Ray Fosse
| Ray Fosse | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 | |||
| Catcher | |||
Born: (1947-04-04) April 4, 1947 Marion, Illinois | |||
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| MLB debut | |||
| September 8, 1967, for the Cleveland Indians | |||
| Last MLB appearance | |||
| September 30, 1979, for the Milwaukee Brewers | |||
| MLB statistics | |||
| Batting average | .256 | ||
| Home runs | 61 | ||
| Runs batted in | 324 | ||
| Teams | |||
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| Career highlights and awards | |||
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Raymond Earl Fosse (born April 4, 1947 in Marion, Illinois) is an American former professional baseball player and current television sports color commentator. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher.[1] He was drafted in the first round of the 1965 amateur draft by the Cleveland Indians.[2] He was the Indians' first ever draft pick, as 1965 was the first year of the Major League Baseball Draft. He batted and threw right-handed.[1] He has been a television and radio broadcaster for the Oakland Athletics since 1986.
Contents
1 Major League career
2 Career statistics
3 Broadcaster
4 Personal life
5 References
6 External links
Major League career
Fosse's career was marked by injuries.[3] He made his Major League debut in Cleveland late in the 1967 season, but spent 1968 in the minor leagues.[1] Returning to the Indians in 1970, he platooned alongside Duke Sims.[3] In the first half of 1970 he posted a .313 batting average with 16 home runs and 45 runs batted in.[3] He hit in 23 consecutive games beginning June 9, the longest American League hitting streak since 1961,[3] and was chosen as a reserve for the 1970 All-Star Game by Earl Weaver, the American League manager.[3]
Arguably, Fosse is best known for a violent collision with Pete Rose at home plate during the last play of the 1970 All-Star Game.[4][5] Initial x-rays revealed no fractures or other damage, but a re-examination the following year found that Fosse had sustained a fractured and separated shoulder, which healed incorrectly, causing chronic pain that never entirely resolved.[6] Rose asserted that he was simply trying to win the game, and that Fosse — who had moved a few feet up the third-base line to receive the throw from Amos Otis[6] — was blocking the plate; but Rose was widely criticized for over-aggressive play in an exhibition game.[6] Fosse went on to play 42 games in the second half of the season, hitting .297 and winning the American League Gold Glove Award.[1]
In 1971 Fosse batted .276 with 12 home runs and 62 runs batted in, but was kicked in his right hand during a brawl against the Detroit Tigers on June 20, sustaining a gash that required five stitches and sidelined him for more than a week.[1][3] When he returned he tore a ligament in his left hand during an at-bat against Denny McLain, forcing him to miss the 1971 All-Star Game.[3] He did manage to win his second consecutive Gold Glove Award.[7] When Cleveland pitcher Gaylord Perry won the American League Cy Young Award in 1972, he gave Fosse credit for his success: "I've got to split it up and give part, a big part, to my catcher, Ray Fosse. He kept pushing me in games when I didn't have good stuff. He'd come out and show me that big fist of his when I wasn't bearing down the way he thought I should."[3]
In 1973 Fosse was traded along with Jack Heidemann to the Oakland Athletics for Dave Duncan and George Hendrick.[8] He played in 143 games that season, the most of his career, on a team with three 20-game-winning pitchers: Ken Holtzman, Vida Blue, and Catfish Hunter.[9] The Athletics won the American League Western Division pennant by six games over the Kansas City Royals, then defeated the Baltimore Orioles in the American League Championship Series.[10][11] Fosse made his mark in the series, throwing out five would-be base stealers.[3] The Athletics went on to win the World Series against the New York Mets.[12]
The Athletics repeated as world champions in 1974, defeating the Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series, but injuries once again plagued Fosse.[3][13] On June 5 he suffered a crushed disk in his neck attempting to break up a clubhouse fight between teammates Reggie Jackson and Billy North,[3] and spent three months on the disabled list. The Athletics won a fifth consecutive division title in 1975, but by then Gene Tenace had replaced Fosse as the starting catcher.[3] Fosse did participate in a combined no-hitter in the final game of the season, catching for Paul Lindblad and Rollie Fingers in the final three innings.
