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Ron Gant
Born: 1965

2B-OF 1987- Braves, Reds, Cardinals, Phillies, Angels, Rockies, Athletics

Ron Gant's Teammates

  • All-Star in 1992, 95

GamesAverageHRRBI
Career 1620.256292910
League DS 6.30426
League CS 31.214517
World Series 11.23704

Stats through the 2000 season


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Ron Gant became the Atlanta Braves' starting second baseman at the tender age of 23 in 1988, replacing Damaso Garcia only two weeks into the season. He enjoyed a solid year at the plate, leading all rookies in homers (19) and RBI (60) while batting .259. In the field, however, Gant was dreadful, letting ground ball after ground ball scoot through his legs as he led NL second baseman with 26 errors. The Braves shifted Gant to third base late in 1988, but it did little good, and he began the 1989 season in an awful batting slump, hitting below .200 into June. He was then sent down to the low minors to learn to play the outfield.

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That offseason, Gant began working out extensively, adding 20 pounds of muscle to his body. The results were immediate. He joined Dale Murphy and Lonnie Smith in the outfield the following year, replacing Oddibe McDowell. Gant ended up batting .303, with 32 dingers and 33 steals in 1990.

The next year, Gant became the third player in history to have back-to-back 30-30 seasons, joining Willie Mays and Bobby Bonds in the elite club. He was also among the league leaders in dingers, doubles, RBIs, runs, and stolen bases, powering the Braves to their first division title -- and World Series -- in years. Though they would eventually lose to the Minnesota Twins in one of the finest Series ever played, Atlanta was first in the National League, and had Gant to thank for much of it. However, in a grim omen of things to come, Gant tallied 104 strikeouts as his batting average dropped 52 points to .251.

In 1992, Gant saw a severe decrease across the board in all of his offensive categories. His lack of production became most apparent during the dog days of summer, when he went homerless from June 17 to July 20. But Gant returned with a flourish in 1993, slugging 36 homers and 117 RBIs, though he missed the 30-30 club by just four stolen bases. In February 1994, the outfielder broke his right leg in a motorcycle accident, and when spring training rolled around, the Braves cut him to avoid paying his multi-million dollar salary.

Indeed, Gant would not return that year, but in June, Cincinnati Reds GM Jim Bowden decided to take a chance on the unemployed and injured slugger, signing him for the 1995 season. The gamble paid off, as Gant bounced back from his year off to bat .276 with 29 homers and 88 ribbies, earning him an All-Star selection and NL Comeback Player of the Year honors from The Sporting News.

Despite the Reds' pleas for him to stick around, Gant signed a five-year deal with the St. Louis Cardinals in the offseason. But in St. Louis, Gant began to earn a reputation as an all-or-nothing ballplayer, knocking homers or whiffing big. In 1997, he hit .229, striking out 162 times in 502 at-bats.

Gant's low batting averages couldn't make up for his power, and in November 1998 the Cards sent him to the Philadelphia Phillies with Jeff Brantley and Cliff Politte for Ricky Bottalico and Garrett Stephenson. Despite the change of scenery, Gant batted .260 with just 17 homers for the Phils in 1999.

With his once-feared power a fading memory, Gant struggled mightily to earn a regular spot in a major-league outfield. He was dealt to the Anaheim Angels for Kent Bottenfield in July 2000, but was soon released and finished the season with the Colorado Rockies, where he provided one of the few highlights of a lackluster season by socking the 1,500th hit of his career. (Coincidentally, it was also the 1,500th homer in Rockies franchise history.) Gant moved again in July 2001 when the Oakland A's acquired him to bolster their bench. (AG/SCL)


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FROM THE BASEBALL CHRONOLOGY
» October 12, 1991: Catcher Greg Olson's 2-run homer caps a 4-run Brave 1st as Atlanta goes on to a 10-3 victory over Pittsburgh in Game three of the NLCS. Ron Gant and Sid Bream homer for the Braves, who take a two games to one lead.

» October 16, 1991: Greg Olson's 9th inning double scores the only run of the game as the Braves, behind another magnificent performance by Steve Avery, shut out the Pirates, 1-0, to force a 7th game. Atlanta's Ron Gant steals his 6th base of the series in the 9th for a new playoff record.

» September 18, 1992: Pittsburgh's Barry Bonds hits his 30th home run of the season off Philadelphia's Terry Mulholland in the Pirates' 5–2 win over the Phillies. Bonds thus becomes the 5th player in history to have a pair of 30-HR, 30-stolen bases seasons. The others include his father, Willie Mays, Howard Johnson, and Ron Gant.

» October 6, 1992: The Braves win the opening game of the NLCS with a 5–1 victory over the Pirates. John Smoltz gets the win and Jeff Blauser homers for Atlanta. Ron Gant of the Braves sets a major league record by successfully stealing his 9th consecutive post season base.

» October 7, 1992: The Braves take a 2–0 lead in the NLCS with a 13–5 pounding of the Pirates. Ron Gant hit a grand slam for Atlanta, the 1st of his big league career.

