St. Paul recorder. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1934-2000, 1958-06-13

k Greenberg, then the Indians
front office boss, out OF a pitcher
in the minors by the name OF
James Timothy Grant,
our scouts" Lane said re-
Gently, told me that Grant was
going to be one OF the truly fine
pitchers in the majors In a year
or two. / talked with Grcenberg,
tried to make a deal. but lost, Ac-
tually l won, now that I'm with
the Indians, We'd be a few games
under 800 II Grant were with the
Cards"
What Lane meant, OF course, Is
that Grant. a 22-year-old right
handler, has been one Of the stars
on the Cleveland mound staff. He
has, as OF this writing, a avon,
2-lost record. He easily could have
had two other victories II his
teammates had supplied more ro-
bust hitting.
His first victory came In the
first series Of the year. The In.
dams lost the first two games 20
the Kansas City. Grant, making
his major league debut, hurled
strong s-hitter and the Indians
came through with a 2-rin rally
in the ninth TO give him n SO VIC
tory, He followed this up with n
Al triumph over the Detroit Tigers
in an equally strong performance.
In the meantime, he had
hurled against the Athletics In
Kansas City, and. with al
lead, he encountered n Wild
streak In the seventh and was
removed. The As went on 90
defeat the Indians, but Grant
didn't figure In the decision.
His third victory was a shit.
81 win over the Baltimore Or
ioles. That was 10 earn him his
first start against the New York
Yankees, but the series was rained
out.
Then, Grant seemed 10 have his
humps. He was knocked out In
Chicago. and chased in Detroit.
There was some doubt, then. that
Grants early successes were the
real Mccoy Jim answered with a
sterling game against the White
Sox in Cleveland, although he was
relieved in the ninth with the
Cleveland leading 80 The Indians
won II In the nth inning.
The rookie finally picked up
his fourth victory against the
Washington Senators. n was
six hitter In which he demon
strated he had no fear Of one
Of the most dangerous hitters In
the American League.
He threw q knee-hlgh slider 10
Roy Sievers. the MI home run
king in 1867. It was a called third
strike, despite Sewers vigorous
protest that II was a ball
] When he Is right, Mudcat as
he Is known 20 his teammates,
makes pitching look easy. His
best pitches are a blazing fast ball
and the slider.
Mel Harder, pitching coach Of
the Indians. is convinced that when
his star pupil acquires a curve
and change Of pace he will become
one Of the majors big winners.
This is only Grants fourth full
season in organized baseball.
With Fargo In the Northern
League in 1854, he won Fl and lost
5. striking out 174 batters and
walking 100. His earned run mark
was 3.O4. He won 10 and lost 3
for KeoIuk in the Three-Eye
League in 1865. He struck out 1859
and walked 90. His earned run
mark was $40.
He dropped under the 800 mark
with Reading in the Glass A East
ern League in 1856. His leg show
ed ~ wins and 10 defeats He had
l25 strfkeouts and issued 81 bases
on balls and had an earned run
mark Of 3.72.
After the 1856 season was over.
Grant was picked as the player Of
the year In the Colombian League.
a unanimous choice. As a pitcher.
he posted a 9-and-7 record, in
GLIDING several low-score defeats
He played the outfield and second
base between mound assignments.
Batting IN the number four slot,
he hit nine home runs.
In a pitching assignment one
day, he hurled a no-hitter. The
next day. playing the infield, he
hit a home run that won n game.
] Both times deliriOu. fans car