Books and articles about Greg Luzinski

Luzinski earned the nickname The Bull with his bulging arms, thick neck, massive body, and viscious righthanded batting stroke. As the Phillies' left fielder in the 1970s, he teamed with third baseman(J-h)h)h)Mike Schmidt to form a potent slugging combination and help the Phillies to four NL East championships in five years.

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The 6'1" 220-lb Luzinski reached the ML for good in 1972, with two minor league home run crowns, one minor league batting championship, and three minor league strikeout titles on his resume. He hit .281 with 18 HR as a rookie, and .285 with 29 HR and 97 RBI in 1973, the year Schmidt joined the lineup. From 1975 to 1980, the pair averaged nearly 66 HR a year. Luzinski was hobbled by knee surgery in 1974 but rebounded in 1975 to hit .300 with 34 HR and a NL-best 120 RBI. The Bull still routinely struck out 100 times a season, yet pushed his average up to .304 the following year as the Phillies won the first of three consecutive division titles, and in 1977 he logged career highs in all three Triple Crown catagories, batting .309 with 39 HR and 130 RBI. In LCS play, Luzinski was just as dangerous, slugging home runs in Game Two in 1976, Game One in 1977, and Games Three and Four in 1978, but the Phillies lost all three series. Luzinski's production fell off badly in 1979, and in 1980 his average dropped to .228, but the Phillies finally advanced past the LCS with a five-game victory over the Astros, as Luzinski homered to win Game One. In the WS, the Phillies used the clumsy-fielding Luzinski primarily as the designated hitter and he failed to get a single hit, but the Phillies beat the Royals in six games.

Luzinski was sold to the White Sox before the 1981 season and he immediately became Chicago's full-time DH, where he no longer had to endure criticism for his wretched defense. He played four seasons in Chicago, helping them to the AL West title in 1983 with 32 HR and 95 RBI, then retired after hitting .238 with 13 HR in 1984. The Bull is fourth on the Phillies all-time home run list, behind Schmidt, Del Ennis, and Chuck Klein. (SCL)

FROM THE BASEBALL CHRONOLOGY » August 9, 1970: At Three Rivers Stadium, Willie Stargell hits an 8th inning homer into the 70-foot high right field upper deck, the first player to hit one up there. The pitch is served up by Mets reliever Ron Taylor. The next two hit up there will be by Stargell, who will hit four of the first 7; Bob Robertson, Phillie Greg Luzinski, and Bobby Bonilla, in 1987, will also reach the seats. The Pirates win, 8–3. Nolan Ryan is the loser, allowing four runs in six innings, allowing three hits, walking seven and striking out 10. » April 23, 1972: Greg Luzinski homers in the 9th to tie the score, then triples and scores in the 11th to give the Phils a 5–4 victory over the Pirates. Luzinski also doubles and scores in the 2nd. » May 16, 1972: The Cubs Rick Monday hits a single and three consecutive home runs, driving in five runs in an 8–1 win over the Phillies. The Phils only score is a 500-foot clanger by Greg Luzinski off the Liberty Bell in CF at Veterans Stadium. » August 20, 1972: Striking out 14, Don Wilson pitches the Astros to a 3–1 win over the Phils. Greg Luzinski accounts for the lone Quaker run with a homer. Still without a win this year, Ken Reynolds absorbs his 11th loss. » June 11, 1977: Phillies' slugger Greg Luzinski smacks a grand slam and a 3-run double to drive in seven runs at Atlanta. The Phils top the Braves 13–10. » October 4, 1977: The Phillies score twice in the 9th inning on singles by Bake McBride, Larry Bowa, and Mike Schmidt off Elias Sosa, to beat the Dodgers 7–5 in the opening game of the National League Championship Series. Ron Cey blasts a grand slam for Los Angeles in the 7th, and Greg Luzinski homers for the Phils. » August 5, 1979: The Phillies beat the Pirates 12–8 in the first game of a doubleheader. Philadelphia's Greg Luzinski and Pittsburgh's John Milner each hit a grand slam, and Rose collects his 2,427th career single to break Honus Wagner's NL record. » October 1, 1980: Steve Carlton fires a two hitter and the Phils beat the Cubs, 5–0. Mike Vail's leadoff single in the 8th is the first hit off Carlton. Mike Schmidt and Greg Luzinski hit back-to-back homers in the 6th, off Dennis Lamp, as the Phils remain a half-game out of first place. » October 7, 1980: Phillies stars shine in the NLCS opener. Steve Carlton and Tug McGraw hold the Astros to one run, and Greg Luzinski cracks a 2-run homer. Final score is 3–1. » March 30, 1981: The Phillies sell OF Greg Luzinski to the White Sox, who will use him as a full-time DH. » August 28, 1983: Greg Luzinski becomes the first player to park three home runs onto the roof at Comiskey Park, connecting off Boston's Oil Can Boyd in a 6–2 Chicago victory. Jimmie Foxx and Ted Williams each accomplished the feat twice. » September 9, 1983: White Sox Britt Burns pitches a one-hit 11–0 win over the Angels. California's sole hit is Mike Brown's single with two out in the 7th. Sox teammates Carlton Fisk, Tom Paciorek, and Greg Luzinski make it easy for Britt by clouting consecutive homers in the first inning. » September 30, 1983: In a 9-4 win over the Mariners, Chicago's LaMarr Hoyt records his 13th win in a row to raise his record to 24-10, and Greg Luzinski hits his 32nd home run to set a new single-season record for designated hitters. » June 9, 1984: Greg Luzinski becomes the 10th player in ML history to hit grand slams in consecutive games when he connects off the Twins Mike Walters in the 7th inning of an 8–4 White Sox victory. The previous day, Luzinski sparked the Sox to a 6–1 win with a first-inning grand slam off Frank Viola.