Joe Grahe

Joe Grahe didn’t want to play organized baseball when he was a boy, but his dad convinced him to join a Little League team when he was 10 years old. When Joe was a sophomore, he turned down a spot on his high school varsity team because he wanted to play with his friends on the junior varsity team. Following his high school graduation, Grahe elected to quit baseball and enrolled at the University of Florida. The young man had an apartment at the campus and was prepared to leave baseball behind. Despite his misgivings, Grahe ended up with a baseball scholarship to Palm Beach Junior College, where he played one year  and then signed with the University of Miami. The boy who didn’t want to play baseball ended up pitching seven years in the majors (1990-95; 1999) with the California Angels, Colorado Rockies, and Philadelphia Phillies.

Joseph Milton Grahe (pronounced “Gray”) was born on August 14, 1967, to Milton Frank Grahe and Wanda Lynne (née Witzel) Grahe in West Palm Beach, Florida. Milt served in the United States Air Force during the Korean and Vietnam Wars. He later worked for Pratt & Whitney Aircraft, from which he eventually retired. “Lynne,” as Joe’s mom was known by family and friends, worked for United Technologies/Turbo Power until her retirement. Joe was their third child, joining older sisters Terri and Cindi.

Joe Grahe played baseball in high school and bowled on the Palm Beach Gardens High School bowling team. Grahe, who threw and hit righty, played shortstop and pitched his junior year. He batted .324 and compiled a 4-5 record with a 2.40 ERA. The following year Grahe won six of seven decisions, struck out 72 batters in 51 innings with an ERA of 2.27, and was honored as the Palm Beach County Athletic Conference North Division first team pitcher. He was also one of 50 nominees for the Miami Herald’s Palm Beach Scholar-Athlete team, achieving a solid 3.58 GPA.1

Grahe graduated in 1985 and played American Legion ball for the Jensen Beach Post 126 team that summer under the guidance of long-time major-league pitcher Bob Shaw. “I’ve improved more here because I’ve been taught mechanics,” Grahe said. “He’s not like any other coach I’ve had before. For Shaw, you want to go out there and do your best.”2 Jensen Beach finished the summer with a record of 20-9, ending as the runner-up in the District 11 championship game.3

Grahe attended Palm Beach Junior College that fall and pitched well, finishing among the top pitchers in the National Junior College Athletic Association with a 9-3 record and 95 strikeouts in 105 innings.4 Grahe also earned conference honors on the All-Southern Conference baseball team.5

That summer, Grahe returned to the Jensen Beach Post 126 American Legion team. In June he was selected in the 28th round of the MLB Amateur Draft by Milwaukee but held off on his signing decision. In mid-July, Grahe pitched a one-hitter in a 3-1 victory over Palm Beach Post 12 in the District 11 tournament. “That was the best I’ve thrown this season,” Grahe noted. “I felt real good once I got in the groove.”6 Four days later, the 6-foot-1, 195-pound Grahe tossed a four-hitter in a 5-2 win over Lake Worth Post 47, which was a rematch of the previous season’s championship game in District 11.7 Jensen Beach continued to steamroll its opponents, sweeping Pompano Beach Post 142 in a best-of-three series. Grahe pitched a complete-game three-hitter, striking out nine in an 11-1 win. The next night, Rusty Meacham threw a complete-game 7-3 victory to send Jensen Beach into the Florida state tournament. Grahe signed a letter of intent to attend the University of Miami during the District playoffs.8

Post 126 ran roughshod over the Florida state tournament field, winning all four games and outscoring its opponents by a combined 40-11 to advance to the Southeast Regional tournament in Belton, South Carolina. Grahe picked up an 8-1 victory over Winter Park Post 112 in the first-round game, striking out 13 while allowing only two hits.

Jensen Beach continued its outstanding season by winning five straight games by a combined 45-8 score in the regional tournament and advanced to the American Legion World Series in Rapid City, South Dakota. In the regional tournament, Grahe batted .500 and played right field while he wasn’t pitching, and won two games, striking out 21 batters in the process.

