A Durable Bullpen Workhorse Whose Lone Minnesota Season Still Resonates
Wayne Allan Granger, one of baseball’s earliest true relief specialists and a model of late 1960s durability, passed away on February 25, 2026, at age 81. A veteran of nine big-league seasons and 451 appearances, Granger pitched for seven organizations, but his single season with the Minnesota Twins remains a compelling chapter in both his career and the franchise’s early 1970s story.
Early Life and Rise to the Majors
Born March 15, 1944, in Springfield, Massachusetts, Granger grew up in the small town of Huntington, where he became a multi-sport standout and a dominant high-school pitcher. After attending Springfield College, he signed as a free agent with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1965 and converted to relief shortly afterward. His low three-quarters delivery and heavy sinker became his signature.
Granger broke into the majors in 1968 with St. Louis and quickly became one of the most heavily used relievers in baseball. His 1969 season with Cincinnati—90 appearances, setting a major-league record—cemented his reputation as a durable, trusted bullpen arm. He followed that with a league leading 35 saves in 1970, earning back-to-back Sporting News NL Fireman of the Year awards.
Minnesota Twins: A Promising Start and a Tumultuous Summer (1972)
The Twins acquired Granger from Cincinnati on December 3, 1971, sending left-hander Tom Hall to the Reds. Minnesota believed it was adding a proven late-inning stabilizer to pair with Dave LaRoche. For the first two months of 1972, Granger looked like the All-Star caliber reliever he had been in Cincinnati. He retired 19 of the first 22 left-handed batters he faced and posted a 0.85 ERA through the end of June, collecting five saves in his first seven appearances. His sinker was crisp, and his command sharp.
A mid-season slide
Then came a stretch of unusually long outings by Twins starters, leaving Granger idle for nearly two weeks. For a rhythm dependent sinkerballer, the layoff proved costly. His arm slot drifted lower, his sinker began to elevate, and he surrendered nine earned runs in early July—more than double his total from the season’s first two and a half months.
Clubhouse friction and a quick exit
Granger’s season grew more complicated when he publicly criticized the team’s same day travel to New York, a comment that irritated the front office. The firing of manager Bill Rigney—his strongest internal supporter—further weakened his standing. By October, team president Calvin Griffith hinted at “getting rid of some rebels,” widely interpreted as referring to Granger and LaRoche. On November 29, 1972, the Twins traded him back to St. Louis.
Minnesota by the numbers
- 63 games, all in relief
- 4–6 record
- 3.01 ERA
- 19 games finished
- 89.2 innings, with only 7 home runs allowed
Even with the midseason turbulence, Granger delivered a solid year—one that still stands as an intriguing “what if” in Twins bullpen history.
Later Career and Life After Baseball
He was named the NL Fireman of the Year by the Sporting News in 1969 and ’70. Granger, who pitched in the 1968 World Series with St. Louis and the 1970 World Series with the Reds.
After leaving Minnesota, Granger pitched for the Cardinals, Yankees, White Sox, Astros, and Expos. His 1975 season in Houston—2.23 ERA at the Astrodome—briefly rekindled his earlier form. He finished his MLB career in 1976 with 108 saves and a 3.14 ERA.
He later pitched in Mexico, appeared in the Senior Professional Baseball Association, and in 1983 was inducted into the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame, a testament to the peak years that made him one of the most trusted relievers of his era.
He remains one of only five major league pitchers to appear in at least 90 games in a season, joining former Twin Mike Marshall (1973, ’74 and ’79), Kent Tekulve (1978, ’79 and ’87), Salomón Torres (2006) and Pedro Feliciano (2010).
Granger eventually settled in Florida, working in sporting goods retail and becoming an avid golfer. Despite his honors, he remained modest about his career, once suggesting he didn’t feel worthy of the Reds Hall of Fame—an opinion Reds fans would strongly dispute.
Legacy
Wayne Granger’s career is remembered for his durability, his heavy sinker, and his role in shaping the modern bullpen. For Twins fans, his 1972 season remains a reminder of how quickly fortunes can shift for a reliever—and how even a single year can leave a lasting imprint on a franchise’s history.
Twinstrivia.com would like to pass on their condolences to Wayne Granger’s family, friends and fans.
No obituary has been published for Wayne Granger at this point.