Goossen, Greg

Gregory Bryant Goossen

A catcher-first baseman in the 1960s who had a truly outstanding year for Seattle in 1969, Goosen was involved in a historically significant trade. Greg and two other players were sent from the Washington Senators to the Philadelphia Phillies in 1971 in compensation for Curt Flood. Flood had been traded to the Phillies, but refused to report and sat out a year before signing with the Senators. Flood's famous fight against baseball's reserve clause resulted in a suit against baseball that eventually led to free agency for the players. Baseball has never been the same.

Birth and Death Dates:
b. December 14, 1945

Career Highlights:
Born to a Jewish father and a Christian mother, Goosen was a two-sport star at Notre Dame High School in Los Angeles, where he was named MVP of both the football and baseball teams. Named All-League as a senior, Greg turned down athletic scholarships to four universities and signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers after graduating in 1964. In 1965, Goosen was exposed to waivers and claimed by the New York Mets.

During the 1965 season, Goosen spent most of his time in the New York-Pennsylvania League with Auburn. An All-Star, he was named league MVP before being promoted to the Mets toward the end of the season. He played 11 games with New York and hit .290 as a rookie -- he also hit his first career home run, off Phillie pitcher Bo Belinsky. Over the next three seasons, Greg played sparingly with the Mets.

In 1969, Goosen was traded to the expansion Seattle Pilots, and had the best season of his career. In 52 games, he hit a terrific .309, with 10 home runs and an impressive slugging average of .597. After the 1969 season, the Pilots left Seattle and became the Milwaukee Brewers; consequently, Goossen holds Pilots records for the highest batting average, most pinch hit home runs (one), most total bases in a game (10), and most assists by a first baseman in a game (three). Greg also hit all of his 10 home runs that season at Seattle's Sick's Stadium.

Goossen moved with the franchise to Milwaukee, but was sent midseason to the Washington Senators. After the 1970 season, he was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies (for Curt Flood), but never played in the majors again. Greg finished with a .241 career average.

A private detective during the off-season while playing baseball, Goosen became an actor after his retirement. He appeared in the films Get Shorty (1995), Under Suspicion (2000) and The Royal Tenenbaums (2001), all of them starring Gene Hackman.

Career Dates:
Goossen played for the New York Mets, 1965-1968, the Seattle Pilots, 1969, and the Milwaukee Brewers and the Washington Senators in 1970.

Position:
Exclusively a catcher for his first three seasons, primarily a first baseman for the last three.

Physical description:
6'1 1/2", 210 pounds
Right-handed

Career Statistics:
Games: 193
Batting Avg.: .241
Slugging Avg.: .383

At-bats: 460
Hits: 111
Doubles: 24
Triples: 1

Home Runs: 13
Home Run %: 2.8
Runs: 33
RBI: 44

BB: 42
Strike Outs: 112
Stolen Bases: 1

Pinch Hitting
At-bats: 68
Hits: 11

Fielding Statistics
Put-outs: 793
Assists: 67
Errors: 10
Double-plays: 47

Total Chances per Game: 6.7
Fielding Avg: .989

< Previous |  Next >