‘Those two years here catapulted me to the Major Leagues’ Grich recalls time with Wings

By PAUL GOTHAM

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Bobby Grich suffered a back injury in 1977 that cut short his season.

After having 80 percent of the disc between his fourth and fifth lumbar removed, doctors gave the California Angels’ second baseman a 20 percent chance of returning to play baseball at the Major-League level.

The former Red Wing great went on to appear in four All-Star games and won a Silver Slugger award over the next 10 years.

So when it came to meeting the love of his life, one can understand how he didn’t take no for an answer.

Grich was participating in a celebrity road race for a Grand Prix tour stop in his hometown of Long Beach, California shortly after he retired from baseball. He had met his future wife, Zetta – a model and actress prior to that event.

As part of the festivities, a go-kart race was planned. Members of the Los Angeles Rams and then-Los Angeles Raiders were on hand along with several Hollywood stars. As the story goes, somehow organizers did not have enough vehicles for all the participants and Zetta was going to be left out.

“She started getting in one of the karts, and a guy jumped in front of her,” Grich said. “She goes back to the last row really fast and a girl jumps in front of her into another kart. She looked around there were 12 karts for 13 celebrities. She was so disappointed. She was looking like she was ready to cry.”

Seeing an opportunity, Grich had an offer for Zetta.

“I’ll make you a deal,” he said. “I’ll give you the pole kart if you give me your number. She agreed.”

This exchange, though, came before cell phones existed and Grich had to rely on his memory.

“I knew the area code. She told me the first three digits, and that was easy because I remembered it as my batting average from my last season.”

And the last four digits?

“I stamped it on my brain. As soon as the racers took off, I ran over to the fence where all the fans were and somebody gave me pencil and paper. I wrote it down.”

Grich didn’t waste any time.

“I called her that night. She said ‘I gave you my number not thinking you’d ever remember it.’” 

That Zetta had a boyfriend at the time was nothing more than a minor detail.

“I asked her if I can keep in touch. I called her every month, once a month for three years. She finally broke up with the guy. We got married a year later. We’ve been married 32 years.

“Hung in there, man. Three years. I hang in there. That’s my baseball career. Mr. Hang In There.”

 Grich did more than “hang in there” during his playing days in the Flower City. He was the MVP of the 1971 Governors’ Cup and Junior World Series Champion Red Wings.  

He returned to Rochester this week. On Tuesday, he threw out the ceremonial first pitch prior to the Red Wings International League game with the Omaha Storm Chasers. On Wednesday, he served as catcher while former teammate Don Fazio took first-pitch honors.

“To me it’s almost home. It’s my second home. I’ve always had an affinity for Rochester and that will never go away.”

A first-round pick of the Baltimore Orioles in the 1967 draft out of Woodrow Wilson High School in Long Beach, Grich played 63 games with the Wings and 30 more for the Orioles in 1970. He returned to Triple-A for the 1971 campaign and took the field 130 times for the locals but a now-famous late-season call-up prevented him from directly contributing to the last two games of the Junior World Series championship run that year.

“After the fifth game, Joe Altobelli called me in his office and said ‘Weaver (then Baltimore manager Earl) wants you to come up, tomorrow.’ I said, Joe, I don’t care. We got to win one more game here. I’m not going. I’m staying here. I don’t care what they say.” 

“Altobelli explained ‘We’re here to serve them. The whole organization serves the major-league team. This is not the priority in the business. You got to get on that plane tomorrow.’”

Grich was with the Orioles in Yankee Stadium when it was announced that the Wings had defeated Denver in seven games.

“I’m on the bench and the big screen in right field said ‘Rochester Red Wings win the championship beating the Denver Bears (9-6).’ Playing at Yankee Stadium and that came up on the screen. That was pretty cool. Sigh of relief that we still beat them. I was happy about that. It was a great way to hear the news.”

Grich didn’t return to the Wings or the minor leagues, but his time spent in Rochester stayed with him.

“My whole career kicked in right here. I developed strength in my arms. My defensive game came together. Those two years here catapulted me to the Major Leagues.”

