times as an outfielder that first season, in addition to pitching. The league was very precarious and folded on July 2, with Grimes finishing the season by pitching with an amateur team based in Austin, MN.
Grimes hit .316 in World Series play, including going 4-for-12 against Lefty Grove and George Earnshaw in the World Series games he pitched against them. He finished his major league career with a solid .248 batting average, showing that he never lost the skills as an all-around player. Grimes became the first live ball era pitcher to drive in all of his team's runs in a 4 or more RBI game, with his walk-off hit for the Brooklyn Robins capping a 4-3 win over the Philadelphia Phillies in the second game of a September 8th, 1925 double-header.
"I know we dealt away a fine young pitcher, but that Grimes just fights with everyone, friend or foe." - Barney Dreyfuss, Pirates owner, 1918
Grimes and Frankie Frisch had a long feud while they were players, with Grimes sometimes knocking him down with pitches and Frisch once spiking Grimes seriously when Grimes covered first base. They later became friends and Frisch got him a job managing in Toronto, according to Grimes.
After his playing career ended, Grimes was manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1937 and 1938 and a Kansas City Athletics coach in 1955.
Grimes also scouted for the New York Yankees, Kansas City A's, and Baltimore Orioles (until 1971). He was scouting for the Yankees in 1948 when he led the Independence Yankees on an interim basis.
In later life he had a farm in Missouri.
One source: May 1960 article in Baseball Digest about Grimes.
Notable Achievements[edit]
- 2-time NL Wins Leader (1921 & 1928)
- NL Winning Percentage Leader (1920)
- 2-time NL Games Pitched Leader (1918 & 1928)
- 3-time NL Innings Pitched Leader (1923, 1924 & 1928)
- NL Strikeouts Leader (1921)
- 4-time NL Complete Games Leader (121, 1923, 1924 & 1928)
- NL Shutouts Leader (1928)
- 15 Wins Seasons: 10 (1918, 1920-1924 & 1927-1931)
- 20 Wins Seasons: 5 (1920, 1921, 1923, 1924 & 1928)
- 25 Wins Seasons: 1 (1928)
- 200 Innings Pitched Seasons: 13 (1918 & 1920-1931)
- 300 Innings Pitched Seasons: 5 (1920, 1921, 1923, 1924 & 1928)
- Won a World Series with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1931
- Baseball Hall of Fame: Class of 1964
| Preceded by Casey Stengel |
Brooklyn Dodgers Manager 1937-1938 |
Succeeded by Leo Durocher |
Famous Last[edit]
- Last legal spitballer (1934)
Career Highlights[edit]
- Pitched one-hit shutout of Pittsburgh Pirates on July 25, 1918
- Pitched two-hit shutout of St. Louis Cardinals on May 27, 1918
- Pitched two-hit shutout of Philadelphia Phillies on August 10, 1918
- Collected 4 RBI in 4-3 win over Philadelphia Phillies on September 8, 1925, first live ball era pitcher to drive in all of his team's runs in 4 RBI game
Year-by-Year Managerial Record[edit]
Further Reading[edit]
- Jason Christopherson: "Burleigh Grimes and the 1912 Eau Claire Commissioners", in The National Pastime, SABR, Volume 28 (2008), pp. 106-112.
- Charles F. Faber: "Burleigh Grimes", in Charles F. Faber, ed.: The 1934 St. Louis Cardinals: The World Champion Gas House Gang, SABR, Phoenix, AZ, 2014, pp. 118-130. ISBN 978-1-933599-731
- Joe Niese: Burleigh Grimes: Baseball's Last Legal Spitballer, McFarland, Jefferson, NC, 2013. ISBN 978-0-7864-7328-1
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