Texas Rangers to Honor Tom Grieve's 55 Years on Sunday

The Texas Rangers plan to honor former player and longtime executive Tom Grieve on Sunday for his 55-year career with the franchise.

The ceremony honoring Grieve will take place prior to the 1:35 p.m. game against the Cleveland Guardians.

Grieve previously announced his retirement at the end of this season. During his 56-year MLB career, 55 have been as a player, executive, and broadcaster with the Senators/Rangers franchise.

HONORING TOM GRIEVE

Here is a list of highlights planned by the club to honor Grieve:

BOBBLEHEAD GIVEAWAY: The first 10,000 fans entering Globe Life Field on Sept. 25 will receive a Tom Grieve Bobblehead Presented by United Concordia. The Bobblehead depicts Grieve during his playing career in the Rangers’ powder blue uniform.

RETRO UNIFORMS: Speaking of uniforms, on Sept. 25, the Rangers will wear the home white style uniforms that debuted in 1972 and with minor modifications, were essentially utilized through the 1982 season. The original Rangers blue cap with a red bill and batting helmet with a similar design were worn until 1986. The Rangers are also scheduled to wear the retro uniforms in the season finale on Oct. 5 vs. the New York Yankees.

ARLINGTON’S FAVORITE SON: The City of Arlington will proclaim Sunday, Sept. 25 as Tom Grieve Day, and Mayor Jim Ross is scheduled to present Grieve with a proclamation from the city prior to that game. Tom and his family have been residents of Arlington/Dalworthington Gardens for 42 years.

RANGERS FOUNDATION PRESENTATION: The Texas Rangers Baseball Foundation will present the University Little League of Fort Worth with a grant in Tom’s name in a pregame ceremony on Sunday. Tom and his daughter, Katie Grieve-Danzi, who has served as the league’s president, coached the Rangers team in the University Little League this past season. The players on the Rangers include Tom’s grandson, Sam Danzi.

CEREMONIAL FIRST PITCH: Accompanied by several of his grandchildren to the mound, Tom Grieve will throw the ceremonial first pitch to Rich Billings, who caught for the Rangers from 1972-74 and was Tom’s roommate for several seasons.

NFT: Candy Digital, in partnership with MLB, the MLB Players, Inc., and select clubs introduced this year a new series of free digital collectibles. This Commemorative Ticket Digital Collectible honoring Texas Rangers Hall of Famer and Mr. Ranger, Tom Grieve celebrates the outstanding career of one the most beloved members of our Rangers family and provides fans a new way to hold onto and showcase memories made at the ballpark. After the game on Sept. 25, the NFT will be delivered via email to all fans who scan their game ticket using the MLB Ballpark app.

SPECIAL GUESTS: In addition to Tom’s family, a number of former teammates and colleagues from his years as an executive and broadcaster will be in attendance on September 25. The list includes Bobby Valentine, who played with Tom for the New York Mets in 1978 and served as Rangers’ manager from 1985-1992 during Grieve’s tenure as general manager. Valentine is scheduled to sign autographs in the New Era Alumni Alley on Sunday, Sept. 25 from 12:15 p.m. until 1 p.m. Others expected to be in attendance are Rangers Hall of Fame players Toby Harrah, Ivan Rodriguez, Kenny Rogers, Jim Sundberg, and Michael Young; former Rangers coaches Tom House and Art Howe, and former Rangers baseball executive Omar Minaya.

FINAL 50TH ANNIVERSARY PROMOTIONAL GIVEAWAY: On Saturday, Sept. 24, the first 15,000 fans in the ballpark will receive a 50th Anniversary Juan Gonzalez Bobblehead, presented by Kroger. The bobblehead is designed to reflect the “old-time look” of bobbleheads in the 1970s and is the fifth in a series of five to be given away in 2022. Included in the giveaway will be 100 entirely gold-painted bobbleheads and 500 partially gold-painted bobbleheads providing a few lucky fans with a limited-edition memento from the Rangers’ golden 50th anniversary season.

COMMEMORATIVE POSTER SERIES: The Rangers have collaborated with local artists to create a series of five limited edition 50th-anniversary commemorative posters. The final of five posters in the series has been created by Ryan Sprague. It will be available for sale at the Rangers-Guardians game on Saturday, Sept. 24. Only 250 of the posters have been produced and will be sold for $25 each at the Rangers Authentics kiosk at Globe Life Field with the proceeds benefitting the Texas Rangers Baseball Foundation.

BOOK SIGNINGS: A pair of catchers inducted into the Texas Rangers Baseball Hall of Fame will participate in signings for 50 Years of Texas Rangers Baseball, a new limited-edition book that commemorates the history of the team, next weekend during the Cleveland series. Including historic moments from the early days to the modern era, this coffee-table book gives readers an inside look at the memorable history of the Rangers. The hardcover collector’s edition includes 160 pages of text and photos of the franchise’s five decades in Arlington.

The signings will be held in the Grand Slam Team Store at Globe Life Field, and the schedule is as follows (participants are subject to change):
Saturday, Sept. 24, 5 p.m. to 6 p.m.—Rangers Hall of Fame catcher Jim Sundberg
Sunday, Sept. 25, 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m.—Rangers Hall of Fame catcher Ivan Rodriguez

Published by Pediment Publishing, 50 Years of Texas Rangers Baseball can be purchased at the Grand Slam Team Store at Globe Life Field or online at Pediment.com.

Selected by the Washington Senators in the first round of the October 1966 MLB amateur draft, the righthanded-hitting Grieve made his big league debut for Washington on July 5, 1970, at Yankee Stadium. The outfielder then played for the Rangers from 1972-77 and was the club’s 1976 Player of the Year with career bests of 20 home runs and 81 RBI. He was traded to the New York Mets after the 1977 season but returned to the Rangers organization in May 1979 after beginning that year in St. Louis. Grieve finished his playing career that year at Triple-A Tucson, then joined the Texas front office as director of group sales. He moved to player development on the baseball side in 1981 and was promoted to director of player development after the 1982 season.

Two years later, at the age of 36, Grieve became the youngest general manager in the major leagues at the time. Over the next 10 years, he expanded the Rangers’ scouting and minor league operations, acquiring and developing many of the players who were part of three A.L. West Division champions in the late 1990s. After leaving that position in September 1994, Grieve moved to the television booth and has served as an analyst on Rangers’ telecasts for the past 28 years. Grieve will conclude his remarkable 55-year career with the Washington/Texas franchise when he broadcasts the Rangers-Yankees game for Bally Sports Southwest on Wednesday, Oct. 5.

Elected to the Texas Rangers Baseball Hall of Fame in 2010, he has made an indelible impact on the franchise. The Texas Rangers wish to express their sincere thanks to Tom for his unprecedented contributions to this organization as a player, executive, and broadcaster and congratulate him on a baseball career well-lived.

The Rangers have a dedicated web page that includes original content and information on the team’s 50th-anniversary activities. Fans can find this content at texasrangers.com/50.

Tickets for all remaining 2022 Texas Rangers home games can be purchased at texasrangers.com, by phone at 972RANGERS, and at the Southeast Box Office at Globe Life Field, which is located off Stadium Drive on the east side of the park.