Greg Vaughn

Gregory Lamont Vaughn (born July 3, 1965) is a former Major League Baseball left fielder who played for the Milwaukee Brewers (1989–96), San Diego Padres (1996–98), Cincinnati Reds (1999), Tampa Bay Devil Rays (2000–02) and Colorado Rockies (2003). He was born in Sacramento, California, where he attended Kennedy High School. He then played baseball at the University of Miami. He is the cousin of fellow former Major Leaguer Mo Vaughn.

Career

Vaughn was selected by the Brewers in the first round (4th pick) of the 1986 amateur draft. A slugger whose batting average dropped below .250 as often as rising above it, he compensated with excellent power. He had three seasons with at least 100 runs batted in, and four with 30 or more home runs - including the legendary 1998 season, when he hit 50 to finish 4th in the major leagues behind Ken Griffey, Jr., Sammy Sosa, and Mark McGwire, who set the home run record that season. In 1999, he became the only player in major league history to be traded after a 50-homer season when the Padres traded him to the Cincinnati Reds. Vaughn's arrival in Cincinnati caused a bit of a controversy with club ownership and their no facial hair policy. Vaughn styled a goatee that he really didn't want to remove. Fans urged owner Marge Schott to lift the long-standing policy that had been in place since 1967 which she eventually did. On the field, he hit 45 homers and became the second player in major league history to hit 40 or more homers in consecutive seasons with two different teams (one year after Andrés Galarraga became the first).