Mark Eugene Grace (born June 28, 1964) is a former
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)
first baseman
A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...
who spent 12 seasons with the
Chicago Cubs and three seasons with the
Arizona Diamondbacks
The Arizona Diamondbacks (colloquially known as the D-backs) are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The ...
of the
National League
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team ...
(NL). He was a member of the
2001 World Series
The 2001 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 2001 season. The 97th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff between the National League (NL) champion Arizona Diamondbacks and the three-t ...
champion Diamondbacks that beat the
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of ...
. Grace batted and threw left-handed; he wore
jersey number 28 and 17 during his rookie season of 1988, and he kept number 17 for the remainder of his career.
Career
Amateur career
Grace played high school
baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...
and
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...
at
Tustin High School
Tustin High School is a public high school in Tustin, California, United States. It is part of the Tustin Unified School District. It was established in 1921 as the Tustin Union High School.
History
Founded in 1921, Tustin High School was orig ...
in
Tustin, California
Tustin is a city located in Orange County, California, in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. In 2020, Tustin had a population of 80,276. The city is located next to the county seat, Santa Ana, and does not include the unincorporated community ...
. After graduating high school in 1982, he first attended Saddleback College before transferring to
San Diego State University
San Diego State University (SDSU) is a public research university in San Diego, California. Founded in 1897 as San Diego Normal School, it is the third-oldest university and southernmost in the 23-member California State University (CSU) system ...
to play for the
San Diego State Aztecs
The San Diego State Aztecs are the athletic teams that represent San Diego State University (SDSU). San Diego State currently sponsors six men's and eleven women's sports at the varsity level.
The Aztecs compete in NCAA Division I ( FBS for foo ...
. At the age of 19, he was drafted in the 15th round by the Minnesota Twins but he did not sign.
Chicago Cubs
The
Chicago Cubs selected Grace in the
1985 Major League Baseball draft
First round draft picks
The following are the first round picks in the 1985 Major League Baseball draft.
Supplemental First Round Selections
Background
Six of the first eight draft picks from the June regular phase had at least one full ...
. He spent three years playing in the Cubs
farm system before making his major league debut May 2, 1988.
Grace starred on Cubs teams that included
Ryne Sandberg
Ryne Dee Sandberg (born September 18, 1959), nicknamed "Ryno", is an American former professional baseball player, coach, and manager. He played sixteen seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a second baseman for the Philadelphia Phillies (19 ...
,
Andre Dawson
Andre Nolan Dawson (born July 10, 1954), nicknamed "The Hawk" and "Awesome Dawson", is an American former professional baseball player and inductee into the Baseball Hall of Fame. During a 21-year baseball career, he played for four different te ...
,
Shawon Dunston
Shawon Donnell Dunston (born March 21, 1963) is an American retired professional baseball player. A shortstop, Dunston played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1985 through 2002.
Dunston was the first overall pick in the 1982 MLB draft by the ...
and
Sammy Sosa and was a consistent, steady hitter, compiling 2,445 hits and more than 500 doubles during his 16-year career and for a few years batted clean-up for the Cubs. He had a career
on-base percentage of .383 and collected four
Gold Glove Awards and was a three-time All-Star (1993, 1995, 1997). He holds the distinction of having the most hits and doubles of any player in the 1990s.
Grace helped lead the Cubs to the
NL East
The National League East is one of Major League Baseball's six divisions. Along with the American League Central it is one of two divisions to have every member win at least one World Series title.
The division was created when the National Leag ...
division title in 1989 and the NL
wild card in 1998. In the
1989 NLCS, Grace batted .647 in the five-game contest with a home run and three doubles, while driving in 8 of the total 16 runs scored by the Cubs in the series.
