PITTSBURGH — The road back to the Majors wasn’t an easy one for right-hander Jason Grilli. After missing the entire 2010 season due to right knee surgery, something that could have ended his career, Grilli signed as a free agent with Pittsburgh on July 21st of 2011 after posting a 1.93 ERA with Triple-A Leigh High Valley (Phillies). He went on to put up solid numbers for the Pirates and he entered the offseason arbitration eligible.
Prior to the midnight deadline on Monday, Pittsburgh signed Grilli to a one-year contract for the 2012 season. The deal is reported to be worth $1.1 million.
Grilli, 35, went 2-1 with one save –his third of his career and first in the Majors since 2009 — and a 2.48 ERA in 28 relief appearances with the Pirates in 2011, striking out 37 batters in 32.2 innings of work.
Grilli’s first save on September 24 was even more special because of who was in the stands that night. His father, Steve, who pitched in the Majors in the late 70’s, was at PNC Park. Jason’s biggest fan got to relish in the special moment, especially after taking care of him when he was recovering from surgery.
“That’s my best friend,“ Grilli said in the clubhouse after notching the save. “He was there with me, my wife couldn’t lift me up. My dad was the one that was picking me up and putting me in the shower, helping me get dressed. For him to be here for this, it’s pretty fitting.”
“Having the mindset that I’ve had, I can’t describe it. Just coming back from everything I’ve been through. I just saw my Dad out there and he goes, ‘You’re backing up everything you’ve said.’
But the save wasn’t the only first he established with Pittsburgh since 2009. Grilli picked up his first Major League win since August 27, 2009 after a brilliant performance, tossing 2.2 hitless frames with four strikeouts against the Brewers in August.
Bringing back Grilli for the 2012 season provides the bucs ‘pen, which will once again be a huge asset to the team, a veteran presence and an arm that can shutdown the late innings and hand the ball to closer Joel Hanrahan.
“When I was with Detroit and I was a middle inning guy, I was getting out of jams in the third, fourth and fifth inning, bases loaded, no outs and A-Rod’s up,“ Grilli said during the final homestand at PNC Park. “I go, ‘If I’m doing this now, who’s to say I can’t do what this guys doing?’ Yes, we’re a team but we compete against each other too. In a good way, you feed off [each other]. I want to do what this guys doing because when that starts happening, that’s when winning things happen. I’m just having a blast and I’m relishing in the fact that I’m getting a big role and a big opportunity no matter what inning it is.”
Grilli’s great season earned him a contract for the 2012 season. He was charged with just two earned runs in his last 19 games (20.2 innings), dating back to August 11. During that time, Manager Clint Hurdle believed he was pitching the best he has ever in his career.
“I feel like [my career] started out as just a starter who might be considered a fourth or fifth starter, never really given 30 starts,” Grilli said in September. “Go over to Colorado and I’m the sixth, seventh, sometimes eighth inning guy, wasn’t really given that back end role. And now, I’m pitching in the back end a lot.”
“I go back to what [Hurdle] said, ‘What do you want out of your career?’ I asked myself that question ever since he did. I want everything out of it. For something that was taken away from me last year, I want everything out of it. I want my numbers to be what I think they can be. No matter if you’re a Hall-of-Fame player, a first round pick, a guy who is a 50th round pick, the justification for me is I think I’m reaching the point of how good I know I could be, and that I am, and believing in that. I think it’s just translating on the field. I think it really stems from everything that I’ve been through, the timeline, the adversity. I can’t say enough about that. I probably have a book, if I started writing it all down. Seeing your life flash before your eyes, I’m laying on the ground screaming and my legs ripped off. It’s very fulfilling. I can’t say enough. I really think that when I go back and see what I’ve accomplished, I think I might shed a tear or two just because I did it.”
Grilli will have a whole new season with Pittsburgh to continue to accomplish what he believes he can do. No challenge is too big or too small for him.
Photo credit: Yahoo! Sports
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