James Charles Gosger (born November 6, 1942 in Port Huron, Michigan) was an American former Major League Baseball outfielder and first baseman. He played from 1963-1974 for six different teams. Gosger was listed at 5 feet 11 inches (1.80 m) and 185 pounds (84 kg) and batted and threw left-handed. During a 10-year baseball career, Gosger batted .226 with 30 home runs and 411 hits in 705 games played.
Basically a contact, line-drive hitter, Gosger was a fine reserve outfielder with a strong throwing arm, appearing in 555 games at center field (291), left (216) and right (83), and eventually as a first baseman (25).
Gosger broke into the majors in 1963 with the Boston Red Sox, playing for them two and a half years before joining the Kansas City/Oakland Athletics (1966-68), Seattle Pilots (1969), New York Mets (1969), Montreal Expos (1970-71), and again with the Mets (1973-74). His most productive season came in 1967 with Kansas City, when he posted career-highs in games (134), home runs (7) and hits (86), while hitting .242 with 36 RBI.
Facts
- An original Seattle Pilot, he was also on both the 1969 and 1973 National League champions Mets.
- Made slightly infamous by Jim Bouton in his book Ball Four for muttering the words "Yeah, sure".