WORCESTER — When the Red Sox acquired Vaughn Grissom from Atlanta for Chris Sale in December, the 23-year-old was expected to make big contributions in the major-league lineup.
Grissom’s first season with Boston was derailed nearly from the get-go, however. He injured his left hamstring in spring training (he was coming off an injury in winter ball as well) and spent the first 32 games of the regular season on the IL. When he finally got the chance to debut with his new team, he went 12-for-81 with only one extra-base hit in 23 games. He then landed on the IL again with a right hamstring strain, missing 54 games before he was reinstated and optioned to Worcester.
When Grissom hit the field again with the WooSox, he struggled to find his groove at the plate.
“It was tough, but it was something that I needed to learn from, because I feel like I’m better for it now,” Grissom said. “When that situation comes up again, I know what I have to do to get out of the hole. Because when you’re in the hole…it’s like the game is foreign to you. But [I’m] just taking what the game gives [me] and going that way instead of…trying to force something.”
As the end of the Triple-A season draws near, Grissom is finally locked in at the plate. In his last 15 games coming into Friday night, he’s hitting .420 (21-for-50) with 22 RBI. The power he showed in his rookie year in Atlanta is starting to come out as well with four home runs during that stretch. His plate discipline has improved too; he’s fanned only seven times and walked 13 in 64 plate appearances.
“He’s hardly had any stretch of consistency in the batter’s box,” WooSox manager Chad Tracy said. “This is the first time he’s had where it’s like week after week after week, he’s in the box and keeps seeing pitches and now you’re seeing balls getting consistently barreled and he’s producing.”
Two hits on Friday night marked the fourth multi-hit game in a row for Grissom.
Vaughn Grissom smiles while playing second base during a WooSox game on September 10, 2024.Katie Morrison-O’Day
If there’s one game to pinpoint as the turnaround for Grissom, it’s a 4-for-5 day in the series finale against the Norfolk Tides on August 25. Since then, Grissom has looked like a different hitter – much more like the hitter the Red Sox expected when they dealt for him.
“I just got comfortable. I quit trying to do all these different things instead of just trying to find where I was actually at and just slowly progress,” Grissom said. “Just taking what the game gives me in a sense and not trying to make anything happen too quick. I figured out how to compete again after a long time off.”
Although it’s harder to quantify, Tracy sees improvements in Grissom’s defensive game as well.
“I guess you have to have been here watching it every day from when he first got here,” Tracy said. “It was almost, kind of like, baby giraffe-ish, limbs flying and everything. [Now he] just looks like he’s moving very cleanly.”
Another noticeable change: Grissom is having a blast. While Tracy says Grissom was frustrated at times during the season due to the circumstances, he maintained his work ethic. Once he came to terms with making the best of his situation in Worcester, Grissom embraced the joy of playing baseball again.
“He started to really get ingrained in in our culture with our guys in there and just enjoy the game and realize, ‘I’m here. There’s nothing I can do about it now, I have to get better,’” Tracy said. “Then you saw the performance come and now he’s having a blast. He’s laughing, he’s learning. That’s when we’re going to get the best version of him.”
At only 23 years old, Grissom would be one of the ‘kids’ on many Triple-A clubs. But he’s slotted into a lineup with other future Red Sox like Kyle Teel, Kristian Campbell and baseball’s top prospect, Roman Anthony, all of whom are younger than Grissom. He’s aware that he can set an example for the guys who haven’t felt the sting of failure in quite the same way Grissom has.
Vaughn Grissom celebrates with Kyle Teel after hitting a home run during a WooSox game on September 11, 2024.Katie Morrison-O’Day
“People feed off your energy all the time,” Grissom said. “It’s tough if you’re sitting there thinking about sulking, but [it helps that] I’m personable. I guess it’s a lot easier to get out of that because [I like to] make conversation with everybody. So it’s not just baseball we’re here doing, it’s life skills, too.”
Mets 11, WooSox 0
The hot-hitting WooSox offense finally ran into a pitcher who had its number in Syracuse starter Dom Hamel. Hamel wasn’t dominant, but kept the WooSox from stringing together hits in his five innings of work.
On the other side, Brad Keller was sharp save for the very first pitch of the game, which Yolmer Sanchez drove into the Worcester Wall seats. After that, he settled in to allow just two more hits over six innings.
The bullpen imploded in the seventh inning. Brendan Cellucci couldn’t find the zone, walking three of the four batters he faced and hitting the other. Jacob Webb couldn’t stop the bleeding, getting touched for six runs on five hits and two walks.
Grissom reached base three times with two hits and a walk. Kyle Teel and Jamie Westbrook each logged a single and a walk.
Notes
Prospect Kristian Campbell left Wednesday’s game with soreness in his left shoulder blade, and is still considered day-to-day.
“A little bit of improvement, but still sore back there,” Tracy said. “We’re not putting him on the IL, we’re going to see if we turn a corner quickly at some point this weekend…but right now no activity other than the training room to make sure that we stay off of it.”
What’s Next
The WooSox finish off the home portion of their 2024 season this weekend with two action-packed days. Fans will be able to get autographs from the entire roster before Sunday’s game, and the first WooSox Hall of Fame ceremony honoring Rich Gedman, Larry Lucchino and Ed Augustus will take place before the 1:05 p.m. first pitch.
