John Maywood Grubb, Jr. (born August 4, 1948) is an American former

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

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 catch ...

and

designated hitter The designated hitter (DH) is a baseball player who bats in place of another position player, most commonly the pitcher. Unlike other players in a team's lineup, they generally only play as an offensive player and usually do not play defense as ...

, who also occasionally played at

first base A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

. He played with the

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. ...

(1972–1976),

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. Since , the team ...

(1977–1978), Texas Rangers (1978–1982), and the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. One of the AL's eight chart ...

(1983–1987).

Major League career

Grubb was drafted by the San Diego Padres in 1971 with the 24th pick in the first round. He had been previously drafted by the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. The Reds compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Divisi ...

, and

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Eas ...

, but did not sign with them. He made his major league debut on September 10, 1972. In his 1973 rookie season, Grubb put up good numbers and earned himself a starting position in the outfield by hitting .311 with eight

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...

s, 37 RBI, and 52 runs scored. Grubb made the 1974

National League National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...

All-star An all-star team is a group of people all having a high level of performance in their field. Originating in sports, it has since drifted into vernacular and has been borrowed heavily by the entertainment industry. Sports "All-star" as a sport ...

team during his sophomore season, and struck out in his only at-bat. Highlights after the 1974 season included a 21-game hitting streak in 1979 while a member of the Texas Rangers. He was nearly dealt along with

Sparky Lyle Albert Walter "Sparky" Lyle (born July 22, 1944) is an American professional baseball pitcher who spent sixteen seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1967 through 1982. He was a relief pitcher for the Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, Texa ...

from the Rangers to the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. The Phillies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has ...

for Tug McGraw, Bake McBride and Larry Christenson at the 1979 Winter Meetings in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

, but the proposed transaction was never executed because a deferred money issue in Lyle's contract went unresolved."LeFlore, Rodriguez Swapped by Tigers," ''The New York Times'', Saturday, December 8, 1979.
Retrieved June 7, 2020 Grubb was a member of the

' 1984 World Series Championship team; the Tigers defeated his former team, the San Diego Padres, 4 games to 1. In his 16-year career, he posted a .278

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

with 99 home runs, 475 RBI, and 553 runs scored. In the era since the

came into play (1973), he was the all-time leader among American League players when he was used as a pinch hitter, batting for the #9 hitter in the lineup. He was released by the Detroit Tigers after a disappointing 1987 season, despite having arguably the best season of his career in 1986.

Personal life

Since retiring from professional baseball, Grubb has kept a low profile. He was the former varsity baseball coach at his alma mater, Meadowbrook High School in Richmond. There he coached former San Diego Padres pitcher Cla Meredith. Grubb and his wife are also active members of the

Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination in the United States and Canada. The denomination started with the Restoration Movement during the Second Great Awakening, first existing during the 19th ...

References

External links

Johnny Grubb
at SABR (Baseball BioProject)
Johnny Grubb
at Baseball Almanac {{DEFAULTSORT:Grubb, Johnny 1948 births National League All-Stars Living people San Diego Padres players Cleveland Indians players Texas Rangers players Detroit Tigers players Baseball players from Richmond, Virginia Major League Baseball left fielders Major League Baseball center fielders Major League Baseball right fielders Nashville Sounds players Orlando Juice players Richmond Braves players SCF Manatees baseball players Florida State Seminoles baseball players

Major League career

Personal life

See also

References

External links