Grace led the team in average (.325), OBP (.393), hits (193), walks (71), doubles (39), and RBI (98 – a career high) in 1993 and was selected as an alternate to the NL
All-Star team for the first time in his career. He also
hit for the cycle
In baseball, hitting for the cycle is the accomplishment of one batter who hits a single, a double, a triple, and a home run in the same game. Collecting the hits in that order is known as a "natural cycle". Cycles are rare in Major League B ...
on May 9 that year, and (as of the end of the
2018 season) is the most recent Cub to have done so. In 1995, Grace hit .326 with a .395 OBP and a .516 SLG, and hit 51 doubles (which led the NL). He was once again named to the NL All-Star team. Grace collected the most hits (1,754) and doubles (364) of any player in the 1990
Grace and
Pete Rose
Peter Edward Rose Sr. (born April 14, 1941), also known by his nickname "Charlie Hustle", is an American former professional baseball player and manager. Rose played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1963 to 1986, most prominently as a membe ...
are the only Major League Baseball players to lead a decade in hits and not be in the
Baseball Hall of Fame. Grace also had the most sacrifice flies in the 1990s with 73.
The song that played most frequently on the
Wrigley Field
Wrigley Field is a Major League Baseball (MLB) stadium on the North Side of Chicago, Illinois. It is the home of the Chicago Cubs, one of the city's two MLB franchises. It first opened in 1914 as Weeghman Park for Charles Weeghman's Chicago ...
organ prior to a Grace at bat was "
Taking Care of Business", which Grace explained was due to his
bit part in a
Jim Belushi
James Adam Belushi (; born June 15, 1954) is an American actor. He is best known for the role of Jim on the sitcom ''According to Jim'' (2001–2009). His other television roles include ''Saturday Night Live'' (1983–1985), '' Total Security'' ...
film of the same name.
Arizona Diamondbacks
Grace signed with the Arizona Diamondbacks on December 8, 2000, with a $6 million, two-year contract after the Cubs declined to offer salary
arbitration. The deal included a mutual $3 million option year in 2003. He received $5.3 million in his last season with the Cubs but accepted less money for the opportunity to live year-round at his home in suburban
Scottsdale, Arizona
, settlement_type = City
, named_for = Winfield Scott
, image_skyline =
, image_seal = Seal of Scottsdale (Arizona).svg
, image_blank_emblem = City of Scottsdale Script Logo.svg
, nick ...
with his family. "For me to remain a Cub, the Cubs would have wanted to want me back and the Cubs would have had to win," Grace said at the time. "Neither of those happened and I'm one proud Diamondback now."
Grace wore his familiar number 17 in Arizona where he played for three more seasons, including helping the Diamondbacks win the
2001 World Series
The 2001 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 2001 season. The 97th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff between the National League (NL) champion Arizona Diamondbacks and the three-t ...
. Having never even visited
Yankee Stadium
Yankee Stadium is a baseball stadium located in the Bronx, New York City. It is the home field of the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball, and New York City FC of Major League Soccer.
Opened in April 2009, the stadium replaced the orig ...
, he belted a home run there in Game 4 of the series. In Game 7, Grace led off the bottom of the 9th inning with a single — his third of the game — off Yankee pitcher
Mariano Rivera
Mariano Rivera (born November 29, 1969) is a Panamanian-American former professional baseball pitcher who played 19 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees, from 1995 to 2013. Nicknamed "Mo" and "Sandman", he spent most ...
, which rallied the Arizona Diamondbacks to a come-from-behind victory for the franchise's first championship. His .515 career batting average in League Championship Series play is a record for players in at least ten games.
During a 19–1 defeat by the
Los Angeles Dodgers
The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...
in September 2002, Grace pitched one inning of relief. He surrendered one run on
catcher
Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the ( home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the ca ...
David Ross's first career home run. Grace also impersonated teammate
Mike Fetters, who from
the stretch would take a deep breath and then quickly turned his head towards the catcher.
On September 26, 2003, Grace announced his retirement from baseball.
Coaching
Grace has stated a desire to
manage
Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business.
Management includes the activities o ...
a major league team at some point. He was considered for the Diamondbacks' managerial position following the 2004 season, but the Diamondbacks hired
Bob Melvin instead.
Grace spent 2014 as
hitting coach for the Diamondbacks'
Class A Short Season
Class A Short Season (officially Short-Season A) was a level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States from 1965 through 2020. In the hierarchy of minor league classifications, it was below Triple-A, Double-A, Class A-Advanced (cre ...
affiliate
Hillsboro Hops
The Hillsboro Hops are a Minor League Baseball team in the northwest United States, located in Hillsboro, Oregon, a city in the Portland metropolitan area. The Hops are members of the Northwest League as an affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks. ...
of the
Northwest League
The Northwest League is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Northwestern United States and Western Canada. A Class A Short Season league for most of its history, the league was promoted to High-A as part of Major League Basebal ...