The Florida team finished its amazing season by winning the World Series behind Grahe, who was named National Player of the Year for the Legion tournament. The team won all five games by a combined score of 33-9 against the talented national field, including two wins over Las Vegas. Grahe won two games and saved one, striking out 31 batters in 18 innings. His 18 strikeouts in an opening game 9-2 victory over New London, Connecticut, was one whiff short of the World Series record, held by three players, including Dave McNally. In the final game, an 8-2 victory over Las Vegas, Grahe struck out 13, which was an American Legion World Series championship game record. Jensen Beach finished the season with a record of 52-12 and had a 20-game winning streak to cap off the stellar campaign.

In September, Grahe turned down a $65,000 bonus offer from the Brewers and began classes at the University of Miami. “I feel relieved,” Grahe said. “The last four or five days have been terrible. I felt all by myself.”9  

During Grahe’s first year at UM in 1987, which was his sophomore year in college, he missed some time in mid-March with a pulled muscle in his left rib cage. He returned on March 18 and threw six shutout innings in a 5-0 win over Maine, allowing five hits while striking out three batters. “It felt a little better,” Grahe said after the game. “But not enough to turn it loose.”10 Grahe struggled over the next two months and finished the season with a 6-4 record, striking out 85 batters in 120 innings with an ERA of 3.43.

The following season Grahe received honorable mention for Baseball America’s 1988 preseason All-America team.11 Miami started off hot, winning its first eight games, with Grahe earning two of those wins while allowing no earned runs. The Hurricanes started off with a record of 23-2 and continued their superb play as they won the Atlantic regional tournament and earned a berth in the College World Series (CWS) and moved into the tournament with a 51-12-1 record. Once again, Grahe shone brightly on the big stage and was named the regional tournament’s Most Valuable Player on the strength of two complete-game victories and a save. Days later, Grahe was selected in the fifth round of the MLB amateur draft by the Oakland Athletics.

At the CWS in Omaha, Cal-Fullerton beat up Grahe in the opening game and took the wind out of the Hurricanes’ sails in a 9-3 whipping. Grahe gave up seven runs in eight and one-third innings and just like that, Miami was sent into the loser’s bracket. They beat Fresno State 8-4 in 12 innings, but were eliminated the next day by Stanford, 2-1. Grahe was the star pitcher of the staff that season, leading the team with 11 complete games, two shutouts, 167 innings pitched, 154 strikeouts, and 13 wins. He also posted a tidy 2.91 ERA. The team finished with a record of 52-14-1.12

Grahe rejected the A’s offer in mid-June, saying “I was disappointed. . .They were way off in what it would take to interest me.”13 After Thanksgiving, he was a member of the US team that played in the International Harbor Baseball Tournament in Taiwan. Grahe won two games, beating the Dominican Republic early in the tournament and later beating Japan 8-6 in the semifinals. Miami teammate Alex Fernandez lost 7-3 in the championship game to Taiwan.14  

As 1989 began, Grahe was lauded by Collegiate Baseball magazine, which named the pitcher to its preseason All-American team, and by Baseball America, which included Grahe at number 17 in its list of the top 20 players eligible to be drafted in June 1989.15

The Miami pitching staff—including Grahe, Fernandez, Greg Knowles, and Will Vespe—was expected to be one of the best in America. Retired University of Southern California coach Rod Dedeaux said, “I’ve seen some pretty fair pitching, and those guys could rank, potentially, among the best college staffs ever.”16

The Hurricanes blew through their first six opponents to begin the year. During the regular season, Miami had a nine-game win streak, two six-game skeins, and another pair of five games each. As the team entered NCAA East Regional play in late May, Grahe was 12-4 with 164 strikeouts in 145 innings, with an ERA of 2.92.17

Once again, Grahe was stellar in tournament play. In the opening game of the East Regional tournament, Grahe pitched a complete game gem, allowing only six hits, one run, two walks, and two hit batsmen while striking out 12 in a 3-1 win over Villanova.18 Three days later, Grahe defeated Villanova once again in the regional championship game, going the distance with seven strikeouts in a 4-1 win that sent the Hurricanes to the College World Series for the eighth time in 10 seasons. Grahe was named the MVP of the regional tournament.19

In the opening game of the CWS, Grahe battled and bested Ben McDonald of LSU, 5-2. Grahe allowed five hits, two runs (one earned), and three walks while striking out eight in a complete-game effort. “It pumped me up that McDonald was getting all the attention,” Grahe said. “Hey, I didn’t have to face him at the plate.”20 Unfortunately, the Hurricanes lost the next two games to Texas and LSU and finished fifth in the eight-team field. Two days later, the California Angels selected Grahe in the second round of the 1989 MLB Amateur Draft, the 39th overall pick. McDonald was the number one pick, going to the Baltimore Orioles.