» October 9, 1992: Rookie Tim Wakefield hurls Pittsburgh to a 3–2 victory over the Braves, giving the Pirates their 1st win in the NLCS. He is the 1st rookie to start an National League playoff game since Philadelphia's Charles Hudson in 1983. Ron Gant homers for the Braves, but Andy Van Slyke's sac fly in the 7th provides the margin of victory.

» June 27, 1993: Atlanta OF Ron Gant fans four times against Houston's Darryl Kile, giving him seven consecutive strikeouts, and a record-tying 10 in his last three games. The Astros and Kile defeat the Braves, 3-0.

» February 3, 1994: Atlanta OF Ron Gant breaks his right leg in a motorbike accident a week after signing the largest single-season contract in history.

» March 18, 1994: The Braves release OF Ron Gant, who broke his leg in a motorcycle accident.

» June 11, 1995: Cincinnati defeats Houston, 3-2, in 10 innings on Ron Gant's home run. It is Gant's 4th extra-inning homer of the season, tying him with Willie Mays for the National League record. Charlie Maxwell hit five for the Tigers in 1960.

» September 5, 1995: The Astros defeat the Reds, 10-1, in a game marked by a bench-clearing brawl that will lead to suspensions for Xavier Hernandez (8 games), Doug Drabek (5), Pat Borders (5), Ron Gant (4), Davey Johnson (2), and Terry Collins (2). Intentional walks backfire twice for Cincy. Ahead 1–0, they walk Jeff Bagwell in the 3rd (with Craig Biggio on 2B and one out)and Mike Simms homers. Undeterred, the Reds gave a free pass to pinch-hitter Dave Magadan in the 7th (with men on 2B and 3B and one out) and the score just 4–1. Derrick May then hits a grand slam.

» October 6, 1995: The Reds pound Hideo Nomo for 7 hits and 5 runs in 5 innings and cruise to a 10-1 win over the Dodgers to sweep the best-of-5 series. Ron Gant, Bret Boone, and Mark Lewis all homer for Cincinnati.

» December 23, 1995: The Cardinals sign free agent P Andy Benes to a 2-year contract, and free agent OF Ron Gant to a 5-year contract.

» June 24, 1996: Ron Gant homers on the first pitch and the Cards go on to beat the Braves, 9–2, ending John Smoltz's 14-game winning streak. Brian Jordan has six RBIs to stop Smoltz, who was trying to match Gaylord Perry's 15 game streak in 1974. Smoltz, 4–9 against the Cards, has not beaten them since 1992.

» September 2, 1996: It's seems like old timers day as the Cardinals whip the Central-leading Astros, 8–7. Willie McGee, playing for Ron Gant, has four hits and three RBI, while Ozzie Smith has three hits, three RBI, and four runs.

» September 3, 1996: Ron Gant hits two doubles and scores three times as the Cards move into the National League Central lead with a 12–3 win over the Astros.

» October 12, 1996: The Cardinals defeat the Braves, 3-2, to go up by one game in the NLCS. Ron Gant homers twice against his former teammates.

» June 3, 1997: In St. Louis, John Mabry drives in six runs and Ron Gant has four RBIs to lead the Cardinals to a 15–4 win over the Colorado Rockies. SS Royce Clayton is 5-for-6 as St. Louis collects 21 hits. The Cardinals hit three homers in a 7-run 5th off Jerry Dipoto.

» November 19, 1998: The Phillies trade pitchers Ricky Bottalico and Garrett Stephenson to the Cardinals for OF Ron Gant, pitchers Jeff Brantley and Cliff Politte, and cash.

» April 28, 1999: The Phillies got three consecutive home runs from Scott Rolen, Rico Brogna and Ron Gant in the bottom of the 1st off Bret Tomko, the 1st time the Phillies have three consecutive home runs since July 26, 1987. But the Reds, down 7–1 after four innings, score four runs in the 9th to win, 12–8.

» April 7, 2000: 41,583 fans, including George W. Bush, are on hand for the opener at brand-new Enron Field. Enron president Kenneth Lay throws out the first ball. Led by Randy Wolf's seven strong innings, the Phillies top the Astros, 4–1. Octavio Dotel gives up two runs before leaving in the 7th with the loss. Scott Rolen and Ron Gant homer for the Phillies, while Richard Hidalgo goes deep for the Astors.

» July 30, 2000: The Phillies bring P Kent Bottenfield back to the NL, sending cash and vet Ron Gant to the Angels.

» December 10, 2000: The Rockies sign free agent OF Ron Gant to a contract.

» July 3, 2001: Rockies OF Ron Gant is traded to A's in exchange for OF Robin Jennings.

» October 11, 2001: The A's take the 2nd game of their series with the Yankees, 2-0, behind the pitching of Tim Hudson. Ron Gant homers for the A's, who escape a two-on, nobody-out threat by the Yankees in the 9th.