The Athletics traded Fosse back to the Indians in 1976[8] where he again became the starting catcher, only to return to the disabled list after a home plate collision with Jim Rice.[3] When he returned he was platooned with Alan Ashby.[3] Fosse ended the year with a .301 batting average.[1] On May 30, 1977, he caught Dennis Eckersley's no-hitter versus the California Angels.[14][15] Eckersley acknowledged Fosse's contribution to the no hitter: "Give Fosse a lot of credit too," he said. "He called a helluva game. I think I only shook him off three times."[3] When Jeff Torborg replaced Frank Robinson as manager of the Indians in June 1977, he again placed Fosse in a platoon role with Fred Kendall. In September he was traded to the Seattle Mariners.[3][8]
After finishing the year with the Mariners he signed a contract to play for the Milwaukee Brewers;[8] but during spring training he tripped in a hole while running down the first base line and sustained injuries to his right leg.[3] The most serious injury required the reconstruction of a knee ligament, forcing him to miss the entire season.[3] He came back in 1979 but played in only 19 games; in 1980 he was released at the close of spring training.[3]
Career statistics
In a twelve-year major league career, Fosse played in 924 games, accumulating 758 hits in 2,957 at bats for a .256 career batting average along with 61 home runs and 324 runs batted in.[1] He ended his career with a .986 fielding percentage.[1] Fosse led American League catchers in 1970 with 854 putouts, 48 baserunners caught stealing and in range factor (7.81).[1] In 1971 he led the league with 73 assists, and in 1973, he led American League catchers in baserunners caught stealing and in caught stealing percentage.[1]
Fosse was a member of two World Series Champion clubs: the 1973 and 1974 A's, and also a member of the inaugural Seattle Mariners team that began playing in 1977.[12][13][16] He won Gold Glove Awards in 1970 and 1971.[7] Fosse was named to the 100 Greatest Cleveland Indians in 2001.[17]
Broadcaster
Fosse is a color commentator for the Oakland Athletics on NBC Sports California and occasionally on the A's radio broadcasts when the game is not on TV or is on national television.[18] He has served as the color analyst for the Oakland Athletics' radio and television broadcasts since 1986. In 2002, he was nominated for a Ford C. Frick Award.
Personal life
Fosse has been married to his wife Carol since April 1970.[19] They maintain residences in Oakland, California and Scottsdale, Arizona.[6]
References
^ abcdefghij Ray Fosse at Baseball Reference
^ 1965 First Round Draft at mlb.com
^ abcdefghijklmnopqrs Wancho, Joseph. "The Baseball Biography Project: Ray Fosse". Society for American Baseball Research. Retrieved 13 July 2010..mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit}.mw-parser-output q{quotes:"""""""'""'"}.mw-parser-output code.cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration{color:#555}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration span{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-right{padding-right:0.2em}
^ 1970 All-Star Game at Baseball Almanac
^ Kroichick, Ron, Bowled Over, 10 July 1999, San Francisco Chronicle; accessed 28 September 2009
^ abcd Miller, Scott (July 11, 2013). "Fosse still aching, but not bitter 43 years after All-Star Game collision". CBS Sports. Retrieved July 13, 2013.
^ ab American League Gold Glove Award Winners at Baseball Reference
^ abcd Ray Fosse Trades and Transactions at Baseball Almanac
^ 1973 Oakland Athletics season
^ 1973 American League standings at Baseball Reference
^ 1973 American League Championship Series at Baseball Reference
^ ab 1973 World Series at Baseball Reference
^ ab 1974 World Series at Baseball Reference
^ May 30, 1977 Angels-Indians Box Score at Baseball Reference
^ May 30, 1977 Angels-Indians Box Score at Baseball Almanac
^ Ray Fosse at Baseball almanac
^ "Top 100 Greatest Indians". mlb.com. 2016. Retrieved May 2, 2016.
^ Urban, Mychael, Where have you gone, Ray Fosse?, 22 May 2002, @ mlb.com; accessed 28 September 2009[permanent dead link]
^ "Fosse still feels effects from 1970 All-Star Game collision". Associated Press. July 9, 2015. Retrieved July 9, 2015.
External links
- Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference
- Retrosheet
- Ray Fosse biography at The Society for American Baseball Research