Grahe signed after the minor-league season had ended and made his professional debut in 1990 at Double-A Midland (Texas) in the Texas League. His results were mixed, but after a handful of good outings in June and July in which he won five of six decisions, Grahe was promoted to Triple-A Edmonton in the Pacific Coast League. He made three starts for the Trappers but was called up to California when pitcher Bert Blyleven missed a start after his family was involved in an auto accident.

The largest crowd of the year at Anaheim Stadium greeted Grahe for his major-league debut on August 4. At 7:30 PM in front of 52,774 fans, Grahe faced leadoff hitter Rickey Henderson and after getting a first-pitch strike, walked him on four straight pitches. Henderson promptly stole second and took third on a throwing error by Angels catcher Lance Parrish. Carney Lansford rolled out to second and Henderson scored. After the game, Grahe said, “It was kind of a relaxer when Henderson scored. It was, ‘okay, they got their first run,’ that way I didn’t have to be anxious about when they’d score.”21

Grahe kept the A’s off the board for four innings but ran into trouble in the top of the sixth. Leading 5-1, Grahe had one out and Mark McGwire on first and Dave Henderson on second. Félix José doubled to score Henderson while McGwire moved to third. Walt Weiss then singled to score both runners to make it 5-4 and Grahe’s evening was over. Reliever Cliff Young gave up the tying run in the eighth. In the bottom of the 12th, Dave Winfield won the game with a bases-loaded single.

Six days later, Grahe was sent back to Edmonton to make room for Chili Davis on the Angels roster. Grahe was recalled by the Angels a week later when Blyleven went on the disabled list because of a strained right shoulder. He got beaten up in a 6-2 loss at Tiger Stadium on August 21, lasting [that lasted only 2 2/3 innings, but earned his first big-league win five days later against the Chicago White Sox at Comiskey Park, going seven innings while allowing six hits and one run in a 4-1 win. The only downside to the win was that first baseman Lee Stevens tossed the last-out keepsake ball into the stands. “I’ll just find a ball and write something on it saying it was from the first (win),” Grahe said in the locker room after the game.22

Grahe started five more games in September, including a rematch with the Athletics in which he went 8 1/3 innings while allowing three hits and no runs. He walked seven but registered his third win of the year against four losses.

During spring training 1991, Grahe battled with Scott Lewis for the fifth spot in the Angels rotation. Blyleven was trying to recover from shoulder surgery, so the Angels brain trust used the preseason games as a test between Grahe and Lewis. Despite pitching well, Grahe was sent down to Edmonton at the end of camp. After two months, Lewis was struggling in the majors and was optioned to Edmonton. Grahe, the Triple-A win leader with seven, was called back up to California.

Grahe didn’t fare well in his return. He made one start among seven appearances but failed to record an out in that start against the Milwaukee Brewers, giving up five hits, two walks, and seven runs. Two weeks later, Grahe was sent back to Edmonton. He spent a month there and was recalled to California in early August and slotted back into the Angels rotation. Although he didn’t pitch terribly in August, he lost six straight decisions before tossing his only big-league complete game, getting revenge on the Brewers in a 2-1 win in which Grahe allowed only four hits, one of which was Jim Gantner’s solo blast with two out in the top of the ninth to spoil Grahe’s shutout. The Angels rallied in the bottom of the frame with two runs, giving Grahe the win. The right-hander pitched four more times (two starts) the rest of the year and ended with an ERA of 4.81 over 73 innings. In his final start, he retired the first 10 batters against Toronto before allowing seven baserunners over the next two innings in a 6-5 loss.

In 1992, Grahe once again was prominently mentioned as part of the rotation, but this time was looking at the number four job. In March, Angels manager Buck Rodgers wavered in his support of Grahe, but after two solid outings in late March, the skipper penciled Grahe into the starting rotation. In his second-to-last start of the spring, Grahe retired the first 16 batters against San Diego, finishing with seven strong innings (four hits, two runs) even though the Padres won 3-0.

