All-Time Top ABL Players: #5 Mark Grace

#5 Mark Grace
1B - 1985 North Pole Nicks

Bats: Left - Throws: Left
Height: 6'2" - Weight: 200lb

Drafted: 1984, Minnesota, 15th Rd. (DNS)...1985, Chicago, 24th Rd.
MLB Career: 1988-2003
MLB Teams: Chicago (NL), Arizona

Mark Grace was the exact opposite type of player that many people perceive guys like JD Drew to be. He had talent, there’s no doubt about that. But instead of coasting by and settling for an average career, Grace played every game as though it was a personal failure to go home that day without copious amounts of dirt on his jersey.

Perhaps his tenacity and relentless spirit was a result of the way he had to claw his way to the top echelons of Major League stardom, proving naysayers wrong time and time again along the way. Not garnering a lot of attention as a prep player, Grace entered Saddleback Junior College in 1983 where he was a standout on the team. Mark worked tirelessly on his game and began to force scouts to pay attention, although their interest was tepid. Transferring to San Diego State as a junior he again found success on the field – leading the team in pretty much every offensive category -- and again found the scouts to be fickle.

And so it came to pass that Grace would be overlooked until the 24^th round in the 1985 amateur draft, when the Cubs finally took a chance on selecting Grace. Mark would not make Chicago regret their decision (although many other teams undoubtedly wished that they hadn’t blown 23 consecutive chances to have their shot at him). It was that summer that he would make his way north to become part of the short-lived but talent-laden North Pole Nicks. Hitting .363 with 20 steals, 8 homers, and 61 RBI in 62 games, Grace demonstrated to the Cubs that he was worth a professional contract and signed with the organization after the conclusion of the ABL season.

From there he shot his way to the top. After a few short seasons in the minor leagues, Grace became a full-time fixture of the Cubs lineup during the late 80’s and the 1990’s. It was in that decade, the 90’s, that Grace’s scrappy old-school style paid off. During the decade no one had more hits (1754) or doubles (364) than Mark Grace. Though the three-time All-Star may have envisioned playing out his entire career as a Cubbie, his move to the recently expansion franchise in Arizona allowed him to earn the greatest honor of all as his career wound down: winning a World Series championship.

Mark Grace will never be voted into the Hall of Fame. Receiving just 4.1% of the vote in 2009, his first year of eligibility, Gracie is off the ballot for good. But I say screw those idiots. Mark Grace is one of the greatest players to ever come through the Alaska League, and that’s saying something.