Gross to be R-Phils hitting coach
Greg Gross will join manager P.J. Forbes' Reading staff as the hitting coach. Gross replaces John Morris who has left the Phillies to take a scouting position with the Cincinnati Reds. Tom Filer returns as pitching coach. Jason Kirkman, who was with Clearwater in 2006, replaces Shawn Fcasni as the athletic trainer. Fcasni will work with Triple-A Ottawa.
Gross played 17 Major League seasons as an outfielder for the Astros, Cubs and Phillies, breaking into the Majors with Houston in 1973. In '74, his first full season, he hit .314 (third in the NL) and scored 78 runs, earning himself The Sporting News National League Rookie of the Year honors.
Gross was traded to Chicago in December 1976, and in 1979 came to the Phillies in an eight player deal that also brought Manny Trillo to Philadelphia. He spent 10 seasons in Philadelphia before finishing his playing career back in Houston in 1989.
A .287 career hitter, Gross never accumulated more than 400 at-bats in a season after 1976, but made a living by delivering pinch hits. He ranks third all-time on the Major League pinch-hit list with 143. In the 1980 NL Championship Series against Houston, he came through in the clutch with three key pinch-hit singles, all of which directly contributed to Phillies' victories. He was also a superb contact hitter throughout his career, striking out just 250 times in 3,745 at-bats.
Gross's coaching career began in the Eastern League with New Haven (Rockies Double-A), where he was a coach from 1995-96. He was a roving hitting instructor for Colorado from 1997-2000 before rejoining the Phillies organization as Larry Bowa's bench coach in 2001. He was the Phils' hitting instructor from 2002-04. In 2005 he was a coach with Batavia (Class A Short-Season) and Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (Triple-A), and spent last season with Clearwater (Class A Advanced).
Forbes led Reading to a 71-69 record in 2006, his first season managing at Double-A. Scott Mathieson, Michael Bourn and Tim Gradoville all played for Reading last season and made it to the Majors. Prior to joining the R-Phils, Forbes managed Class A Lakewood for two seasons after a 13-year career in which he saw time in the Major Leagues in 1998 and 2003.
Morris had been a Philles Minor League instructor since 2000 and with Reading since 2003. A Reading resident, Morris will still be seen at FirstEnergy Stadium quite often in 2007. His duties with the Reds include scouting the Eastern League and International League.
Filer, a former Major Leaguer and native of Philadelphia, has been a pitching coach since 1994. He's been coaching Phillies Minor Leaguers since 2004 and in Reading since 2005.
Bill Dancy, Reading's all-time winningest manager and a member of the Reading Baseball Hall of Fame, has returned to his former role as the field coordinator and will oversee all the teams. Dancy was Philadelphia's third base coach the last two seasons. Mike Compton, who was the field coordinator the last two seasons, will return to his prior position as catching coordinator. In addition to his coordinating duties, Compton will also serve as a special assistant to Dancy.
Coordinators Gorman Heimueller (pitching), Don Long (hitting), Jerry Martin (outfield/baserunning) and Dave Owen (infield) will all return. Dong Lien was named the new Minor League conditioning coordinator. Heimueller was Reading's pitching coach in 1999 and 2001. Martin played for Reading in 1973 and is in the Reading Baseball Hall of Fame.
Phillies Minor League Field Staffs for 2007
(Manager, Hitting Coach, Pitching Coach, Athletic Trainer)
Ottawa (Triple-A): John Russell, Sal Rende, Rod Nichols, Shawn Fcasni
Reading (Double-A): P.J. Forbes, Greg Gross, Tom Filer, Jason Kirkman
Clearwater (Class A Advanced): Dave Huppert, Brad Komminsk, Steve Shrenk, Chris Mudd
Lakewood (Class A): Steve Roadcap, Kevin Jordan, Joel Alvarez (also a coach), Ed Hodge, Ichiro Kitano
Williamsport (Class A Short-Season): Greg Legg, Ken Dominguez, Bill Bliss, TBA
Gulf Coast (Rookie-level): Roly deArmas, Luis Melendez, Carlos Arroyo, Troy Hoffert