You've already read this here and here. But if you're a good little blogger, then you also know a good idea when you see one. And you're not afraid of ripping someone off. So, that's why I'm featuring my "All-Greg Team."
First, a side note about my name. My mother was rather proud of naming me "Greg." At the time, it wasn't that common of a name. Then Greg Brady came along while I was still in preschool and, my mother says, "Gregs" started popping up everywhere.
What that means is most of the Gregs I found for the All-Greg Team only go back about 35 years. So there are some holes in this lineup.
But without further ado, I present to you the All-Greg Team (because I couldn't find any players with the first name "Night.")
FIRST BASE - Greg Brock. I'm already not liking my team. Brock was the source of a lot of pain and misery for me in the mid-to-late '80s. None of the numbers he put up in Albuquerque ever translated into much in the majors, although he did do better once he left for Milwaukee.
I could have went with Greg Colbrunn or Greg Walker here. But I have to stay true to my Dodger roots, no matter how painful.
SECOND BASE - Gregg Jefferies. Yup, I'm including all the variations of "Greg," too. Jefferies played everywhere, but I need a second baseman. And Jefferies played second a lot early in his career.
SHORTSTOP - Greg Gagne. Another Dodger. Gagne will help your infield out, but he's strictly a .250 hitter. I just noticed on the back of these '98 Score cards they didn't list "at-bats." It looks odd.
THIRD BASE - Graig Nettles. A lot of people called him "Craig" (heck, a lot of people call me Craig), but it's "Graig." Nettles gives some credibility to this team. But I still don't like him for 1978.
CATCHER - Gregg Zaun. I could have gone with early '90s Brave Greg Olson, but I went with the catcher who seems to have played forever, even if he hasn't been a regular very often.
LEFT FIELD - Greg Luzinski. Here we go. Now we have some heavy duty mashing in this lineup. Always liked The Bull.
CENTER FIELD - Greg Gross. Gross had one heck of a rookie season for the Astros in 1974. Then, three years later, he was a platoon player, and then a bench player, and stayed that way for the rest of his career. But for my team he's the 1974 Greg Gross.
RIGHT FIELD - Greg Vaughn. Another masher. Just like Gross, I'm putting the 1998/99 Vaughn on my team, the one who can hit 50 homers in a season.
One thing about the outfield is all three of these guys are left fielders. Vaughn and Luzinski were DHs for a lot of their careers. But I'm putting Gross in center and Vaughn in right and hoping no one gets hurt.
So, the starting lineup would look something like this:
1. Gregg Jefferies - 2B
This is a National League blog, so I'll be batting the pitcher ninth. And speaking of pitchers, I present the weakness of the All-Greg Team. Except for the first guy.
STARTING PITCHER - Greg Maddux. I wonder if Maddux can pitch every day? If he was on this team, he might have to find out.
STARTING PITCHER - Greg Swindell. Not a good sign when Swindell is the No. 2 guy. For some reason, Swindell is the player I remember when I think of players I rooted for because they shared my first name. I don't know why I focused on Swindell. Probably because there was such hype around him when he came up.
STARTING PITCHER - Greg Williams. You thought his real name is "Woody"? Hah! It's Greg.
STARTING PITCHER - Greg Hibbard. Need a fourth guy. He's as good as anyone. He actually did pretty well in his relatively short career. 14 wins in 1990, 15 in 1993. He was done by 1995.
For relievers, I have: Greg Minton, Greg Cadaret, Greg Mathews and Greg McMichael. Plus these two guys:
Greg W. Harris and Greg A. Harris. That's our secret weapon in the bullpen -- two Greg Harrises. We'll throw one out there, and the hitters won't know which one it is! It's genius!
CLOSER - Gregg Olson. Again, I'm selecting the non-injured Olson for my team. The 1990-93 Olson.
For the bench, I'll throw in Colbrunn, Walker, Olson, Greg Briley and Gregor Blanco.
Final verdict? The All-Gregs might give the All-Kevins a run for their money, if the All-Gregs' pitching staff isn't in the toilet, that is. But the All-Gregs don't stand a chance against the All-Billys.
First, a side note about my name. My mother was rather proud of naming me "Greg." At the time, it wasn't that common of a name. Then Greg Brady came along while I was still in preschool and, my mother says, "Gregs" started popping up everywhere.
What that means is most of the Gregs I found for the All-Greg Team only go back about 35 years. So there are some holes in this lineup.
