Dick Grant (minors02)

William Richard Grant

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 6' 4", Weight 220 lb.
• High School Watertown High School
• Born April 2, 1947 in Boston, MA USA

BR Minors page

Biographical information

First baseman/pitcher Dick Grant was drafted by the Milwaukee Braves 12th overall in the 1965 amateur draft. He was the first pick in Braves franchise history, though not the first or even second player taken from a Massachusetts high school, as Joe Coleman Jr. went 3rd and Billy Conigliaro 5th. Grant was taken between Jim Spencer and Gene Lamont.

Assigned initially to the FRL Braves, he was a measly 18 for 65 with no extra-base hits in 1965, then did not play in 1966. In 1967, Grant played for the Jamestown Braves (.273/.357/.471, 53 RBI in 62 G; 0-2, 2.57 with 22 walks in 28 IP) and West Palm Beach Braves (.205/.263/.276 in 36 G). He led New York-Penn League first basemen with a .9884 fielding percentage. With the '68 Greenwood Braves, he hit .309/.389/.468. In the Year of the Pitcher, he would have been third in the Western Carolinas League in average had he qualified (behind Zelman Jack and Jim Breazeale; he missed the cut-off to qualify by four plate appearances). His 25 doubles tied Nick Van Lue for the WCL lead. One negative this time was defense, with 15 errors tying for the most by a 1B. Grant did not win All-Star honors at 1B, which went to Van Lue. Making it to AA (his highest level) in 1969, Grant put up a .249/.326/.441 line with 16 homers for the Shreveport Braves. He tied for 5th in the Texas League in home runs and his 11 times hit-by-pitch trailed league leader Don Baylor by two. He was named the TL East All-Star 1B. Returning to Shreveport in 1970, Grant faded to .220/.297/.439 while posting a 2-1, 3.06 record. He allowed only 32 hits in 50 innings but walked 36 and threw 11 wild pitches. He was now backing up Santiago Rosario at 1B.

In 1971, he wrapped up his career with Greenwood (7-0, 3.23 in 16 G; .286/.330/.548 in 40 G) and the Savannah Indians (Cleveland Indians chain; 7 R in 16 IP, 1 for 4 with a double, walk and 3 RBI).

He spent six seasons in the minor leagues, hitting .259 with 49 home runs in 436 games. As a pitcher, he went 9-3 with a 3.20 ERA in 39 games (17 starts).

Sources: 1968-1972 Baseball Guides