Lefty Grove biography
Lefty Grove, byname of Robert Moses Grove, (born March 6, 1900, Lonaconing, Md., U.S.—died May 22, 1975, Norwalk, Ohio), American skilled baseball participant, one of many best left-handed pitchers in historical past.
He grew up in a mining city and labored odd jobs when his formal training ended after the eighth grade. Grove didn't play organized baseball till age 19. He started his skilled profession in 1920, successful 108 video games for the minor league Baltimore Orioles of the International League earlier than his contract was purchased by Connie Mack of the American League (AL) Philadelphia Athletics (A’s) in 1924 for $100,600, a document sum on the time. Grove debuted for the A’s the next yr at age 25 and led the league in strikeouts, the primary of seven consecutive seasons wherein he topped the AL in that class.
Not till he mastered management of his pitches, nonetheless, did he change into a star pitcher of his period. From 1927 by means of 1933 Grove gained at the least 20 video games every season, and he led the league in earned run common (ERA) on 5 events as an Athletic (1926, 1929–32). In 1931 he was 31–4 with a career-low 2.06 ERA and gained the AL Most Valuable Player award. In addition to his standout particular person accomplishments, Grove was a key contributor on two A’s World Series championship groups (1929–30).
Mack was pressured to promote Grove to the Boston Red Sox in 1934. After a disappointing and injury-plagued first season in Boston, Grove regained a great measure of his unique kind and led the AL in ERA 4 instances (1935–36, 1938–39) in his eight seasons with the workforce. He retired in 1941 with profession totals of 300 wins, 141 losses, a 3.06 earned run common, and a couple of,266 strikeouts. In 1947 Grove was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y.