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Auburn Baseball’s “Where are they now?”: Gabe Gross to receive Tiger Trail plaque

By Chris Roush

Aug 30, 2016; Auburn, AL, USA; View of Samford Hall framed by one of the two trees as we visit the ToomerÕs Corner trees for a story about the trees recovering enough for the fans to paper them again, as they do in celebration after football wins. Mandatory Credit: Shanna Lockwood-USA TODAY Sports
Aug 30, 2016; Auburn, AL, USA; View of Samford Hall framed by one of the two trees as we visit the ToomerÕs Corner trees for a story about the trees recovering enough for the fans to paper them again, as they do in celebration after football wins. Mandatory Credit: Shanna Lockwood-USA TODAY Sports /
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Here we discuss former Auburn baseball player Gabe Gross, who will be receiving a plaque on downtown Auburn’s Tiger Trail during A-Day weekend.

Two-sport star and Auburn baseball alum Gabe Gross is among the former Tiger athletes who will receive a Tiger Trail plaque in downtown Auburn during A-Day Weekend.

Gross, whose father Lee Gross was a center for Auburn in the 1970s and then played for the New Orleans Saints and Baltimore Colts, played two years for the football team at quarterback before devoting the rest of his time on the Plains to the baseball squad. In 1998, he threw for 1,222 yards and seven touchdowns in nine games as a true freshman on a team that struggled to go 3-8.

During his first year on the diamond, Gross hit .363 with seven homers and 63 RBIs, but once he focused on baseball, his stats exploded.

In 2000, Gross his .430 with 18 homers and 86 runs batted in. His 83 runs scored that year remain an Auburn record, and his 102 hits are sixth all-time for Auburn. His 26 doubles and .536 on-base percentage in 2000 are both second all-time in Auburn history.

Gross was a consensus All-America selection after the 2000 season along with future pro baseball All-Stars Mark Teixeira of Georgia Tech and Chase Utley of UCLA.

Gross followed that season up with a .327 batting average and 15 home runs in the 2001 season. Afterward, he was drafted in the first round by the Toronto Blue Jays.

Gross made the major leagues in 2004 with the Blue Jays. After the 2005 season, he was traded to the Milwaukee Brewers, where he played three seasons. He also played two years for the Tampa Bay Rays and one year for the Oakland A’s.

His best season in the big leagues was in 2008 when he played in 127 games in right field for the Rays, hitting 13 homers and batting .242 for a team that made it to the World Series.

The Rays lost that Series to the Philadelphia Phillies 4 games to 1. Gross played in one game during the series and drove in two runs.

Gross ended his career in 2011 with 40 homers and 186 RBIs. He then returned to Auburn to complete his degree and served as the baseball team’s student assistant coach in 2012 and then as a volunteer hitting and outfielders coach in 2013.

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Last year, Gross was named Auburn’s 2016 SEC Baseball Legend, and he’s also been inducted into the Wiregrass Sports Hall of Fame, which honors athletes from the Dothan area. In recent years, he’s also done work for the SEC Network.

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