Jason Grilli

Jason Michael Grilli (born November 11, 1976) is an American former professional baseball pitcher.

He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Florida Marlins, Chicago White Sox, Detroit Tigers, Colorado Rockies, Pittsburgh Pirates, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Atlanta Braves, Toronto Blue Jays, and Texas Rangers.

Although born in Michigan, Grilli moved to Central New York when his father, Steve, played for the Syracuse Chiefs beginning in 1978.

Following Grilli's high school career at Charles W. Baker High School in Baldwinsville, New York, he was drafted in the 24th round of the 1994 Major League Baseball draft by the New York Yankees, but he chose not to sign.

Instead, he opted to play college baseball at Seton Hall University, which he attended from 1995 to 1997.

In his junior year, Grilli struck out 18 batters in a game to break Charles Nagy's Big East Conference record.

He pitched to a 6–4 win–loss record and a 4.65 earned run average (ERA) with 125 strikeouts in 81 1⁄3 innings pitched.

In 1995, he played collegiate summer baseball with the Cotuit Kettleers of the Cape Cod Baseball League, and returned to the league in 1996 to play for the Brewster Whitecaps.

Taken as the fourth overall selection of the 1997 MLB draft by the San Francisco Giants, Grilli was one of the top starting pitcher prospects in all of Minor League Baseball, ranked 54th in 1998 and 44th in 1999.

The San Francisco Giants selected Grilli in the first round, fourth overall, of the 1997 Major League Baseball draft.

Grilli earned high reviews from scouts before the draft, who noted his good delivery, size and bloodlines.

Milwaukee Brewers scout Russ Bove wrote that Grilli reminded him of Jim Palmer.

As a high draft pick, Grilli was immediately considered to be a top prospect.

Baseball America ranked him as the No. 54 prospect in 1998 and the No. 44 prospect in 1999.

Grilli began his professional career in 1998 with the Double-A Shreveport Captains of the Texas League and the Triple-A Fresno Grizzlies of the Pacific Coast League.

In 21 games for the Captains, Grilli went 7–10 with a 3.79 ERA with 100 strikeouts in 123 innings pitched.

With the Grizzlies Grilli went 2–3 with a 5.14 ERA in eight games, all starts.

Grilli was named a Texas League All-Star for the 1998 season.

On July 25, 1999, the Giants traded Grilli and Nate Bump to the Florida Marlins to acquire Liván Hernández.

Tigers scouts and GM Dave Dombrowski were familiar with his abilities, having previously traded for him while running the Marlins in 1999.

After helping the Triple-A affiliate Toledo Mud Hens to the International League Championship (he clinched the deciding game), Grilli joined the parent club for a brief late-season audition.

The Giants traded him to the Florida Marlins in 1999, for whom he debuted on May 11, 2000.

Grilli made his major-league debut on May 11, 2000.

Grilli missed the entire 2002 minor-league season following Tommy John surgery on his pitching elbow.

He returned in 2003, pitching most of the season with the AAA Albuquerque Isotopes.

Grilli was drafted by the Chicago White Sox in the 2003 Rule 5 draft.

He had previously been heavily scouted as an amateur by White Sox scout Doug Laumann.

He spent 2004 in the White Sox organization after being selected.

In January 2005, after the White Sox signed Tadahito Iguchi, Grilli was designated for assignment and eventually released.

In 2005, Grilli signed a minor league contract with the Detroit Tigers.

Grilli pitched for Team Italy in the 2006 World Baseball Classic.

He also had a good spring training and earned a spot in the Tigers bullpen as a long reliever, leading to his first extended stint in the majors.

During the 2006 season, Grilli went 2–3 with a 4.21 ERA.

He helped the Tigers to the 2006 World Series where they lost to the St. Louis Cardinals.

In 2007, Grilli posted career highs in almost every category, including games (57), innings (79), strikeouts (62), wins (5), and holds (11).

However, Grilli heard boos at Comerica Park during the season, mostly due to his home ERA of 7.96.

In 2011, Grilli's career took off as a relief pitcher with the Pittsburgh Pirates.

From 2011 to 2014, he compiled a 3.09 ERA with 11.9 K/9, 3.3 BB/9 and a 34.2 percent ground-ball rate in 195 1⁄3 IP.

That year, he carried a 2.48 earned run average (ERA) and 10.2 strikeouts per nine innings (K/9) rate in 32 innings pitched (IP), and further improved in 2012, when his strikeout rate climbed to 13.8.

In 2013, Grilli made his first All-Star team and became Pittsburgh's closer at the age of 36.