Jason Grilli Career Tracker

Full name Jason Michael Grilli

Born November 11, 1976, Royal Oak, Michigan

First Game: May 11, 2000

Bat: Right Throw: Right Height: 6' 4\" Weight: 185

Son of Steve Grilli

Pro career


Following his high school career at Baker High School in Baldwinsville, New York, Jason was drafted in the 24th round of the 1994 Major League Baseball draft by the New York Yankees, but chose not to sign. Instead, he opted to played college baseball at Seton Hall University, which he attended from 1995-1997. After a standout collegiate career, Jason was drafted in the 1st round (4th overall) of the Major League Baseball draft by the San Francisco Giants. In 1999, Grilli was a key component of a mid-season trade that brought Livan Hernandez to the Giants, and sent Grilli and pitcher Nate Bump to the Florida Marlins.


Jason spent the 2004 season with the Chicago White Sox organization after being selected in the Rule 5 draft. In 2005, he signed a minor-league contract with the Detroit Tigers. After helping the AAA affiliate Toledo Mud Hens to a league championship (he clinched the championship game), he joined the parent club for a late-season audition.


Jason Grilli pitched for Team Italy in the 2006 World Baseball Classic. He also had a fine spring training and earned a spot in the Tigers bullpen as a long-reliever, allowing for his first extended stint in the majors.

Personal

Jason is the son of former major league pitcher Steve Grilli [1], who pitched for parts of four seasons in the late 1970s, including three with the Detroit Tigers. Jason wears number 49 in honor of his father, and the two still talk after every game Jason makes an appearance in [2].

Jason was nicknamed "Cheese Man" by third-base coach Gene Lamont. In Game 4 of the ALCS, Grilli walked three batters on 12 consecutive balls, loading the bases and necessitating a pitching change to Wil Ledezma, who retired the next two hitters without surrendering any additional runs. Although the poor performance brought the wrath of many fans upon Grilli, it did not prevent the Tigers from winning the game 6-3 and clinching the American League pennant.

Grilli and his wife, Danielle,will be welcoming their first child in February of 2008. The couple resides in Orlando, Florida on the off-season [3].


Transaction Information

Selected by New York Yankees in the 24th round of the free-agent draft - did not sign (June 2, 1994).

Selected by San Francisco Giants in the 1st round (4th pick overall) of the
free-agent draft (June 3, 1997 - signed July 25, 1997).

Traded by San Francisco Giants with Nate Bump to Florida Marlins in exchange for Livan Hernandez (July 25, 1999).

Selected by Chicago White Sox from Florida Marlins in the Rule 5 major league draft (December 15, 2003).

Released by Chicago White Sox (January 27, 2005).

Signed by Detroit Tigers (February 10, 2005).

===================================

His Father was a Tiger.

Steve Grilli

Full name Stephen Joseph Grilli Position: Pitcher

Born May 2, 1949, Brooklyn, New York

First Game: September 19, 1975; Final Game: September 17, 1979

Bat: Right Throw: Right Height: 6' 2" Weight: 170

Father of Jason Grilli Transaction Information Signed as a non-drafted free agent by Detroit Tigers (July 7, 1970). Sold by Detroit Tigers to Toronto Blue Jays (February 25, 1978).

I like Jason!

Go ahead and blast me, I know it's coming!!

Actually my mom and I like him, but that's mostly because we think he's kind of hot.

Well, I agree with that!

TigerLily wrote:

Actually my mom and I like him, but that's mostly because we think he's kind of hot.

:puke2: :puke2:

Casey21 wrote:

Well, I agree with that!

:puke2: :puke2:

I wish Grilli was in the "Old Players" thread.....

tigersaint wrote:

TigerLily wrote:

Actually my mom and I like him, but that's mostly because we think he's kind of hot.

:puke2: :puke2:

Aww, Saint! Those were new shoes...

Sorry about the shoes.......

Look under your tree on Tuesday morning!! :santa2:

Can I expect some new shoes too Saint????

Jason has incredible blue eyes!!!!

Okay I can agree that he's kinda hot.. he's not great but he's alright... but I just don't like him.

everyone has their favorite Tiger!

Grilli is a nice guy!

and he's a new daddy!

Yes hes a nice guy, (my friend said his old lady thought he was cute), he's a new daddy but, He can't pitch worth a crap. When Grilli comes in I get Depressed and have a shot of Liqour.

Tigerfan1984 wrote:

Yes hes a nice guy, (my friend said his old lady thought he was cute), he's a new daddy but, He can't pitch worth a crap. When Grilli comes in I get Depressed and have a shot of Liqour.

I think we all do (even the under-21's)!

Tigerfan1984 wrote:

Yes hes a nice guy, (my friend said his old lady thought he was cute), he's a new daddy but, He can't pitch worth a crap. When Grilli comes in I get Depressed and have a shot of Liqour.

Hey! Me too!

I just have a BEER....

Casey21 wrote:

Can I expect some new shoes too Saint????

Jason has incredible blue eyes!!!!

LOL!!
I WAS gonna give you some new shoes but I can tell that what you REALLY need is some new GLASSES!!

SoulRat wrote:

Tigerfan1984 wrote:

Yes hes a nice guy, (my friend said his old lady thought he was cute), he's a new daddy but, He can't pitch worth a crap. When Grilli comes in I get Depressed and have a shot of Liqour.

Hey! Me too!

Now THERE'S a real shocker.......

12/24/2007 7:00 PM ET
Q&A with Jason Grilli
Pitcher talks about everything from GI Joe to Guitar Hero


By Jason Beck / MLB.com

Tigers pitcher Jason Grilli knew how big of an event the holiday season was in a baseball family even before he broke into professional ball thanks to his father, Steve. The Grillis spent many a snowy Christmas together while Jason was growing up in upstate New York. They'll bypass the winter weather and gather at Jason's home in Florida this year, but it'll be a special holiday for Jason for more than the weather. He and his wife are expecting their first child, a boy, in February. He spent a few minutes with MLB.com discussing what the season means to him.

