Gabriel Jordan Gross (born October 21, 1979) is a former American professional baseball

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to cat ...

who is currently the hitting coach for the

Auburn Tigers The Auburn Tigers are the athletic teams representing Auburn University, a public four-year coeducational university located in Auburn, Alabama, United States. The Auburn Tigers compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Associat ...

. His father, Lee Gross, was center for the Auburn Tigers and in the NFL. His brother, Bo Gross, played football for

Texas Christian University Texas Christian University (TCU) is a private research university in Fort Worth, Texas. It was established in 1873 by brothers Addison and Randolph Clark as the Add-Ran Male & Female College. It is affiliated with the Christian Church (Disciples ...

Career

Gross played football, basketball, and baseball at Northview High School in

Dothan, Alabama Dothan () is a city in Dale, Henry, and Houston counties and the Houston county seat in the U.S. state of Alabama. It is Alabama's eighth-largest city, with a population of 71,072 at the 2020 census. It is near the state's southeastern corner, ...

. Formerly a starting

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

for the Auburn football team, and an outfielder for the Auburn baseball team, Gross was drafted by the

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...

in the first round (15th overall) of the

2001 Major League Baseball Draft The 2001 First-Year Player Draft, Major League Baseball's annual amateur draft, was held on June 5 and 6. First round selections Supplemental First Round Selections Compensation Picks Background On June 1, 2001, Rolando Viera, a Cuban ba ...

. Promoted from Triple-A Syracuse on August 7, 2004, he saw limited duty against left-handed pitching. On September 5, 2004, he belted his first major league

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

, a grand slam off

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The te ...

pitcher

Justin Duchscherer Justin Craig Duchscherer UKE-shur(born November 19, 1977) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He pitched in Major League Baseball for the Texas Rangers and Oakland Athletics. Playing career Early career Duchscherer (nickname: " ...

. His

outfield The outfield, in cricket, baseball and softball is the area of the field of play further from the batsman or batter than the infield. In association football, the outfield players are positioned outside the goal area. In cricket, baseball and ...

range is very good, and he has a strong arm. In 38 games, he collected 73

putout In baseball statistics, a putout (denoted by ''PO'' or ''fly out'' when appropriate) is awarded to a defensive player who (generally while in secure possession of the ball) records an out by one of the following methods: * Tagging a runner wit ...

s with five

assist Assist or ASSIST may refer to: Sports Several sports have a statistic known as an "assist", generally relating to action by a player leading to a score by another player on their team: *Assist (basketball), a pass by a player that facilitates a ba ...

s and one

double play In baseball and softball, a double play (denoted as DP in baseball statistics) is the act of making two outs during the same continuous play. Double plays can occur any time there is at least one baserunner and fewer than two outs. In Major Leag ...

in 78

total chances In baseball statistics, total chances (TC), also called ''chances offered'', represents the number of plays in which a defensive player has participated. It is the sum of putouts plus assists plus errors. ''Chances accepted'' refers to the total ...

, for a perfect 1.000

fielding percentage In baseball statistics, fielding percentage, also known as fielding average, is a measure that reflects the percentage of times a defensive player properly handles a batted or thrown ball. It is calculated by the sum of putouts and assists, div ...

. On December 7, 2005, Gross was traded by the Blue Jays to the

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. The Brewers are named for t ...

, along with pitchers

Dave Bush David Thomas Bush (born November 9, 1979) is an American professional baseball coach and former pitcher. He is currently the pitching coach for the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball (MLB). The right-hander played in MLB (–; ) for the Tor ...

and Zach Jackson, in exchange for first baseman

Lyle Overbay Lyle Stefan Overbay (born January 28, 1977) is an American former professional baseball first baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Arizona Diamondbacks, Toronto Blue Jays, Pittsburgh Pirates, Atlanta Braves, New York Yankee ...

and pitching prospect Ty Taubenheim. Gross made his debut with the Brewers on April 4, 2006, and hit a

pinch-hit In baseball, a pinch hitter is a substitute Batting (baseball), batter. Batters can be substituted at any time while the dead ball (baseball), ball is dead (not in active play); the manager (baseball), manager may use any player who has not yet ...

home run to give the Brewers a victory over the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

. At the beginning of the 2006 season with the Brewers, he obtained the nickname "the Southern Gentleman" for his politeness and well-mannered attitude both on and off the field. The plan was to have him share time with Tony Gwynn Jr. and

Gabe Kapler Gabriel Stefan Kapler (born July 31, 1975), nicknamed "Kap", is an American former professional baseball outfielder, and current manager of the San Francisco Giants of Major League Baseball (MLB). Kapler was a 57th-round draft pick (1,487th ove ...

in center field in while

Mike Cameron Michael Terrance Cameron (born January 8, 1973) is an American former professional Major League Baseball outfielder. He played for the Chicago White Sox, Cincinnati Reds, Seattle Mariners, New York Mets, San Diego Padres, Milwaukee Brewers, B ...

served his 25-game suspension. With a focus on defense, manager Ned Yost indicated in March that Gwynn and Kapler might have a leg up on Gross. Gross was traded to the

Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. Since its inception ...

on April 22, 2008, for pitching prospect

Josh Butler Joshua James Butler (born December 11, 1984 in Auburn, California) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher who played for the Milwaukee Brewers in 2009. College career Butler attended the University of San Diego, where he played college base ...

. Gross finished the 2008 season batting .243, with 13 home runs and 38 RBI. On December 12, 2009, Gross was non-tendered by the Rays. On February 1, 2010, Gross signed with

to a one-year contract. Gross signed a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training with the

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West division. The team joined the American League ...

on February 5, 2011. He was released on March 26. On April 23, he signed a minor league contract with the

Florida Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The club's home ballpark is LoanDepot Park. The franc ...

. Gross retired on April 26, 2011.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gross, Gabe 1979 births Living people All-American college baseball players American expatriate baseball players in Canada American football quarterbacks Auburn Tigers baseball players Auburn Tigers football players Baseball coaches from Maryland Baseball players from Baltimore Dunedin Blue Jays players Major League Baseball left fielders Milwaukee Brewers players Nashville Sounds players New Haven Ravens players Oakland Athletics players Sportspeople from Dothan, Alabama Syracuse SkyChiefs players Tampa Bay Rays players Tennessee Smokies players Toronto Blue Jays players Auburn Tigers baseball coaches