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Danny Graves (Photo by Aaron Doster/Getty Images)
Danny Graves arrived at the University of Miami in the fall of 1991 as an undersized righthander surrounded by a deep recruiting class of standout arms and wondering what heâ€d gotten himself into.
“Not that I had any lack of confidence, but (what are) the odds for a little freshman—I looked like I was about 12, and I was a little chubby,†Graves said. “I canâ€t believe that I signed to go here, and all these pitchers are here. Turtle Thomas, our recruiting coordinator back then, was infamous for doing that, bringing in a lot of arms and seeing what sticks. And, thankfully, I stuck.â€
Graves did more than stick. He cemented himself as a mainstay in the Miami bullpen from day one, posting a 0.89 ERA with 21 saves as the Hurricanes’ closer on their 1994 College World Series-bound team.
Just three years removed from wondering if he could stick at Miami, Graves was at the top of his game. He had set himself up to vault into pro baseball, as the Indians selected him with their fourth-round pick in the 1994 draft, and he arrived in Omaha looking to end his college career with a bang.
Instead, he tore his ACL during the College World Series, throwing that future in doubt.
“The first thing I thought was, ‘There goes all the money,â€â€ Graves said. “At the time, I was
thinking I might have to go back to school.â€
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His fears wouldnâ€t come to pass, however, as the Indians honored Graves†pre-injury bonus request. They were quickly rewarded. Graves was just as lights out in the minor leagues as he was at Miami, and he debuted with the big league club in 1996 before being flipped to the Reds in a trade deadline deal as a part of the package for Jeff Branson and John Smiley.
Graves took his lumps early in his big league career, learning that he needed more than just good life on his pitches to get MLB hitters out.
“I felt like for so long I would get by with stuff,†Graves said. “When people donâ€t see a lot of you,
especially in the minor leagues, your stuff can dominate for a little while. When you get to the
big leagues, you need more than just stuff.â€
Graves set about not just fine-tuning his arsenal, but learning how to effectively use it. By his age-25 season, heâ€d earned the Reds’ closer job and made his first all-star team in 2000 at age 26. Even with the ACL setback in college, the game had brought Graves nothing but joy, and he relished shutting things down in the ninth.
However, in 2003, Graves’ toughest professional year coincided with his toughest year off the field.
“I was going through a divorce at the time,” Graves said. “Itâ€s really hard to have a family when youâ€re a big league player. People think itâ€s all glory because you make a lot of money, but you have a family because you love your family and you want to be with your family. When theyâ€re not with you all the time, you get lonely.â€
Things at home were difficult, and after being converted to a starter by Reds management,
things on the mound werenâ€t much better. Years of elite performance in the bullpen were replaced
by a season of struggling in the rotation.
“I would have some good starts, but then have one or two bad innings that just blew stuff out of
proportion,†Graves said. “I went back to the bullpen the next year and made the all-star team,
but it still wasnâ€t fun. It was a struggle to pitch.â€
By 2007, Graves was on the wrong side of 30, pitching with diminished stuff for the independent
Long Island Ducks. He was a long way from being a big league all-star, but unwilling to let go of being a
professional baseball player.
“Thatâ€s what my identity was in my eyes,” Graves said. “I was nothing else but a baseball player. What happens if I donâ€t play anymore? If I say no to the Long Island Ducks, then Iâ€m not going to
play, and then what am I? Who am I? Thatâ€s why I kept trying to play, even knowing in the back of my
mind I had no shot of getting back to the big leagues.â€
After stints in the minor leagues and with Navojoa of the Mexican League, Graves walked away
from baseball, leaving behind the game and any joy associated with it.
“I took a couple years away from the game completely,” Graves said. “I was just a dad at home. I got
remarried to a wonderful lady. I wanted nothing to do with baseball.â€
That mightâ€ve been it for Graves and the game he loved—if baseball hadnâ€t come back for him.
Graves was approached about broadcasting, an opportunity he has since parlayed into stints with Reds Radio Network and his current role calling ACC baseball for ESPN. With a new job behind the mic instead of on the mound, it allowed Graves to find an identity in the game that had nothing to do with getting hitters out.
“All of a sudden, I get this opportunity to get back in the game on the media side,†Graves said.
“And thatâ€s when I knew, ‘Now I can be a former player and be ok with it.’â€
In the broadcast booth, Graves has rediscovered the baseball joy from his Miami and early Reds days. In 2023, he capped both journeys on a high note, going back to complete his Miami degree
and being inducted into the Reds Hall of Fame the same year.
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