season. Grich batted .294 in 1979, adding 30 homers and 101 RBI. In the strike-shortened 1981 season, Grich tied the lead in home runs (22, along with Tony Armas, Dwight Evans, and Eddie Murray), led in slugging average (.543), and hit a career-high .304. While with the Orioles, Grich appeared in the American League Championship Series (ALCS) in 1973 and 1974, when Baltimore lost to Oakland. The Angels made their first three postseason appearances during Grich's tenure, but fell in the ALCS each time; losing to the Orioles in 1979 and to the Milwaukee Brewers in 1982. Grich came closest in his final MLB season (1986), when the Angels led the ALCS 3-1 and needed just one more win to advance to the World Series. They blew a 5-2 lead to the Boston Red Sox in the ninth inning of Game 5, then lost the next two and were eliminated. Grich hit a home run in Game 5 that deflected off center fielder Dave Henderson's glove, putting the Angels on top 3-2. But with the Red Sox down to their final strike, Henderson hit a home run to put Boston ahead. In the post-game interviews following Game 7, Grich announced his retirement at the age of 37. Over 17 major league seasons, Grich batted .266, with 320 doubles, 47 triples, 224 home runs, 864 RBI, 1033 runs, 1,833 hits, 1,087 bases on balls, 104 stolen bases, and a .371 on-base percentage in 2,008 games played. Commenting on his baseball career, he stated: "I was short on talent so I had to be long on intensity." Highlights 6-time All-Star (1972, 1974, 1976, 1979–80, 1982) 4-time Gold Glove (1973–1976) Twice Top 10 MVP (1974, 1979) Led league in slugging average (1981) Led league in home runs (1981) First second baseman to lead AL in home runs since Nap Lajoie (1901) and in either league since Rogers Hornsby (1929). Hit three consecutive home runs in a game (1974) Set an AL 2B record with 484 putouts in a season (1974) The first player elected to the Angels' Hall of Fame (1996) Hall of Fame candidacy Grich became eligible for the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1992. In the BBWAA election, he received 11 votes, or 2.6% of the vote, below the 5% threshold needed to stay on the ballot. He was therefore removed from future BBWAA ballots. Using sabermetric statistics there is