Jeffery Adam Granger (born December 16, 1971) is an American former professional baseball
pitcher
In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...
who played for the
Kansas City Royals and the
Pittsburgh Pirates of
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...
(MLB).
High school
Granger was a star quarterback and pitcher for
Orangefield High School in
Orangefield, Texas. In 1990, his senior year, he led the Orangefield Bobcats to the state semifinals with a 23–6 record. Also an outstanding hitter, he still holds the Texas state record for longest hitting streak (42 games). In football, he was named the #6 Texas high school prospect in the class of 1990 by the
Austin American-Statesman, and the #2 quarterback overall.
Still owns the Orangefield 400m school record with a sub 50 second performance.
College
In two seasons for
Texas A&M
Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, or TAMU) is a public, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System in 1948. As of late 2021, T ...
Granger had a record of 16–6 with 251 strikeouts in 220 innings during his first two seasons. In 1993, he broke the Aggie record with 150 strikeouts and broke
Roger Clemens
William Roger Clemens (born August 4, 1962), nicknamed "Rocket", is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 24 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), primarily with the Boston Red Sox. Clemens was one of the most dominant pi ...
'
Southwest Conference
The Southwest Conference (SWC) was an NCAA Division I college athletic conference in the United States that existed from 1914 to 1996. Composed primarily of schools from Texas, at various times the conference included schools from Oklahoma ...
career strikeout record. He was the College Station Regional MVP in the
College World Series
The College World Series (CWS), officially the NCAA Men's College World Series (MCWS), is an annual baseball tournament held in June in Omaha, Nebraska. The MCWS is the culmination of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Divisi ...
, and was all-SWC as well as being named a first team All-American. Granger was a finalist for the Golden Spikes award and also pitched for Team USA in international play.
He also played quarterback for the
Texas A&M Aggies football team, and was briefly the starter. Highlights included a 4 TD performance against
Tulsa
Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with ...
playing in place of an injured
Bucky Richardson in 1991. Granger engineered two memorable last-minute drives in 1992. After being pulled from the season opening
Disneyland Pigskin Classic game against
Stanford for a weak passing performance, he returned to throw a game-tying pass to tight end
Greg Schorp. On a subsequent drive, he scrambled 33 yards to the Cardinal 29 yard line to set up a game-winning field goal by
Terry Venetoulias as the Aggies prevailed 10–7. Granger led the Aggies to a 4–0 start that season, and top 5 early season ranking.
Later against
Texas Tech
Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas. Established on , and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the main institution of the five-institution Texas Tech University Sys ...
, Granger escaped a sack on a third-and-eight at the Raiders' 42-yard line and hit Schorp with a first-down pass that set up another Venetoulias game-winning field goal as time expired.
Professional career
Granger was drafted in the 1st Round (5th overall pick) of the
1993 MLB Draft by the
Kansas City Royals. He was only 21 when he broke into the majors with the Royals in September of that same year after only 7 impressive starts at single-A
Eugene in which he struck out 56 batters in only 36 innings. He began the 1994 Season at AA
Memphis
Memphis most commonly refers to:
* Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt
* Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city
Memphis may also refer to:
Places United States
* Memphis, Alabama
* Memphis, Florida
* Memphis, Indiana
* Memp ...
and was called up to the big leagues for two respectable (but not overpowering) starts in May. Although he had dominated at the minor league level, it was clear that he needed some finesse to complement his impressive velocity, and the Royals kept him at AA
Wichita in 1995. Granger was moved to the bullpen the following season and made a smooth transition, compiling an impressive 2.34 ERA for the AAA
Omaha Royals
Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest c ...
. He was once again hit hard in 15 relief appearances for the major league club. In December 1996, Granger was traded with Jeff Wallace,
Joe Randa
Joe or JOE may refer to:
Arts
Film and television
* ''Joe'' (1970 film), starring Peter Boyle
* ''Joe'' (2013 film), starring Nicolas Cage
* ''Joe'' (TV series), a British TV series airing from 1966 to 1971
* ''Joe'', a 2002 Canadian animated ...
, and Jeff Martin to the
Pittsburgh Pirates for
Jeff King and
Jay Bell
Jay Stuart Bell (born December 11, 1965) is an American former Major League Baseball shortstop and former manager of the Rocket City Trash Pandas of the Southern League. He played for the Cleveland Indians (1986–88), Pittsburgh Pirates (1989â ...
.
Granger began the 1997 season with the Pirates, but was shelled in 9 relief appearances and sent down to AAA
Calgary, where he struggled for the rest of the season. It was his last major league action.
Granger spent the next three seasons struggling in the minor leagues for five different clubs in four different organizations. He even attempted to resurrect his career with the
Long Island Ducks, but ultimately retired from baseball. Although he was a phenomenal two-sport college athlete and was able to play four seasons in the major leagues, he did not end up being the major-league All-star that some envisioned him becoming, instead a cautionary tale against rushing players to the major leagues.
Notes
External links
New York Times ArticleHitting streak in coach's bioUSA Today College Football encyclopedia - 1992 Pigskin classic section
{{DEFAULTSORT:Granger, Jeff
1971 births
Living people
Albuquerque Dukes players
All-American college baseball players
American expatriate baseball players in Canada
American football quarterbacks
Baseball players at the 1991 Pan American Games
Baseball players from Los Angeles
Calgary Cannons players
Eugene Emeralds players
Greenville Braves players
Kansas City Royals players
Long Island Ducks players
Louisville RiverBats players
Major League Baseball pitchers
Medalists at the 1991 Pan American Games
Memphis Chicks players
Oklahoma RedHawks players
Omaha Royals players
Pan American Games bronze medalists for the United States
Pan American Games medalists in baseball
People from San Pedro, Los Angeles
Pittsburgh Pirates players
Players of American football from Los Angeles
Richmond Braves players
Texas A&M Aggies baseball players
Texas A&M Aggies football players
Wichita Wranglers players
Baseball players from Texas
People from Orange County, Texas