Rookie of the Year: Alfredo Griffin, 1979

Shortstop, Toronto Blue Jays

Age:  21

Bats – Both, Throws – Right

Height: 5’11” Weight: 160

Prior to 1979:

A native of the Dominican Republic, Griffin was signed by the Cleveland Indians in 1973 at age 16. In 1974, playing for two teams at the Rookie and Class A levels, he batted a combined .259 and stole 10 bases. Moving on to San Jose of the Class A California League in 1975, the 17-year-old hit only .229 with 82 hits in 124 games, but performed well in the field. Griffin jumped from Class A through AA to AAA in 1976, impressing with his range at shortstop but exhibiting his best hitting in the Class AA Eastern League where he batted .275 in 58 games for the Williamsport Tomahawks. He earned a September call-up to the Indians where he appeared in 12 games and produced his first major league hit. Griffin spent 1977 in the Class AAA International League with the Toledo Mud Hens where he learned to switch-hit and batted .249 and drew 35 walks for a .305 on-base percentage while stealing 26 bases. He received another late-season call-up to the Indians and hit .146 in 14 games. Griffin was farmed out to the Portland Beavers of the Class AAA Pacific Coast League in 1978, where his batting average jumped to .291 with 22 doubles, 10 triples, and 5 home runs. He stole 35 bases (but was caught 18 times). In one last late-season call-up to Cleveland, Griffin appeared in five games and produced two hits. In the offseason he was traded to the Blue Jays with one other minor league prospect for right-handed relief pitcher Victor Cruz. Still a major league rookie, Griffin became the starting shortstop for Toronto in ’79.     

1979 Season Summary

Appeared in 153 games

SS – 153

[Bracketed numbers indicate AL rank in Top 20]

Batting

Plate Appearances – 689 [8]

At Bats – 624 [7]

Runs – 81

Hits – 179 [11, tied with Eddie Murray]

Doubles – 22

Triples – 10 [5, tied with Darrell Porter & Ron LeFlore]

Home Runs – 2

RBI – 31

Bases on Balls – 40

Int. BB – 0

Strikeouts – 59

Stolen Bases – 21 [16]

Caught Stealing – 16 [2, tied with Mitchell Page]

Average - .287

OBP - .333

Slugging Pct. - .364

Total Bases – 227

GDP – 10

Hit by Pitches – 5 [13, tied with nine others]

Sac Hits – 16 [4]

Sac Flies – 4

Midseason snapshot: HR - 0, RBI - 14, R – 46, AVG. - .255, OBP – .316

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Most hits, game – 4 (in 6 AB) vs. Baltimore 5/18 – 11 innings, (in 6 AB) vs. Oakland 6/17, (in 5 AB) at Kansas City 7/31

Longest hitting streak – 14 games

Most HR, game – 1 (in 4 AB) vs. Oakland 8/28, (in 4 AB) vs. Oakland 8/29

HR at home – 2

HR on road – 0

Multi-HR games – 0

Most RBIs, game – 2 on five occasions

Pinch-hitting – No appearances

Fielding

Chances – 809

Put Outs – 272

Assists – 501

Errors – 36

DP – 124

Pct. - .956

Awards & Honors:

AL Rookie of the Year: BBWAA (co-winner)

AL ROY Voting:

Alfredo Griffin, Tor.: 7 of 28 votes, 25% share

John Castino, Min..: 7 votes, 25% share

Mark Clear, Cal.: 5 votes, 18% share

Ross Baumgarten, ChiWS.: 3 votes, 11% share

Ron Davis, NYY: 3 votes, 11% share

Pat Putnam, Tex.: 3 votes, 11% share

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Blue Jays went 53-109 to finish seventh in the AL Eastern Division, 50.5 games behind the division-winning Baltimore Orioles.

Aftermath of ‘79:

Griffin followed up in 1980 by batting .254, leading the AL with 15 triples, and teaming well with second baseman Damaso Garcia, although his error total of 37 was still high, and while he stole 18 bases he was caught stealing 23 times. His performance at bat tailed off badly in the strike-interrupted 1981 season, and Griffin hit just .209. He also committed 31 errors in the field, the most of any AL shortstop. His overall performance improved in 1982 as he played in all 162 games and batted .241 and was steadier in the field. Griffin appeared in 162 games again in 1983 and hit .250 with 9 triples and in 1984 he played some second base and split time at short with the up-and-coming Tony Fernandez, ending up with a .241 average and an idiosyncratic All-Star selection. In the offseason he was traded to Oakland with outfielder Dave Collins for reliever Bill Caudill. Griffin had a fine first season with the A’s in 1985, hitting .270, stealing 24 bases, and receiving a Gold Glove for his defensive play. He followed up in 1986 by playing through a variety of ailments to post a .285 batting average and 33 stolen bases and remaining steady in the field. He hit .263 in 1987 and suffered a late-season thumb injury that had him yielding his starting shortstop job to talented rookie Walt Weiss. In the offseason he was part of a big three-team trade that landed him with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Griffin suffered through a miserable 1988 season with LA, missing two months due to a broken hand and hitting just .199 for the year. He came back in 1989 by playing in 136 games and batting .247. Griffin remained with the Dodgers until 1991, after which he returned to Toronto as a free agent. He saw action at shortstop and second and third base in his final two major league seasons which were both capped by World Series victories.  Overall for his major league career, Griffin batted .249, with 1688 hits that included 245 doubles, 78 triples, and 24 home runs. He compiled 527 RBIs and 192 stolen bases and was a one-time All-Star and Gold Glove recipient. With Toronto he hit .249 with 844 hits that included 127 doubles, 50 triples, and 13 home runs while he accumulated 231 RBIs and 79 stolen bases. Griffin went on to become a long-time coach with the Blue Jays and Angels.     

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Rookie of the Year Profiles feature players who were recipients of the Rookie of the Year Award by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (1947 to present). The award was presented to a single major league winner from its inception through 1948 and from 1949 on to one recipient from each major league.