Wayne Granger Only Wore a Cincinnati Reds Uniform for 3 Seasons, But Was Inducted into the Team's Hall of Fame

Former MLB relief pitcher Wayne Granger passed away on Wednesday at the age of 81. No cause of death was announced.

Granger grew up in Western Massachusetts in the small town of Huntington which is about 25 miles northwest of Springfield. In his youth, Granger played baseball, basketball and soccer in high school and would play baseball at Springfield College.

Prior to the 1965 season, Granger signed with the St. Louis Cardinals and would make his big-league debut with the club in 1968 when they won the NL pennant. Granger appeared in Game 6 of the World Series against the Detroit Tigers which the Cardinals lost 13-1. While Granger pitched two scoreless innings he did plunk both Al Kaline and Willie Horton.

Only 48 hours after Granger pitched in the World Series, the Cardinals would trade him and speedster Bobby Tolan to the Cincinnati Reds for veteran outfielder Vada Pinson. 

In his inaugural season for the Reds in 1969, Granger set a then big-league record with 90 appearances out of the bullpen resulting in 27 saves. The following year, the Reds would win the NL pennant and Granger contributed with a league leading 35 saves. During the 1970 season, the Reds would move from Crosley Field to Riverfront Stadium. Granger has the distinction of both throwing the last pitch and earning the last win for the Reds at Crosley Field in a game against the San Francisco Giants.

For the second time in three seasons, Granger would find himself in World Series competition this time against the Baltimore Orioles. In Game 3 of the 1970 World Series, Granger gave up a grand slam HR to Orioles pitcher Dave McNally marking the only time a pitcher ever hit a grand slam in World Series competition. Granger would also give up two runs in the deciding Game 5.

In 1971, Granger would lead the NL in appearances by a pitcher with 70. But the Reds struggled that season and the team would trade him to the Minnesota Twins for reliever Tom Hall. After a single season with Minnesota, the Twins would send him back to the Cardinals in the trade which brought Larry Hisle to the Twin Cities. 

Granger's second tenure with the Redbirds was short-lived and by August he was in a New York Yankees uniform. In the next three seasons, Granger would pitch with the Chicago White Sox, Houston Astros and the Montreal Expos ending his big-league career in 1976. Granger tried to hook on with the Atlanta Braves in 1977 but would be released during spring training and would end up pitching in the Mexican League for two seasons.

In 451 appearances (all out of the bullpen) over 9 big-league seasons, Granger went 35-35 with a 3.14 ERA collecting 108 career saves. 

Although Granger only pitched with the Reds for three seasons, he would be elected to the team's Hall of Fame in 1982. No other Reds player in the team's Hall of Fame played fewer seasons in Cincinnati than Granger.

Wayne Granger certainly made a lasting impression with Cincinnati Reds' fans. R.I.P.