Stephen Joseph Grilli (born May 2, 1949) is an American former 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 ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

, who 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

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 ...

and

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Since 1989, the team has p ...

. Grilli played for six seasons in baseball, but only played in the major league for parts of four seasons. After graduating from

Gannon University Gannon University is a private Catholic university with campuses in Erie, Pennsylvania, and Ruskin, Florida, United States. Established in 1925, Gannon University enrolls approximately 4,600 undergraduate and graduate students annually. Its i ...

, Grilli was signed as an undrafted amateur free agent by the Tigers in the middle of the season, although he didn't make his major league debut until five years later at the age of twenty-six on September 19, 1975 as a reliever in a game against 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 ...

at Tiger Stadium in which he pitched three innings and allowed one hit without surrendering a run. Plagued by control problems with his pitches and walking more batters than he struck out, he worked out of the bullpen for the next two years until being purchased by the Blue Jays before the season. Wearing uniform number 45, a change from the number 49 he wore in Detroit, Grilli worked as a starter during some seasons and as a closer in others while playing in the Blue Jays organization. Grilli made his final major league appearance on September 17, 1979 in a loss against the Boston Red Sox at

Exhibition Stadium Canadian National Exhibition Stadium (commonly known as Exhibition Stadium or CNE Stadium and nicknamed The Ex) was a multi-purpose stadium in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on the grounds of Exhibition Place. Originally built for Canadian National ...

in Toronto. He was traded to the Orioles organization during the 1981 season, and played for their AAA affiliate, the

Rochester Red Wings The Rochester Red Wings are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. They are located in Rochester, New York, and play their home games at Innovative Fie ...

. There, on June 23, 1981, he pitched the 33rd inning of the

longest professional baseball game The Pawtucket Red Sox and the Rochester Red Wings, two teams from the Triple-A International League, played the longest game in professional baseball history over three days in 1981. The game lasted 33 innings, with 8 hours and 25 minutes of p ...

, a game whose first 32 innings were played in April, before he'd even joined the team. He faced three batters and gave up one run without recording an out against the

Pawtucket Red Sox The Pawtucket Red Sox, known colloquially as the PawSox, were a professional minor league baseball club based in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. From 1973 to 2020, the team was a member of the International League and served as the Triple-A affiliate ...

, recording the loss. Grilli retired after the 1981 season at the age of thirty-two, with a 4–3 win–loss record in seventy appearances over four seasons in the majors. He has a son,

Jason Jason ( ; ) was an ancient Greek mythological hero and leader of the Argonauts, whose quest for the Golden Fleece is featured in Greek literature. He was the son of Aeson, the rightful king of Iolcos. He was married to the sorceress Med ...

, who was a

for ten different major league clubs. Grilli also is the owner of a bar in the city of

Syracuse, New York Syracuse ( ) is a City (New York), city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, United States. With a population of 148,620 and a Syracuse metropolitan area, metropolitan area of 662,057, it is the fifth-most populated city and 13 ...

, called "Change of Pace”.

References

External links

Steve Grilli
at Baseball Almanac {{DEFAULTSORT:Grilli, Steve 1949 births Living people American expatriate baseball players in Canada Baseball players from Brooklyn Detroit Tigers players Evansville Triplets players Gannon Golden Knights baseball players Lakeland Tigers players Major League Baseball pitchers Montgomery Rebels players Rochester Red Wings players Rocky Mount Leafs players Toledo Mud Hens players Toronto Blue Jays players St. Louis Cardinals scouts Syracuse Chiefs players 20th-century American sportsmen