Ray Fosse

[Michael Trzinski]

Raymond Earl Fosse was born in April 1947 in Marion, Illinois. He was selected seventh overall by the Cleveland Indians in the first-ever MLB Amateur Draft in 1965. Fosse moved rapidly up the ladder in the Indians organization, making his big-league debut in just his third year as a professional in 1967. Although he struggled offensively (1-for-16) in seven September games, he threw out four of seven would-be base stealers.

Fosse earned Pacific Coast League all-league honors in 1968 when he batted .301/.355/.428 at Triple-A Portland. He got into one game for the Indians in September and then began serving an army reserve hitch for a few months.

The 6-foot-2, 205-pound catcher started the 1969 season with the Indians but suffered a broken right index finger off a foul ball in June. Fosse returned in September but finished with a batting line of .172/.230/.250 in 37 games. He played in the Florida Instructional League that winter and did much better, hitting .301/.363/.411 across 73 at-bats.

Fosse had a great beginning to the 1970 season and was batting .312/.366/.527 going into the All-Star game but the fan voting (first time since 1957) put Detroit’s Bill Freehan in the catcher spot. Fosse was named as a reserve by AL manager Earl Weaver. He entered the game in the sixth inning and went 1-for-2 with a sac fly but his big moment came late in the game when he was run over by Pete Rose in the infamous home plate collision that affected Fosse’s game for the rest of his life. Fosse ended the season with a slash line of .307/361/.469 with a career-high 18 home runs and 124 OPS+. He also won his first AL Gold Glove.

The right-handed batter was named to the All-Star team for the second and final time in his career in 1971 and earned his second Gold Glove Award. He batted .276/.329/.397 but dropped to 12 homers, his power declining since doctors found that his shoulder had been fractured and separated by Rose’s hit the previous year.

Fosse slumped in 1972, batting just .241/.312/.354 but he did draw a career-high 45 free passes. He was traded to the Oakland A’s before the 1973 season. The Indians apparently got tired of waiting for the ‘old’ Ray Fosse to return to form and swapped him and Jack Heidemann for Dave Duncan and George Hendrick.

Fosse played for Oakland the next three years and was a part of two World Series winners. He led the AL in 1973, throwing out 52 base runners for a 55.9% caught stealing rate. But Gene Tenace won the catching job in 1975, and Fosse was sold back to Cleveland in December.

In 1976, Fosse split time behind the plate with Alan Ashby and slashed .301/.347/.362 with a 110 OPS+. The following season he split time with Fred Kendall but was traded to the Seattle Mariners before the end of the season. He hit well in limited play for the M’s, batting .353/.389/.441 over just 34 at-bats. On New Year’s Eve, the Brewers signed Fosse as a free agent.

In spring training, Fosse injured his knee and hamstring when he tripped in a hole on his way to first base and missed the entire 1978 season. The following year, Fosse battled Buck Martinez and Charlie Moore for playing time but only got into 19 games all season. He was released in 1980 by the Brewers in spring training.

After retirement, Fosse worked in several positions in the A’s organization and then became an announcer in 1986 for A’s baseball and worked 35 years as a color commentator and host of the pre-game show.

Fosse passed away on October 13, 2021 after a long battle with cancer.

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