Grahe made seven starts in the first five weeks of the regular season, but after posting an ERA of 5.90 over 39 2/3 innings, was optioned to Edmonton to “regain his consistency,” said Angels senior vice president Dan O’Brien.23 In early June, Angels ace reliever Bryan Harvey went on the 15-day disabled list with an injured right elbow and Grahe was called up to fill his roster spot.

Not only did Grahe fill the roster spot, but he also filled the closer’s role that Harvey had held. In his next five appearances, Grahe finished four of them, earning his first three major-league saves and one “hold.” After a few blowout losses in which Grahe didn’t appear, he earned eight saves in a three-week span in July. He notched six saves and a win in August and finished the year with four saves and a win in September, ending the season with 21 saves, good enough for 13th in the American League.

Prior to the 1993 season, Harvey was selected by the Miami Marlins in the expansion draft. Manager Rodgers wrote Grahe’s name in pencil for the closer job but was not completely sold on the idea. “He’s a part-time closer. To send him out there every game, I don’t know.”24

The season started badly for Grahe. In the second game of the season, he came into a 1-1 game against the Brewers and gave up two runs in the ninth in what became a 3-2 loss. Grahe pitched well through May but went on the 15-day disabled list in early June with tendinitis in his right shoulder. He had six saves and an ERA of 3.57 in 18 games, covering 22 2/3 innings. After a short rehab stint at Triple-A Vancouver, Grahe returned to the Angels in mid-July. He pitched in 17 games in July and August but did not record a save. He had his best month in September as he regained the closer job, earning five saves in 10 games, posting a sterling 1.50 ERA. Although he finished the season with only 11 saves, his ERA of 2.86 was the best on the team.

In the offseason, the Angels were courting Baltimore Orioles closer Gregg Olson in an effort to solidify their bullpen, but he instead signed as a free agent with the Atlanta Braves. Rodgers was considering a bullpen-by-committee, but when the contenders fell by the wayside, Grahe was anointed as the closer. He got off to a good start, earning four saves over the first two weeks of play. Over the next month, between a nagging side injury and lack of opportunity, Grahe struggled, with two losses and two blown saves in eight appearances. He had an up-and-down season until early August before the players’ strike, which ended the season and lasted until the following April. Grahe ended with 13 saves in 40 games, despite a career-worst ERA of 6.65.

In early November, Grahe underwent arthroscopic surgery on his right shoulder to clean out scar tissue. The Angels designated him for assignment just before Thanksgiving. A month later, after declining to report to Triple-A Vancouver, he was signed as a minor-league free agent by the Colorado Rockies, including a non-roster invite to spring training in 1995.

Grahe elected to stay out of camp to show support for the players’ union, as the players were still on strike. He reported in late February, hoping to be ready to pitch in late March.25 The major-league season began in late April, but Grahe started his comeback with Triple-A Colorado Springs in the Pacific Coast League. After two solid starts, Grahe got called up to the big club on May 19. He made four appearances out of the bullpen with mixed results before getting inserted into the rotation in early June when Bill Swift skipped a couple turns with a sore shoulder.

Grahe got his first National League win in his first NL start on June 4, going six innings while allowing six hits, one unearned run, and two walks in a 4-1 win over Pittsburgh. “Joe Grahe stepped up and gave us a great performance,” Colorado manager Don Baylor said. “He threw strikes, and he worked fast.”26 Grahe made seven more starts and won three of four decisions while posting an ERA of 4.91 before going on the disabled list in mid-July because of recurring pain in his right shoulder. Grahe returned in mid-September and made five appearances, including one start, over the final two weeks of the season. His final numbers showed nine starts in 17 appearances, a record of 4-3, and an ERA of 5.08. Grahe was released by Colorado in October and was signed by the Montreal Expos the following February.

Grahe complained of shoulder soreness and an MRI confirmed a torn labrum. His surgery put him out of action for all of 1996. After pitching several games in the independent Northeast League in 1997 and a couple of months for Nashua in the independent Atlantic League in 1998, Grahe was purchased by the New York Yankees. He pitched 43 2/3 innings at Triple-A Columbus in the International League, only to be released after the season. The Philadelphia Phillies signed him before spring training 1999, and Grahe made 13 appearances (five starts) at the major-league level. In May 2000 Grahe suffered a partial tear of the medial collateral ligament in his elbow while at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.27 He returned three months later and appeared in three games in the Gulf Coast Rookie League. He retired after the season. In 2001, Grahe was inducted into the University of Miami Sports Hall of Fame.

