He then attended Seton Hall University in South Orange New Jersey. By 1997 he was the first round draft pick of the San Francisco Giants (the fourth pick overall).
By 1999 he was traded to the Florida Marlins organization in exchange for Livan Hernandez & Nate Bump. Jason Grilli would wear the uniform number 49 in honor of his father.

He arrived with the Tigers in 2005 & made his debut exactly thirty years after his dad had made his debut with the team. In 2006 he made it to the World Series with the Tigers appearing in five post season games, pitching three scoreless innings.

In 2011 he was the set up man for Joe Hanrahan, getting credit for 32 holds. After Hanrahan was traded to the Boston Red Sox Grilli took over as the Pirates closer.
The Pirates went on to have one of their best seasons in two decades, winning 94 games & making it to the post season. Grilli would go on to save 33 games (7th most in the NL) post a 2.70 ERA & Strike out 74 batters in 50 innings pitched over 54 appearances.

In his ten year career Jason Grilli is 21-25 with five saves & a 74 games finished with a 4.34 ERA in 330 appearances. After each game where he makes an appearance the Grilli's still talk on the phone or in person.
Post Season: In the NL Wild Card Game he closed out the 9th inning of the 6-2 win over the Cincinnati Reds. In the NLDS Grilli made three appearances, earning a save in Game #3, in a 5-3 win over the St. Louis Cardinals.

Grilli also runs a videophone company called perfect pitch, that also deals with social media marketing. In the off season he his wife & their child live in Orlando Florida.
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Stephen Joseph Grilli was born on May 2nd 1949 in Brooklyn, New York. He attended high school in Memphis Tennessee & then Gannon University at Erie PA. The six foot two right hander was signed by the Detroit Tigers as an amateur free agent in 1970.
He would spend the majority of his career in the minor leagues making brief appearances in the majors in four seasons.
In 1972 he went 11-3 at AA Montgomery where he earned a promotion to the AAA Toledo Mud Hens. In 1975 he got a September callup to the Tigers making his debut on September 19th, 1975 finishing up a loss to the eventual AL Champion Boston Red Sox.

He was back in the minor leagues where he became a popular figure while pitching with the Syracuse Chiefs 1978-1981. He would put on a show during the 7th inning stretch playing the "air banjo" to the delight of the fans.
On June 23rd 1981, while pitching for the AAA Rochester Red Wings, he was the losing pitcher in the longest professional game ever played. It was between Rochester & the Pawtucket Red Sox. In the 33rd inning Grilli faced three batters giving up a run, not retiring anyone, allowing the PawSox to take the win.

Retirement: After his playing days he opened a bar in Syracuse, NY called Change of Pace.
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