. In 2015, he was promoted to the Diamondbacks to be their hitting coach. He was fired after the 2016 season.
Broadcasting career
After his retirement as a player, Grace continued his involvement in the game as a television
color commentator
A color commentator or expert commentator is a sports commentator who assists the main ( play-by-play) commentator, typically by filling in when play is not in progress. The phrase "colour commentator" is primarily used in Canadian English and ...
for the Diamondbacks and for
Fox Saturday Baseball. Grace used off-the-wall terms—such as "slumpbuster", "never-say-die-mondbacks", and "Gas!"—during broadcasts. He was paired with
Thom Brennaman
Thomas Wade Brennaman (born September 12, 1963) is an American television sportscaster. He is the son of former Cincinnati Reds radio sportscaster Marty Brennaman.
Broadcasting career
After graduating in 1982 from Cincinnati's Anderson High Sc ...
on television from 2004 to 2006, and was paired with
Daron Sutton
Daron Sutton (born October 21, 1969) is an American baseball broadcaster who has served as a television host or play-by-play announcer for five different Major League Baseball organizations, the Atlanta Braves, Milwaukee Brewers, Arizona Diamon ...
from 2007 to 2012.
Grace also agreed to a deal with
Fox Sports
Fox Sports is the brand name for a number of sports channels, broadcast divisions, programming, and other media around the world.
The ''Fox Sports'' name has since been used for other sports media assets. These assets are held mainly by the F ...
in 2007. He originally rotated between the studio and the number three booth. He was then promoted to the number two booth with
Thom Brennaman
Thomas Wade Brennaman (born September 12, 1963) is an American television sportscaster. He is the son of former Cincinnati Reds radio sportscaster Marty Brennaman.
Broadcasting career
After graduating in 1982 from Cincinnati's Anderson High Sc ...
for the 2008 and 2009 season, and
Dick Stockton for the 2010 season. He reunited with Brennaman in 2011 before leaving the network at the end of the regular season. He was replaced by
Eric Karros
Eric Peter Karros (born November 4, 1967) is an American former professional baseball first baseman. Karros played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1991 to 2004 for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Chicago Cubs, and Oakland Athletics. He was the Nati ...
who had worked on the number three team with
Kenny Albert
Kenneth Gary Albert (born February 2, 1968) is an American sportscaster, the son of NBA sportscaster Marv Albert and nephew of sportscasters Al Albert and Steve Albert. He is the only sportscaster who currently does play-by-play for all four ...
.
On August 24, 2012, Grace requested an indefinite leave of absence from the booth, and at the end of the 2012 season, the team announced that he would not be returning for the 2013 season.
In February 2017, Grace was named as a baseball analyst for Diamondbacks games by
Fox Sports Arizona
Bally Sports Arizona (BSAZ) is an American regional sports network owned by Diamond Sports Group, a joint venture between Sinclair Broadcast Group and Entertainment Studios, and operates as an affiliate of Bally Sports. The channel broadcasts p ...
.
In February 2020, Grace was hired as an analyst for select Chicago Cubs games on
Marquee Sports Network
Marquee Sports Network is a regional sports network operated by Sinclair Broadcast Group and the Chicago Cubs, launched on February 22, 2020. It is devoted exclusively to Cubs baseball, replacing a trio of channels (cable channel NBC Sports Chic ...
. Grace will continue his role with the Diamondbacks as the lead color commentator on Fox Sports Arizona.
Personal life
Grace was known to smoke cigarettes before and after Cub games, and reportedly at times, during games in the clubhouse.
On August 3, 2006, Grace led the
Wrigley Field
Wrigley Field is a Major League Baseball (MLB) stadium on the North Side of Chicago, Illinois. It is the home of the Chicago Cubs, one of the city's two MLB franchises. It first opened in 1914 as Weeghman Park for Charles Weeghman's Chicago ...
crowd in singing "
Take Me Out to the Ball Game
"Take Me Out to the Ball Game" is a 1908 Tin Pan Alley song by Jack Norworth and Albert Von Tilzer which has become the unofficial anthem of North American baseball, although neither of its authors had attended a game prior to writing the song ...