But without further ado, I present to you the All-Greg Team (because I couldn't find any players with the first name "Night.")
FIRST BASE - Greg Brock. I'm already not liking my team. Brock was the source of a lot of pain and misery for me in the mid-to-late '80s. None of the numbers he put up in Albuquerque ever translated into much in the majors, although he did do better once he left for Milwaukee.
I could have went with Greg Colbrunn or Greg Walker here. But I have to stay true to my Dodger roots, no matter how painful.
SECOND BASE - Gregg Jefferies. Yup, I'm including all the variations of "Greg," too. Jefferies played everywhere, but I need a second baseman. And Jefferies played second a lot early in his career.
SHORTSTOP - Greg Gagne. Another Dodger. Gagne will help your infield out, but he's strictly a .250 hitter. I just noticed on the back of these '98 Score cards they didn't list "at-bats." It looks odd.
THIRD BASE - Graig Nettles. A lot of people called him "Craig" (heck, a lot of people call me Craig), but it's "Graig." Nettles gives some credibility to this team. But I still don't like him for 1978.
CATCHER - Gregg Zaun. I could have gone with early '90s Brave Greg Olson, but I went with the catcher who seems to have played forever, even if he hasn't been a regular very often.
LEFT FIELD - Greg Luzinski. Here we go. Now we have some heavy duty mashing in this lineup. Always liked The Bull.
CENTER FIELD - Greg Gross. Gross had one heck of a rookie season for the Astros in 1974. Then, three years later, he was a platoon player, and then a bench player, and stayed that way for the rest of his career. But for my team he's the 1974 Greg Gross.
RIGHT FIELD - Greg Vaughn. Another masher. Just like Gross, I'm putting the 1998/99 Vaughn on my team, the one who can hit 50 homers in a season.One thing about the outfield is all three of these guys are left fielders. Vaughn and Luzinski were DHs for a lot of their careers. But I'm putting Gross in center and Vaughn in right and hoping no one gets hurt.
So, the starting lineup would look something like this:
1. Gregg Jefferies - 2B
2. Greg Gagne - SS
3. Greg Luzinski - LF
4. Greg Vaughn - RF
5. Graig Nettles - 3B
6. Greg Brock - 1B
7. Greg Gross - CF
8. Gregg Zaun - C
This is a National League blog, so I'll be batting the pitcher ninth. And speaking of pitchers, I present the weakness of the All-Greg Team. Except for the first guy.
STARTING PITCHER - Greg Maddux. I wonder if Maddux can pitch every day? If he was on this team, he might have to find out.
STARTING PITCHER - Greg Swindell. Not a good sign when Swindell is the No. 2 guy. For some reason, Swindell is the player I remember when I think of players I rooted for because they shared my first name. I don't know why I focused on Swindell. Probably because there was such hype around him when he came up.
STARTING PITCHER - Greg Williams. You thought his real name is "Woody"? Hah! It's Greg.
STARTING PITCHER - Greg Hibbard. Need a fourth guy. He's as good as anyone. He actually did pretty well in his relatively short career. 14 wins in 1990, 15 in 1993. He was done by 1995.For relievers, I have: Greg Minton, Greg Cadaret, Greg Mathews and Greg McMichael. Plus these two guys:
Greg W. Harris and Greg A. Harris. That's our secret weapon in the bullpen -- two Greg Harrises. We'll throw one out there, and the hitters won't know which one it is! It's genius!
CLOSER - Gregg Olson. Again, I'm selecting the non-injured Olson for my team. The 1990-93 Olson.For the bench, I'll throw in Colbrunn, Walker, Olson, Greg Briley and Gregor Blanco.
Final verdict? The All-Gregs might give the All-Kevins a run for their money, if the All-Gregs' pitching staff isn't in the toilet, that is. But the All-Gregs don't stand a chance against the All-Billys.
Comments
that gagne features a photo (with vlad the impaler sliding in) from the same play as his pacific card from that year. i think i've posted it before.
as a garvey fan, i gave greg brock a very short leash. nothing personal, but i shed no tears when he went to milwaukee.
And since I let Jefferies in, I had to let them all in. (Greg Minton at closer instead of Olson? Ouch).
Hey Rod-
Try
Rod Gilbreath
Rod(ney) McCray
Rod Carew
My brothers name is Jeff and we both liked Gregg Jeffries when we were younger because it was a combo of both our names.
Maybe I could look for my last name, though. Hm. I'll make Kerry post it up on Cards on Cards. :)