Tyrone Vontrace Griffin (born September 5, 1967) is an American former professional baseball second baseman. He played in minor league baseball and in international competition for the United States national baseball team.

Ty Griffin
Second baseman
Born: (1967-09-05) September 5, 1967 (age 57)
Fort Campbell, Kentucky, U.S.
Bats: Switch
Throws: Right
Medals
Men's baseball
Representing  United States
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 1988 Seoul Team
Baseball World Cup
Silver medal – second place 1988 Rome Team
Pan American Games
Silver medal – second place 1987 Indianapolis Team

Career

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Griffin attended C. Leon King High School and the Georgia Institute of Technology, where he played for the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets baseball team in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). At Georgia Tech, Griffin was named an All-ACC second baseman[1] and the Most Valuable Player of the 1988 Atlantic Coast Conference baseball tournament.[2]

Griffin was part of the United States national baseball team competing in the 1987 Pan American Games[1] and 1988 Summer Olympics.[3]

The Chicago Cubs drafted Griffin in the first round (9th overall) of the 1988 Major League Baseball Draft. He made his professional debut with the Peoria Chiefs of the Class-A Midwest League in 1989, and was promoted to the Charlotte Knights of the Class-AA Southern League that year. Baseball America rated Griffin the 22nd best prospect in baseball prior to the 1990 season. He split the 1990 and 1991 seasons between the Winston-Salem Spirits of the Class-A Advanced Carolina League and Charlotte.

The Cubs traded Griffin to the Cincinnati Reds for Scott Bryant after the 1991 season.[4] The Reds assigned Griffin to their Southern League affiliate, the Chattanooga Lookouts. The Reds released him after the season, and Griffin joined the independent Northern League, where he played for the Thunder Bay Whiskey Jacks in 1993 and the Sioux City Explorers in 1993. He signed with the St. Louis Cardinals and played for the Arkansas Travelers in the Class-AA Texas League in 1995. He returned to independent baseball in 1996 and 1997, playing for the Grand Forks Varmints of the Prairie League.

References

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  1. ^ a b Kaufman, Michelle (16 August 1987). "Ty-breaking homer lifts U.S. past Cuba Series: PAN AM GAMES". St. Petersburg Times.[dead link]
  2. ^ "2012 ACC Baseball Guide". TheACC.com. p. 98. Archived from the original on 2012-05-20. Retrieved 29 May 2012.
  3. ^ Hinton, Ed (26 September 1988). "U.S. Wins, Meets Japan In Baseball: Tech's Ty Griffin Homers As Puerto Rico Falls, 7–2". The Atlanta Journal and The Atlanta Constitution. p. D/5. SEOUL, South Korea - Just as expected, the United States and Japan will meet for the gold medal in the Olympic baseball demonstration. And just in time, Georgia Tech product Ty Griffin may have loosened up enough to hit to his capabilities for the U.S. team. The U.S. manhandled Puerto Rico 7–2 Monday and Japan beat Korea 3–1 to make Wednesday's final game. Griffin had a two-run homer in the seventh inning which was little more than gravy for the U.S., but did a lot to...
  4. ^ Topkin, Marc (2 April 1992). "Tampa's Griffin traded to Reds". St. Petersburg Times.[dead link]
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