A stocky lefthanded hitter with good power and little speed, Gross was the A’s starting third baseman as a rookie in 1977, and with 22 HR was the last-place club’s lone representative at the All-Star Game that year. He hit only .233, though, and began the 1978 season at Vancouver (Pacific Coast League) before rejoining the A’s for good after 17 games. Gross played regularly with Oakland, either at third or first, until he was traded to the Orioles for Tim Stoddard after the 1983 season. He hit .216 as Baltimore’s third baseman in 1984, and matched his rookie year and career-high HR output with 22.
