Kelly Gruber inducted into Etobicoke Sports HOF
By: J.P. Antonacci
Canadian Baseball Network
Twenty-five years before the exploits of Josh Donaldson, another long-haired third baseman with a penchant for getting his uniform dirty inspired Blue Jays fans to leave their seats and cheer his latest big hit or highlight-reel play.
Helped by flowing blond hair and fearless play at the hot corner, Kelly Gruber quickly became a fan favourite as a mainstay of Toronto’s lineup in the late 1980s and early 90s.
The Texan called Etobicoke home during his nine-year stint with the Jays, and Gruber found himself back in Toronto’s west end last month to be inducted into the Etobicoke Sports Hall of Fame.
Speaking to the crowd gathered at the historic Old Mill, Gruber said he was “blown away” to be recognized in the city where he spent the best years of his career and raised his family.
The all-star was inducted alongside hockey Hall of Famer Adam Oates, Toronto Marlboros president Jim Nicoletti, former St. Michaels Buzzers owner Mike McCarron, and Gord de Laat, Canada’s oldest golf pro.
Gruber had many moments of triumph on the diamond. But it is a play that officially didn’t happen that carved out his enduring place in Toronto sports history.
In the fourth inning of Game 3 of the 1992 World Series, Devon White made a sensational leaping catch against the centre field wall to rob Atlanta’s David Justice of extra bases.
Thinking the ball was going to drop, Atlanta runner Terry Pendleton took off from first, inadvertently passing his teammate, Deion Sanders, who was watching the play from second base.
Pendleton was automatically out, but the Blue Jays doubled him off first base anyway. First baseman John Olerud then fired the ball to Gruber, who ran Sanders back toward second base and dove, appearing to tag him on the ankle.
That tag would have completed only the second triple play in World Series history. But umpire Bob Davidson ruled that Gruber’s glove hadn’t grazed Sanders’ cleat, and despite Gruber’s protestations, the call stood.
Adding injury to insult was that Gruber tore his rotator cuff while lunging to tag Sanders. When he trotted off the field he could barely lift his arm more than six inches, but four innings later, Gruber electrified the SkyDome by clubbing an adrenaline-fuelled home run to tie the game.
The Jays went on to win that game and the series, bringing the championship banner north of the border for the first time.
The title was sweet, but Gruber’s all-out style of play had already endeared him to Toronto fans.
Drafted tenth overall as a shortstop by the Cleveland Indians in 1980, the Blue Jays claimed the raw-yet-talented youngster in the 1983 Rule 5 draft after he scuffled through several minor league seasons.
Looking for a fresh start, the Texan came to Toronto with the best mullet this side of MacGyer and the tools to succeed in the big leagues.
Gruber gets his athletic ability from his father, Claude King, an NFL and CFL running back, and his looks from his mother, Gloria, a former Miss Texas and recording artist who later married David Gruber. Gruber has called his adoptive father an inspiration, saying David practiced sports with him every day and provided young Kelly with a good example of how to handle himself on and off the diamond.
After an uneventful cup of coffee with the Jays to start the 1984 season, Gruber was sent down to Triple-A Syracuse. He returned to the big club in September and collected his first major-league hit in style, launching a home run over the Green Monster at Boston’s Fenway Park.
A few years later he supplanted the platooning Garth Iorg and Rance Mulliniks to become Toronto’s everyday third baseman.
On April 16, 1989, Gruber made Blue Jays history when he hit for the cycle, recording a home run, double and triple before completing the feat with a bloop single in the bottom of the eighth inning. The 35,000 fans at Exhibition Stadium gave him a standing ovation.
Coincidentally, Gruber was at SkyDome in 2001 when Jeff Frye hit for the second cycle in Blue Jays history. A smiling Gruber came onto the field after Frye’s fourth hit and gave the Toronto utility player a congratulatory hug.
The 1990 season would be Gruber’s career year. He led all third basemen with 31 home runs, 118 runs batted in, 73 extra-base hits and 14 stolen bases. He won the Silver Slugger and Gold Glove awards – fans marvelled at his diving catches – and finished fourth in MVP voting.
Gruber was named to his second consecutive all-star team and became the first baseball player to win the Superstars Competition, which pit athletes from various sports against each other in a series of physical challenges. The Blue Jays rewarded their former Rule 5 pick with a three-year, $11-million contract.
After working hard to make it to the top, Gruber’s time as a star was brief. He only had a few weeks to savour Toronto’s World Series win before he was traded to the California Angels in December 1992. It was a snake-bitten deal from the start, as the torn rotator cuff plus nagging neck and shoulder problems caused Gruber to miss most of the 1993 season.
After the Angels released him that September, his big-league career was over.
Now living in Texas with his family, Gruber makes motivational speeches to benefit charitable organizations and hosts baseball seminars and camps throughout Canada and the U.S.
He is no stranger to Toronto, continuing to take part in Jays Care Foundation and Blue Jays alumni events.
As quoted in the Etobicoke Guardian, the third baseman known for leaving it all on the field had some words of wisdom for the crowd at the Etobicoke Sports Hall of Fame induction gala.
“We’re not in control of errors, base hits, wins or losses. We’re in control of our effort 100 per cent,” Gruber said. “Do it like you mean it. Whether you win or lose, you can keep your head up.”