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James Timothy Grant
Montreal Expos
Pitcher
Born: August 13, 1935, Lacoochee, FL
Signed: Signed by the Cleveland Indians as an amateur free agent before 1954 season
Major League Teams: Cleveland Indians 1958-1964; Minnesota Twins 1964-1967; Los Angeles Dodgers 1968; Montreal Expos 1969; St. Louis Cardinals 1969; Oakland Athletics 1970; Pittsburgh Pirates 1970-1971; Oakland Athletics 1971
World Series Appearances: Minnesota Twins 1965
Died: June 11, 2021, Los Angeles, CA (age 85)
Given the nickname Mudcat during his minor league days with the Indians, Jim Grant would at first shrug off the moniker but then come to embrace it as he put together a solid 14-year major league career. Grant won at least 10 games in four different seasons with the Indians, earning a spot on the American League All-Star team in 1963. He got off to a slow start in 1964, and was dealt to the Twins that June where he'd pitch impressively the rest of the season, going 11-9 with a 2.82 ERA. That success would carry over to 1965, Grant's career year. Going 21-7 with a 3.30 ERA and a league-leading six shutouts, Grant would help pitch the Twins to their first World Series appearance. He was a bright spot for the Twins in the World Series although his team fell to the Dodgers in seven games.
Died: June 11, 2021, Los Angeles, CA (age 85)
Given the nickname Mudcat during his minor league days with the Indians, Jim Grant would at first shrug off the moniker but then come to embrace it as he put together a solid 14-year major league career. Grant won at least 10 games in four different seasons with the Indians, earning a spot on the American League All-Star team in 1963. He got off to a slow start in 1964, and was dealt to the Twins that June where he'd pitch impressively the rest of the season, going 11-9 with a 2.82 ERA. That success would carry over to 1965, Grant's career year. Going 21-7 with a 3.30 ERA and a league-leading six shutouts, Grant would help pitch the Twins to their first World Series appearance. He was a bright spot for the Twins in the World Series although his team fell to the Dodgers in seven games.
Grant was dealt to the Dodgers following the 1967 season, beginning a four-year odyssey that would see him pitch with five different teams. Grant was the first starting pitcher in Montreal Expos franchise history on April 8, 1969. He'd move to the bullpen full time in 1970, and was one of the game's best relievers that season with the Athletics. In 72 relief appearance for Oakland, Grant had a 1.82 ERA and recorded 24 saves. In 571 career games, Grant was 145-119 with a 3.63 ERA, 54 saves and 1,267 strikeouts. Following his playing days, he served as a broadcaster for the Athletics and Indians and in 2007 he published a highly-acclaimed book, The Black Aces, Baseball's Only African-American Twenty-Game Winners. Grant featured his own successful 1965 campaign in the book, which includes chapters paying tribute to Vida Blue, Bob Gibson (#200), Ferguson Jenkins (#640) and Don Newcombe, among many others.
Some text for this post originally appeared on my 1965 Topps blog.
Building the Set / Card #296
December 3, 2023 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards)
Doug and I returned to The Philly Show in early December, once again held inside the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, Pennsylvania. eBay has taken over sponsorship of the show, with the quaint, bubble-lettered Philly Show logo that had been in place since the 1980s replaced with a more modern logo, keeping with the times. I wrote about the show in a post over at The Phillies Room.
The Card / Expos Team Set / Accuracy Index -8
1969 Season
Left unprotected by the Dodgers, the Expos made Grant the 36th pick in the 1968 expansion draft. As mentioned above, he'd take the mound for the club in their first game, but he'd last just 1 1/3 innings against the Mets. Grant made 11 appearances for the Expos (10 starts), going 1-6 with a 4.80 ERA in 50 2/3 innings. On June 3rd, Montreal sent him to the Cardinals in exchange for Gary Waslewski (#438). With the Cardinals, Grant was used almost exclusively out of the bullpen. In 30 appearances, he'd go 7-5 with a 4.12 ERA and seven saves for St. Louis, in 63 1/3 innings pitched. On the move again following the season, Grant was sold to the Athletics on December 5th.
Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card: 1958 Topps #394
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (14): 1958-1969, 1971-1972
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 2004 Upper Deck Legends Timeless Teams #8
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 94 in the Beckett online database as of 5/20/24.
Sources:
Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia
December 3, 2023 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards)
Doug and I returned to The Philly Show in early December, once again held inside the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, Pennsylvania. eBay has taken over sponsorship of the show, with the quaint, bubble-lettered Philly Show logo that had been in place since the 1980s replaced with a more modern logo, keeping with the times. I wrote about the show in a post over at The Phillies Room.
Similar to my strategy from March, I wanted to focus on accumulating commons and having found success with Uncle Dick's Cards before, I didn't mess around and headed right for the neon green binders. I pulled 145 cards from the binder containing cards 301 to the end of the set, stopping when I reached 500. This card was the fourth of 145 cards purchased for our set, and after the dealer discount due to my bulk purchase, it cost me less than $2.
Grant is shown wearing an Indians uniform, a team he hadn't played for since the 1964 season. The back of the card pays tribute to his 1965 season with the Twins. In the 1965 World Series, Grant started Games 1, 4 and 6, pitching complete game victories in Games 1 and 6, and going 2-1 overall with a 2.74 ERA over 23 innings. He hit a three-run home run in Game 6, leading the Twins to a 5-1 victory and forcing a Game 7.
Accuracy Index: Grant drops to -8 for the Indians jersey (-5) and blank hat (-3). If I ever re-do my rating system, I'd dock extra points for a player appearing in a jersey for a team he played for at least five years prior to 1969.
1969 Season
Left unprotected by the Dodgers, the Expos made Grant the 36th pick in the 1968 expansion draft. As mentioned above, he'd take the mound for the club in their first game, but he'd last just 1 1/3 innings against the Mets. Grant made 11 appearances for the Expos (10 starts), going 1-6 with a 4.80 ERA in 50 2/3 innings. On June 3rd, Montreal sent him to the Cardinals in exchange for Gary Waslewski (#438). With the Cardinals, Grant was used almost exclusively out of the bullpen. In 30 appearances, he'd go 7-5 with a 4.12 ERA and seven saves for St. Louis, in 63 1/3 innings pitched. On the move again following the season, Grant was sold to the Athletics on December 5th.
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First Mainstream Card: 1958 Topps #394
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (14): 1958-1969, 1971-1972
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 2004 Upper Deck Legends Timeless Teams #8
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 94 in the Beckett online database as of 5/20/24.
Sources:
Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia
Beckett Database / The Trading Card Database
1965 Topps Blog
1965 Topps Blog
#305 Dick McAuliffe - Detroit Tigers / #307 Gary Kolb - Pittsburgh Pirates
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