Greg Colbrunn
A reliable and potent pinch-hitter who carved out a 13-year MLB career as a specialist feared for his clutch hitting off the bench.
Born 1969 (age 57)·American baseball player·Birthday: July 26·Generation X
Biography
Greg Colbrunn built a substantial major league life as the guy managers wanted at the plate with the game on the line. The California native never settled into a single city, playing for seven different clubs, but he found a consistent role as a right-handed batter with a sharp, compact swing. He was less a defensive fixture at first base and more a designated weapon, often deployed to break open a close game. His journeyman path included a World Series ring with the 2001 Arizona Diamondbacks, where his timely hitting was a quiet force alongside the team's superstar pitchers. Colbrunn's deep understanding of the craft later translated into a successful coaching career, most notably as the hitting coach for the 2013 Boston Red Sox, a team that powered its way to a championship with an offensive onslaught. His baseball mind, shaped by years of studying pitchers from the dugout steps, proved as valuable as his bat ever was.
Generation X
1965–1980
The latchkey kids. Raised during divorce, recession, and the end of the Cold War. Skeptical, self-reliant, media-literate. They invented indie culture, grunge, and the early internet — then watched the Boomers take credit.
Greg was born in 1969, placing them squarely in the Generation X. The events that shaped this generation — economic uncertainty, the end of the Cold War, and the rise of personal computing — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Greg Was Born
The biggest hits of 1969
#1 Movie
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
Best Picture
Midnight Cowboy
#1 TV Show
Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In
Greg's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1969Born
Apollo 11: humans walk on the Moon; Woodstock festival
Gas: $0.35/galHome: $15,550Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Sugar, Sugar" — The ArchiesBest Picture: Midnight Cowboy
1974Started school
Nixon resigns the presidency
Gas: $0.53/galHome: $22,600Min wage: $2.00/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"The Way We Were" — Barbra StreisandBest Picture: The Godfather Part II
1982Became a teenager
Michael Jackson releases Thriller
Gas: $1.22/galHome: $55,200Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Physical" — Olivia Newton-JohnBest Picture: Gandhi
1985Could drive
Live Aid concerts raise money for Ethiopian famine
Gas: $1.12/galHome: $62,900Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Careless Whisper" — Wham!Best Picture: Out of Africa
1987Could vote
Black Monday stock market crash
Gas: $0.90/galHome: $72,400Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Walk Like an Egyptian" — The BanglesBest Picture: The Last Emperor
1990Turned 21
Hubble Space Telescope launched; Germany reunifies
Gas: $1.15/galHome: $79,100Min wage: $3.80/hrPresident: George H.W. Bush"Hold On" — Wilson PhillipsBest Picture: Dances with Wolves
1999Turned 30
Columbine shooting; Y2K panic builds
Gas: $1.17/galHome: $113,900Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Believe" — CherBest Picture: American Beauty
2009Turned 40
Michael Jackson dies; Bitcoin created
Gas: $2.35/galHome: $148,500Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Boom Boom Pow" — The Black Eyed PeasBest Picture: The Hurt Locker
2019Turned 50
First image of a black hole; Hong Kong protests
Gas: $2.60/galHome: $224,400Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Donald Trump"Old Town Road" — Lil Nas XBest Picture: Parasite
2026Age 57 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Won a World Series championship as a player with the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2001.
- Served as the hitting coach for the Boston Red Sox when they won the 2013 World Series.
- Played in 992 major league games over 13 seasons, accumulating a career batting average of .289.
- Recorded a 40-double season with the Florida Marlins in 1996.
Did You Know?
He was drafted by the Montreal Expos in the 6th round of the 1987 amateur draft straight out of high school.
In 2002 with the Colorado Rockies, he hit a remarkable .333 with a .611 slugging percentage in 49 games.
He suffered a brain hemorrhage in 2014 while serving as Red Sox hitting coach but made a full recovery.
His son, Colby Colbrunn, was drafted by the Miami Marlins in 2019.
“See the ball, hit the ball, keep it simple.”
