Robert Edward Grossman (born September 16, 1989) is an American professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

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 ...

who is a free agent. He has previously played in

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 ...

(MLB) for the

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. They are one of two major leag ...

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team is named afte ...

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (frequently referred to as the Oakland A's) were an American Major League Baseball (MLB) team based in Oakland, California from 1968 to 2024. The Athletics were a member club of the American League (AL) American League We ...

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 ...

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 ...

, Texas Rangers,

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...

and

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team ...

. After attending high school in Texas, Grossman was drafted by the

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

in the sixth round in 2008. He made his MLB debut with the Astros in 2013. He won the

2023 World Series The 2023 World Series was the World Series, championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 2023 Major League Baseball season, 2023 season, and the 119th edition of the World Series. It was a best-of-seven playoff played between the American ...

with the Rangers.

Early life

Grossman was born in

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, but grew up in

Cypress, Texas Cypress is an unincorporated community in Harris County, Texas, United States, located completely inside the extraterritorial jurisdiction of the City of Houston. The Cypress area is located along U.S. Route 290 (Northwest Freeway) is twenty ...

. He attended Cy-Fair High School and played baseball on the

varsity team A varsity team is the highest-level team in a sport or activity representing an educational institution. Varsity teams train to compete against each other during an athletic season or in periodic matches against rival institutions. At high schools ...

for four seasons between 2005 and 2008. He was a first-team all-district selection as a freshman. In his junior season, the team won the 5A state baseball championship.

Professional career

Minor leagues

Considered a possible first round pick, Grossman fell in the 2008 Major League Baseball Draft due to his commitment to attend the

University of Texas The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 students as of fall 2 ...

. However, the Pirates selected Grossman in the sixth round of the draft and signed him for an above slot $1 million

signing bonus A signing bonus or sign-on bonus is a sum of money paid to a new employee (including a professional sports person) by a company as an incentive to join that company. They are often given as a way of making a compensation package more attractive ...

. In 2010, Grossman played for the

Bradenton Marauders The Bradenton Marauders are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and the Single-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. They are located in Bradenton, Florida, and play their home games at LECOM Park, which also serves as the ...

of the

High-A High-A, officially Class High-A, formerly known as Class A-Advanced, and sometimes abbreviated "A+" in writing, is the third-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States and Canada, below Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A and D ...

Florida State League The Florida State League (FSL) is a Minor League Baseball league based in the state of Florida. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A following ...

(FSL). In 2011, again playing for the Marauders, Grossman became the first minor league player since

Nick Swisher Nicholas Thompson Swisher (born November 25, 1980) is an American former professional baseball outfielder and first baseman in Major League Baseball (MLB). He was a switch hitter who threw left-handed, and played for the Oakland Athletics, Chica ...

in 2004 to score 100 runs and walk 100 times in a season; he also became the first player in the FSL to do so since 1998. He was named Minor League Player of the Year for the Pittsburgh organization. Kevin Goldstein of ''

Baseball Prospectus Baseball Prospectus (BP) is an organization that publishes a website, BaseballProspectus.com, devoted to the sabermetric analysis of baseball. BP has a staff of regular columnists and provides advanced statistics as well as player and team perf ...

'' ranked Grossman as the 76th best prospect in baseball before the 2012 season. The Pirates invited Grossman to

spring training Spring training, also called spring camp, is the preseason of the Summer Professional Baseball Leagues, such as Major League Baseball (MLB), and it is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spri ...

in 2012. On July 24, 2012, the Pirates traded him to the

along with Rudy Owens and Colton Cain for

Wandy Rodríguez Wandy Fulton Rodríguez (born January 18, 1979) is a Dominican former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Houston Astros from 2005 to 2012, the Pittsburgh Pirates from 2012 to 2014 and the Texas Ranger ...

. Between Pittsburgh's Double-A affiliate, the

Altoona Curve The Altoona Curve are a Minor League Baseball team based in Altoona, Pennsylvania, named after nearby Horseshoe Curve (but also alluding to the curveball, a type of pitch). The team plays in the Eastern League and is the Double-A affiliate of ...

of the Eastern League, and Houston's Double-A team, the

Corpus Christi Hooks The Corpus Christi Hooks are a Minor League Baseball team of the Texas League and the Double-A affiliate of the Houston Astros. They are located in Corpus Christi, Texas, and are named for the city's association with fishing. The team is owned b ...

of the

Texas League The Texas League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated in the South Central United States since 1902. It is classified as a Double-A league. Despite the league's name, only its five South Division teams are actually based in the ...

, Grossman hit .266 with 10 home runs in 131 games.

