Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson, who 20 years ago hit three first-pitch World Series home runs off different pitchers in one game, may have to share his “Mr. October” title. Baseball’s new postseason batting champion is Marquis Grissom, a comparatively obscure outfielder with only occasional power, who is with the American League champion Cleveland Indians.
Grissom’s previous claim to fame is that he twice led the National League in stolen bases. But he isn’t as speedy as he used to be; his stolen bases have diminished in each of the last five seasons. He had only 22 steals during the 1997 regular season.
This is mentioned because if he had been able to turn it on he would have entered Thursday night’s fifth World Series game with a 16-game Series batting streak, one short of the record Hank Bauer set with the New York Yankees in the late 1950s.
Grissom was hitless in his first three trips Wednesday night, a strikeout sandwiched between two fly balls to center field, one of which may have been a home run if it hadn’t been held up by a strong wind.
When Grissom came to bat in the seventh inning, bench coach Johnny Goryl reminded him he needed a hit to keep his streak alive.
“Johnny told me, `Just go up there and swing,’ ” Grissom said before Thursday night’s game. “There was no rah-rah stuff. He knows I like to keep it simple.”
Grissom went out on a high chopper to third baseman Bobby Bonilla. It was his final at-bat.
“I used to beat those out,” Grissom said.
Unless he puts together another lengthy Series streak, which isn’t likely, Grissom won’t challenge Bauer again.
Still, Grissom, entering Game 5, held another and more important Series distinction–highest batting average for players with more than 50 at-bats. His .424 on 28 hits in 66 official trips gave him a precarious advantage over Pepper Martin of the St. Louis Cardinals and Minnesota’s Paul Molitor, who shared second place at .418. But a 1-for-4 start Thursday night dropped his Series average to .414
Grissom insists that until a few days ago he didn’t know he was approaching Series immortality.
“I had been hitting the ball well,” he acknowledged. “I heard people calling me `Mr. October’ but I had no idea what they were talking about.”
Now that Grissom understands, he believes he knows the overriding reason for his postseason success. He fails to acknowledge the pressure.
“I’m never nervous in a big game,” Grissom said. “I love to be in this situation: bases loaded, ninth-inning and score tied. I dream about that.”
He insists he has been dreaming about playing in the big leagues and playing in a World Series since he was a little boy. His dream has been realized in each of the last three seasons, this year with the Indians, the previous two years with the Atlanta Braves.
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Grissom also says he enjoys postseason play because “you have to work so hard to get here . . . that’s why it’s fun for me.”
According to his recollections, life always has been good. He is the 14th of 15 children born to Marion and Julia Grissom of Atlanta, Ga.
“It was an awesome feeling, growing up in a big family like that,” Grissom said. “A lot of love, a lot of unity. A lot of people looking after me–every day.”
“His parents are wonderful people. They must have done everything right,” said Bobby Cox of the Atlanta Braves who, during the previous two seasons was Grissom’s manager. “If you ever wanted a kid to be your son, Marquis Grissom would be that kid.”
The Braves, nonetheless, sent Grissom and David Justice to Cleveland in a four-player trade last March, a deal that helped lift the Indians to the pennant.
Grissom, 30, a nine-year big-league veteran, had a solid, but not sensational, season for the Indians–a .262 average with 12 home runs and 66 RBIs. If Cleveland fails to protect him in next month’s expansion draft, there seems to be a good chance the Braves will get him back in another trade.