Ben Grieve (born May 4, 1976) is an American former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to c ...

. He batted left and threw right. In his nine-season career, he played with the Oakland Athletics (–),

Tampa Bay Devil Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since its inception, the team's home ve ...

(–), Milwaukee Brewers (), and Chicago Cubs (2004–). Grieve was a prospect who won the American League Rookie of the Year award while playing for the Oakland Athletics. His father, Tom, was also a

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

player.

High school

Grieve attended Martin High School in Arlington, Texas, where he was teammates with Matt Blank and won a Texas baseball championship in 1993. As a senior in 1994, he

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.486. He benefited from receiving hitting instruction from Tom's former teammate and then- Texas Rangers hitting coach, Tom Robson. He also played basketball at Martin. He initially committed to play

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional p ...

at TCU.

Professional career

Oakland Athletics

Grieve was selected by the Oakland Athletics with the second pick of the

1994 Major League Baseball draft First round selections The following are the first round picks in the 1994 Major League Baseball draft. Compensation picks Compensation Picks Other notable players * Troy Glaus, 2nd round, 37th overall by the San Diego Padres, but did no ...

, behind Paul Wilson. Before the 1998 season, '' Baseball America'' ranked him the best prospect in baseball. In 1998, he hit .288, with 18 home runs and 89 RBIs posting a .840 OPS. His campaign earned him the

American League Rookie of the Year Award In Major League Baseball, the Rookie of the Year Award is given annually to two outstanding rookie players, one each for the American League (AL) and National League (NL), as voted on by the Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA). The aw ...

. In 1999, he followed up with a solid season, hitting .265 with 28 home runs and 86 RBIs. In the 2000 season, he hit 27 home runs, drove in 104 RBIs, and hit .279. The Athletics won 91 games and the

American League West The American League West is one of Major League Baseball's six divisions. The division has five teams as of the 2013 season, but had four teams from 1994 to 2012, and had as many as seven teams before the 1994 realignment. Although its teams curr ...

division title. Following the 2000 season, he was involved in a three-team trade that sent him to the

. That trade sent

Johnny Damon Johnny David Damon (born November 5, 1973) is an American former professional baseball outfielder who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1995 to 2012. During his MLB career, Damon played for the Kansas City Royals (1995–2000), Oakland A ...

and Mark Ellis to the Athletics.

Career after trade to Tampa Bay

With the Devil Rays in 2001, he hit 11 HR with 72 RBI, Grieve's slugging percentage dropping a full 100 points from the prior year. The following season () he battled injuries, but did manage to hit 19 home runs and drive in 64 RBI in 136 games. In 2003, in 55 games, he hit .230, with 4 home runs and 17 RBI in 165 at-bats. Following the 2003 season, Grieve signed as a free agent with the Milwaukee Brewers; on August 31 of the 2004 season, they traded him to the Chicago Cubs. He served primarily as a back-up outfielder for both the Cubs and the Brewers that year. In all, he appeared in 123 games between the two teams, hitting just 8 home runs and driving in 35 runs. Grieve departed the Cubs in the 2004–2005 offseason as a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

; he eventually signed with the Pittsburgh Pirates as a

non-roster invitee A Major League Baseball roster is a list of players who are allowed, by league agreement, to play for a Major League Baseball (MLB) team. Each MLB team maintains two rosters: an active roster of players eligible to participate in an MLB game, and ...

to 2005 spring training. He was cut by the Pirates prior to the regular season, which made him again a free agent. At the beginning of the 2005 season, he was signed by the Cubs to a minor-league contract, which assigned him to the Triple-A Iowa Cubs. During the season, he was up and down, having two short call-ups followed by activation midway through September (following roster expansion). He ended the 2005 season having played in just 23 games at the majors, during which he hit 1 home run and had 5 RBIs. Grieve spent the entire season in the White Sox minor-league organization. He started the season still in the White Sox minor-league organization, a member of the AAA

Charlotte Knights The Charlotte Knights are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox. They are located in Charlotte, North Carolina, and play their home games at Truist Field, which opened in 20 ...

Awards

*American League Rookie of the Year (1998) * Baseball America High School

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

n (1994)

References

External links

: {{DEFAULTSORT:Grieve, Ben 1976 births Living people American expatriate baseball players in Canada American League All-Stars Baseball players from Texas Chicago Cubs players Edmonton Trappers players Huntsville Stars players Iowa Cubs players Major League Baseball left fielders Major League Baseball Rookie of the Year Award winners Milwaukee Brewers players Modesto A's players Oakland Athletics players Southern Oregon A's players Sportspeople from Arlington, Texas Tampa Bay Devil Rays players West Michigan Whitecaps players Martin High School (Arlington, Texas) alumni