Tuesday, April 22, 2014
no. 284 - jim gosger
Who is the man: Jim Gosger was entering his second season with the Expos in 1971 after playing in 91 games for Montreal in 1970, his most playing time since 1967.
Can ya dig it: Gosger displays the left-handed batting pose on his 1969, 1970 and 1971 cards -- all with different teams (Pilots, Giants and Expos).
Right on: This is Gosger's last Topps card, even though he played in the majors through 1974.
You see this cat Gosger is a bad mother: In 1966, Gosger enjoyed the only two-home run game of his career, hitting two blasts off of the Tigers' Denny McLain.
Shut your mouth: Gosger is immortalized in Jim Bouton's "Ball Four" as the ballplayer who hid in the closet while his roommate became amorous with a lady friend. When the woman said, "Oh darling, I have never done it like that before," Gosger opened the closet door and said, "Yeah, surrrrre."
No one understands him but his woman: Gosger may appear as a Giant on his 1970 Topps card, but he never played for the Giants, being purchased by Expos in April of 1970.
(A word about the back): The one sport that Gosger excelled in that isn't mentioned in the bio is track. Gosger was known as a speedster even in the major leagues.
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So was the roommate identified? I confess I haven't read Ball Four.
ReplyDeleteIt's been a long time since I've read Ball Four, but I don't believe he is.
DeleteThe roommate is not mentioned. Read the book too many times to count.
DeleteSpent his first couple years with redsox. He has one of those floating head rookie cards. He shares it with W. Stargell
ReplyDelete