Benji Grigsby’s Dental Problems Take a Bite Out of His Game

Benji Grigsby studied business and pitching at San Diego State, not dentistry or orthodontics. In search of wisdom, however, his teeth played havoc with his pitching.

Though he realized as early as December his wisdom teeth would eventually have to come out, he had no idea the effect that waiting would have on his baseball career.

Those wisdom teeth might be what cost Grigsby a spot on the U.S. Olympic team, and they have cost him at least four weeks of his first professional season.

Grigsby, a first-round draft choice (the 20th pick overall) of the Oakland Athletics in June, was one of the last players cut from the Olympic team by Coach Ron Fraser.

“When he cut me, he said he couldn’t take the chance I would be well in time for the Olympics,” said Grigsby, a right-hander who normally throws around 90 m.p.h.

That was in mid-June. Surgery to remove Grigsby’s four wisdom teeth soon followed and kept him out three weeks.

Two weeks ago, Grigsby signed a contract with the A’s, but he still has not been assigned to a team in the organization.

In the meantime, he has been working out in Scottsdale, Ariz., with the A’s rookie-league players. He has even pitched in two games there while the A’s decide where to send him--part of their hesitation stemming from their recent decision to use Grigsby as a starter.

Grigsby was a reliever and starter for the Aztecs, but he lost some zip and endurance while recovering from surgery.

“We don’t want to throw him to the wolves until he’s ready to fight back,” Ricardo Moreno, the A’s trainer in Scottsdale, said last week.

At SDSU, Grigsby finished tied for third in the NCAA in strikeouts per nine innings with 12.2. At one point, however, that ratio was slightly higher and he was 9-1 with an earned run average of 2.53.

After a horrendous outing at Wyoming--11 hits, 11 runs, six walks in five innings--he finished at 9-3 with seven saves and a 3.53 ERA.

That Wyoming game on May 9 came about the same time Grigsby started getting mysterious headaches and soreness in his neck and shoulders.

“Toward the end of the (SDSU) season and when I got cut from the Olympic team, I didn’t know why I wasn’t throwing as hard as I had, but I wasn’t,” Grigsby said. “The only thing I could figure out was maybe I had a tired arm. But I didn’t know.

“I was getting headaches and neck pains, but I’ve never ever had problems in my arm.”

Back home in Lafayette, La., Grigsby’s dentist, Dr. Gene Dupree, explained to Grigsby that his headaches, neck pains and perhaps even his slower fastball might have been caused by grinding his teeth in his sleep. Additionally, Dupree discovered an infected (dry) socket once Grigsby’s wisdom teeth were pulled.

“The dentist told me that grinding my teeth could cause strain on my neck and shoulder muscles,” Grigsby said. “I could have been tiring myself out in my sleep.

“Who knows? That certainly would explain things. I’ve never had arm problems then all of a sudden I’m not throwing as hard.

“I don’t want to sound like I’m using that as an excuse, but I feel fine now. The headaches are gone. The arm feels great. I’m starting to get some pop back.”

Same ol’ lefty: Grigsby was one of three pitchers drafted out of SDSU this spring. One of the other two, left-hander Rick Navarro, is off to a good start with Niagara Falls (N.Y.), a Class-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers.

After five starts, Navarro is 2-2 with a 1.98 ERA and 22 strikeouts andeight walks in 27 1/3 innings.

Navarro, a 1988 graduate of Helix High, led the NCAA and set an SDSU record last season with a 1.373 ERA in 59 innings.

With 27 career victories at SDSU, he is tied for second on the all-time Aztec victory list behind Billy Blount (32 from 1982-85).

Still, because of his size and velocity, Navarro (5-feet-10, 170 pounds) was not considered a can’t-miss prospect.

“I’m so happy to see he’s doing well,” Grigsby said. “When I found out he had been drafted, I was so happy and relieved. It’s good the team that drafted him was able to overlook his size. He’s a heck of a pitcher.

“He’s probably a better pitcher than I am, but I can get away with things because I throw a lot harder.”

Another Aztec: Brad Gennaro, a product of SDSU and St. Augustine, homered in his first professional at-bat on July 11 for the Class-A Charleston (S.C.) Rainbows in the Padres’ organization and was hitting .359 with two home runs and nine RBIs after his first 11 games.

During an 11-game stretch since then, however, Gennaro had only seven hits in 41 at-bats (.171) with no home runs and one RBI. He’s currently batting .255 with three homers and 14 RBIs.

Gennaro, an outfielder, led the Aztecs in home runs the past two seasons, including nine this year and three in one game at Air Force.

Star Stars: Padre prospect Dave Staton, an infielder for the Las Vegas Stars, won Tuesday’s home-run derby during festivities for Wednesday’s Triple-A All-Star game at The Diamond in Richmond, Va.

Staton, second in the Pacific Coast League in home runs with 17, hit three homers in 15 swings to win the $150 first prize.

“That’s not a lot, I know,” Staton said. “But I guess all that counts is winning the thing.”

Staton is hitting .296 with 58 RBIs for the Stars. His three-year career high for home runs was 22 last year for the Stars.

Miracle in Miami: Mark Ringkamp has been one of the few bright spots this season for the Miami Miracle, an independent team in the Class-A Florida State League.

Ringkamp, a graduate of Fallbrook High, is 6-2 with a 3.04 ERA, 35 strikeouts and 11 walks in 56 1/3 innings.

Promoted: Eric Helfand (Patrick Henry) and Rigo Beltran (Point Loma, Mesa College) received promotion calls last week.

Helfand, a catcher prospect of the Oakland Athletics, made the jump to double-A Huntsville (Ala.) after hitting .294 with 10 home runs and 44 RBIs at Class A Modesto.

Beltran moved to St. Petersburg (Fla.) after compiling a 6-1 record, 2.17 ERA and 106 strikeouts in 83 innings at Savannah (Ga.).

Out: Granite Hills’ Frank Carey, the San Diego Section career stolen base record holder among 2-A and 3-A players, had surgery on his right shoulder last week and is expected to miss the rest of the season.

Carey, a second baseman who won two College World Series titles while at Stanford, was traded to the Oakland Athletics’ organization during the off-season from the San Francisco Giants and was injured in spring training.