Orval Grove: Difference between revisions

{{shortShort description|American baseball player (1919–1992)}}

|birth_place = [[West Mineral, Kansas]], USU.S.

|death_place = [[Carmichael, California|Carmichael]], California, USU.S.

'''Orval Leroy Grove''' (August 29, 1919 – April 20, 1992) was an American professional [[baseball]] [[pitcher]] in [[Major League Baseball]] who played for ten seasons in the [[American League]] with the [[Chicago White Sox]]. In 207 career games, Grove pitched 1,176 [[innings pitched|innings]] and posted a [[winwin–loss record (baseballpitching)|win–loss record]] of 63–73, with 66 [[complete game]]s, 11 [[shutout]]s, and a 3.78 [[earned run average]] (ERA).

The only freshman on the [[Proviso East High School|Proviso Township High School]] varsity baseball team, Grove's pitching ability attracted the attention of the White Sox. After signing with the team in 1937, Grove moved between the major leagues and [[Minor League Baseball|minor leagues]] for a few seasons until 1943, when he found a solid place in the White Sox's pitching rotation. Grove had a career-year in 1943, finishing the season with career-bests in ERA, wins, and complete games; in 1944, he made his only [[Major League Baseball All-Star Game|All-Star]] appearance.

Grove began his career with the [[Dallas Steers]] of the [[Texas League]] at the start of the 1938 season.<ref>{{cite news|title=Dallas in the Spring&nbsp;– Tra, La!|worknewspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=November 14, 1937|page=8}}</ref> He played with the Steers until management began to replace young players with veterans due to the team's struggling form and moved Grove to the [[Longview Cannibals]].<ref name=proviso/> As his first minor league season drew to a close, Grove planned on returning to Proviso High School to complete his education.<ref name=proviso/> At the end of the season, the [[St. Paul Saints#History|St. Paul Saints]] purchased Grove's contract to replenish their pitching staff.<ref>{{cite news|first=Gordon|last=Gilmore|title=Saints Buy Hurler, Choose New Camp|work=The Sporting News|date=November 10, 1938|page=10}}</ref>

During [[spring training]] in 1940, Hall of Fame pitcher [[Ted Lyons]] said that Grove would have a great career, stating, "They'll never drive that sinker very far."<ref name=james>{{cite book|first=Bill|last=James|author2=Rob Neyer|title=The Neyer/James Guide to Pitchers|year=2004|publisher=Simon and Schuster|isbn=0-7432-6158-5|page=[https://archive.org/details/neyerjamesguidet00jame/page/226 226]|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/neyerjamesguidet00jame/page/226}}</ref> Grove was an official part of the [[40-man roster]] as the 1940 season began (teams started rather than ended the season with 40 men at this time), but had not made an appearance after a month on the roster.<ref name=cubs>{{cite news|first=Ed|last=Burns|work=The Sporting News|title=Mortality on Bags Mortifying to Cubs|date=May 30, 1940|page=6}}</ref> The White Sox planned to use three rookie pitchers, including Grove, during the final week of May, as they had three [[doubleheader (baseball)|doubleheaders]] that week.<ref name=cubs/> Grove made his Major League debut on May 28, 1940.<ref name=br>{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/g/groveor01.shtml|title=Orval Grove Statistics|work=Baseball-Reference.com|accessdateaccess-date=May 29, 2009}}</ref> He pitched in two more games for the White Sox that season before being sent back to Oklahoma City. Grove finished 1940 with six innings of major league work over three games, allowing two [[earned run]]s.<ref name=br/> The highlight of Grove's 1940 season came on August 11 against the Oilers; he pitched a complete game that lasted 12 innings, winning 1–0 against [[National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum|Hall of Famer]] [[Dizzy Dean]].<ref>{{cite news|first=John|last=Cronley|title=Okla. City Sells Skeets Dickey, Brother of Bill, to White Sox|work=The Sporting News|date=August 22, 1940|page=5}}</ref> Grove finished the minor league season with nine wins and eight losses, but the team saw issues with his control, and as a result he spent most of the next season in the minor leagues.<ref name=vaughan/>

