| Ray Fosse | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Catcher | |
| Born:(1947-04-04)April 4, 1947 Marion, Illinois, U.S. | |
| Died: October 13, 2021(2021-10-13) (aged 74) Oakland, California, U.S. | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| 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 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Raymond Earl Fosse (April 4, 1947 – October 13, 2021) was an American professionalbaseball player and television sportscolor commentator. He played inMajor League Baseball (MLB) as acatcher from 1967 to 1979, most prominently as anAll-Star player for theCleveland Indians, and then as a two-timeWorld Series champion with theOakland Athletics dynasty of the early 1970s.[1] He also played for theSeattle Mariners and theMilwaukee Brewers.[1] After his playing career, Fosse was a popular television and radiocolor commentator for the Athletics.
Fosse was selected by the Indians to become the team's first draft pick when MLB implemented its first amateur draft in 1965. Fosse was a two-time All-Star and won twoGold Glove Awards in a playing career that was marred by numerous injuries.[2] In 2001, Fosse was voted one of the 100 greatest players in Cleveland Indians' history by a panel of veteran baseball writers, executives and historians.[3] He was named to the Oakland Athletics' 50th-anniversary team in 2018.[3] In 2022, Fosse was inducted into theAthletics Hall of Fame.[4]
Fosse was born inMarion, Illinois, where he grew up listening to theSt. Louis Cardinals on the radio.[5] He consideredStan Musial to be his favorite player.[5] Fosse played as a catcher for theMarion High School baseball team and was named the team's Most Valuable Player three consecutive years.[1][2] He also playedfootball andbasketball in high school.[2] After high school, Fosse attendedSouthern Illinois University.[3]
TheCleveland Indians selected Fosse in the first round of the1965 MLB draft.[6] Fosse played three seasons in theminor leagues before making his major-league debut with the Indians on September 8,1967, at the age of 20.[1][7] He returned to the minor leagues for the 1968 season, where he posted a .301 batting average in 103 games for thePortland Beavers of thePacific Coast League.[7]
Returning to the Indians in1970, heplatooned alongsideDuke Sims.[2] In the first half of 1970, he posted a .313batting average with 16home runs and 45runs batted in.[2] He hit in 23 consecutive games beginning June 9, the longestAmerican League (AL)hitting streak since 1961,[2] and was chosen as a reserve for the1970 All-Star Game byEarl Weaver, the American League manager.[2]
In the final play of the1970 All-Star Game, Fosse was injured in a collision withPete Rose athome plate.[8][9] InitialX-rays revealed no fractures or other damage, although a re-examination the following year found Fosse had sustained a fractured andseparated shoulder, which healed incorrectly, causing chronic pain that was never entirely resolved.[10] 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[10] — was blocking the plate, but Rose was widely criticized for over-aggressive play in anexhibition game.[10] Fosse went on to play 42 games in the second half of the season, hitting .297 and winning the ALGold Glove Award,[1] but said that he was never as good a batter after the injury.[11][12]
Fosse continued to be plagued by injuries in1971 when he was kicked in his right hand during a brawl against theDetroit Tigers on June 18,[13] sustaining a gash that required five stitches and sidelined him for more than a week.[1][2] When he returned, he tore a ligament in his left hand during an at-bat againstDenny McLain, forcing him to miss the1971 All-Star Game.[2] Despite these injuries, Fosse appeared in 133 games and led the league's catchers inassists and in double plays to win his second consecutive Gold Glove Award.[14][15] He also posted a .276 batting average and contributed 12 home runs and a career-high 62 runs batted in for the last place Indians.[1]
Fosse's contributions at calling pitches was evident when IndianspitcherGaylord Perry won the American LeagueCy Young Award in 1972. Perry 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."[2]
Fosse was acquired along withJack Heidemann by theOakland Athletics from the Indians forDave Duncan andGeorge Hendrick on March 24, 1973.[16] 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, andCatfish Hunter.[17] Fosse guided the Athletics pitching staff to the second best team earned run average as well the second most shutouts in the American League as, the Athletics won theAL Western Divisionpennant by six games over theKansas City Royals.[18] The Athletics then defeated theBaltimore Orioles in theAL Championship Series.[19][20] Fosse made his mark in the series, throwing out five would-bebase stealers.[2] The Athletics went on to win theWorld Series against theNew York Mets.[21]
The Athletics repeated as world champions in1974, defeating theLos Angeles Dodgers in the World Series, but injuries once again plagued Fosse.[2][22] On June 5, he suffered a crushed disc in his neck attempting to break up alocker room fight between teammatesReggie Jackson andBilly North, and spent three months on thedisabled list.[2] The Athletics won a fifth consecutive division title in1975, but by then,Gene Tenace had replaced Fosse as the starting catcher.[2] Fosse did participate in a combined no-hitter in the final game of the season, catching forPaul Lindblad andRollie Fingers in the final three innings.[23]
Fosse returned to theIndians when his contract was sold by the Athletics at theWinter Meetings on December 9, 1975.[24] He again became the starting catcher, only to return to the disabled list after a home-plate collision withJim Rice.[2] When he returned he was platooned withAlan Ashby.[2] Fosse ended the year with a .301 batting average.[1] On May 30, 1977, he caughtDennis Eckersley'sno-hitter versus theCalifornia Angels.[25][26] 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."[2] WhenJeff Torborg replacedFrank Robinson asmanager of the Indians in June 1977, he again placed Fosse in a platoon role withFred Kendall. In September, he was traded to the newSeattle Mariners.[2][27]
After finishing the year with the Mariners, he signed a contract to play for the Milwaukee Brewers,[27] but duringspring training, he tripped in a hole while running down the first base line and sustained injuries to his right leg.[2] The most serious injury required the reconstruction of a knee ligament, forcing him to miss the entire season.[2] He came back in1979, but played in only 19 games; in1980, he was released at the close of spring training.[2]
In a 12-year MLB career, Fosse played in 924 games, accumulating 758hits in 2,957 at bats for a .256 career batting average along with 61 home runs, 324 runs batted in, and a .301on-base percentage.[1] He ended his career with a .986 fielding percentage.[1] Fosse led AL catchers in 1970 with 854putouts and 48 baserunnerscaught stealing, and inrange factor (7.81).[1] In 1971 he led the league with 73assists, and in 1973, he led AL catchers in baserunners caught stealing and in caught stealing percentage.[1]
Fosse was a member of two World Series Champion clubs: the1973 and1974 A's, and also a member of the inauguralSeattle Mariners team of 1977.[21][22][28] He wonGold Glove Awards in 1970 and 1971.[15] Fosse was named to the 100 Greatest Cleveland Indians in 2001.[29]
From 1986 to 2021, Fosse was acolor commentator for theOakland Athletics onNBC Sports California and occasionally on Athletics radio broadcasts when a game was not on local television.[3] In 2004, he was nominated for aFord C. Frick Award.[30]
Fosse married his wife Carol in April 1970.[31] They maintained residences in Oakland, California, andScottsdale, Arizona.[10]
On August 5, 2021, Fosse revealed that he had been battling cancer for the past 16 years, and needed to step away from his job as an announcer to focus on his treatment.[32] Fosse died of cancer on October 13, 2021, at the age of 74.[33]
