Phillies top five utility men over the last past 40 years
1: Greg Gross (1979 – 1988)
Gross was an established major-league player when the Phillies acquired him in 1979, having spent four seasons with the Astros and two with the Cubs. The ultimate professional, Gross was extremely fundamentally sound in the field and at the plate.
He appeared to never have a bad at-bat and struck out only 87 times in 1547 at-bats with the Phillies. Mainly a pinch hitter and left fielder, Gross also saw considerable time in center field, right field, and first base. He also made a single appearance in relief during the 1986 season.
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Gross hit over .300 three times with the Phillies, with a career-best .333 in his first season with the team. He struck out less than ten times in a season five times during his Phillies career.
While only hitting a single home run with the Phillies, Gross was adept at moving the runners with a bunt, hitting the ball the other way and getting a pinch sacrifice fly when needed. He possessed the skills that the majority of Major League players seem to lack in today’s “home run of bust” mentality.
In the field, Gross had a fielding percentage of .994 at first base and .983 in the outfield, both above the league average.
He was so consistent in the field that he never had more than two errors in a season while wearing the red pinstripes.
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Gross retired with 1073 hits, 431 in a Phillies uniform with a .279 average and .374 on-base percentage. His 143 career pinch-hits rank among the most all-time and his 117 with the Phillies is by far the most in franchise history.