" during the
seventh-inning stretch
In baseball in the United States and Canada, the seventh-inning stretch is a long-standing tradition that takes place between the halves of the seventh inning of a game. Fans generally stand up and stretch out their arms and legs and sometimes wa ...
of the second game of a
doubleheader between the Cubs and Diamondbacks; his appearance helped to improve his relationship with the Cubs, which had been strained since he left the team after the 2000 season.
Grace became eligible for the
National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2009; 75% of the vote was necessary for induction, and 5% was necessary to stay on future ballots. Grace received 4.1% of the vote and was dropped from further ballots.
Grace's ex-wife, Michelle, married
Ray Liotta
Raymond Allen Liotta (; December 18, 1954 – May 26, 2022) was an American actor. He was best known for his roles as Shoeless Joe Jackson in ''Field of Dreams'' (1989) and Henry Hill in Martin Scorsese's ''Goodfellas'' (1990). He was a Primet ...
in 1997; they had met at a Cubs game.
As of 2006, Grace is divorced from his second wife, Tanya, who starred on the
VH1 show ''
Baseball Wives.''
Grace lived in
Antioch, Tennessee
Antioch is a neighborhood of Nashville located approximately 12 miles southeast of Downtown Nashville. It is served by the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County.
History
The community known as Antioch began at the converge ...
, during a period of his childhood years. He currently resides in
Paradise Valley, Arizona
Paradise Valley is a town in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, and a suburb of Phoenix, the state's largest city. It is Arizona's wealthiest municipality. The town is known for its luxury golf courses, shopping, expensive real estate, and ...
, with his sons Jackson Gene and Preston Torre.
Legal history
Grace has been arrested twice for
driving under the influence; once in May 2011 and once in August 2012.
On October 3, 2012, a grand jury in Arizona indicted Grace on four felony counts stemming from his August 23, 2012, arrest in
Scottsdale on suspicion of driving under the influence, driving with a suspended license and without an
interlock device. The
Diamondbacks announced the following day that Grace would not return to his television broadcasting duties with the club. He subsequently pleaded guilty and was sentenced to four months in jail on January 31, 2013. The sentence included work-release jail time as well as two years of supervised probation. An interlock device was required to be installed in his vehicle for six months.
See also
*
List of Major League Baseball career hits leaders
*
List of Major League Baseball career doubles leaders
*
List of Major League Baseball career runs scored leaders
*
List of Major League Baseball career runs batted in leaders
This is a list of Major League Baseball players who have compiled 1,000 runs batted in (RBIs). RBIs are usually accumulated when a batter in baseball enables a runner on base (including himself, in the case of a home run) to score as a result of ma ...
*
List of Major League Baseball annual doubles leaders
In baseball, a doubles is recorded when the ball is hit so that the batter is able to advance to second base without an error by a defensive player. In Major League Baseball (MLB), the leader in each league (American League and National League) ...
*
List of Major League Baseball players to hit for the cycle
In baseball, completing the cycle is the accomplishment of hitting a single, a double, a triple, and a home run in the same game. In terms of frequency, the cycle is roughly as common as a no-hitter; '' Baseball Digest'' calls it "one of th ...
References
Further reading
* Archived a
Ghostarchiveand th
Wayback Machine
* Archived a
Ghostarchiveand th
Wayback Machine
* Archived a
Ghostarchiveand th
Wayback Machine
* Archived a
Ghostarchiveand th
Wayback Machine
*
*
*
External links
*
:
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grace, Mark
1964 births
Living people
American sportspeople convicted of crimes
Arizona Diamondbacks announcers
Arizona Diamondbacks coaches
Arizona Diamondbacks players
Baseball players from Scottsdale, Arizona
Baseball players from California
Chicago Cubs announcers
Chicago Cubs players
Gold Glove Award winners
Iowa Cubs players
Major League Baseball broadcasters
Major League Baseball first basemen
National League All-Stars
People from Tustin, California
Sportspeople from Orange County, California
Baseball players from Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Peoria Chiefs players
Pittsfield Cubs players
Saddleback Gauchos baseball players
San Diego State Aztecs baseball players
Hillsboro Hops
People from Antioch, Tennessee