A.J. Griffin

Arthur Joseph Griffin

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 5", Weight 230 lb.
• School University of San Diego
• High School Grossmont High School
• Debut June 24, 2012
• Final Game September 26, 2017
• Born January 28, 1988 in El Cajon, CA USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Pitcher A.J. Griffin reached the majors with the Oakland Athletics in 2012.

Griffin was selected by the Philadelphia Phillies in the 34th round of the 2009 amateur draft but did not sign. He was then taken by the Oakland Athletics in the 13th round of the 2010 amateur draft. He was signed by scout Eric Martins and made his pro debut with the Vancouver Canadians that year, leading the Northwest League with 15 saves. He began 2012 with the Midland RockHounds before being promoted to the AAA Sacramento River Cats. In June, he was called up to the majors by the A's, and he made his big league debut on June 24th. Starting against the San Francisco Giants, he allowed 2 earned runs over 6 innings.

When Griffin beat the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim on September 12th, he improved to 6-0, becoming the first pitcher in Oakland history to start his career with 6 straight wins. Before the franchise moved to the West coast, only Jim Nash had done so, getting wins in his first 7 decisions with the 1966 Kansas City Athletics. The streak ended with his next start, against the Detroit Tigers on September 18th, when he gave up 5 runs in a 12-2 loss and suffered his first defeat. He had not given up more than three runs in any of his previous 11 starts. He finished the season at 14-10, 3.83 in 32 starts, pitching an even 200 innings. He led the American League with 36 homers allowed, but gave up only 171 hits for an opponents' batting average of .226; as he walked only 54 batters, while striking out 171, there weren't many men on base for all those homers, so they did not hurt as much as they could have. He started Game 4 of the ALDS against the Detroit Tigers on October 10th. He gave up 2 runs in 5 innings before giving way to Jerry Blevins after facing one batter in the 6th and he was not involved in the decision.

Griffin was in spring training with the A's in 2014 but he was shut down after feeling pain in his elbow in mid-March; he attempted to fix things with some rest, but in late April, it became clear that the best treatment option was Tommy John surgery. Dr. Thomas Mehlhoff performed the injury, which wiped out his entire season. He then injured his shoulder during rehabilitation, and missed almost all of 2015 as well, being limited to four minor league starts.The A's handed him his release after the season, but he signed with the Texas Rangers for 2016 and earned a spot in their starting rotation in spring training. He made his long-awaited return to the big leagues on April 9th with a start against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. He gave up 3 ruins on 6 hits in 6 innings and was credited with a 7-3 win.

Griffin is the brother of minor leaguer Aaron Griffin.

Notable Achievements

• 200 Innings Pitched Seasons: 1 (2013)

Related Sites

• A.J. Griffin on mlb.com
• USD bio