After baseball, Grahe returned to the University of Miami and earned his bachelor’s degree in business administration. He is a realtor in the Palm Beach Gardens area and has coached baseball at various levels. He and wife Michelle Gangemi-Grahe have two grown children: son Parker and daughter Mikki.

Last revised: April 6, 2025

Acknowledgments

Special thanks to Joe Grahe for his input via email and text messages, January-March 2025.This biography was reviewed by Rory Costello and Bill Lamb and fact-checked by Ray Danner.

Photo credit: Joe Grahe, Trading Card Database.

Sources

In addition to the sources cited in the Notes, the author consulted Baseball-Reference.com and Retrosheet.org.

Notes

1 Pat Borzi, “Studying, sports do mix,” Miami Herald, June 17, 1985: 16D.

2 Steve Dorsey, “Master at Work,” Palm Beach (Florida) Post, June 28, 1985: D4.

3 “Jensen Beach American Legion team loses in playoffs,” Stuart (Florida) News, July 23, 1985: C1.

4 “Pitcher Grahe signs,” Fort Lauderdale (Florida) News, July 23, 1986: 6C.

5 “5 Dade-Center players honored,” Miami Herald, April 29, 1986: 6C.

6 Jim Harter, “Jensen Beach’s Grahe has 1-hitter; Lake Worth routs Ft. Pierce 18-4,” Palm Beach Post, July 11, 1986: 3C.

7 Jim Harter, “Grahe pitches 4-hitter as Jensen Beach dethrones Lake Work for Legion title,” Palm Beach Post, July 15, 1986: 1C.

8 “Pitcher Grahe signs,” Fort Lauderdale News, July 23, 1986: 6C.

9 Pat Borzi, “Pitcher rejects pros for UM,” Miami Herald, September 9, 1986: 3D.

10 Jim Martz, “Grahe leads UM past Maine, 5-0,” Miami Herald, March 19, 1987: 5C.

11 Jim Martz, “Kozlowski trades helmet for about a dozen hats,” Miami Herald, February 2, 1988: 3D.

12 Individual and team stats retrieved from MiamiHurricanes.com website, September 10, 2024.

13 Randall Mell, “Grahe rejects A’s, to stay at UM,” (Fort Lauderdale) South Florida Sun Sentinel, June 17, 1988: 5C.

14 Jim Martz, “New scoreboard for Light,” Miami Herald, December 6, 1988: 3D.

15 Chuck Morris, “Scoreboard: College best players,” (Nashville) Tennessean, January 6, 1989: 2-C.

16 Dan Le Batard, “UM’s Armed Forces,” Miami Herald, February 3, 1989: 1E.

17 The author compiled the statistics from individual box scores found in the Miami Herald, February-June 1989.

18 Box score, Miami Herald, May 26, 1989: 10D.

19 Greg Cote, “Headed for Omaha,” Miami Herald, May 29, 1989: 1D.

20 Greg Cote, “UM strikes down Big Ben,” Miami Herald, June 4, 1989: 1D.

21 Helene Elliott, “A’s Stewart Wins His Duel in Sun,” Los Angeles Times, August 6, 1990: C11.

22 Helene Elliott, “White Sox a Victim in Grahe’s First Win,” Los Angeles Times, August 27, 1990: C3.

23 Ross Newhan, “Blyleven Becomes a Comeback Kid at 41,” Los Angeles Times, May 15, 1992: C2.

24 Bob Nightengale, “High Heir Pressure,” Los Angeles Times, March 3, 1993: C9.

25 “Negotiations restart; NLRB ruling nears,” Palm Beach Post, February 28, 1995: 7D.

26 “Rockies complete sweep,” (Grand Junction, Colorado) Daily Sentinel, June 5, 1995: 1B.

27 Steve Bennett, “Anderson proves patience pays off,” (Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania) Citizens’ Voice, May 14, 2000: B7.