Mark Grace

Mark Eugene Grace (born June 28, 1964) is a former Major League Baseball (MLB) first baseman who spent 16 seasons with the Chicago Cubs and Arizona Diamondbacks of the National League (NL). He was a member of the 2001 World Series champion Diamondbacks that beat the New York Yankees. Grace batted and threw left-handed; he wore jersey number 28 and 17 during his rookie season of 1988, and he kept number 17 for the remainder of his career.

Mark Grace
Grace at the 2017 Arizona Diamondbacks Alumni Game
First baseman
Born: (1964-06-28) June 28, 1964
Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Batted: Left Threw: Left
MLB debut
May 2, 1988, for the Chicago Cubs
Last MLB appearance
September 28, 2003, for the Arizona Diamondbacks
MLB statistics
Batting average.303
Hits2,445
Home runs173
Runs batted in1,146
Teams
Career highlights and awards

Baseball career

Grace played high school baseball and basketball at Tustin High School in Tustin, California.

After playing baseball for San Diego State University, Grace was drafted by the Chicago Cubs in 1985. He spent three years playing in the Cubs farm system before making his major league debut May 2, 1988.[1]

Chicago Cubs

Grace starred on Cubs teams that included Ryne Sandberg, Andre Dawson, Shawon Dunston and Sammy Sosa and was a consistent, steady hitter, compiling almost 2,500 hits and more than 500 doubles during his 16-year career and for a few years batted clean-up for the Cubs. He had a career on-base percentage of .383 and collected four Gold Glove Awards and was a three-time All-Star (1993, 1995, 1997).

He holds the distinction of having the most hits and doubles of any player in the 1990s.

Grace helped lead the Cubs to the NL East division title in 1989 and the NL wild card in 1998. In the 1989 NLCS, Grace batted .647 in the five-game contest with a home run and three doubles, while driving in 8 of the total 16 runs scored by the Cubs in the series.

Grace led the team in average (.325), OBP (.393), hits (193), walks (71), doubles (39), and RBI (98 – a career high) in 1993 and was selected as an alternate to the NL All-Star team for the first time in his career. He also hit for the cycle on May 9 that year,[2] and (as of the end of the 2018 season) is the most recent Cub to have done so. In 1995, Grace hit .326 with a .395 OBP and a .516 SLG, and hit 51 doubles (which led the NL). He was once again named to the NL All-Star team. Grace collected the most hits (1,754) and doubles (364) of any player in the 1990s. Grace and Pete Rose are the only Major League Baseball players to lead a decade in hits and not be in the Baseball Hall of Fame. Grace also had the most sacrifice flies in the 1990s with 73.

The song that played most frequently on the Wrigley Field organ prior to a Grace at bat was "Taking Care of Business", which Grace explained was due to his bit part in a Jim Belushi film of the same name.

Arizona Diamondbacks

Grace signed with the Arizona Diamondbacks on December 8, 2000, with a $6 million, two-year contract after the Cubs declined to offer salary arbitration. The deal included a mutual $3 million option year in 2003. He received $5.3 million in his last season with the Cubs but accepted less money for the opportunity to live year-round at his home in suburban Scottsdale, Arizona, with his family. "For me to remain a Cub, the Cubs would have wanted to want me back and the Cubs would have had to win", Grace said at the time. "Neither of those happened and I'm one proud Diamondback now."[3]

Grace wore his familiar number 17 in Arizona where he played for three more seasons, including helping the Diamondbacks win the 2001 World Series. Having never even visited Yankee Stadium, he belted a home run there in Game 4 of the series.[4] Grace led off the bottom of the 9th inning with a single off Yankee pitcher Mariano Rivera, which rallied the Arizona Diamondbacks to a come-from-behind victory in Game 7. His .515 batting average in League Championship Series play is a record for players in at least ten games.

During a 19–1 defeat by the Los Angeles Dodgers in September 2002, Grace pitched one inning of relief.[5] He surrendered one run on catcher David Ross's first career home run. Grace also impersonated teammate Mike Fetters, who from the stretch would take a deep breath and then quickly turned his head towards the catcher.

On September 26, 2003, Grace announced his retirement from baseball.

Coaching

Grace has stated a desire to manage a major league team at some point.[6] He was considered for the Diamondbacks' managerial position following the 2004 season,[7] but the Diamondbacks hired Bob Melvin instead.

Grace spent 2014 as hitting coach for the Diamondbacks' Class A Short Season affiliate Hillsboro Hops of the Northwest League.[8][9] In 2015, he was promoted to the Diamondbacks to be their hitting coach.[10] He was fired after the 2016 season.[11]

Broadcasting career

After his retirement as a player, Grace continued his involvement in the game as a television color commentator for the Diamondbacks and for Fox Saturday Baseball. Grace used off-the-wall terms—such as "slumpbuster", "never-say-die-mondbacks", and "Gas!"—during broadcasts. He was paired with Thom Brennaman on television from 2004 to 2006, and was paired with Daron Sutton from 2007 to 2012.

Grace also agreed to a deal with Fox Sports in 2007. He originally rotated between the studio and the number three booth. He was then promoted to the number two booth with Thom Brennaman for the 2008 and 2009 season, and Dick Stockton for the 2010 season. He reunited with Brennaman in 2011 before leaving the network at the end of the regular season. He was replaced by Eric Karros who had worked on the number three team with Kenny Albert.

