Greg Vogel

Gregory L. Vogel

• Bats Left, Throws Right
• Height 5' 9", Weight 170 lb.

• School Pennsylvania State University
• High School Northampton High School

• Born ~1954 in Killeen, TX USA

BR minors page

Biographical Information

Greg Vogel was an All-American infielder who later coached at the college level, but only played one season as a pro.

Vogel was born in Texas but moved to Pennsylvania before his first birthday. He scored over 1,000 points as a high school basketball guard, making All-State, while also dazzling on the diamond at shortstop. The New York Mets took him in the 25th round of the 1972 amateur draft, one round after Craig Mitchell, but he opted for college. He played for Penn State in the 1973 College World Series (their most recent College World Series as of 2013). The Houston Astros chose him in the 20th round of the 1975 amateur draft and he again opted not to sign. In the 1975 Intercontinental Cup, he helped the US win the Gold Medal. The San Francisco Giants selected him in the 8th round of the 1976 January draft and he again did not sign. He set Penn State records for season slugging (.723) and career steals (36), both since broken, and was named the All-American second baseman on an infield with Paul Molitor, Juan Bonilla and Rick Honeycutt, all future major leaguers. Greg was taken by the Minnesota Twins in the first round of the 1976 secondary draft, one pick before Ron Roenicke.

Vogel hit only .211/.329/.294 for the 1976 Wisconsin Rapids Twins, with 26 runs, 14 RBI, 4 homers, one steal and 34 walks in 67 games, while fielding .956 as their most-used second baseman. He quit playing to become head coach of Wallenpaupack High School, winning three titles, while guiding the Allentown Wings in the Atlantic Collegiate Baseball League to five titles in his first six years. He moved to Pocono Mountain High School and went 67-35 there. He was considered for the coaching job at Penn State but lost out to Joe Hindelang. He then got Hindelang's job coaching Lafayette College, a job held for 8 years, winning Patriot League Coach of the Year once.

Primary Sources

• Penn State record book
• 1993 article on Vogel