Gregory Joseph Golson (born September 17, 1985) is an American former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

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 catch ...

. A first round selection (21st overall) in the 2004 Major League Baseball draft by the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. The Phillies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has ...

, Golson played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB) for the Phillies (2008), Texas Rangers (2009), and

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...

(2010–2011).

Amateur career

Golson attended

John B. Connally High School John B. Connally High School is a public secondary school in Austin, Texas, United States. The school, which opened in 1996, serves 9–12 and is part of the Pflugerville Independent School District. Notable alumni * Jonté Buhl (class of 2000) � ...

Austin, Texas Austin ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat and most populous city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and W ...

. He committed to the University of Texas.

Baseball America ''Baseball America'' (BA) is a sports publication company that covers baseball at every level, including Major League Baseball (MLB), with a particular focus on up-and-coming players in Minor League Baseball (MiLB) college, high school, and inte ...

ranked him as the 29th best player (and 11th best high school player) in the 2004 MLB Draft. Golson was named to USA Today's All-USA High School Baseball Team alongside future MLB stars like

Homer Bailey David Dewitt "Homer" Bailey Jr. (born May 3, 1986) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cincinnati Reds from 2007 through 2018, the Kansas City Royals and Oakland Athletics in 2019 ...

Justin Upton Justin Irvin Upton (born August 25, 1987) is an American former professional baseball outfielder. Nicknamed "J-Up", he played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Arizona Diamondbacks, Atlanta Braves, San Diego Padres, Detroit Tigers, Los Angel ...

Neil Walker Neil Martin Andrew Walker (born September 10, 1985) is an American former professional baseball second baseman and current broadcaster. He played 12 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates, New York Mets, Milwaukee Bre ...

, and

Trevor Plouffe Trevor Patrick Plouffe ( ; born June 15, 1986) is an American media personality and former professional baseball third baseman. He previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Minnesota Twins, Oakland Athletics, Tampa Bay Rays, and ...

. In 2015, Golson's former high school retired #15, his former uniform number from when he played.

Professional career

Philadelphia Phillies

The Philadelphia Phillies selected Golson with the 21st overall pick in the first round of the 2004 Major League Baseball Draft. After drafting him, the Phillies assigned Golson to their

Gulf Coast League The Florida Complex League (FCL) is a rookie-level Minor League Baseball league that operates in Florida, United States. Before 2021, it was known as the Gulf Coast League (GCL). Together with the Arizona Complex League (ACL), it forms the low ...

affiliate in rookie ball. He hit .295 with eight doubles, five triples, and 12 stolen bases in 47 games. After the season,

ranked him as the fourth-best prospect in the Phillies system. Golson's speed became a feature of his game, and went on to steal over 100 bases in five minor-league seasons. In a 2008 interview, Golson said, regarding his success as a base-stealer, that " ou've/nowiki> got to be real observant of what the pitcher is doing, if they fall into patterns, what the catcher is doing, the counts, the game situation—stuff like that ... but speed is the big thing". In 2007, his second minor-league season, Golson was promoted to the

A-level The A-level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational ...

Lakewood BlueClaws The Jersey Shore BlueClaws (formerly Lakewood BlueClaws) are a Minor League Baseball team of the South Atlantic League and the High-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies. They are located in Lakewood, New Jersey, and are named for their locat ...

Lakewood, New Jersey Lakewood Township is the most populous township in Ocean County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. A rapidly growing community, as of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 135,158, its highest decennial count ever and ...

. He continued to accumulate high strikeout numbers, with 106 in 375 at-bats, but he also posted a .264 average, hit 8 triples (a career-high), and stole 25 bases. After the 2005 season, Golson was named the third-best prospect in the Phillies' system by

, the highest spot he would reach in those rankings. He was also ranked as the 14th best prospect in the

South Atlantic League The South Atlantic League, often informally called the Sally League, is a Minor League Baseball league with teams predominantly in states along the Atlantic coast of the United States from New York to Georgia. A Class A league for most of its h ...

. Most of the 2006 season was spent at Lakewood as well, with a late-season promotion to the

Clearwater Threshers The Clearwater Threshers are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and the Single-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies. They are located in Clearwater, Florida, and have played their home games at BayCare Ballpark since 20 ...

. Between the two levels, Golson hit .233 and struck out 160 times. He hit 13

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...

s and batted in 48 runs. Golson also accumulated 127 hits in 593

plate appearance In baseball, a player is credited with a plate appearance (denoted by PA) each time he completes a turn batting. Under Rule 5.04(c) of the Official Baseball Rules, a player completes a turn batting when he is put out or becomes a runner. This ha ...

s. After the season, he was rated as the Phillies' 10th best prospect by Baseball America. Strikeouts continued to plague Golson as he began the 2007 season. Between Clearwater and the

Reading Phillies Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of sight or touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process involving such areas as word re ...

