1977
Born December 30, 1977
Sydney, NSW, Australia
Grant Balfour Marquee
b. December 30, 1977 · Minnesota Twins 2001, 2003–2004, Milwaukee Brewers 2007, Tampa Bay Devil Rays 2007, Tampa Bay Rays 2008–2010, 2014–2015, Oakland Athletics 2011–2013
He tore his elbow ligament and his shoulder labrum in 2005 and did not pitch in the major leagues for three years. Tampa Bay signed him for 2008 and he worked 51 games with a 1.54 earned run average for the club that won the pennant, striking out 82 in 58 innings.
Oakland made him the closer in 2012 and he saved 24, then 38 with a 2.59 earned run average in 2013 for a second straight division winner, and made the All-Star team at thirty-five. He shouted at himself between pitches and at hitters who objected, which announcers called the Balfour Rage.
Twelve seasons gave him 30 wins, 84 saves, 539 innings and a 3.49 earned run average across 534 appearances. He is from Sydney and pitched for Australia in the World Baseball Classic and the Olympics. He is not on a Hall of Fame ballot.
Honors
| Award | Times | Years |
|---|---|---|
| All-Star selection | 1 | 2013 |
Batting, season by season
| Year | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | SB | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | MIN | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2003 | MIN | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2004 | MIN | 36 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2007 | MIL/TBD | 25 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2008 | TBR | 51 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .000 |
| 2009 | TBR | 73 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2010 | TBR | 57 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2011 | OAK | 62 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2012 | OAK | 75 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .000 |
| 2013 | OAK | 65 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2014 | TBR | 65 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2015 | TBR | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| Career | — | 534 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | .000 |
Pitching, season by season
| Year | Team | W | L | G | GS | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | MIN | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2.2 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 13.50 |
| 2003 | MIN | 1 | 0 | 17 | 1 | 0 | 26.0 | 23 | 12 | 14 | 30 | 4.15 |
| 2004 | MIN | 4 | 1 | 36 | 0 | 0 | 39.1 | 35 | 19 | 21 | 42 | 4.35 |
| 2007 | MIL/TBD | 1 | 2 | 25 | 0 | 0 | 24.2 | 30 | 21 | 20 | 30 | 7.66 |
| 2008 | TBR | 6 | 2 | 51 | 0 | 4 | 58.1 | 28 | 10 | 24 | 82 | 1.54 |
| 2009 | TBR | 5 | 4 | 73 | 0 | 4 | 67.1 | 59 | 36 | 33 | 69 | 4.81 |
| 2010 | TBR | 2 | 1 | 57 | 0 | 0 | 55.1 | 43 | 14 | 17 | 56 | 2.28 |
| 2011 | OAK | 5 | 2 | 62 | 0 | 2 | 62.0 | 44 | 17 | 20 | 59 | 2.47 |
| 2012 | OAK | 3 | 2 | 75 | 0 | 24 | 74.2 | 41 | 21 | 28 | 72 | 2.53 |
| 2013 | OAK | 1 | 3 | 65 | 0 | 38 | 62.2 | 48 | 18 | 27 | 72 | 2.59 |
| 2014 | TBR | 2 | 6 | 65 | 0 | 12 | 62.1 | 49 | 34 | 41 | 57 | 4.91 |
| 2015 | TBR | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 4.1 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 6.23 |
| Career | — | 30 | 23 | 534 | 1 | 84 | 539.2 | 406 | 209 | 252 | 571 | 3.49 |
On this day & linked events
2001
Major-league debut: Grant Balfour
Grant Balfour made a major-league debut on July 22, 2001.
2015
Final major-league game: Grant Balfour
Grant Balfour played a final major-league game on April 18, 2015.