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Jim "Mudcat" Grant
Mudcat Grant was born on Tuesday, August 13, 1935, and began his Major League baseball career on April 17, 1958, with the Cleveland Indians. The 23 year-old played for 14 seasons on 7 different teams and ended his big league playing career in 1971.
A right-handed pitcher who played 14 seasons (1958-1971), primarily with the Indians and Twins. Grant was the first African-American to win 20 games in the minor leagues. He debuted for the Indians in 1958 and as a member of the Indians was named to the All-Star team in 1963. After being traded to the Twins in 1964, he had his best year in 1965, going 21-7 with six shutouts and a 3.30 ERA. The Twins played the Dodgers in the 1965 World Series, and Grant became the first African-American in the American League to earn a win in a World Series game, winning Games One and Six. In 1969, Grant earned the Expos franchise’s first win. In 1970, he went 8-3 with 24 saves for the A’s and the Pirates. Grant finished with 144 victories and a 3.63 ERA. Colorful "Mudcat" Grant was not only a 14-year ML pitcher, but a broadcaster and entertainer. He spent his first seven-plus seasons with the Indians, compiling a 67-63 record. He then reached his pinnacle with the 1965 pennant-winning Twins, leading the AL in victories and winning percentage (21-7, .750) and in shutouts (six). He defeated the Dodgers in the World Series opener 8-2, lost Game Four 7-2, and won Game Six 5-1, helping himself with a three-run homer. He worked mostly in relief after his trade to the Dodgers in November of 1967, and in 1969 recorded the expansion Expos' first win. With Oakland and Pittsburgh in 1970, he went 8-3 (1.87) with 24 saves. Sporting muttonchop sideburns, he was the lead singer of a group called "Mudcat and the Kittens."
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