The tenth player in the nation selected in the June 1981 free agent draft, Grant twice led his league in wins in the minors, and was Midwest League MVP at Clinton in 1982 (16-5, 2.36 ERA, 243 strikeouts). Grant was a free spirit who was well liked by his teammates, but he struggled both as a starter and in relief, never winning more than eight games in any of his eight seasons.
His best year came in 1989, when he posted a 3.33 ERA in 116 innings as a setup man for Cy Young Award winner Mark Davis. But the following July Grant was traded to Atlanta for Derek Lilliquist and by the mid-90s the good-natured hurler — who had grown up rooting for the Cubs — had left the majors for Taiwan.
Grant’s favorite number was #22 — but in 1986 it was appropriated by first baseman Will Clark, and Grant asked for #55 instead. “If I walked to a mirror and looked upside down,” he explained, “the number would seem like 22.”