On August 24, 2012, Grace requested an indefinite leave of absence from the booth, and at the end of the 2012 season, the team announced that he would not be returning for the 2013 season.[12]

In February 2017, Grace was named as a baseball analyst for Diamondbacks games by Fox Sports Arizona.[13][14]

In February 2020, Grace was hired as an analyst for select Chicago Cubs games on Marquee Sports Network. Grace will continue his role with the Diamondbacks as the lead color commentator on Fox Sports Arizona.[15]

Personal life

Grace was known to smoke cigarettes before and after Cub games, and reportedly at times, during games in the clubhouse.[16]

On August 3, 2006, Grace led the Wrigley Field crowd in singing "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" during the seventh-inning stretch of the second game of a doubleheader between the Cubs and Diamondbacks; his appearance helped to improve his relationship with the Cubs, which had been strained since he left the team after the 2000 season.[17]

Grace became eligible for the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2009; 75% of the vote was necessary for induction, and 5% was necessary to stay on future ballots. Grace received 4.1% of the vote and was dropped from further ballots.

Grace's ex-wife, Michelle, married Ray Liotta in 1997 after meeting at a Cubs game.[18] Liotta had played baseball player "Shoeless" Joe Jackson in Field of Dreams. As of 2006, he is divorced from his second wife, Tanya, who starred on the VH1 show Baseball Wives.

Grace lived in Antioch, Tennessee, during a period of his childhood years. He currently resides in Paradise Valley, Arizona, with his sons Jackson Gene and Preston Torre.

Grace has been arrested twice for driving under the influence; once in May 2011 and once in August 2012.[19]

On October 3, 2012, a grand jury in Arizona indicted Grace on four felony counts stemming from his August 23, 2012, arrest in Scottsdale on suspicion of driving under the influence, driving with a suspended license and without an interlock device.[20] The Diamondbacks announced the following day that Grace would not return to his television broadcasting duties with the club. He subsequently pleaded guilty and was sentenced to four months in jail on January 31, 2013. The sentence included work-release jail time as well as two years of supervised probation. An interlock device was required to be installed in his vehicle for six months.[21]

See also

References
  1. "Chicago Cubs 5, San Diego Padres 2". Retrosheet. May 2, 1988. Retrieved January 8, 2018.
  2. "San Diego Padres 5, Chicago Cubs 4". Retrosheet. May 9, 1993. Retrieved 2008-07-28.
  3. "D'backs sign Grace to two-year contract". USA Today. December 9, 2000. Archived from the original on January 26, 2001. Retrieved May 12, 2010.
  4. "Mark Grace". thebaseballpage.com. Archived from the original on 2006-05-07 – via archive.is.CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  5. "Los Angeles Dodgers 19, Arizona Diamondbacks 1". Retrosheet. September 2, 2002. Retrieved January 8, 2018.
  6. Rozner, Barry (October 3, 2003). "Why not Grace for White Sox?". Daily Herald. Arlington Heights, Illinois. Retrieved January 9, 2018 – via newspapers.com.
  7. McManaman, Bob (October 22, 2004). "Grace won't manage, but hopes to stick around". The Arizona Republic. Phoenix, Arizona. Retrieved January 9, 2018 – via newspapers.com.
  8. "Hillsboro Hops Field Staff". Retrieved 2014-08-08.
  9. Smith, Jeff (December 20, 2013). "Hillsboro Hops: Former All-Star Mark Grace joins new manager J. R. House's coaching staff". The Oregonian. Retrieved 21 April 2014.
  10. "Mark Grace back where he belongs with D-backs". 2 February 2015.
  11. "Mark Grace, Matt Williams reportedly out as Diamondbacks coaches".
  12. Marotta, Vince. "Daron Sutton, Mark Grace out as Arizona Diamondbacks broadcasters". Arizona Sports. arizonasports.com. Archived from the original on 14 November 2012. Retrieved 9 November 2012.
  13. Piecoro, Nick (February 15, 2017). "Mark Grace hired for TV role with 'organization I really love'". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved January 8, 2018.
  14. Fuoco-Karasinski, Christina (March 30, 2017). "Saving Grace: D-backs' hero Mark Grace returns to Fox Sports Arizona as game analyst". entertainermag.com. Retrieved January 8, 2018.
  15. Staff, Tribune. "Mark Grace joins Marquee Sports Network as an analyst for select Cubs games". The Chicago Tribune. Tribune Publishing Company. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
  16. "Grace emerged from Steroid Era with more than his integrity". CNN. January 21, 2010.
  17. Sullivan, Paul (August 4, 2006). "Back in good graces". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved January 10, 2018 – via newspapers.com.
  18. Longsdorf, Amy. "Ray Liotta finds intense adrenaline rush in 'Narc'". Pottstown Mercury. Retrieved January 6, 2016.
  19. "Battles with Alcohol". markgrace.com. Retrieved January 8, 2018.
  20. "Mark Grace indicted on 4 DUI counts".
  21. Merrill, Laurie (January 31, 2013). "Mark Grace gets four-month sentence for 2nd DUI". USA Today.

Further reading

Awards and achievements
Preceded by
Mark McGwire		 Topps Rookie All-Star First Baseman
1988		 Succeeded by
Carlos Martínez
Preceded by
Howard Johnson		 National League Player of the Month
July 1989		 Succeeded by
Pedro Guerrero
Preceded by
Andújar Cedeño		 Hitting for the cycle
May 9, 1993		 Succeeded by
Jay Buhner
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