Jim Greengrass

James Raymond Greengrass

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 1", Weight 200 lb.
• High School: Addison High School
• Debut September 9, 1952
• Final Game September 30, 1956
• Born October 24, 1927 in Addison, NY USA
• Died September 9, 2019 in Chatsworth, GA USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Jim Greengrass was signed as an amateur free agent by the New York Yankees before the 1944 season as a 16-year-old outfielder. He spent two seasons (1944-1945) in the low minors before going into the United States Military for two years in 1946 and 1947. After the military duty was over, Jim worked his way up to the Newark Bears in 1949, but then was sent back to the lower minors to work on becoming a pitcher, but after losing five games, he was switched back to the outfield.

In 1951 Jim had his best season yet, for the Muskegon Reds of the Central League, hitting for a league-leading .379 average with 18 home runs. In 1952, for the Beaumont Roughnecks of the Texas League, he hit .276 with 22 home runs and on August 28th, he was traded by the Yankees, along with Bob Marquis, Ernie Nevel, Johnny Schmitz and $35,000, to the Cincinnati Reds for Ewell Blackwell. Jim spent the rest of the year with the Reds, and his first major league hit was a grand slam home run that beat the Brooklyn Dodgers 4-0.

In his first full year in 1953, he hit .285 with 20 homers and an even 100 RBIs. Undaunted by the so-called sophomore jinx, he started out the 1954 campaign with a record four doubles on Opening Day and finished the year with 27 home runs and 95 RBIs. But he never fully recovered from a late-season ankle injury that year, and was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies in 1955, and was gone just a year later with a major league career .269 batting average and 69 four-baggers.

Jim spent five more seasons in the high minors, hitting .283 with 20 homers for the Sacramento Solons of the Pacific Coast League in 1957 and .274 with 27 four-baggers for the Portland Beavers in 1959. He finished up his 16 active seasons in pro baseball in 1961, hitting .252 for the Jacksonville Jets of the South Atlantic League.

Greengrass spent 12 of his 16 years partly in the minors where he appeared in 1,283 games, had 4,424 at bats with 1,252 base hits (including 130 home runs) and a .283 minor league career batting average. Jim was 33 years old when he left baseball.

After baseball Jim resided in Chatsworth, GA, and was a Cobb County deputy sheriff.

Notable Achievements

• 20-Home Runs Seasons: 2 (1953 & 1954)
• 100 RBI Seasons: 1 (1953)

Records Held

• Tied MLB record by hitting four doubles in a game, April 13, 1954

Sources

Baseball-Reference.com
Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball: Third Edition
Baseball Players of the 1950s
SABR MILB Database:page