Why this card is awesome: Because, although most of us hadn't yet heard of it in 1988, Kevin Gross was actually trying to Riverdance in this photo.
Cool stat: From 1984 to 1993, Gross had at least 10 losses each year. In fact, he had the second most losses in baseball over that period, going 99-116. Charlie Hough had more losses (118) but he also had a dozen more wins (111.) Plus, Hough had en ERA+ of 109 while Gross was at 92. And finally, Hough pitched about 230 innings more than Gross.
3 comments:
Don't forget the other reason this is a great card either. Gross was elected to the National League All-Star team in 1988. Gross worked one perfect inning of the mid-summer classic striking out Jose Canseco, and getting 2 future HOF (Winfield, Ripken) on flyouts.
On August 17, 1992, as a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers, Gross threw a no-hitter versus their rivals, the San Francisco Giants.
Yeah, I didn't mean to suggest that Gross had a crappy career. You don't lead MLB in losses over a 10-year period without being at least a halfway decent pitcher. He did some good things for the Phillies during lean years, and was also a very durable pitcher throughout his career.
Did not think that was your intent at all. Just making mention that there was a lot of people (kids) that I am sure had opened up their wax pack of cards looking for the star players, and had never heard of Kevin Gross. Not to say he was a star but for one night in July he would be a Star making kids wonder if that Kevin Gross card they had traded away months ago was really that good....
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