Player Profile:
Lefty Grove
| Name: | Robert Moses "Lefty" Grove |
|
Left-handed pitcher | |
| Lived: | 1900 - 1975 |
| Career span: | 1925-1941 |
| Hall of Fame? | Yes (1947) |
| Primary teams: | Philadelphia Athletics (1925-1933); Boston Red Sox (1934-1941) |
| Best Year: | 1931: 31-4, 2.06 ERA, 175 strikeouts, 27 complete games |
| Rank on Greatest Players list: | 11th |
Player notes : Lefty Grove was the greatest left-handed pitcher of all time. That's my opinion, but it's not just me. Bill James thinks so too (see The Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract). Others may argue for Sandy Koufax, but Koufax was at the top of his game for a much briefer time span. Some may promote Warren Spahn, but while Spahn was very good for many, many years, he was never anywhere near as dominant a pitcher as Grove was in the prime of his career. Grove led the league in ERA a phenomenal nine times, and led the AL in strikeouts seven consecutive years. All this from a guy who didn't pitch in the majors until he was 25 years old. And that wasn't because he was a late bloomer, but because in his era minor league teams had the independence to keep players, and the Baltimore team he pitched for was reluctant to sell his contract to a major league team.
Despite starting his major league career later than he should have, Grove racked up 300 career victories, and he was a key part of one of the great teams of all time: the 1929-1931 Philadelphia Athletics. I'm not old enough to have seen Grove pitch, but sometimes a player's record just cries out "greatness". Such is the case with Grove, the greatest "Lefty" ever.