Grzenda was a
left-handed sidearm pitcher who pitched in 219 Major League
games, all but three games as a
relief pitcher. His best season statistics-wise was in 1971 for the
Washington Senators, when he earned five victories with an excellent 1.92
earned run average (ERA). All told, he posted a 14–13
won–lost record and an even 4.00
earned run average in the big leagues, with 14
saves. In 308
innings pitched, he surrendered 323
hits and 120
bases on balls, and notched 173
strikeouts. Not known for his hitting ability, Grzenda once grounded out to third base in
RFK Stadium and received a standing ovation. On September 30, 1971, he became the last pitcher in the franchise's tenure at Washington, D.C., getting two outs in the top of the ninth inning before fans, knowing the team would be leaving for
Dallas–Fort Worth after the season to become the
Texas Rangers, stormed the RFK Stadium field, causing a forfeit. Thirty-four years later, when baseball returned to the nation's capital, Grzenda returned to the RFK field before the
Washington Nationals' first home game, handing
George W. Bush the ball he would use to throw out the first pitch. As a fielder, Grzenda was charged with no errors during his eight-year career for a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage (6 putouts, 66 assists). In 1969 he made an appearance in the
ALCS for the
Minnesota Twins. Grzenda died at his home in
Covington Township, Pennsylvania, on July 12, 2019. ==References==