Vintage Fridays: Ross Grimsley, 1975 SSPC #377

Tonight, Nationals starter Max Scherzer finally gave up a run, as the Phillies touched him up for a pair in the seventh inning. It snapped a 47 and one-third inning shutout streak by Washington starting pitchers, ensuring that the 1974 Orioles' post-expansion record of 54 straight scoreless innings will stand. Of course, the Birds did it the hard way, as those innings were truly consecutive. Dave McNally finished up a 7-1 complete-game victory over the Royals with a scoreless ninth inning on September 1 after his shutout was spoiled by a John Mayberry groundout with runners on the corners in the eighth. The next day, Ross Grimsley and Mike Cuellar each went the distance in a pair of 1-0 squeakers, as the O's swept Boston in a twinbill in Memorial Stadium. "Scuz" twirled a three-hitter, and Cuellar one-upped him with a two-hitter. Jim Palmer continued to flummox the BoSox on Wednesday the 4th, blanking them on three hits in a 6-0 breezer. The Orioles traveled to Cleveland for a Friday doubleheader and McNally (three-hit, 2-0 final) and Cuellar again (five-hit, 1-0 final) kept the zeroes coming. On Saturday, September 7, Grimsley carried a four-hit shutout into the game's final frame. With the Tribe down by three, George Hendrick led off with a double and Charlie Spikes finally spoiled the fun with a two-run homer. Ross regrouped to put down the next three Indians hitters in order, preserving the complete game victory. It was the tenth straight victory for the O's, who were in the midst of yet another late-season surge under Earl Weaver. That must have been an incredible time to be a fan.

Ross Grimsley, 1991 Crown/Coca-Cola All-Time Orioles #167

Today is a big milestone for Ross Grimsley, as the former Orioles pitcher celebrates his 65th birthday. The man known as both "Scuz" and "Crazy Eyes" (seriously, check out his bio!) is more than just a funny-looking guy with some colorful nicknames, though. He was a second-generation major leaguer who upstaged his father Ross. Sr., a veteran of just seven games with the 1951 White Sox. The younger Grimsley was only 21 when he debuted with the Reds in 1971, two years after the team made him their first-round draft pick. He had three solid seasons in Cincinnati, posting a 37-25 record with a 3.26 ERA, before the O's acquired him in a five-player trade that sent Merv Rettenmund to the Reds.

Ross replaced Doyle Alexander in the Baltimore rotation and got right to work, with an 18-13 mark and a 3.07 ERA that was lowest among Birds starters. He made an incredible 39 starts and completed 17 of them, totaling 295.2 innings to lead an AL East Champion club that only used 12 pitchers all season. That heavy workload may have taken a toll, as Grimsley averaged only 184 innings over the next three years, with a cumulative ERA of 3.99 (90 ERA+). The lefty joined the Expos as a free agent in 1978 and had one burst of greatness, going 20-11 with a 3.05 ERA and 19 complete games. He made the All-Star team, and ultimately stands in the record books as Montreal's only 20-game winner. But Ross was hit hard in subsequent campaigns with the Expos and Indians, and finished his career back in Baltimore as a long reliever in 1982. He had a 5.25 ERA in 21 games, but did eke out one last win with 7.2 innings of six-hit, scoreless relief on May 6. Starter Jim Palmer had lasted just three batters against the Angels, but Grimsley bridged the considerable gap to Tim Stoddard in the ninth inning, allowing an inherited runner to score on a Bobby Grich single but holding the line from there. The O's offense rallied for seven runs in the top of the ninth off of future Oriole Don Aase, with Ken Singleton's three-run homer and Gary Roenicke's two-run shot helping to break a 2-2 tie.

Should you be wondering about the current whereabouts of Scuz, he's been coaching in the Giants farm system since the turn of the century, and he's still got that beautiful mustache.

Vintage Fridays: Ross Grimsley, 1974 Topps Traded #59T

1974 marked the first year that Topps released a supplement to their basic set late in the year to highlight players who had changed teams during the season. They certainly didn't just dip their toes in, or wade in gradually. Topps absolutely took the plunge, slapping a caution-tape-yellow strip at the bottom of the player picture that took up nearly a quarter of the card's real estate. In case they still didn't have your attention, the blood-red "TRADED" label should have done the trick. It's almost reminiscent of a wanted poster; at any rate, Ross Grimsley's expression is world-weary. He's squinting off into the high noon sun, preparing for an Old West showdown with guns drawn. Ross knows that he's not coming back. In a manner of speaking, this was the end of Grimsley as he had previously been known. In 1975 he grew a bushy mustache and grew his hair out into a shag, and within a year or two it was teased into a buoyant thicket of curls that transformed him into the Caucasian equivalent of Oscar Gamble.

On another note, it's somewhat ironic that the "Traded" name was rendered outdated almost immediately. On December 16, 1974, an arbitrator ruled that Oakland pitcher Catfish Hunter was baseball's first free agent, as owner Charlie Finley had breached his contract. Two weeks later, Hunter signed with the Yankees for big money. Several other players began the 1975 season without signed contracts, as the emergent players' union challenged the reserve clause that had made player movement a one-way street. By the end of the season, pitchers Andy Messersmith and Dave McNally had played all year without inking deals. Again, they were ruled free agents, and this time the reserve clause was gone for good. Topps did not issue a Traded set in 1975, but brought it back the next year. They kept the "Traded" name, even though it would have been more accurate to dub it "Traded and Free Agents". It was another five years before the next supplemental set, but when it returned it was still "Traded". In fact, Topps kept putting out Traded sets through 2004, although the scope of the set had also expanded to incorporate rookies who emerged during the season. Since 2005, Topps has gone with the unwieldy but more inclusive "Updates and Highlights" brand name.

Vintage Fridays: Ross Grimsley, 1978 Topps #691

It's another one of those especially exhausting days. I was up until 2:15 last night packing my car full of my possessions, in an attempt to make tomorrow's moving day as simple as possible. Binder after binder and long box after long box of baseball cards. Oh, and all of that other stuff that constitutes my daily life. Today I unloaded it all, and helped my father move the furniture that's already in the house up and down the stairs to make room for my furniture. (We only put one hole in the wall!) So it's another one of those days where I need the card to do the talking for me.

Thank goodness for Ross Grimsley.

This card represents pure joy. From the day that I first saw it on eBay, I knew that I must have it. I love the look of simple glee on Grimsley's face, augmented by his 70's-tastic chops, flavor saver mustache, and of course the bushy, flowing, curly...to call it an afro just doesn't do it justice. That thing is a full-out mane. It's glistening in the sunlight, or perhaps under the bright stadium lights. The top button is unbuttoned, the choker necklace on full display. I'd like to think that this photo was taken just after a Friday night game. The Orioles have won another one, but the night is balmy and still young. Ross Grimsley is feelin' fine, and ready to party.

Postscript: Only now do I notice that the team name running along the bottom left border runs almost parallel to the script on Ross's jersey. It's almost like a shadow. That's pretty cool, too.