1991 Topps #881 Jason Grimsley

Jason Grimsley pitched in the Majors for 15 seasons, and won 2 World Series titles, but had a rather abrupt end to his career. He came up to the Bigs in 1989 with the Phillis, and played with them until the end of 1991. He pitched in the minors in 1992, and played for the Indians in 1993-1995. The Angels signed him for 1996, then he spent 1997 and 1998 in the minors. During that time, he decided to use steroids to recover from an injury so he could hang on and play a few more seasons in the Majors. He hooked up with the Yankees, and performed well for them in 1999 and 2000, helping them win the World Series both years. He pitched with the Royals from 2001 through the middle of 2004.  He was acquired by the Orioles, and finished out the rest of the '04 season with them. He played with them in 2005, then signed with the Diamondbacks for 2006. In June, federal investigators raided his home looking for illegal steroids, and he requested his release from the Diamondbacks shortly after. The whole Mitchell report started from that incident, and we all know what happened after that. Grimsley would never pitch again in the Majors, and should he ever attempt to come back, he would have to serve a 50-game suspension once he is on the 40 man roster of any team. Kind of a sad way to finish out a career, but I can see why he would be tempted to take steroids. As a middle reliever trying to hang on and needing to support your family, it would be tempting to take steroids to recover from an injury faster. If you look at the Mitchell Report, the majority of the players you see are ones who weren't stars wanting to hit for more power, but were scrub guys just trying to hang on or recover from an injury. As a Type 1 diabetic, I take a long time to heal from stuff. I'm not saying it was ok for players to use illegal substances, but I can see why some would do so.
Grimsley first appeared in the 1990 Topps set. He got into the 1991 set, then was left off until the 2001 set. He got a 2001 Topps Traded card, and that was it for him. He is missing cards from the 1994-1996 Topps sets, the 1997 set, the 2000 set, and the 2002-2007 sets. His 1992 Topps card is now covered, but there are still a bunch of cards to make to finish his Topps run.
Our house survived the hurricane with only some broken tree branches in the yard and the power going out for about a day. Not too bad. I'm off tomorrow, and we may or may not have a softball game. If we don't, I might stay up and work on some templates for the 2000 Topps set. Hopefully by then I will be watching the Cubs taking Game 3 from the Giants. I'm not a Cubs fan at all, but I don't see how anyone could like the Giants. They weren't the best team in baseball in any of the 3 years they won he World Series in the last decade. The '10 Rangers, '12 Tigers, and '14 Royals were better, and I just don't care for dynasties, unless it's a team I've been following or rooting for, like the Red Sox. I think it will be the Cubs and either the Red Sox or Blue Jays in the World Series. I think Papi can bring the Sox back, but I can't believe they are down 2-0 to the Indians. The Jays look strong, but I don't think anyone can stop the Cubs and this will be their year. Thanks for checking out my latest custom.
-Jeremy