An excellent contact hitter who rarely struck out, Gross had at least 39 pinch-hit at-bats in each of his nine seasons in Philadelphia, and through 1988 was the third leading pinch hitter in ML history, with 136 hits. He hit .314 for Houston in 1974 to win The Sporting News NL Rookie Player of the Year honors, but it would be his only ML season as a full-time starter, as his weak arm, little speed, and no power came to be seen as liabilities. He still got over 400 AB in two more seasons in Houston, and after a 1979 trade sent him from the Cubs to the Phillies, Gross became a pinch hit specialist. He returned to Houston in 1989.