, Golson struck out 173 times in 607 plate appearances. He was a

Florida State League The Florida State League (FSL) is a Minor League Baseball league based in the state of Florida. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A following ...

All-Star that year and was promoted to Double-A in July. Golson hit a combined 15 home runs in 2007, with 32 doubles and 5 triples. His .273 average and .426

slugging percentage In baseball statistics, slugging percentage (SLG) is a measure of the batting productivity of a hitter. It is calculated as total bases divided by at-bats, through the following formula, where ''AB'' is the number of at-bats for a given player, an ...

were a large improvement over the previous year. His prospect ranking dropped to seventh. IMG 7902 Greg Golson

Golson remained at Reading for the 2008 season. He was named an Eastern League All-Star and played in the All-Star Futures Game that year. After hitting .282 with 13 home runs, 18 doubles, and 23 stolen bases, Golson was called up by the Phillies on September 1. He made his debut on September 3, pinch-running for

Pat Burrell Patrick Brian Burrell (born October 10, 1976), nicknamed "Pat the Bat", is an American former professional baseball outfielder and current hitting coach for the San Francisco Giants of Major League Baseball (MLB). He played in MLB for the Philad ...

. He made several appearances as a late-inning defensive replacement, which was fine with Golson. "You can really impact a game, where people will remember stuff … if you make a great catch that saves the game, people remember that for a long time." With the Phillies, Golson went 0-for-6 in six games, scoring two runs and stealing a base. He was not included on the postseason roster that year, instead being assigned to the team's Florida complex.

Texas Rangers

On November 20, 2008, Golson was traded by the Phillies to the Texas Rangers for John Mayberry, Jr. Phillies general manager Rubén Amaro, Jr. called the trade a speed-for-power' swap". Golson spent most of the season with the

Oklahoma City RedHawks Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

in Triple-A. He was called up on May 4, got one plate appearance, and was optioned again on May 9. In 146 plate appearances, Golson hit .289 with five doubles, three triples, six stolen bases, and 40 RBI with Oklahoma City.

New York Yankees

On January 26, 2010, Golson was traded to the

in exchange for minor league player Mitch Hilligoss and cash, after being designated for assignment by the Texas Rangers a few days earlier. He was called up for the first time on May 4 and got his first major league hit on May 12 against the Detroit Tigers. After six appearances, he was sent back to Triple-A on May 18. Golson was recalled when roster expanded on September 1. Playing against the

Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in the Tampa Bay area. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. They are one of two major ...

Tropicana Field Tropicana Field (nicknamed "The Trop") is a domed multipurpose stadium located in St. Petersburg, Florida, United States. "The Trop" was the home of the Tampa Bay Rays of Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1998 Tampa Bay Devil Rays season, 1998 to ...

on September 14, Golson astonished players and spectators with a strong throw from right field to throw out the speedy

Carl Crawford Carl Demonte Crawford (born August 5, 1981), nicknamed "the Perfect Storm", is an American former professional baseball left fielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Tampa Bay Rays, Boston Red Sox and Los Angeles Dodgers. He ba ...

at third base for the final out of the game. Golson was included on the team's postseason roster. He spent most of the 2011 season in Triple-A with the

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, often abbreviated to SWB RailRiders, are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the New York Yankees. They are located in Moosic, Pennsylvania, in the S ...

. He was briefly called up on July 14 when Alex Rodriguez went on the disabled list. Golson was again recalled when rosters expanded in September. He was released on December 8.

Kansas City Royals

The

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team ...

signed Golson to a minor league contract on December 13, 2011.

Chicago White Sox

The Royals traded Golson to the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...

for cash considerations on March 25, 2012. Golson played in 2012 with Triple-A

Charlotte Charlotte most commonly refers to: *Charlotte (given name), a feminine form of the given name Charles ** Princess Charlotte (disambiguation) ** Queen Charlotte (disambiguation) *Charlotte, North Carolina, United States, a city * Charlotte (cake) ...

, where he hit .276 with 6 HR, 52 RBI and 20 SB in 109 games.

Colorado Rockies

The

Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. Th ...

signed Golson to a minor league contract on January 30, 2013. Golson began 2013 with Triple-A

Colorado Springs Colorado Springs is the most populous city in El Paso County, Colorado, United States, and its county seat. The city had a population of 478,961 at the 2020 census, a 15.02% increase since 2010. Colorado Springs is the second-most populous c ...

. In 55 games with the Sky Sox, Golson hit .244 with 5 HR, 22 RBI and 12 SB. He was released on July 19.

Lancaster Barnstormers

On July 27, 2013, Golson signed with the

Lancaster Barnstormers The Lancaster Stormers (formerly known as the Lancaster Barnstormers) is an American professional baseball team based in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. It is a member of the North Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, a "partner l ...

of the

Atlantic League of Professional Baseball The Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB) is a professional independent baseball league in the United States. It is an official MLB Partner League based in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern United States, and the headquarters are l ...

