Thaddis Bosley Jr. (born September 17, 1956) is an American former professional baseball

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 catch ...

and coach.

Playing career

Bosley was called up to the Angels after hitting .326 in 69 games for the Salt Lake City Gulls of the

Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...

(PCL), and made his Major League debut on June 29, . He was traded along with Bobby Bonds and Richard Dotson to the White Sox for Brian Downing, Chris Knapp and Dave Frost on December 5, 1977. He remained with the White Sox organization for three years and later played for the Milwaukee Brewers, Seattle Mariners, and Chicago Cubs, distinguishing himself as one of the best pinch hitters in the majors. During the 1985 season, Bosley hit .328 and was voted the best pinch hitter in baseball. After being traded to the Kansas City Royals in 1987, Bosley returned again to the California Angels in 1988. In 1989, he signed with the Texas Rangers and ended his playing career on June 1, 1990. He appeared with two division champions, the Brewers and the Cubs. Both teams lost their respective

League Championship Series The League Championship Series (LCS) is the semifinal round of postseason play in Major League Baseball which has been conducted since 1969. In 1981, and since 1995, the two annual series have matched up the winners of the Division Series, ...

, however, so Bosley never played in a

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB). It has been contested since between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winning team, determined through a best- ...

. Bosley played fourteen major-league seasons, appearing in 784 games with 1,581 at-bats, a .272 batting average and 20 home runs.

Coaching career

Bosley was a coach for the

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (frequently referred to as the Oakland A's) were an American Major League Baseball (MLB) team based in Oakland, California from 1968 to 2024. The Athletics were a member club of the American League (AL) American League We ...

from 1999 to 2002. During the 2008 and 2009 seasons Bosley served as an assistant coach and then as the head coach for the baseball team at the now defunct Bethany University in Scotts Valley, California. Bosley was announced on June 24, 2009, as the head coach at Southwestern College in Phoenix, Arizona. After one season at Southwestern, Bosley accepted the hitting coach vacancy for the most recent American League champion, the Texas Rangers on November 23, 2010. He was fired as the Rangers hitting coach on June 8, 2011.

Personal life

Bosley was briefly a member of a

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African-American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African-Americans in the ...

group called Ballplayers which featured former Major League Baseball journeyman Lenny Randle. Some of their music can be heard on a compilation called "Family Album", which was released in 2010 on the DC-based music label, People's Potential Family.

References

External links

RetrosheetPitchfork
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bosley, Thad 1956 births Living people African-American baseball coaches African-American baseball players American expatriate baseball players in Canada Baseball coaches from California Baseball players from San Diego County, California California Angels players Chicago Cubs players Chicago White Sox players Edmonton Trappers players Idaho Falls Angels players Iowa Cubs players Iowa Oaks players Kansas City Royals players Major League Baseball first base coaches Major League Baseball hitting coaches Major League Baseball outfielders Milwaukee Brewers players Oakland Athletics coaches Oklahoma City 89ers players Quad Cities Angels players Salinas Angels players Salt Lake City Gulls players Seattle Mariners players Sportspeople from Oceanside, California Texas Rangers coaches Texas Rangers players Vancouver Canadians players 21st-century African-American sportsmen 21st-century American sportsmen 20th-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century American sportsmen