Von Joshua

[Michael Trzinski]

For those of you old enough to remember, Von Joshua was a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers for six years and played in the majors for 10 seasons back in the ‘70s. But did you know that Joshua amassed the most at-bats for any one team in just two years with the Brewers?

The left-handed Joshua, an Oakland native, was selected 17th overall in the first round by the San Francisco Giants in the January 1967 out of Laney College. He didn’t sign with the Giants but instead inked a free agent contract with the Dodgers in June 1967. After just three years in the minors, Joshua made his big-league debut in September 1969, and played a handful of games, mostly as a pinch-runner and defensive replacement for the Dodgers. Joshua got his first major league hit on October 1 and went 2-for-3 off Houston’s Larry Dierker.

Joshua would split time between the Dodgers and their Triple A teams at Spokane and Albuquerque over the next three years before playing exclusively for Los Angeles in 1973-1974. He suffered a broken wrist when hit by a pitch in mid-April 1973 and missed 33 games. The following season, Joshua went on the disabled list almost the same time of year, this time missing 24 games with back spasms. He finished the season with just 124 at-bats across 81 games. Joshua asked to be traded but after no trade partners could be found, was released. San Francisco signed him in late January 1975.

The outfielder got a chance to play full-time with the Giants and Joshua responded with career highs of 75 runs, 161 hits, 25 doubles, 10 triples, 20 steals, all three ‘slash numbers,' and an OPS+ of 120. The next season, Joshua lost his centerfield job to Larry Herndon and once again asked to be traded. The Giants put him on waivers, and he was claimed by the Brewers in early June in a waiver 'trade' for a player to be named later.

Joshua took over the CF spot from Gorman Thomas and played 107 games and posted a 93 OPS+. In 1977, Joshua played 144 games and set career highs with nine homers and 49 RBI. The next spring, the Brewers acquired outfielders Larry Hisle and Ben Oglivie and released Joshua.

He rejuvenated his career with Tabasco (the team, not the hot sauce) in the Mexican League in 1978 and got part-time jobs with Los Angeles (1979) and San Diego (1980). After being released by the Padres late in the year, Joshua played in the Mexican League for two more years before retiring. In 1989, Joshua batted .349 in 21 games for St. Lucie in the Senior Professional Baseball Association. Of his career 2,234 at-bats, 959 came with the Brewers.

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