Mark Grace

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Mark Eugene Grace (born June 28, 1964 in Winston-Salem, North Carolina) is a former Major League Baseball player for 16 seasons with the Chicago Cubs and Arizona Diamondbacks. His defensive position was first base. He batted left-handed and wore jersey number 17.

[edit] Career with the Chicago Cubs

After playing baseball for San Diego State University, Grace was drafted by the Chicago Cubs in 1985. He spent three years playing in the Cubs farm system before making his major league debut May 2, 1988.

Mark Grace was never a flashy power hitter, and was often overlooked on Cubs teams that included Sammy Sosa, Andre Dawson and Ryne Sandberg. However, Grace was a consistent, steady hitter, compiling almost 2,500 hits and more than 500 doubles during his 16-year career. He had a career on-base percentage of .383 and collected four Gold Glove Awards.

Grace holds the distinction of collecting the most hits (1,754) in the decade of the 1990s. Currently Grace and Pete Rose are the only major league baseball players to lead a decade in hits and not be in the Baseball Hall of Fame. Grace also had the most doubles in the 1990s with 364 and the most sacrifice flies with 73.

He was the last Cub to have hit for the cycle, doing so on Sunday, May 9, 1993.^[1]

In 2000, Grace and the Chicago Cubs management had a falling out and the Cubs decided not to renew his contract.

[edit] Career with the Arizona Diamondbacks

Upon leaving Chicago, the Diamondbacks proceeded to sign him, where he played for three more seasons, including helping the Diamondbacks to a World Series victory in 2001. Grace was responsible for leading off the bottom of the 9th inning with a single off Yankee pitcher Mariano Rivera which rallied the Arizona Diamondbacks to an improbable come-from-behind victory in Game 7.

[edit] Broadcasting career

On September 26, 2003, Mark Grace announced his retirement from baseball. He continues his involvement in the game as a television color commentator for the Diamondbacks and for FOX Saturday Baseball. Grace's trademark unusual style and off-the-wall terms (such as "slumpbuster" and "never-say-die-mondbacks" as well as "GAS!" whenever a pitcher strikes out a hitter with a fastball) bring a unique quality to the Diamondbacks' broadcast team. Mark has stated a desire to coach a major league team in the future. He was considered for the Diamondbacks' managerial position following the 2004 season, but the Diamondbacks hired Bob Melvin instead.

On August 3, 2006, Mark returned to Wrigley Field and sang "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" during the 7th-inning stretch for the first time.

He was paired with Thom Brennaman on television from 2004 to 2006 and will be paired with Daron Sutton beginning in 2007. His current contract with the Diamondbacks runs through the 2010 season.

Grace also agreed to a deal with Fox Sports in 2007. He will work on regional telecasts of Fox Saturday Baseball beginning in the 2007 season.

[edit] Personal

His ex-wife, Michelle, was also married to Ray Liotta, who played baseball player "Shoeless" Joe Jackson in Field of Dreams.

He currently resides in Paradise Valley, Arizona with his sons Jackson Gene and Preston Torre.

As of 2006, he is divorced from second wife Tanya.

Mark played high school baseball and basketball at Tustin High School in Tustin, California.

[edit] References

[edit] See also

• Top 500 home run hitters of all time
• List of major league players with 2,000 hits
• List of Major League Baseball players with 400 doubles
• List of Major League Baseball players with 1000 runs
• List of Major League Baseball players with 1000 RBI
• List of Major League Baseball doubles champions
• Hitting for the cycle
• Arizona Diamondbacks all-time roster

[edit] External links

• Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference
• http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?statsId=4194
• The Mark Grace Website at MarkGrace.com
• The Ultimate Mark Grace Collection at gracecollector.com