-Matthew McConkey
I had the pleasure of watching Mark Grace a lot back on TV during the good old WGN days on cable. God, how I miss those days. I could have actually been a Chicago Cubs fan had I not fallen in love with the Atlanta Braves first, back when I discovered them on TBS. At any rate, I'd watch both teams when they were on, and my favorite Cubs player was, and always will be, Mark Grace.
One thing that always struck me about the Cubs was how good Grace was. Not only was he a great fielder, winning four Gold Gloves during the 1990s, but he was also quite impressive at the plate. During the 1990s, Mark Grace posted a .310 batting average and a .385 OBP. He was such a hard man to keep off base, and pitchers could never rest easy on the mound while he was up at the plate.
Talking about hitting, Grace has the distinction of being the only player during the 1990s to have hit the most doubles in MLB, with 364, and the most hits in MLB, with 1,754 during the decade.
Grace only struck out 448 times during the 90s in 6,467 plate appearances. He was exceptional at the plate when it came to limiting strikeouts; in eight seasons in the 90s, Grace was in the top 5 in AB per SO.
When I think of hitters of the '90s, it's easy for me to think of the home run guys. But I think back to the guys who were just good hitters, not always power, but good hitters like Grace. I think outside of Chicago, Grace doesn't get a lot of play. He's undervalued and underappreciated. I think it's time for baseball fans outside the Windy City to see what this player was: A damn great hitter.
Mark Grace Stats
