PHILADELPHIA -- When former Phillies pitcher Tommy Greene coaches his son's legion baseball team, the hurler values the opportunity to help young ballplayers improve their game.
Now, the 41-year-old is taking that same approach to his latest interest: Real estate. Greene just earned his real estate license in June, enabling him to work alongside his wife, Lorie, who has been in the business for 20 years.
"It's sort of the same thing," Greene said. "I'm helping [new homeowners] try to get to where they want to get to, a dream they want to get to. [Young baseball players] want to be a better pitcher; a family wants to have their first home. You're helping people."
Greene, who now resides in Virginia with his wife and teenage son, Seth, produced many memories for Phillies fans during his days in Philadelphia.
In his first full season with the Phillies in 1991, Greene threw a no-hitter against the Expos in Montreal's Olympic Stadium on May 23, striking out 10 batters in the process. In his next start, on May 28, Greene threw another complete-game shutout, this time blanking the Expos on three hits in front of a home crowd at Veterans Stadium.
Two years later, the right-hander would play an integral role in the Phillies' 1993 run to the World Series. Greene notched 16 wins for that year's squad, enough to tie him with Curt Schilling for the team lead. With a three-games-to-two lead over the Braves in that year's National League Championship series, the Phillies handed the ball to Greene for Game 6. The right-hander held Atlanta to three runs in seven innings, helping lift Philadelphia to a 6-3 win and its first World Series appearance in 10 years.
The 1993 team produced fun memories for Greene off the field as well -- everything from receiving a pep talk from fellow Phils hurler Danny Jackson in the lobby of an Atlanta hotel at 3:30 in the morning to sleeping in Veterans Stadium's trainers room after a late-night contest with an afternoon game scheduled for the following day.
ARI: Travis Lee | ATL: Mark Lemke
BAL: Chris Hoiles | BOS:Bill Lee
CHC: Randy Hundley | CIN: Eric Davis
CWS: Dan Pasqua | CLE: Dave Burba
COL: Curtis Leskanic | DET: Steve Sparks
FLA: Charlie Hough | HOU: Doug Drabek
KC: John Mayberry | LAA: Rick Reichardt
LAD: Jim Gott | MIL: Don Sutton
MIN: Kevin Tapani | NYM:Ed Kranepool
NYY:Jim Abbott | OAK: Ben Grieve
PHI:Tommy Greene | PIT: Barry Jones
STL: B. Tewksbury | SD: C. Hernandez
SF: Brian Johnson | SEA: Henry Cotto
TB:Doug Creek | TEX: Dave Hostetler
TOR: A. Gonzalez | WAS: W. Fryman
More Where Are They Now? articles ARI: Jay BellATL: Sid BreamBAL: Doug DeCincesBOS: Fred LynnCHC: Doug GlanvilleCIN: Tom BrowningCWS: Ron KarkoviceCLE: Gaylord PerryCOL: Kevin RitzDET: Mickey TettletonFLA: Chad FoxHOU: John HudekKC: Ed HearnLAA: Clyde WrightLAD: Steve SaxMIL: Pat ListachMIN: Scott LeiusNYM: Jay HookNYY: Bucky DentOAK: Frank MenechinoPHI: Micky MorandiniPIT: Mike LaValliereSD: Steve FinleySEA: Brian HolmanSF: Ellis BurksSTL: Andy BenesTB: Fred McGriffTEX: Tim CrabtreeTOR: Danny CoxWAS: Andre DawsonPresented by Monster
"We all got along, for the most part," Greene said, recalling the '93 squad. "Because nobody expected us to do anything, we were just baseball players who went out there and played the game like it was supposed to be played."
Greene is even able to apply some of his pitching philosophy to his foray into the world of real estate. Looking down from his six-foot, five-inch perch atop Veterans Stadium's pitcher's mound, the right-hander used to tell himself to "start low, work high" to most hitters.
Even though the current real estate market isn't in the best shape, Greene is ready to start low and work high.
"With the economy, and housing the way it is right now, everybody's had to take some steps back," he said. "It's tough right now, but that's part of it, too."
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