Lee Gronkiewicz
Free Agent — No. --
Relief pitcher
Born: August 21, 1978 (1978-08-21) (age 31) Los Angeles, California
Bats: Right	Throws: Right
MLB debut
June 19, 2007 for the Toronto Blue Jays
Career statistics (through 2008 season)
Win-Loss	0-0
Earned run average	2.25
Strikeouts	2
Teams
Toronto Blue Jays (2007)

Lee Matthew Gronkiewicz (born August 21, 1978 in Los Angeles, California) is a Major League Baseball relief pitcher who currently plays for the independent Grand Prairie AirHogs^[1]. He is 5'10 in height and weighs 200 pounds.

[edit] College career

Gronkiewicz attended college first at Spartanburg Methodist College, and then transferred to the University of South Carolina. In 2001, he was selected to the All-SEC team and was a First-team All-American. He led the country in saves that year with 16, and had a 1.42 ERA.

[edit] Minor league career

Gronkiewicz signed with the Cleveland Indians in 2001 as an amateur free agent. He spent four years in Cleveland's minor league system before he was acquired by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 2004 Rule 5 Draft. In seven minor-league seasons, Gronkiewicz has a career 18-16 record, pitching almost entirely in relief with just one start for the 2007 Syracuse Sky Chiefs, putting up a 2.48 ERA and a 1.16 WHIP along the way. He struck out nearly four times as many batters as he walked (421 strikeouts and 111 walks through 2007).

[edit] Major league career

Gronkiewicz' major league debut (and only major league appearance to date) was on June 19, 2007, when the Blue Jays hosted the Los Angeles Dodgers. He allowed one run -- a home run to Dodgers catcher Russell Martin -- on two hits, walking two and striking out two, over four innings of work.

In November 2007, he signed as a free agent with the Boston Red Sox^[2].

In April 2008, after a stellar month in Triple-A where he allowed 1 run in 11 innings, he was placed on the DL with elbow soreness. It was later determined to be damage to his UCL and he underwent Tommy John surgery, ending his season^[3]. He became a free agent at the end of the season.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Career statistics and player information from MLB, or Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube
• Sox Prospects statistics and analysis