Vaughn Anthony Grissom (born January 5, 2001) 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 ...

second baseman In baseball and softball, second baseman, abbreviated 2B, is a fielding position in the Infielder, infield, between Baseball field#Second base, second and Baseball field#First base, first base. The second baseman often possesses quick hands and f ...

and

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball positions, baseball or softball fielding position between second base, second and third base, which is considered to be among the Defensive spectrum, most demanding defensive positions. Historically, the ...

for 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 ...

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). He has previously played in MLB for the

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 ...

. He made his MLB debut in 2022.

Amateur career

Grissom attended Paul J. Hagerty High School in

Oviedo, Florida Oviedo ( ) is a city in Seminole County, Florida, United States. As of 2020, the population was 40,059. It is part of the Orlando–Kissimmee–Sanford Metropolitan Statistical Area. Oviedo was known for its historic houses and buildings and a ...

, where he and

Riley Greene Riley Alan Greene (born September 28, 2000) is an American professional baseball outfielder for the Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He was drafted fifth overall by the Tigers in the 2019 MLB draft. He made his MLB debut in 2022 a ...

were teammates on the baseball team. As a senior in 2019, he had a .389

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 ...

and a 0.82

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

. He was selected by the

in the 11th round of the

2019 Major League Baseball draft The 2019 Major League Baseball draft was held from June 3 to 5, 2019. The draft assigned amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order was set based on the reverse order of the 2018 MLB season standings. In addition, compensation picks ...

and signed, forgoing his commitment to play

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played by Student athlete, student-athletes at institutions of higher education. In the United States, college baseball is sanctioned mainly by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA); in Japan, ...

Florida International University Florida International University (FIU) is a public research university with its main campus in Westchester, Florida, United States. Founded in 1965 by the Florida Legislature, the school opened to students in 1972. FIU is the third-largest univ ...

Professional career

Atlanta Braves

Grissom made his professional debut with the

Rookie-level Minor League Baseball (MiLB) is a professional baseball organization below Major League Baseball (MLB), constituted of teams affiliated with MLB clubs. It was founded on September 5, 1901, in response to the growing dominance of the National L ...

Gulf Coast League Braves The Florida Complex League Braves are an American baseball team. They are the Rookie-level affiliate of the Atlanta Braves, competing in the Florida Complex League of Minor League Baseball. Prior to 2021, the team was known as the Gulf Coast Lea ...

, batting .288 with three home runs and 23 RBIs over 44 games. He did not play a minor league game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the season. He began the 2021 season with the

Augusta GreenJackets The Augusta GreenJackets are a Minor League Baseball team of the Carolina League and the Single-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves. They play their home games at SRP Park in North Augusta, South Carolina. History Augusta was a member of the S ...

of the Low-A East, and was promoted to the

Rome Braves The Rome Emperors are a Minor League Baseball team of the South Atlantic League and the High-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves. They are located in Rome, Georgia, and play their home games at AdventHealth Stadium. From 2003 to 2023, the team wa ...

of the

High-A East The South Atlantic League, often informally called the Sally League, is a Minor League Baseball league with teams predominantly in states along the Atlantic coast of the United States from New York to Georgia. A Class A league for most of its hi ...

in September. Over 87 games between the two teams, he slashed .319/.418/.464 with seven home runs, 43 RBIs, and 16 stolen bases. Grissom returned to Rome to begin the 2022 season. In mid-July, he was promoted to the

Mississippi Braves The Mississippi Braves, or M-Braves as they were referred to locally, were a Minor League Baseball team based in Pearl, Mississippi, a suburb of Jackson, from 2005 to 2024. They were the Double-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves and competed in ...

of the Double-A Southern League. He recorded 91 at-bats in 22 games with Mississippi, hitting .363/.408/.516 prior to receiving a major league call-up. On August 10, 2022, the Braves selected Grissom's contract and promoted him to the major leagues following an injury to

Orlando Arcia Orlando Jesús Arcia (born August 4, 1994) is a Venezuelan professional baseball shortstop for the Colorado Rockies of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Milwaukee Brewers and Atlanta Braves. The Brewers signed A ...

. He made his MLB debut that night as Atlanta's starting second baseman at

Fenway Park Fenway Park is a ballpark located in Boston, Massachusetts, less than one mile from Kenmore Square. Since 1912, it has been the home field of Major League Baseball's (MLB) Boston Red Sox. While the stadium was built in 1912, it was substantia ...

versus the

, going 2-for-4 with a two-run home run over the

Green Monster The Green Monster is a popular nickname for the left field wall at Fenway Park, home to the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball. The wall is from home plate at the left-field Foul line (baseball), foul line, making it a popular target f ...

off of

Darwinzon Hernández Darwinzon David Hernández Afanador (born December 17, 1996) is a Venezuelan professional baseball pitcher for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Bost ...

and a stolen base. At age 21 and seven months, Grissom became the youngest player in either the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is the younger of two sports leagues, leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western L ...

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 ...

history to homer and steal a base in his major league debut. Following the departure of Dansby Swanson in free agency, Grissom entered the 2023 regular season with a opportunity to become the Braves' starting shortstop. Grissom battled with Arcia and Braden Shewmake for the starting shortstop job during

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 ...

. On March 20, Grissom and Shewmake were optioned to the Triple-A

Gwinnett Stripers The Gwinnett Stripers are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves. They play their home games at Coolray Field in unincorporated Gwinnett County, Georgia ...

in favor of Arcia.

Boston Red Sox

On December 30, 2023, the Braves traded Grissom to the

in exchange for

Chris Sale Christopher Allen Sale (born March 30, 1989) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Atlanta Braves of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Chicago White Sox and Boston Red Sox. He throws left-handed ...

and cash considerations. During 2024 spring training, Grissom suffered a groin strain, delaying his availability for the start of the regular season. On May 3, he was activated from the injured list and made his Red Sox debut. On June 1, Grissom exited a game in the 2nd inning after grounding out and straining his hamstring. In 31 total appearances for Boston, he slashed .190/.246/.219 with six RBI and two stolen bases. Grissom was optioned to the Triple-A

Worcester Red Sox The Worcester Red Sox (nicknamed the WooSox) are a professional minor league baseball team based in Worcester, Massachusetts. Beginning play in 2021, the team is the Triple-A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox, succeeding the Pawtucket Red Sox. Th ...

to begin the 2025 season.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Grissom, Vaughn 2001 births Living people Baseball players from Orlando, Florida African-American baseball players Major League Baseball infielders Atlanta Braves players Boston Red Sox players Augusta GreenJackets players Gulf Coast Braves players Gwinnett Stripers players Mississippi Braves players Rome Braves players Worcester Red Sox players 21st-century American sportsmen