Jason Grimsley Adds Another Chapter to Storied Career
Apparently, Diamondbacks reliever Jason Grimsley owned up to having used performance-enhancing drugs (specifically, human growth hormone), prompting federal agents to ransack his home for six hours. This is, at best, my second-favorite story about Jason Grimsley.
The very best Grimsley anecdote, of course, occurred on July 15, 1994. During a heated division game, the White Sox were tipped off that Cleveland slugger Albert Belle had been using a corked bat. Sox manager Gene Lamont complained, and Belle's bat was confiscated and taken to the umpires' dressing room.
Well, of course, Belle's bat WAS corked. The Indians could not afford to lose Belle to suspension in what was a tight division race with the White Sox. Therefore, Jason Grimsley (only 180 pounds at the time) volunteered to crawl through the air conditioning ductwork into the umpires' room, replaced the bat with a different one, and crawl back into the Indians' clubhouse.
Grimsley succeeded in the task, although the umpires immediately suspected foul play when they returned to their dressing room after the game. After all, the replacement bat read "Paul Sorrento" on it. Grimsley's excuse for replacing Belle's bat with a Sorrento bat? He had no choice: all of Albert's bats were corked!
Grimsley is now listed at 205 pounds. I guess we now know from whence that added bulk stemmed. It's nice to see that HGH was helping Grimsley overpower hitters: his ERA is now at 4.88 (4.77 career), and opponents are hitting .280 off of him.
There are some guys who--no matter their career accomplishments--will always be remembered for something besides their on-the-field accomplishments. Por ejemplo: What's the first thing that comes to mind when the name Robin Ventura is mentioned? That he was a solid, decent-hitting third baseman with a long career? Hell no--you remember this:
Welcome to the club, Jason.
The very best Grimsley anecdote, of course, occurred on July 15, 1994. During a heated division game, the White Sox were tipped off that Cleveland slugger Albert Belle had been using a corked bat. Sox manager Gene Lamont complained, and Belle's bat was confiscated and taken to the umpires' dressing room.
Well, of course, Belle's bat WAS corked. The Indians could not afford to lose Belle to suspension in what was a tight division race with the White Sox. Therefore, Jason Grimsley (only 180 pounds at the time) volunteered to crawl through the air conditioning ductwork into the umpires' room, replaced the bat with a different one, and crawl back into the Indians' clubhouse.
Grimsley succeeded in the task, although the umpires immediately suspected foul play when they returned to their dressing room after the game. After all, the replacement bat read "Paul Sorrento" on it. Grimsley's excuse for replacing Belle's bat with a Sorrento bat? He had no choice: all of Albert's bats were corked!
Grimsley is now listed at 205 pounds. I guess we now know from whence that added bulk stemmed. It's nice to see that HGH was helping Grimsley overpower hitters: his ERA is now at 4.88 (4.77 career), and opponents are hitting .280 off of him.
There are some guys who--no matter their career accomplishments--will always be remembered for something besides their on-the-field accomplishments. Por ejemplo: What's the first thing that comes to mind when the name Robin Ventura is mentioned? That he was a solid, decent-hitting third baseman with a long career? Hell no--you remember this:
Welcome to the club, Jason.
posted by Shafty at 11:48 AM
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