Tyrone Vontrace Griffin (born September 5, 1967) is an American retired professional baseball second baseman. He played in minor league baseball and in international competition for the United States national baseball team.

Career

Griffin attended

C. Leon King High School C. Leon King High School is a Tampa, Florida public high school named in honor of C. Leon King, a member of the Hillsborough County Board of Public Instruction for 18 years. It opened in 1960 with 58 faculty members and 960 students. It is locate ...

and the

Georgia Institute of Technology The Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Georgia Tech or, in the state of Georgia, as Tech or The Institute, is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia. Established in 1885, it is part of ...

, where he played for the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets baseball team in the

Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate athletic conference located in the eastern United States. Headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina, the ACC's fifteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Associa ...

(ACC). At Georgia Tech, Griffin was named an All-ACC second baseman and the Most Valuable Player of the

1988 Atlantic Coast Conference baseball tournament The 1988 Atlantic Coast Conference Baseball Tournament was the 1988 postseason baseball championship of the NCAA Division I Atlantic Coast Conference, held at Greenville Municipal Stadium in Greenville, South Carolina from May 11-15. defeated ...

. Griffin was part of the United States national baseball team competing in the

1987 Pan American Games The 1987 Pan American Games, officially known as the X Pan American Games, was a major international multi-sport event held in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States, on August 7–23, 1987. Over 4,300 athletes from 38 countries in the Americas c ...

and

1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and commonly known as Seoul 1988 ( ko, 서울 1988, Seoul Cheon gubaek palsip-pal), was an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October ...

. The

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...

drafted Griffin in the first round (9th overall) of the 1988 Major League Baseball Draft. He made his professional debut with the Peoria Chiefs of the Class-A Midwest League in 1989, and was promoted to the Charlotte Knights of the Class-AA Southern League that year. ''

Baseball America ''Baseball America'' is a sports enterprise that covers baseball at every level, including MLB, with a particular focus on up-and-coming players in the MiLB, college, high school, and international leagues. It is currently published in the form o ...

'' rated Griffin the 22nd best prospect in baseball prior to the 1990 season. He split the 1990 and 1991 seasons between the Winston-Salem Spirits of the Class-A Advanced Carolina League and Charlotte. The Cubs traded Griffin to the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

for

Scott Bryant Scott Walter Bryant (born October 31, 1967) is a former college baseball and minor league baseball outfielder. College career Bryant attended the University of Texas, where he played for the Texas Longhorns baseball team. In the 1989 College Wor ...

after the 1991 season. The Reds assigned Griffin to their Southern League affiliate, the Chattanooga Lookouts. The Reds released him after the season, and Griffin joined the independent

Northern League Northern League may refer to: Sport Baseball * Northern League (baseball, 1902–71), a name used by several minor leagues that operated in the upper midwestern U.S. and Manitoba from 1902 to 1971 * Northern League (baseball, 1993–2010), an indep ...

, where he played for the Thunder Bay Whiskey Jacks in 1993 and the

Sioux City Explorers The Sioux City Explorers are a professional minor league baseball team based in Sioux City, Iowa, in the United States. The Explorers are members American Association of Professional Baseball, an official Partner League of Major League Baseball. Si ...

in 1993. He signed with the St. Louis Cardinals and played for the Arkansas Travelers in the Class-AA Texas League in 1995. He returned to independent baseball in 1996 and 1997, playing for the

Grand Forks Varmints Grand may refer to: People with the name * Grand (surname) * Grand L. Bush (born 1955), American actor * Grand Mixer DXT, American turntablist * Grand Puba (born 1966), American rapper Places * Grand, Oklahoma * Grand, Vosges, village and commu ...

of the Prairie League.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Griffin, Ty 1967 births Living people African-American baseball players Baseball players from Kentucky C. Leon King High School alumni Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets baseball players Baseball players at the 1987 Pan American Games Baseball players at the 1988 Summer Olympics Peoria Chiefs players Winston-Salem Spirits players Charlotte Knights players Chattanooga Lookouts players Thunder Bay Whiskey Jacks players Sioux City Explorers players Arkansas Travelers players Grand Forks Varmints players Medalists at the 1988 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for the United States in baseball Pan American Games medalists in baseball Pan American Games silver medalists for the United States Medalists at the 1987 Pan American Games 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American sportspeople