As the [[1943 Major League Baseball season|1943 season]] began, the White Sox held strong doubts about Grove's status as a pitcher. They were so doubtful of his recovery from knee surgery that Grove was signed to a $1 contract until he could prove that his playing ability was back on par with the abilities of the other White Sox pitchers.<ref name=vaughan/> After Grove proved himself in spring training, manager [[Jimmy Dykes]] gave him his first major test of the season against the [[New York Yankees]] in relief of [[Eddie Smith (baseballpitcher)|Eddie Smith]].<ref name=vaughan/> He won the game in extra innings, and was placed in the starting rotation. In 1943, Grove had to deal with issues related to World War II and the selective service. He was originally classified as [[Selective Service System#Classifications|3-A]], meaning that registration was deferred due to hardship to dependents, but was ordered to take the selective service screening examination in Cleveland in mid-May.<ref>{{cite news|title=Army Test for Orval Grove|work=The New York Times|page=S4|date=May 2, 1943}}</ref> After the examination, Grove was classified as 4-F, making him ineligible for military service, which meant that he could continue his baseball career.

Grove took advantage of his place in Chicago's starting rotation by winning nine consecutive decisions to start his season and by not losing a game until a contest against the Yankees, which he lost as the result of a [[balk]].<ref name=vaughan/> At the time, Grove became the second member of the White Sox to win nine consecutive decisions to start a season. The first pitcher to win nine straight games for the team was [[Lefty Williams]] in 1917, and the only one to do it since Grove was [[LaMarr Hoyt]] in 1982.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://chicago.whitesox.mlb.com/cws/history/season_records.jsp|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070225054012/http://chicago.whitesox.mlb.com/cws/history/season_records.jsp|url-status=dead|archive-date=February 25, 2007|title=White Sox Season Records|publisher=[[Major League Baseball]]|accessdateaccess-date=November 14, 2008}}</ref> On July 8, 1943, Grove nearly became one of the few pitchers in baseball history to pitch a no-hitter. In a game against the Yankees, he was one out away from pitching a no-hitter when [[Joe Gordon]] came up to bat. Gordon hit a [[double (baseball)|double]] to left field that was fair by inches, ending Grove's closest bid for a Major League no-hitter.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Sutton|first=Keith|year=1983|title=With Two Out in the Ninth&nbsp;— The Almost No-Hitters|journal=Baseball Research Journal}}</ref> Grove finished the season with career bests in ERA (2.75), wins (15), and complete games (18).<ref name=br/> He led the White Sox that season in ERA, wins, innings pitched, complete games, and strikeouts; at the time, Grove was the youngest pitcher on the team's staff.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/CHW/1943.shtml|title=1943 Chicago White Sox Statistics and Roster|work=Baseball-Reference.com|accessdateaccess-date=November 15, 2008}}</ref> Grove's personal life improved along with his career. On January 8, 1944, he married Catherine Sloan, having met her at a party thrown for the White Sox by her father, Francis Sloan, a year and a half earlier.<ref>{{cite news|first=Oscar|last=Ruhl|title=Purely Personal|work=The Sporting News|page=10|date=December 16, 1943}}</ref>

Grove started the [[1944 Major League Baseball season|1944 season]] with an interesting honor: he was assigned to the 4-F All-Star team, a group of 25 major league players who were the best of those exempt from military service.<ref>{{cite news|first=Tom|last=Swope|title=All-Star Squad of 25 4-F Players|work=The Sporting News|date=March 16, 1944|page=3}}</ref> Grove was given the job of being the [[Opening Day]] starting pitcher for the White Sox. He pitched the first game of the season against the [[Cleveland Indians]] and their starting pitcher, [[Al Smith (left-handed pitcher)|Al Smith]], on April 19, 1944, and won 3–1.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1944/VCHA01944.htm|title=The 1944 Chicago White Sox Game Log|publisher=[[Retrosheet]]|accessdateaccess-date=November 16, 2008}}</ref> Grove also managed to shut out the Yankees on May 18; it was the first time the Yankees had not scored a run in 1944.<ref>{{cite news|first=Edward|last=Burns|title=Champions Get Only 5 Hits Off Orval Grove|work=[[Chicago Daily Tribune]]|date=May 18, 1944|page=19}}</ref> By mid-season, Grove had seven wins, six losses, five complete games, and a 3.40 ERA. Because of these statistics, he was selected to the [[American League]] All-Star team, his first and only career appearance.<ref>{{cite news|title=Cardinals Lead in All-Star Selections With Six|work=The Sporting News|date=July 6, 1944|page=4}}</ref> Five American League pitchers pitched in the All-Star Game on July 11, although Grove was one of the four on the roster who did not; therefore, his lone All-Star appearance was indeed only an appearance.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/NLS/NLS194407110.shtml|title=Jul 11, 1944, All-Star Game Box Score and Play by Play|publisher=Baseball-Reference|accessdateaccess-date=November 21, 2008}}</ref> During the second half of the season, Grove performed well at [[Comiskey Park]], but struggled on the road, at one point losing five straight games despite good run support from the White Sox.<ref>{{cite news|first=Ed|last=Burns|title=Nick's Knocks Spur Cub Hope After Hun Skid|work=The Sporting News|page=8|date=July 27, 1944}}</ref> Grove finished the season with 14 wins, 15 losses, an ERA of 3.72, two shutouts, and a career best of nearly 235 innings pitched.<ref name=br/>