A home run hitter in high school, the right-handed hitting batter connected on three round-trippers and hit .254 in 58 games with Bluefield – Baltimore’s Rookie-League team in 1967. Over 133 games the following season, he managed eight home runs and hit at a .228 clip. He struck out 126 times and walked on 61 occasions.

“I decided I had to make a change. I worked with Jimmy Frey (batting instructor in Baltimore) during the spring of 1969.”

Frey emphasized that Grich needed to start hitting to right field.

“Did nothing but close my stance and hit the ball to right field. I was striking out a lot, and that’s why I had to make a change. Just started putting the ball to right field was natural for me.”

He hit .310 in Double-A that season and took home MVP honors with Dallas-Fort Worth of the Texas League. But he only hit two home runs.

“I knew I had to get stronger, but all the baseball players said don’t lift weights. It will make you muscle-bound. You won’t be able to throw or swing. That was the thing then.”

He bought an “Exer-Genie” that he carried around in a suitcase. Equipped with tension springs, Grich used it to strengthen his arms.

He arrived in Triple-A in the spring of 1970.

“Silver Stadium was made for my approach because of the short right center field,” he said recalling the fence 365 feet away at Silver Stadium. “I go to Rochester and started popping balls over the right center field fence. That’s where I developed skills to go to right field.”

He was hitting .383 when Baltimore called him up in July. He played 30 games with the big club in 1970.

He returned to Rochester in 1971.

An exhibition game against the parent team during that season, helped Grich realize his potential. Against Baltimore starter Dave Leonhard, he hit a “rocket” to left field in his first trip to the plate and then later a home run.

“That right there taught me that ‘I can do this.’ Those two at bats against him in that game.”

He hit three home runs in the second game of a doubleheader against Richmond that season.

The memory of clinching the regular season pennant is a lasting one.

“Running in from the outfield with Donnie Baylor after winning the pennant at Tidewater. We were roommates. I can picture that right now doing that. We ran in from the outfield to the dugout. It was a great feeling to share that with him. That was our whole year. That was what we did. We had a great team.”

Grich spent five full seasons with the Orioles. He garnered four Gold Gloves at second base, appeared in three All-Star games (1972, 1974, 1976) and received MVP votes three separate years (’72, ’73, ’74).

He signed a free-agent deal with the California Angels after the 1976 season and suffered his back injury in February of 1977.

“It happened one week before spring training started. I thought I pulled a muscle and it would go away.”

In May of that season, he hit a home run. While rounding the bag at second, a shock went up the back of his leg.

“I kinda hobbled from second base in. I said if I hit a home run, I shouldn’t be feeling any pain. Next morning, I was in a lot of pain. I tried everything for another two weeks. Then had surgery on July 3rd.”

Grich played 52 games in 1977.

In 1978, he returned to the lineup and hit .251 with six home runs. He remembers telling his mom that he thought his career was over unless he did something.

He converted a room in his home into a weight room.

“I started lifting weights all year. I only had one chance. One chance to come back.”

At Spring Training the next year, the difference was noticeable. The ball was popping off his bat. He hit .294 that season with career-highs in home runs (30) and RBI (101). In the strike-shortened 1981 campaign, he led the American League in home runs (22) and slugging percentage (.543).

“I wish I would have started a weight training program earlier. I didn’t start lifting weights until 1978. My regret is I didn’t take up weights when I was 20 years old, 21 years old. I really think I could have been at the plateau for 15 years.”

Grich played 10 years in the Angels’ organization.

This week was not the first time Grich has returned to Rochester. He was on hand to celebrate the life of his former manager, Altobelli in 2021. He signed autographs in 2015 and in 2010 Grich joined his teammate Don Baylor when the two were inducted into the International League Hall of Fame during a ceremony at what was then called Frontier Field. Grich was also part of a celebration of the 1971 team during the early 90s.

“People are so down to earth here. There’s such salt-of-the-earth people in Rochester. They really are. They probably don’t even realize it.”