The Most Famous "Groove" Pitch Ever

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In light of Adam Wainwright's assertion that he "grooved" a pitch to Derek Jeter in the 1st inning of tonight's All-Star Game, I thought that we could revisit what may be the most famous "groove" pitch ever.

At the time that this game between the Tigers and the Yankees was being played, the Tigers had already clinched the American League Pennant (there was no L.C.S. in 1968), and McLain had already won 30 games ....... plus, the Tigers were leading the game by a score of 6-1 in the 8th inning.

<iframe width="640" height="360" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/qdl6ABq6E3w?feature=player_detailpage" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Turns out Wainwright misspoke and did not "groove" anything to Jeter.

The pitches Ripken got in the 2001 All Star Game & 2131 were pretty obvious

It's not famous, but I was at this game:

http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/BAL/BAL199010030.shtml

Last game of the 1990 season, I was sitting in the old mezzanine section at Memorial Stadium, first base line. Toronto came into the game 1 game back of Boston with one game to play.

This game, and the Boston game that night, were both tight games. Boston won while our game was in the 9th inning and they put the highlights up on the Jumbotron. The Red Sox had clinched the division, and the Blue Jays were thus eliminated.

A batter or two later, Tom Henke threw a fat one right down the middle to Mickey Tettleton for a walkoff HR by the Orioles. No way did Toronto want to play extra innings on the last day of the season moments after being eliminated from contention. They just wanted to end it and go home for the offseason.

I was always pretty sure Henke grooved that one. I believe it was the last walkoff win I ever saw at Memorial Stadium.

It's not famous, but I was at this game:

http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/BAL/BAL199010030.shtml

Last game of the 1990 season, I was sitting in the old mezzanine section at Memorial Stadium, first base line. Toronto came into the game 1 game back of Boston with one game to play.

This game, and the Boston game that night, were both tight games. Boston won while our game was in the 9th inning and they put the highlights up on the Jumbotron. The Red Sox had clinched the division, and the Blue Jays were thus eliminated.

A batter or two later, Tom Henke threw a fat one right down the middle to Mickey Tettleton for a walkoff HR by the Orioles. No way did Toronto want to play extra innings on the last day of the season moments after being eliminated from contention. They just wanted to end it and go home for the offseason.

I was always pretty sure Henke grooved that one. I believe it was the last walkoff win I ever saw at Memorial Stadium.

Good memory - but Tettleton's name reminds me of the poster who used Froot Loops in his screen name and then got his PhD and called himself Dr. something. He gone? :scratchchinhmm:

Sorry to hijack Patrick! Now back to regularly scheduled groove memories......

[video=youtube;eP0rnElZXa0]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eP0rnElZXa0

Turns out Wainwright misspoke and did not "groove" anything to Jeter.

Haha, according to who, Wainwright?

Of course he did. And it's OK that he did. Doesn't diminish anything about Jeter or "his" night. The fact that he had to apologize for saying it was so stupid.

Haha, according to who, Wainwright?

Of course he did. And it's OK that he did. Doesn't diminish anything about Jeter or "his" night. The fact that he had to apologize for saying it was so stupid.

I agree. Grooving pitches to hitters sometimes in certain circumstances isn't a problem at all. Nothing wrong with giving a player the spotlight once in a while.

As soon as I saw the thread title, the first grooved pitch I thought of was the McLain to Mantle one, and that exact same segment from Mantle's video!