Vernard Arthur Hoscheit (April 1, 1922 – June 11, 2007) was an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Moder ...

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the catc ...

, coach, and

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

. He served as a coach on four

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- ...

championship

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB) teams with 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 ...

and

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National ...

. Hoscheit was the Mets' bullpen coach from 1984 to 1987, which included their World Series championship run in 1986. During that season's

spring training Spring training, also called spring camp, is the preseason of the Summer Professional Baseball Leagues, such as Major League Baseball (MLB), and it is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spri ...

, he accurately predicted that the team would clinch the National League East Division title on September 17, long before any regular season game was even played.

Career

Playing

Born in Brunswick, Nebraska, Hoscheit originally signed with the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...

and was a catcher in their

farm system In sports, a farm team (also referred to as farm system, developmental system, feeder team, or nursery club) is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful pl ...

for 12 seasons, starting in 1941. He missed the 1943–45 seasons because of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

military service, but returned to hit .245 for the

Binghamton Triplets The Binghamton Triplets were a minor league baseball team based in Binghamton, New York between 1923 and 1963. The franchise played as members of the New York–Penn League (1923–1937), Eastern League (1938–1963), New York–Penn League ( ...

in the Class A Eastern League, where his manager was

Baseball Hall of Fame The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by a private foundation. It serves as the central collection and gathering space for the history of baseball in the United S ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

Lefty Gomez Vernon Louis "Lefty" Gomez (November 26, 1908 – February 17, 1989) was an American professional baseball player. A left-handed pitcher, Gomez played in Major League Baseball (MLB) between 1930 and 1943 for the New York Yankees and the Washingto ...

. Hoscheit also caught 25 games in 1947 for Binghamton while hitting .271. He hung on in the minor leagues until 1955, his best season being 1951, when he hit .354 with 11 home runs and 109 RBIs for the McAlester Rockets of Class D Sooner State League. Hoscheit managed in the lower levels of the Yankees' organization from 1948 to 1959.

Coaching and management

Hoscheit also was an executive in

minor league baseball Minor League Baseball (MiLB) is a professional baseball organization below Major League Baseball (MLB), constituted of teams affiliated with MLB clubs. It was founded on September 5, 1901, in response to the growing dominance of the National Le ...

. He was the

general manager A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...

for the Quincy (1955–56), Peoria (1957), and

Greensboro Greensboro (; ) is a city in Guilford County, North Carolina, United States, and its county seat. At the 2020 census, its population was 299,035; it was estimated to be 307,381 in 2024. It is the third-most populous city in North Carolina, af ...

(1958–59) clubs, concurrent with being their field manager, and then became president of the Three-I League in 1960. After the Three-I League disbanded following the 1961 season, Hoscheit joined the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles (also known as the O's) are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East Division. As one of the America ...

and was a

scout Scout may refer to: Youth movement *Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement ** Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom ** Scouts BSA, sect ...

and minor league instructor (1962–67) and Major League coach (1968). He switched to Oakland and was a coach from 1969 to 1974, earning World Series rings in his final three seasons. He coached for the

California Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West Division. Since 1966, the team has pl ...

(1976) and was the Mets' Gulf Coast League manager in 1983. With the parent team, he served as bullpen coach when New York won the

1986 World Series The 1986 World Series was the World Series, championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1986 Major League Baseball season, 1986 season. The 83rd edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff played between the National Lea ...

. He became a minor league catching instructor for the Mets in 1988. In retirement, Hoscheit returned to his native Nebraska, where he coached

American Legion The American Legion, commonly known as the Legion, is an Voluntary association, organization of United States, U.S. war veterans headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. It comprises U.S. state, state, Territories of the United States, U.S. terr ...

teams in Plainview, Nebraska for many years including a state championship team in 1982. In 1983, he returned to the Mets to become their Gulf Coast League Manager in 1983 and went on to receive his 4th World Series Ring with the 1986 Mets as a bullpen coach

Death

He died at the Pierce Manor nursing home in Pierce, Nebraska on June 11, 2007.The Plainview News

References

External links

Vern Hoscheit
at SABR (Baseball BioProject) : {{DEFAULTSORT:Hoscheit, Vern 1922 births 2007 deaths Baltimore Orioles coaches Baltimore Orioles scouts Baseball catchers Baseball coaches from Nebraska Baseball players from Nebraska Binghamton Triplets players California Angels coaches Joplin Miners players Kansas City Blues (baseball) players Major League Baseball bullpen coaches McAlester Rockets players Minor league baseball executives Minor league baseball managers New York Mets coaches Norfolk Tars players Oakland Athletics coaches People from Antelope County, Nebraska People from Plainview, Nebraska Quincy Gems players American military personnel of World War II 20th-century American sportsmen