With the All-Star break nearly over and the 2024 season more than halfway through. It felt like the right time for The Inscriber Magazine to start highlighting players throughout the history of the Athletics time in Oakland. Ben Grieve is said player. He is the son of former MLB outfielder Tom Grieve.
Tom also became the general manager for the Texas Rangers and then worked as a broadcaster for the Rangers as well before retiring after the 2022 season.
For Grieve he moved up quickly through the A’s minor league system. He was the second overall pick of the 1994 MLB Draft. His first season at the age of 18 was in Low-A ball in Southern Oregon where he hit .329 with an OBP of .456, he recorded 83 hits, 13 doubles, seven home runs, and 50 RBI. Also, he walked 51 times while striking out 48 times.
At the age of 19 he spent time in A Ball and High-A ball where in 130 games played he hit .262 with an OBP of .366, he recorded 125 hits, 21 doubles, a triple, six home runs, and 76 RBI. He finished with 75 walks. Year three saw him in High-A ball and Double-A where he hit .302 with an OBP of .388, recording 155 hits, 28 doubles, two triples, 19 home runs and 85 RBI and he walked 73 times.
Grieve exploded in 1997 at the age of 21 which made it clear why he was one of the top prospects in all of MLB. He spent time in Double-A and Triple-A, where he hit .350 with an OBP of .461, finished with 168 hits, 40 doubles, three triples, 31 home runs and 136 RBI, 127 runs scored, and walked 93 times.
Which led to his call-up where he made his MLB debut against the San Francisco Giants. He had one of the more memorable debuts in Oakland’s history as he doubled three times, drove in five runs, scored two runs, and walked once. Though he played in only 24 games he hit .312 with three home runs and 24 RBI. Also, he finished with 29 hits, six doubles, 13 walks, and an OBP of .402.
He continued to showcase his ability to hit the baseball as he won American League Rookie of the Year in 1998 and made the All-Star team. He hit .288 with 18 home runs, 89 rbi, 41 doubles, 168 hits, 94 runs scored, walked 85 times, struck out 123 times, and had an OBP of .386.
Though Grieve did possess a sweet swing from the left side of the plate. He did not possess much speed and he was well below average defensively in the outfield. During the 2000 season he grounded into 32 double plays which led the league.
His best season was also in 2000 though. He hit 27 home runs and had a career-high 104 RBI. He also hit 40 doubles, a triple and finished with 166 hits. That season he hit .279 with an OBP of .359.
Grieve hit his first career home run against the Detroit Tigers and it was off Willie Blair. His last home run in an A’s uniform was a grand slam against the Seattle Mariners off José Paniagua.
Overall in three plus seasons with the A’s he had 492 hits, hit 76 home runs, drove in 303 runs, to go along with 108 doubles, three triples, scored 278 runs, and his batting average was .280 with a .370 OBP.