Robert Moses Grove was an intense, hard-throwing left-handed
pitcher with one of the great fastballs of all time. He had strong
strikeout numbers, and after a couple of years maintained low walk
totals as well. He started with the Philadelphia A's in 1925 at the
age of 25. He was hurting a bit that year, and finished 10-12 with a
4.75 ERA. The next year his ERA improved, and he was 13-13, 2.51. In
1927 he won 20 games for the first time, and ran off a streak of
seven consecutive 20-win seasons, highlighted by a 31-4 record in
1931. He kept his ERA regularly below 3.00 in a terrific hitter's
era.
As the Depression set in, schedules were affected. Midweek games
drew very low crowds, so teams scheduled lots of Saturday and Sunday
doubleheaders, and few games in the middle of the week, which had to
be in the daytime before night baseball came to the majors in 1935.
Ace pitchers like Grove might start the Friday game, then relieve in
one of Sunday's games, and start another game if there was one in the
middle of the week. So, Grove was one of baseball's top closers as
well as the best starting pitcher of his time.
After 1933, the A's were breaking up and Grove went to the Red
Sox. He was hurting in 1934 and finished 8-8, but recovered to pitch
effectively for five more years. He finished out his career in 1940
and 1941, and probably could have continued to pitch during the War
if he had chosen. But Grove achieved his 300th victory with his last
win in 1941, and retired from the game. He had led the league in ERA
nine times, and won the 1931 AL MVP. He led the league in strikeouts
seven times, and in wins four times. His postseason record was 4-2
with 2 saves.
He got the nickname "Chicken Man" when the press wrote
about how he had gotten two hits in a game after having chicken
before it, and thereafter insisted on eating chicken before every
game. Boggs took great advantage of the Fenway Park Green Monster,
hitting numerous opposite-field doubles off of it. Even after he left
Boston for the Yankees, and then Tampa Bay, he kept hitting for
average and drawing walks. He only managed double-digit home runs in
a season twice, concentrating on meeting the ball and hitting line
drives. With work, he also made himself a good third baseman, earning
two Gold Gloves oddly late in his career. His batting average gusted
as high as .368, and was frequently accompanied by 100 walks. After
hitting #3 much of his career, he spent some time as a leadoff man,
as managers wisely decided to get all that on-base ability at the top
of the order.