MLB.com: Having grown up in a baseball family, how important has Christmas been in your family, when you know everybody can be together?

Jason Grilli: It's definitely huge. Holidays for us are huge especially when you're away from them so much throughout the year. For us, the holidays that we play [during] can be tough. Any holiday, I think, especially during the baseball season, whether it's a birthday or a wedding, those are the occasions that sometimes you miss out on, unless it's someone in your immediate family. So Christmas and Thanksgiving are very huge in the sense that it's a point to celebrate the holiday for what it is. I celebrate Christmas and we celebrate the birth of Jesus and what his sacrifice means to us and we celebrate being together.

MLB.com: Is there a big holiday tradition in your family?

Grilli: The big things are the stockings. Usually we have some sort of fish or seafood for our meal. And we usually try to go to Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve.

MLB.com: How much different is it for you nowadays when you spend the holiday in Florida?

Grilli: Honestly, to do what I'm doing, it definitely makes it easier. I've been playing catch. It's nicer to play catch in 82-degree weather on a baseball field than it is indoors at PNC Stadium [in Syracuse] like I was doing in the batting cages. I do miss the feel a little bit of Christmas up in the Northeast, but I don't miss the cold. I think it's because our blood has thinned. If it's any consolation, my family is very excited to get out of the cold and get down here and enjoy Christmas in the pool. It is a different feel, but it's still very festive. Christmas, it doesn't matter where you're at, it's who you're with.

MLB.com: Do you have a favorite Christmas movie?

Grilli: There's a couple of them. I love "Christmas Vacation" and "Christmas Story." Those are the best. Usually on TBS, we keep that on all day. They play it like 24 hours on Christmas Day. We might see it about 50 times. My mom's excited, too, because we got some games like Deal or No Deal on DVD. Some of the other ones might have to be a secret because they're gifts. And surprising or not, my mom is a Guitar Hero fan. Maybe that's where I get my love for music.

MLB.com: Are you an early shopper or do you wait until the last minute?

Grilli: Already got it all done [says proudly].

MLB.com: A lot of people don't know you're a big tech guy. What's on your gift list?

Grilli: Any man will tell you that, since we don't get the manicure, pedicure, facial kind of thing, men usually go for electronics. But I am pretty set. People tell me that I'm hard to buy for, but I don't want anything. I really don't. I feel like I have everything that I could want and ask for, and I'm grateful for that. I really enjoy the giving part. I gave my dad an early Christmas present this year and gave him XM radio. The other big thing in our family are the VOIP video phones, which I'm involved in. It's really helped me bridge the gap between being on the road and not being able to see my family and now being together. Now my other family members are joining in. But I feel like I'm getting the best gift. We're having a son in Feburary. That's what makes this Christmas so meaningful, it's going to be great.

MLB.com: You have a business that you run off the field. How much time do you spend on that once the season is over?

Grilli: It's pretty cool. My Web site is actually supposed to be partially done around the end of December [www.jasongrilli.com]. It's not going to be solely about my business. I know Gary Sheffield has a site. Mine's going to entail quite a bit. There's a lot of things outside of baseball that I have an interest in. A lot of people ask me how I'm not distracted. If anything, my mind works the opposite. The more I do, the better my mind works. I've been like that ever since I was in school.

MLB.com: What's the best holiday gift you ever received?

Grilli: I think my ultimate gift out of all the gifts I remember was the GI Joe aircraft carrier. It was the actual seven-foot model. It was the ultimate, and I remember I knew what it was when I came down and saw the tree and it took up the whole wall. That was the best Christmas, and one of the funniest things was another year when my dad first videotaped Christmas and my mom went crazy on gifts and I remember my dad said [on the tape], 'There's more?' It was a funny Christmas. I think we got everything that year. And again, when you're a kid, it's all about getting stuff and Santa. As generations pass, we're starting a new generation of Grillis. When [my son is] 2 or 3 years old and he learns what Christmas is all about, I think I'll be crying.

MLB.com: Does it feel like a Christmas present at all getting Dontrelle Willis and Miguel Cabrera on your team?

Grilli: I'll tell you what the real present is: If those guys do, in fact, help us get to the World Series and win the World Series and help put rings on our fingers, that'll definitely be a present [laughs]. But no, really, getting those guys will definitely be impactful. I think the addition to them strengthened our ballclub. That goes without saying.

impactful??

He will get along well with ME TOO if he pitches worth a crap for once!!

Jason is not a new daddy yet. His baby is not due till February.

TigerSaint, I don't need new glasses. Jason is a fine looking man! He's gonna pitch great this year!!!!

There have been a lotta new dads this past year...guess I got him confused with someone else...

Hey he's wearing an Old English D. So winloseordraw Jason Grillis on my dreamteam and next year he won't be taken out of his element like he was this year. It's a whole new ballgame y'all. LetsGoTigersLetsGo

Casey21 wrote:

Jason is not a new daddy yet. His baby is not due till February.

TigerSaint, I don't need new glasses. Jason is a fine looking man! He's gonna pitch great this year!!!!

.......ok.

tigerswinloseordraw wrote:

Hey he's wearing an Old English D. So winloseordraw Jason Grillis on my dreamteam and next year he won't be taken out of his element like he was this year. It's a whole new ballgame y'all. LetsGoTigersLetsGo

I will always cheer for him as long as he is a TIGER, but if he pitches well next year.....it will be a first for him!!

GO TIGERS!!.....EVEN GRILLI!!

I've groaned to when he took the mound but he has shown alot of grace under pressure.