100 Greatest Phillies: 89 – Greg Gross

Greg Gross
Outfielder
1979-1988

Career w/Phillies: .278 AVG / 1 HR / 128 RBI / 13 SB

Part of the trade that sent Manny Trillo to the Phillies, Greg Gross quickly staked his claim as the main bench option for the Phillies in their best seasons. Devoid of power and speed, Gross settled in as a nice-contact player, a guy who could rope some clutch singles or doubles if necessary. He did it throughout his Phillie career, holding an average of .285 or above in five of his 10 seasons. During his playing days he didn’t like playing part-time, but he acknowledged later it was for the better, considering he was playing behind Garry Maddox, Greg Luzinski and Bake McBride, all ranked ahead of him on this list.

Comment: Gross will always be remembered as the 9th man of the 1980 champions. Clutch when necessary, he has been called the greatest pinch hitter in Phillies history. Of course, that title is slowly being challenged by the club’s current pinch-hitting master, the curiously close-named Greg Dobbs.

Tim Malcolm

Tim first found the Phillies as a little infant at Veteran’s Stadium, cheering on a Juan Samuel game-winning home run in his very first game. With the pinstripes in his blood, he witnessed Terry Mulholland’s 1990 no-hitter, “Steve Carlton Night” at the Vet, game three of the 1993 World Series, countless games during the charmed 2008 championship season and various road excursions. Since November 2007 Tim’s been writing about them daily at Phillies Nation, becoming one of the world’s most popular Phillies scribes. You can catch him on Twitter and Facebook, as well. When he’s not talking about the Phils he’s relaxing with a St. Bernardus ABT 12 or one of his many favored brews.