Cleveland The
Cleveland Indians selected Graves in the fourth round of the
1994 Major League Baseball draft. He tore his
ACL during the
College World Series two days after being drafted. After a year of rehabilitation, he was named Cleveland's top minor league pitcher of and was in the major leagues a year later
Cincinnati He was traded to the
Cincinnati Reds in July with three other players for
John Smiley and
Jeff Branson in . In his first nine seasons with Cleveland and Cincinnati, Graves compiled a 40–42 record as a pitcher with 406
strikeouts, a 3.89 ERA, and 172
saves in 755.2 innings. He is the only player ever to have more than one season in which all his hits were
home runs. This happened in and , with one homer each. In 2003, Graves was converted into a starter. He went 4–14 as a starter in 26 starts. In 2004, Graves was again used as a closer. On April 16, 2004, Graves gave up a milestone and game-tying home run to
Sammy Sosa in the bottom of the ninth inning. The game ended two pitches later, with Graves allowing a walk-off home run to
Moisés Alou. Graves went on to save 41 games in the 2004 season. The 2005 season did not start well for Graves. He struggled, posting a 7.36 ERA through 20 games. Fans in
Cincinnati took notice and consistently booed Graves, leading up to a May 23 incident when Graves made an obscene hand gesture to a fan that leaned in the dugout after being called a "
gook" while getting taken out of the game by Reds manager
Dave Miley. The Reds quickly released Graves after the incident.
New York Mets Graves was then signed as a free agent by the
New York Mets on June 11, 2005. On December 19, 2005, Graves signed a minor league contract with the Cleveland Indians. He pitched well in
spring training, earning a spot in the Indians'
bullpen, but was designated for assignment on May 12, , after he opened the season with a 2–1 record and 5.79 ERA in 13 relief appearances. On May 18, 2006, Graves was assigned to the Indians' Triple-A affiliate, the
Buffalo Bisons, in
Buffalo. He finished the 2006 season with the Bisons with a 4.01 ERA (1 Win, 1 Loss). Graves signed a minor league deal with the Rockies on December 19, 2006. He was released during Spring training in March 2007 before the season. During the 2007 season, Graves was on the roster of the
Long Island Ducks of the independent
Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, leading the league in saves. Graves later signed with the
Minnesota Twins on March 30, , and played for the Triple-A
Rochester Red Wings most of the year. He became a free agent at the end of the season and signed a minor league contract with the Houston Astros in January . The Astros released him on March 25, . Danny Graves was inducted into the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame on July 15, 2023, for his successful career. ==Broadcasting career==