The Card: 1972 Topps Jim “Mudcat” Grant
Being a fan of both the Cleveland and Oakland organizations, it’s nice when a player plays for both franchises at some point. It’s even better when that player was good, and Mudcat Grant was certainly that too.
Mudcat Grant made the majors in 1958. This was 11 years after Jackie Robinson and Larry Doby broke the color barrier in baseball, but it was still not exactly the most fun time to be a black player in the public eye. In fact, when the 1958 season opened there were still two teams, the Tigers and Red Sox, which had yet to be integrated.
Grant was a very good pitcher during his time in Cleveland, often bouncing between the rotation and pen. From 1958 to 1963 he averaged 192 innings and 11 wins. He was a 15-game winner in 1961 and was selected to the All-Star team in 1963.
Mudcat would spend 14-seasons in the majors, and retire with a 145-119 record and a very clean 100 ERA+. In 1965 he was a 21-game winner for the Twins and would be selected to his second and last All-Star game.
| Year | Age | Tm | Lg | W | L | ERA | G | GS | GF | CG | SV | IP | H | BB | SO | ERA+ | FIP | WHIP | Awards |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1958 | 22 | CLE | AL | 10 | 11 | 3.84 | 44 | 28 | 9 | 11 | 5 | 204.0 | 173 | 104 | 111 | 96 | 4.21 | 1.358 | |
| 1959 | 23 | CLE | AL | 10 | 7 | 4.14 | 38 | 19 | 7 | 6 | 3 | 165.1 | 140 | 81 | 85 | 90 | 4.83 | 1.337 | |
| 1960 | 24 | CLE | AL | 9 | 8 | 4.40 | 33 | 19 | 7 | 5 | 0 | 159.2 | 147 | 78 | 75 | 86 | 5.21 | 1.409 | |
| 1961 | 25 | CLE | AL | 15 | 9 | 3.86 | 35 | 35 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 244.2 | 207 | 109 | 146 | 101 | 4.45 | 1.292 | |
| 1962 | 26 | CLE | AL | 7 | 10 | 4.27 | 26 | 23 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 149.2 | 128 | 81 | 90 | 90 | 5.12 | 1.396 | |
| 1963 | 27 | CLE | AL | 13 | 14 | 3.69 | 38 | 32 | 2 | 10 | 1 | 229.1 | 213 | 87 | 157 | 99 | 4.00 | 1.308 | AS |
| 1964 | 28 | TOT | AL | 14 | 13 | 3.67 | 39 | 32 | 3 | 11 | 1 | 228.0 | 244 | 61 | 118 | 98 | 4.21 | 1.338 | |
| 1965 | 29 | MIN | AL | 21 | 7 | 3.30 | 41 | 39 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 270.1 | 252 | 61 | 142 | 108 | 3.78 | 1.158 | AS,MVP-6 |
| 1966 | 30 | MIN | AL | 13 | 13 | 3.25 | 35 | 35 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 249.0 | 248 | 49 | 110 | 111 | 3.53 | 1.193 | |
| 1967 | 31 | MIN | AL | 5 | 6 | 4.72 | 27 | 14 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 95.1 | 121 | 17 | 50 | 74 | 3.42 | 1.448 | |
| 1968 | 32 | LAD | NL | 6 | 4 | 2.08 | 37 | 4 | 19 | 1 | 3 | 95.0 | 77 | 19 | 35 | 133 | 2.57 | 1.011 | |
| 1969 | 33 | TOT | NL | 8 | 11 | 4.42 | 41 | 13 | 19 | 2 | 7 | 114.0 | 126 | 36 | 55 | 82 | 4.39 | 1.421 | |
| 1970 | 34 | TOT | MLB | 8 | 3 | 1.86 | 80 | 0 | 54 | 0 | 24 | 135.1 | 112 | 32 | 58 | 193 | 3.52 | 1.064 | |
| 1971 | 35 | TOT | MLB | 6 | 3 | 3.17 | 57 | 0 | 36 | 0 | 10 | 102.1 | 104 | 34 | 35 | 109 | 4.19 | 1.349 | |
| 14 Y | 14 Y | 14 Y | 14 Y | 145 | 119 | 3.63 | 571 | 293 | 160 | 89 | 54 | 2442.0 | 2292 | 849 | 1267 | 100 | 4.14 | 1.286 | |
| 162 | 162 | 162 | 162 | 11 | 9 | 3.63 | 45 | 23 | 13 | 7 | 4 | 192 | 180 | 67 | 100 | 100 | 4.14 | 1.286 |