Goossen, Greg

Gregory Bryant Goossen

Goossen was a catcher-first baseman in the 1960's who had one outstanding year for Seattle in 1969; but he was also involved in a trade that had real historical significance. Greg, whose father is Jewish, 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 since.

Birth and Death Dates:
b. December 14, 1945

Career Highlights:
In 1965, Greg hit .290 when he broke in as a rookie with the New York Mets. He remained with the Mets, playing sparingly, over the next three seasons before moving to the expansion Seattle Pilots in 1969. That year, he had the best season of his career, hitting a terrific .309, with ten 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 (1), most total bases in a game (10), and most assists by a first baseman in a game (3). 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.

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

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