. He homered in his first at-bat.

Atlanta Braves

On July 31, 2013, Golson joined the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Eas ...

on a minor league contract. He was assigned to Triple-A Gwinnett.

Milwaukee Brewers

Golson signed a minor league contract with the

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

in January 2014. He was released in March.

Lancaster Barnstormers (second stint)

In 2014, he signed with the

and hit .312 with two homers and 20 RBI in 51 games. During the playoffs, he hit .273, homering twice and driving in nine runs, as the Barnstormers won the championship that year.

Rojos del Aguila de Veracruz

On April 28, 2015, Golson signed with Rojos del Aquila de Veracruz of the

Mexican League The Mexican Baseball League (, or LMB, ) is a professional baseball league in Mexico. It is the oldest running professional sports league in the country. The league has 20 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games ...

for the 2015 season. In 22 games he hit .278/.323/.333 with 0 home runs, 8 RBIs and 8 stolen bases.

Tigres de Quintana Roo

On May 26, 2015, he was traded to

Tigres de Quintana Roo The Tigres de Quintana Roo (English: Quintana Roo Tigers) are a professional baseball team in the Mexican League based in Cancún, Quintana Roo, Mexico. The team is part of the Southern Division (). The team has won twelve championships to date: ...

for right fielder Ramon Ramirez. In 58 games he hit .335/.416/.457 with 2 home runs, 38 RBIs and 13 stolen bases.

New Britain Bees

On March 18, 2016, Golson returned to the

Atlantic League The Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB) is a professional independent baseball league in the United States. It is an official MLB Partner League based in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern United States, and the headquarters are loc ...

when he signed a one-year deal with the

New Britain Bees The New Britain Bees are an American collegiate summer baseball team based in New Britain, Connecticut. They are a member of the Futures Collegiate Baseball League (FCBL), a wood-bat league with teams in New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connectic ...

. In 96 games he hit .292/.338/.379 with 3 home runs, 38 RBIs and 18 stolen bases. He was the team's first player with MLB experience. Golson re-signed with the

for the 2017 season but shortly after asked for his release to play in Mexico.

Tigres de Quintana Roo (second stint)

On April 10, 2017, Golson signed with the

of the

Mexican Baseball League The Mexican Baseball League (, or LMB, ) is a professional baseball league in Mexico. It is the oldest running professional sports league in the country. The league has 20 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games ...

. He was released on May 5, 2017. In 27 games he hit .260/.351/.300 with 0 home runs, 9 RBIs and 5 stolen bases.

Somerset Patriots

On May 26, 2017, Golson signed with the

Somerset Patriots The Somerset Patriots are an American professional Minor League Baseball (MiLB) team based in Bridgewater, New Jersey. They are the Double-A affiliate of the New York Yankees. They compete in the Eastern League (EL), known as the Double-A Nort ...

of the

. He became a free agent following the season. In 43 games he hit .255/.290/.406 with 4 home runs, 26 RBIs and 4 stolen bases.

Wichita Wingnuts

On March 9, 2018, Golson signed with the

Wichita Wingnuts The Wichita Wingnuts were an independent baseball team based in Wichita, Kansas, in the United States. The Wingnuts were members of the South Division of the American Association of Professional Baseball. An expansion franchise in the 2008 sea ...

of the American Association.

Texas AirHogs

He was traded to the

Texas AirHogs The Texas AirHogs were a professional baseball team based in Grand Prairie, Texas from 2008 to 2020. The AirHogs were members of the American Association of Independent Professional Baseball, which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball. Be ...

on March 28, 2018. On October 8, Texas exercised its option to keep Golson for the 2019 season. He was released on March 5, 2019. In 43 games he hit .259/.318/.333 with 1 home run and 11 RBIs.

Lancaster Barnstormers (third stint)

On May 27, 2019, Golson signed with the

of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball. In 54 games he hit .267/.309/.341 with 2 home runs, 16 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. Golson retired following the 2019 season and later was hired by the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

in their pro scouting department.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Golson, Greg 1985 births Living people African-American baseball players American expatriate baseball players in Mexico Baseball players from Austin, Texas Charlotte Knights players Clearwater Threshers players Colorado Springs Sky Sox players Florida Complex League Phillies players Gwinnett Braves players Lakewood BlueClaws players Lancaster Barnstormers players Major League Baseball outfielders Mexican League baseball center fielders Mexican League baseball right fielders Mississippi Braves players New Britain Bees players New York Yankees players Oklahoma City RedHawks players Philadelphia Phillies players Reading Phillies players Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees players Somerset Patriots players Texas AirHogs players Texas Rangers players Tigres de Quintana Roo players 21st-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century American sportsmen