By Jim Fenton, The Enterprise (Brockton)
BROCKTON, Mass. -- There weren’t any lofty goals set by Ed Grueter when he became part of a college baseball program in 1988.
“Just to make the team and have some success,” said Grueter, a Brockton resident. “I just wanted to have a good experience and play some baseball and see where it went.”
Grueter had a lot more than just some success during a four-year career at what was known back then as Bridgewater State College.
The 1987 Brockton High School graduate became the Bears’ only two-time Division 3 All-America selection and was chosen to the All-New England team three times while piling up program hitting records.
After being a platoon player during his junior season at Brockton High and starting for the Boxers as a senior, Grueter became one of the top Division 3 hitters in the nation while playing for Bridgewater State from 1988-91.
Grueter’s accomplishments were recently recognized when he was selected for induction into the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference Hall of Fame.
The conference began choosing members for induction in 2018, and Grueter is the first baseball player to be tabbed.
“It’s very humbling,” said Grueter, who resides in Brockton. “I think about it and the amount of athletes who have gone through the MASCAC in 50 years, there’s got to be thousands and thousands of players. To be recognized in the third class is very humbling. I must have done something good.”
Grueter was a center fielder and leadoff hitter for coach Glenn Tufts and helped the Bears reach the ECAC tournament as a freshman in 1988, then the NCAA Division 3 tourney three straight seasons after that.
He was selected to the All-America team as a sophomore and senior and made the All-New England team from 1989-91.
Grueter held the school record with 215 career hits until he was overtaken by Steve Smith of Taunton, who finished his career in 2008 with 231 hits.
The .438 career batting average by Grueter is the best by a four-year player and second to John Kiely of Brockton, who batted .470 in his two seasons before embarking on a professional baseball career as a pitcher.
Grueter owns Bridgewater State career records for singles (164), runs (147) and stolen bases (86), is second in total bases (293) and third in doubles (33).
As a sophomore, Grueter finished seventh nationally in Division 3 with a .489 average and he had 67 hits as a senior.
“I really developed in college,” said Grueter. “I was more of a role player in high school, then my senior year, I started in the outfield. But before that, I platooned. We had good athletes in Brockton, so it was always hard to crack the lineup.
“I don’t know what happened in college. I was a late bloomer, I guess. I started hitting. I wasn’t the biggest guy, but I had speed. That was to my advantage, I guess.”
After coming off the bench in the early part of his freshman season, Grueter took over as the starter in right field and was batting at the bottom of the order.
His speed and ability to get on base led to Grueter becoming the leadoff hitter the rest of his career, and he moved to center field.
“My sophomore year was probably my best, then I had a setback as a junior when I sprained an ankle in spring training in Florida,” said Grueter. “My senior year was almost identical to sophomore year.
“I had a lot of stolen bases, hit for average. I was the leadoff guy, so I just got on and tried to set the table and get things going for the offense.”
Grueter got the Bridgewater State offense going a lot, and the Bears went 96-37-1 in those four seasons with four tournament berths under Tufts.
“I think he put it on the map,” said Grueter of his former coach. “He recruited very well, got some real good ballplayers in there. He was a pretty good motivator. He got you to play hard. We had athletes and we all jelled. It was a lot of fun and we had some success.”
While all that winning was taking place, Grueter was getting All-America notice and was ranking among the best Division 3 hitters in the country.
“It’s always gratifying to see you have success, but that wasn’t my main goal,” he said. “I liked to see the team succeed. Any team player, it’s all about the team. But, yeah, it was nice to see your name get recognition for what you’re doing.”
When his collegiate playing days ended in 1991, Grueter stayed on the field in the Cranberry League, playing for the Brockton Tigers and then the Easton Huskies, who reached the Stan Musial World Series in 2002.
Grueter continued playing until he was in his 40s, enjoying the game as long as he could.
“It’s the same story you hear from a lot of people playing team sports,” said Grueter. “It’s fun to play the game. It’s a kid’s game, but you can still play it. I’d get out there and play today if the body would allow it.
“I went to the Huskies and everybody played the game and didn’t need a lot of coaching. Bobby (Wooster, a former Bridgewater State assistant and Huskies coach) was the glue, but we all knew how to play baseball. It was older guys playing together and having a lot of success. That was good times.”
Grueter has been involved with baseball in a different way the past five years.
He is now an umpire, working games in men’s leagues in Boston, in area Little Leagues and local AAU games. Along the way, he crosses paths with Tufts, who runs the Giants Futures Travel Baseball Club.
“Anything I can get my hands on to stay active in the game,” said Grueter. “I finally figured out a way to get paid being around baseball.”
Grueter, who entered the Bridgewater State Hall of Fame in 1997 and the Cranberry League Hall of Fame in 2011, has fond memories of those years with the Bears when he went from a freshman with modest goals to one of the best players in program history.
“I never thought I’d do as well as I did,” said Grueter. “You have confidence in yourself, but you don’t know how you’re going to stack up against other talent.
“I remember going there in the fall as a freshman. You’re 18 or 19 years old and you’re overwhelmed. You go to high school with the same kids for all four years and then all of a sudden you’re at college and everybody’s coming from every different place.
“You don’t know anybody. You don’t know how you’re going to fit in. I never could have dreamed of having the success I did. One thing led to another and good things happened.”