A month before pitchers and
catchers report to spring training, Kennett area baseball fans got their first
harbinger of spring. It was the Kennett Old Timers Baseball Hall of Fame
Banquet with guest speaker Greg Gross, the hitting coach for the Philadelphia
Phillies.

Gross said the acquisition of
pitcher Cliff Lee makes the team’s starting rotation one of the best but, as
the hitting coach, Gross has his eyes on the batting.

“The first starters are going
to be great,” he said in a brief interview before the festivities began. “Now
we have to somehow get the offense squared away, more of what we saw in
previous years and not where we struggled last year.”

Gross acknowledged that
injuries last year hurt the offensive production and said having everyone
healthy this year will improve the situation.

Gross took over as hitting
coach in mid season last year. He was a member of the 1980 World Champion
Phillies and said he wants to experience another parade down Broad Street, this
time as a coach.

During a question and answer
session with the 300 attendees at the banquet, he said that while coaching is
different than playing, he can still feel the electricity generated by the fans
even sitting on the bench.

“As a coach I don’t get booed.
I get slammed in the press, but I don’t get booed,” he said.

He added that a good sign for
the upcoming season is that right now, the team will be coming into training
camp without anyone injured or undergoing a rehab. Many of the
starters—pitchers and position players—are already working out in Florida.

One of the questions from the
crowd concerned the final out in the last game against the Giants that knocked
the Phils out of a chance for the National League pennant. First baseman Ryan
Howard took a called third strike. Gross was asked how a major league hitter
could do that.

“Ryan just froze [on the
pitch],” Gross said, adding that Howard is putting that behind him. “He’s been
working at the ballpark all winter. He’s in Florida now and is in great shape.”

What Howard needs to do in his
approach to hitting is work on his strike zone discipline, the coach said.

Addressing other questions, he
said that Domonic Brown will get a shot to play, but will likely platoon in
right field with right-handed hitter Ben Francisco.

Gross also acknowledged that
groups such as the Kennett Old Timers Baseball Association help keep the game
alive in an era when baseball is losing players to other sport.

The association recognizes
Southern Chester County baseball players who kept playing beyond high school.
This year’s inductees into the hall included Michael Bennett, John Coldiron,
Ron Dickens, Thomas Feron, Scott Grimes, John Lane, Raymond “Cook” McConnell
and Edwin “Eddie” Messikomer.