March 18, 2002
By Steve Gilbert
MLB.com
TUCSON, Ariz. - On a cold and windy afternoon, Mark Grace leaned on a chair in front of his locker at Tucson Electric Park and looked into the future, which he hopes will always include baseball, if not always a starting job.
"This is my life," Grace said. "Baseball is my life. All the possessions I have are because of this game. I've got a lot of dear friends because of this game. Everything I have, I owe to being a baseball player and I want to continue, somehow, someway, doing this, whether it be broadcasting or whether it be coaching or managing. I know baseball and I think I could share it either with an audience or younger players."
Grace, who will turn 38 in June, showed last season that he still has some baseball left in him. He batted .298 in his first season with the Diamondbacks, clubbing 15 home runs and driving in 78, while collecting 31 doubles and playing his usual Gold Glove-caliber defense.
This spring, Grace is batting .357 in 14 games. However, Erubiel Durazo continues to make a strong case for playing time at first base.
The 27-year-old Durazo leads the Major Leagues this spring in batting average (.537), home runs (six), slugging percentage (1.098) and total bases (45) and has the scouts around the Cactus League buzzing.Originally, the Diamondbacks hoped to increase Durazo's playing time by putting him in right field occasionally. Durazo, though, developed problems with his elbow after making the long throws from the outfield and has not been able to play right since the first few games of the spring. Until he's able to throw again from right, Durazo's playing time will have to come at first base and at the expense of Grace.
That presents a difficult situation for Arizona manager Bob Brenly.
Sitting the popular Grace won't be easy for Brenly, who has long been an admirer of Grace and what he brings to the ballclub both on the field and in the clubhouse. Grace's attitude, though, eases Brenly's burden.
"I will fully understand if he plays Ruby there and I can help us some other way," Grace said. "Whoever plays, first base is in good shape. That won't be a weakness. Whatever Bob wants me to do, I'll do. If he wants me to catch bullpen, I'll do that. Whatever role he puts me in, I'll do it. [Durazo] is a great player, a terrific hitter. He's got so much more talent in his little finger than I have [in my body]. Now it's just a matter of him just learning pitchers. He's already a terrific player."
Brenly mixed and matched with his lineups throughout the 2001 regular season and playoffs and said he will continue to do the same in 2002. For right now, he's saying only that Grace and Durazo will both see action.
"Grace is going to be a big part of this team and Ruby is going to be a big part of this team," Brenly said. "Until we have to make a decision and fill out that lineup on a daily basis, we expect everyone to stay ready, and Gracie is no exception. I don't have any doubts that he'll be ready, no matter what we want him to do."
Grace showed as much last season when Brenly pinch-hit for the left-handed swinger against St. Louis southpaw Steve Kline. Greg Colbrunn went up to hit for Grace, who is a career .307 hitter and had never been pinch-hit for in his career to that point.
As a show of respect, Brenly approached Grace in the dugout to explain his decision, but before he could say anything, Grace spoke.
"Don't ever apologize to me," Grace said he told Brenly. "If I was managing, I would have done the same thing. I just want him to know that I'm not going to come in and slam my bat and pout like a fifth grader. That's not the way that I was brought up.
"My father would kill me if he found out I acted like that. I still fear my father."
Ironically, it's fatherhood that provides Grace with the motivation to keep playing. His son, Jackson, is 16 months old and has not yet realized that his father is a Major Leaguer.
"I hope I can play long enough so that he can watch me and appreciate me and be able to understand that it's Pops out there," he said. "That's a motivating factor for me. I want my son to watch Dad play."
Grace signed a two-year deal with the Diamondbacks prior to the 2001 season and he and his wife, Tanya, along with Jackson, moved to Arizona. Their Chicago home is currently up for sale and he said he plans on living in the Valley for the foreseeable future, even if he doesn't re-sign with Arizona this year.
When he does retire, Grace will more than likely have the opportunity to get into broadcasting, given his glib nature, sense of humor and baseball knowledge.
"You guys know I'm full of [it], so I can broadcast," Grace said. "I did it before and I enjoyed it and it's easy."
Given his choice, though, Grace would like to be a baseball manager. That could mean he would have to go back to the minor leagues, managing a Class-A team, with long bus rides and little pay. That would be OK with him, though.
"The reward there is you can mold players and work with them and they're eager to learn and they are fun to hang out with," Grace said of managing in the minor leagues. "I've made plenty of money. I don't play for the money anymore. Jackson will be fine. His kids will be fine, and then I'm dead and I don't care anymore."
Throughout his career, Grace has taken advantage of the opportunity to learn from each of the managers he's played for as well as those he's played against.
Never shy, Grace has asked Atlanta manager Bobby Cox questions about handling a pitching staff and has made note of the way St. Louis manager Tony La Russa handles his bullpen.
"When I played for the Cubs, I had a lot of managers, from an unorthodox type guy like Don Zimmer to a by-the-book type guy like Jim Riggleman," Grace said. "They were still good managers. They just had different styles. I've talked many, many times at length with guys like Bobby Cox, Tony La Russa and Bob Brenly, and that's kind of a fun thing, to listen to different philosophies on managing. You just kind of take a piece of that and a piece of that and roll it into one. I've still got a lot to learn and great managers do things differently."
Parting with the Cubs after the 2000 season was not easy for Grace, but he's put that behind him now.
"It ended up working out perfect," he said. "They got [Fred] McGriff, who they wanted, and I ended up being part of a championship ballclub. It's a fun team to play for, a fun manager to play for. I fit in perfectly."
How Grace and Durazo fit together will be up to Brenly.
Steve Gilbert coverst the Diamondbacks for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.