James Charles Gosger (born November 6, 1942) is an American former

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to c ...

and

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

. He played in the majors for ten seasons between 1963 and 1974 for six different teams. Gosger was listed at and and batted and threw left-handed. During his MLB career, Gosger batted .226 with 30

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

s and 411 hits in 705 games played. Gosger appeared in 555 games at center field (291), left (216) and

right Rights are legal, social, or ethical principles of freedom or entitlement; that is, rights are the fundamental normative rules about what is allowed of people or owed to people according to some legal system, social convention, or ethical ...

(83), and eventually as a

(25).

History

Gosger attended St. Stephen High School in Port Huron, Michigan, where he played baseball, basketball and football. He attended St. Clair County Community College and played for their basketball team, before signing a bonus contract with the Red Sox in January 1962. Gosger broke into the majors in 1963 with the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eigh ...

, playing for them two and a half years before joining the Kansas City/Oakland Athletics (1966–68), Seattle Pilots (1969),

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

(1969),

Montreal Expos The Montreal Expos (french: link=no, Les Expos de Montréal) were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal, Quebec. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in t ...

(1970–71), and again with the Mets (1973–74). In 1967 with Kansas City, he posted career-highs in games (134),

s (7) and hits (86), while hitting .242 with 36 RBI. He was traded along with Bob Heise from the Mets to the

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Y ...

for

Ray Sadecki Ray may refer to: Fish * Ray (fish), any cartilaginous fish of the superorder Batoidea * Ray (fish fin anatomy), a bony or horny spine on a fin Science and mathematics * Ray (geometry), half of a line proceeding from an initial point * Ray ...

and Dave Marshall on December 12, 1969. In June 2019, the Mets accidentally included Gosger in a video meant to honor deceased members of their 1969 championship team; the Mets later apologized to Gosger. As of 2022, Gosger is living in Port Huron.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gosger, Jim 1942 births Living people People from Port Huron, Michigan Sportspeople from Metro Detroit Baseball players from Michigan American expatriate baseball players in Canada Major League Baseball outfielders Boston Red Sox players Kansas City Athletics players Montreal Expos players New York Mets players Oakland Athletics players Seattle Pilots players Winston-Salem Red Sox players Tidewater Tides players Winnipeg Whips players Phoenix Giants players Vancouver Mounties players Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Reading Red Sox players Toronto Maple Leafs (International League) players Florida Instructional League Red Sox players