There was a sense of closure for Grove before the beginning of the [[1945 Major League Baseball season|1945 season]], as he was awarded $310 (${{formatnum:{{Inflation|US|310|1945|r=0}}}} today) in damages for the auto accident in 1941.<ref name=accident/> He held out for a new contract in the off-season, and finally signed with the White Sox a couple weeks before the beginning of the season after becoming the last remaining holdout.<ref>{{cite news|first=Ed|last=Burns|title=Big Four of Sox Sign and Big 5 of Cubs Shine|work=The Sporting News|date=April 5, 1945|page=6}}</ref> Grove was the workhorse of the White Sox, leading the team in games pitched (33) and started (30), while remaining the youngest pitcher on the roster.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/CHW/1945.shtml|title=1945 Chicago White Sox Statistics and Roster|publisher=Baseball-Reference|accessdateaccess-date=November 21, 2008}}</ref> He finished the season with 217 pitched innings, a career best four shutouts, a 14–12 record, and a 3.44 ERA.<ref name=br/>

After his retirement from baseball, Grove continued to work with his uncle. His legacy lived on in his nephew, Wayne Grove. While playing for the Bellwood Lions of the Chicago Little League, Wayne pitched a no-hitter and struck out 15, and narrowly missed a perfect game when a runner got on base with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning.<ref>{{cite news|title=Caught on the Fly|work=The Sporting News|date=July 28, 1953|page=41}}</ref> Despite an unimpressive Major League career, Grove earned a few votes for induction into the Hall of Fame, receiving five votes in the [[Baseball Hall of Fame balloting, 1958|1958 balloting]] (1.9% of the required votes needed) and seven in the [[Baseball Hall of Fame balloting, 1960|1960 balloting]] (2.6% of the required votes needed).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://baseballhall.org/hall-famers/bbwaa-voting/player?player=Grove%2C++Orval|title=BBWAA Results by Player|publisher=[[National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum]]|accessdateaccess-date=December 15, 2008|url-status=dead|archiveurlarchive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120614053509/http://baseballhall.org/hall-famers/bbwaa-voting/player?player=Grove,++Orval|archivedatearchive-date=June 14, 2012}}</ref>

Grove had four children and four grandchildren, and later was the co-owner of a car wash in [[Sacramento, California|Sacramento]], California for 20 years.<ref name=digest>{{cite journal|last=DuVall|first=Bob|date=November 1973|title=Whatever Became Of ?|journal=[[Baseball Digest]]|volume=32|issue=11|page=84|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RzIDAAAAMBAJ|issn=0005-609X|accessdateaccess-date=December 16, 2008}}</ref> He became close friends with Joe Gordon, the player who broke up Grove's no-hitter, after moving to Sacramento.<ref name=digest/> Grove died in [[Carmichael, California|Carmichael]], California on April 20, 1992, and is buried alongside his wife, Catherine.<ref>{{cite news|title=Orval Grove is Dead at 72|work=[[The Sacramento Bee]]|date=April 22, 1992|page=E5}}</ref>

*[https://web.archive.org/web/20110604152151/http://www.baseballlibrarybaseballbiography.com/ballplayers/player.php?name=Orval_Grove_1919orval-grove-1919 Orval Grove] at Baseball LibraryBiography