John Grabow

Infobox MLB player


name=John Grabow
position=Closer
team=Pittsburgh Pirates
number=39
bats=Left
throws=Left
birthdate=birth date and age|1978|11|4
birthplace=city-state|Arcadia|California
debutdate=September 14
debutyear=2003
debutteam=Pittsburgh Pirates
statyear=2008
stat2label=Win-Loss
stat2value=17-15
stat3label=Earned Run Average
stat3value=4.19
stat4label=Strikeouts
stat4value=285
stat1label=Games
stat1value=345
teams=
*Pittsburgh Pirates (by|2003-present)

John William Grabow (born November 4, 1978, in Arcadia, California) is a left-handed closing pitcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Through 2008, he held opposing batters to a .208 batting average and a .271 slugging percentage when there were runners in scoring position. [http://www.baseball-reference.com/pi/psplit.cgi?n1=grabojo02]

Early life

Grabow graduated from San Gabriel High School in California in 1997, where he pitched and was a 3-year letterman in baseball and named all-CIF (California Interscholastic Federation), as well as the league's MVP as a senior. He was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 3rd round of the 1997 amateur draft.

Baseball career

Minor leagues

After spending several seasons in the lower levels of the minor leagues, Grabow steadily moved up through the organization's ranks and was ranked the Pirates' 9th-best prospect by Baseball America in 2001. Through 2003, he averaged 7.6 strikeouts per 9 innings in the minor leagues, striking out 9.5 batters per 9 innings at the AAA level.

Major leagues

Pittsburgh Pirates (2003-current)

Toward the end of the 2003 season, Grabow was called up by the Pirates after 6 years in the minors.

2004

As a rookie reliever for the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2004, Grabow appeared in 68 games. He established a Pittsburgh rookie record for appearances by a left-hander.

2005

He was a workhorse in the Pittsburgh bullpen in 2005 as Pittsburgh's main left-handed set-up man, appearing in 63 games in his second full major league season. He held opposing batters to a .186 batting average and a .186 slugging percentage when there were runners in scoring position. [http://www.baseball-reference.com/pi/psplit.cgi?n1=grabojo02&year=2005] He stranded a major-league best 89.7% of his inherited runners, allowing just 4 of 39 inherited runners to score.

2006

In 2006, he appeared in 72 games. He held opposing batters to a .217 batting average when there were runners in scoring position. Grabow stranded an NL-best 82.5% of the runners he inherited. [http://pittsburgh.pirates.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/article.jsp?ymd=20061221&content_id=1765800&vkey=news_pit&fext=.jsp&c_id=pit]

There was discussion in December 2006 about the Philadelphia Phillies or Atlanta Braves possibly trading for Grabow. [http://msn.foxsports.com/fantasy/story/6261952] [http://www.timesonline.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=17553087&BRD=2305&PAG=461&dept_id=478568&rfi=6]

2007

In February 2007, Grabow and the Pirates avoided arbitration and agreed to a 1-year contract for $832,500. Grabow was also in a position to make $70,000 in bonuses based on games finished, but was not able to cash in on the incentive bonus (with $10,000 for 20 games finished, $15,000 for 25 games finished, $20,000 for 30 games finished, and $25,000 for 35 games finished; in 2006 he finished 17 games, and in 2007 14 games). Grabow was also in a position to make an additional $45,000 based on appearances, but again was not able to cash in on the incentive bonus (with $10,000 for 75 games, $15,000 for 80 games, and $20,000 for 85 games; in 2006 he pitched in 72 games, but in 2007 he had only 63 appearances). He had filed for $925,000, while the Pirates had offered $765,000. [http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Baseball/MLB/2007/02/02/3507657-ap.html]

Grabow suffered a left elbow injury in spring training in 2007, and started the season on the disabled list. He was activated in mid-April, and began a rehab stint with the Indianapolis Indians. Grabow had a 2.25 ERA in 4 appearances for Indianapolis, and was recalled in late April.

Grabow was 3-2 for the Pirates, with a 4.53 ERA in 63 games, 14 of which he had finished. He had held batters to a .215 batting average and a .231 slugging percentage with runners in scoring position.

Shortly after the 2007 season ended, Grabow initially planned to have minor surgery to remove bone chips in his left elbow. The procedure would not have caused him to miss any part of the 2008 season, including spring training. [http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07233/810963-63.stm] But as of late September, in the wake of a cortisone shot, he was reconsidering. "I've been symptom-free for the past few weeks," Grabow said. "I want to see what my options are. I don't think I'll really need to have surgery. Maybe I can manage it and pitch through it." [http://www.rotoworld.com/content/playerpages/playerbreakingnews.asp?sport=MLB&id=3785&line=224492&spln=1] He planned to have his left elbow examined by Los Angeles Angels orthopedist Lewis Yocum. [http://mets.scout.com/a.z?s=228&p=2&c=688338] At the end of the day, he decided against surgery, and instead hoped a program of rest and rehabilitation would do the trick. [http://padres.scout.com/a.z?s=315&p=2&c=716132]

2008

Grabow earned $1.135 million in 2008. He also had the potential to earn an additional $75,000 based on appearances. [http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080118&content_id=2350509&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb]

In August Grabow became the Pirates' closer. [http://fantasy.sportingnews.com/baseball/experts/matthew-lutovsky/20080814.html]

In 2008 he had the third-lowest ERA of al NL left-handed relievers, and stranded all but 8 of his 33 inherited runners. [http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08274/916097-63.stm]

Pitching

Grabow has a 94 mph fastball that runs inside on left-handed hitters, a sharp, hard, late-breaking slider, an above-average changeup that confounds right-handers, [http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07233/810963-63.stm] and is equally adept at getting both right and left-handed batters out.

Grabow holds runners well and has a good pickoff move. He also fields his position soundly, and is quick off the mound.

Personal

*Grabow is Jewish. [http://www.jewishledger.com/articles/2008/03/05/news/news03.txt]

*Grabow's maternal grandmother was a Lebanese Jew from Beirut. Much of the family moved to Israel, while others settled in Brooklyn or California. [http://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/John_Grabow]

External links

*
* [http://www.jewishsports.com/profiles/johngrabow.htm "Pittsburgh's Newest Jewish Star Athlete: John Grabow," 9/04]
* [http://www.thebaseballcube.com/players/G/John-Grabow.shtml Baseball Cube stats]
* [http://www.fangraphs.com/graphs.aspx?playerid=1848&position=P&page=0&type=full Fangraphs]
* [http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/stats?playerId=5864 ESPN Player Profile]
* [http://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/John_Grabow BR Bullpen profile]
* [http://www.jewishledger.com/articles/2008/03/05/news/news03.txt "Warming up for the Jewish Boys of Summer," 3/5/08]