Mudcat Grant obit

 

Former All-Star pitcher Jim 'Mudcat' Grant, who spent 14 seasons in the majors, dies at 85

The Minnesota Twins announced Grant's passing on Saturday

 He was not on the list.

Jim 'Mudcat' Grant, the first Black pitcher in American League history to win 20 games, has died at the age of 85. The Minnesota Twins, for whom Grant pitched for four of his 14 major league seasons, announced his passing on Saturday.

Across those 14 seasons, Grant went 145-119 with an ERA of 3.63 in 293 starts and 278 relief appearances. Along the way, Grant made two All-Star teams and in 1965 with Minnesota authored that history-making 21-win season. That same year, he also finished sixth in the AL MVP balloting. As well, Grant had strong numbers across two postseasons, with the Twins in 1965 and with the Oakland A's in 1971, the final year of his MLB career.

Grant was born in 1935 in Lacoochee, Florida. He went on to become a two-sport athlete in baseball and football, at Florida A&M, but he was unable to graduate because of financial reasons. Not long after Grant was forced to drop out of college, the Cleveland Indians signed him. By 1958, he'd made the majors for good. In addition to playing for Cleveland and the Twins, Grant also spent time in the bigs with the Dodgers, Expos, A's, Cardinals, and Pirates.

Grant, like so many Black players of his generation, was forced to overcome discrimination and acts of racial bias. Grants' SABR bio written by Joseph Wancho details once such incident in 1960:

    On September 16 the Indians were at home getting ready to play the Kansas City Athletics. Before the game, as the National Anthem was being played, Grant got into an argument with bullpen coach (and Texas resident) Ted Wilks. "I was standing in the bullpen, singing along with the National Anthem as I always do," Mudcat said. "When it got to that part 'home of the brave and land of the free' I sang something like 'this land is not so free. I can't even go to Mississippi.' It was something like that and I sang it in fun. Wilks heard me and called me a (racial) name. I got so mad I couldn't hold myself back. I told him that Texas is worse than Russia. Then I walked straight into the clubhouse."

    Grant dressed and left the park without telling manager Jimmy Dykes, who had no idea what had happened. Dykes suspended Grant for the rest of the season without pay, which Grant accepted. "Jim called me after the game and told me he had made a big mistake," said Dykes. "I said, 'Yes you did and there's nothing I can do about it now. The suspension sticks.'" Wilks apologized for his remarks, which Grant refused to acknowledge. "I'm sick of hearing remarks about colored people. I don't have to stand there and take it," said Grant. Wilks left the organization after the season.

Following his playing career, Grant worked as a TV analyst for Cleveland and a broadcaster for the A's. He also served as a pitching instructor in the minors. Later, Grant worked to promote baseball within the Black community in response to declining participation.

In later years, Grant dedicated himself to studying and promoting the history of blacks in baseball. On his official website, Grant paid tribute to the fifteen black pitchers (including himself) who have won 20 games in a season. The "15 Black Aces" are: Vida Blue, Al Downing, Bob Gibson, Dwight Gooden, Grant, Ferguson Jenkins, Sam Jones, Don Newcombe, Mike Norris, David Price, J. R. Richard, CC Sabathia, Dave Stewart, Dontrelle Willis, and Earl Wilson. In 2007, Grant released The Black Aces, Baseball's Only African-American Twenty-Game Winners, featuring chapters on each of the black pitchers to have at least one twenty-win season, and also featuring Negro league players that Mudcat felt would have been twenty game winners if they were allowed to play. The book was featured at the Baseball Hall of Fame during Induction Weekend 2006. In February 2007 during an event to honor Black History Month, President George W. Bush honored Grant and fellow Aces, Ferguson Jenkins, Dontrelle Willis and Mike Norris, and the publication of the book, at the White House.

 

MLB statistics

Win–loss record                145–119

Earned run average         3.63

Strikeouts           1,267

Teams

 

    Cleveland Indians (1958–1964)

    Minnesota Twins (1964–1967)

    Los Angeles Dodgers (1968)

    Montreal Expos (1969)

    St. Louis Cardinals (1969)

    Oakland Athletics (1970)

    Pittsburgh Pirates (1970–1971)

    Oakland Athletics (1971)

Career highlights and awards

    2× All-Star (1963, 1965)

    AL wins leader (1965)

His former teammates, coaches, club owners and commentators include: Bobby Bragan, Joe Gordon, Frank Lane, William R. Daley, Roger Maris, Minnie Miñoso, Mickey Vernon, Larry Doby, Hoyt Wilhelm, Bob Lemon, Chico Carrasquel, Jay Porter, Jimmy Dudley, Bob Neal, Ken Coleman, Woodie Held, Billy Martin, Jimmy Piersall, Tito Francona, Rocky Colavito, Gary Bell, Cal McLish, Jim Perry, Vic Power, Luke Appling, Harvey Kuenn, Johnny Romano, Woodie Held, Willie Kirkland, Bubba Phillips, Barry Latman, Frank Funk, Gabe Paul, Mel McGaha, Birdie Tebbetts, Ted Abernathy, Vic Davalillo, Leon Wagner, Max Alvis, Tommy John, Luis Tiant, Tony Oliva, Calvin Griffith, Sam Mele, Thelma Griffith Haynes, Bob Allison, Harmon Killebrew, Jimmie Hall, Camilo Pascual, Jimmie Hall, Jim Kaat, Zoilo Versalles, Don Mincher, Ray Scott, Herb Carneal, Halsey Hall, Earl Battey, Al Worthington, Rod Carew, César Tovar, Dean Chance, Early Wynn, Graig Nettles, Walter Alston, Buzzie Bavasi, Fresco Thompson, Wes Parker, Phil Regan, Don Drysdale, Tom Haller, Don Sutton, Jeff Torborg, Ken Boyer, Claude Osteen, Jim Lefebvre, Lefty Phillips, Jim Fanning, Gene Mauch, Maury Wills, Jimy Williams, Rusty Staub, Coco Laboy, Mack Jones, Bob Bailey, Bill Stoneman, Red Schoendienst, Bing Devine, August "Gussie" Busch, Harry Caray, Jack Buck, Steve Carlton, Ted Simmons, Joe Torre, Curt Flood, Vada Pinson, Bob Gibson, Nelson Briles, Lou Brock, Charles O. Finley, Catfish Hunter, Reggie Jackson, Rick Monday, Felipe Alou, Tony La Russa, Sal Bando, Chuck Dobson, Bert Campaneris, Monte Moore, Matty Alou, Roberto Clemente, Willie Stargell, Bill Mazeroski, Al Oliver, Bob Robertson, Luke Walker, Dock Ellis, Milt May, Danny Murtaugh, Bill Virdon, Manny Sanguillén, Richie Hebner, Steve Blass, Dick Williams and Rollie Fingers.