Houston Astros (2013–2015)

Robbie Grossman Astros spring training 2015

The Astros promoted Grossman to the major leagues on April 24, 2013, he batted leadoff in his debut. He split time that year between the

Oklahoma City Redhawks Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

of the Triple-A

Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...

and the Astros. At one point, Grossman hit safely in 13 consecutive games, a team high that year. Grossman played in 103 games for the Astros in 2014, hitting for a .233

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 ...

, six

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 and 37

runs batted in A run batted in or runs batted in (RBI) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if th ...

(RBI). After spending much of the 2015 season in the minors, while in the majors in 49 at bats hitting .143/.222/.245, he was released by the Astros after the 2015 season.

Minnesota Twins (2016–2018)

On December 11, 2015, Grossman signed a minor league contract with the

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 ...

, receiving a non-roster invitation to spring training. He opted out of his contract on May 16, 2016, and signed with the

. The Twins promoted him to the major leagues on May 19, and he hit a home run in his first game with the Twins on May 20. He split time among the outfield, where his eight errors led all AL left fielders, and DH. He appeared in 99 games for the Twins, setting career highs in home runs, average, walks and runs scored. Statcast rated him in the bottom 1% in the major leagues in fielding run value, and the bottom 7% in arm value. In 2017, Grossman established himself as a regular in the Twins' lineup, playing in a career-high 119 games despite missing a few weeks with a thumb fracture, hitting .246 with nine home runs and 45 RBIs. He was a designated hitter for 63 games, in right field for 35 games, and in left field for 18 games. In 2018, Grossman began the season as the Twins' designated hitter. He played in a career-high 129 games, hitting .273 with five home runs and 48 RBIs. On November 30, 2018, the Twins non-tendered him and he became a free agent.

Oakland Athletics (2019–2020)

On February 15, 2019, Grossman signed a one-year deal with the

. Grossman in 2020 did not perform as he did the previous season, as he hit just .240 with a .348 slugging percentage with 6 home runs and 38 RBI in 138 games. Statcast rated him in the bottom 4% in the major leagues in arm value.

Detroit Tigers (2021–2022)

On January 5, 2021, Grossman signed a two-year, $10 million contract with the

. On May 28, Grossman hit his first career walk-off home run against Justin Wilson to give the Tigers a 3–2 extra innings win over the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...

. While hitting .239 for the 2021 season, Grossman had a career-high 98 walks (fourth in the AL) for a .357 on-base percentage. He posted numerous other career highs, including at-bats (557), home runs (23), RBI (67) and stolen bases (20). He became the seventh player in Tigers franchise history to post a season of 20+ home runs and 20+ stolen bases. Statcast rated him in the bottom 1% in the major leagues in arm value. On May 10, 2022, Grossman set a new MLB all-time record for position players with 401 consecutive games without an error. On July 10, Grossman's errorless streak ended at 440, after he dropped a pop up off of the bat of

outfielder Luis Robert. In 83 games with Detroit in 2022, Grossman hit .205/.313/.282 with 2 home runs, 23 RBI, and 3 stolen bases. Statcast rated him in the bottom 8% in the major leagues in arm value.

Atlanta Braves (2022)

On August 1, 2022, Grossman was traded to the

for pitcher Kris Anglin. He played in 46 games for the Braves down the stretch, batting .217/.306/.370 with 5 home runs, 22 RBI, and 3 stolen bases. He became a free agent following the season.

Texas Rangers (2023)

On February 17, 2023, Grossman signed a one-year contract with the Texas Rangers for $2 million. In 115 games for Texas, he batted .238/.340/.394 with 10 home runs and 49 RBIs, while playing 48 games in left field, 40 games at DH, and 28 games in right field.

Chicago White Sox (2024)

On March 22, 2024, Grossman signed a minor league contract with the

. After hitting .400 with two home runs and five RBI for the Triple–A

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

, Grossman had his contract selected to the major league roster on April 5.

Second Stint with Rangers (2024)

On May 8, 2024, the White Sox traded Grossman to the Rangers in exchange for Anthony Hoopii-Tuionetoa. In 46 games for Texas, Grossman slashed .238/.336/.362 with three home runs and 10 RBI.

Kansas City Royals (2024)

On August 31, 2024, Grossman was claimed off waivers by the

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Grossman, Robbie 1989 births Living people Altoona Curve players Atlanta Braves players Baseball players from Harris County, Texas Bradenton Marauders players 21st-century American sportsmen Cangrejeros de Santurce (baseball) players Charlotte Knights players Chicago White Sox players Columbus Clippers players Corpus Christi Hooks players Detroit Tigers players Fresno Grizzlies players Gulf Coast Pirates players Houston Astros players Kansas City Royals players Liga de Béisbol Profesional Roberto Clemente outfielders Major League Baseball outfielders Mesa Solar Sox players Minnesota Twins players Oakland Athletics players Oklahoma City RedHawks players Rochester Red Wings players Texas Rangers players West Virginia Power players