{{short description|American baseball player (born 1942)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=July 2024}} {{Infobox baseball biography |name=Jim Gosger |position=Outfielder |image=Jim Gosger 1966.jpg |caption=Gosger in 1966 |bats=Left |throws=Left |birth_date={{Birth date and age|1942|11|6}} |birth_place=Port Huron, Michigan, U.S. |death_date= |death_place= |debutleague = MLB |debutdate=May 4 |debutyear=1963 |debutteam=Boston Red Sox |finalleague = MLB |finaldate=September 22 |finalyear=1974 |finalteam=New York Mets |statleague = MLB |stat1label=Batting average |stat1value=.226 |stat2label=Home runs |stat2value=30 |stat3label=Runs batted in |stat3value=177 |teams= *Boston Red Sox ({{mlby|1963}}, {{mlby|1965}}–{{mlby|1966}}) *Kansas City/Oakland Athletics ({{mlby|1966}}–{{mlby|1968}}) *Seattle Pilots ({{mlby|1969}}) *New York Mets ({{mlby|1969}}) *Montreal Expos ({{mlby|1970}}–{{mlby|1971}}) *New York Mets ({{mlby|1973}}–{{mlby|1974}}) }} '''James Charles Gosger''' (born November 6, 1942) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in the major leagues for 10 seasons between 1963 and 1974, for five different teams, primarily as an outfielder. He was listed at {{convert|5|ft|11|in}} and {{convert|185|lb|kg}}; he batted and threw left-handed.
==Career== Gosger attended St. Stephen High School in Port Huron, Michigan, where he played baseball, basketball and football. He attended St. Clair County Community College and played for their basketball team, before signing a contract with a large signing bonus with the Boston Red Sox in January 1962.<ref name="porthuron">{{cite news |last=Welper |first=Brenden |date=February 2, 2022 |title='I was lucky': Port Huron native Jim Gosger reflects on his unique pro baseball career |work=The Times Herald |location= |url=https://www.thetimesherald.com/story/sports/2022/02/02/port-huron-native-jim-gosger-reflects-unique-mlb-career/9251636002/ |access-date=February 2, 2022}}</ref> He spent the 1962 season in Minor League Baseball with the Winston-Salem Red Sox,<ref name=brm>{{cite web |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=gosger001jam |title=Jim Gosger Minor & Winter Leagues Statistics |website=Baseball Reference |accessdate=April 6, 2025}}</ref> but was then subjected to baseball's bonus rule for the 1963 season. The rule required teams to carry players who received large bonuses on their major-league rosters.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-daily-breeze-how-bonus-rule-works/169747556/ |title=How Bonus Rule Works |newspaper=Daily Breeze |location=Torrance, California |page=27 |date=April 8, 1963 |accessdate=April 6, 2025 |via=newspapers.com}}</ref>
Gosger spent 1963 with the Red Sox, appearing in 19 games. He also played for the Red Sox during 1965–1966, then played for the Kansas City/Oakland Athletics (1966–1968), Seattle Pilots (1969), New York Mets (1969), Montreal Expos (1970–1971), and then returned to the Mets (1973–1974). In 1966 with Boston and Kansas City, he posted career-highs in at bats (398), hits (93), doubles (18), home runs (10) and RBIs (44) while batting .234 in 128 combined games.<ref name=retro/> He was traded along with Bob Heise from the Mets to the San Francisco Giants for Ray Sadecki and Dave Marshall on December 12, 1969.<ref>{{Cite news |date=December 13, 1969 |title=METS GET SADECKI IN GIANTS' TRADE; Marshall Is Also Acquired for Heise and Gosger |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1969/12/13/archives/mets-get-sadecki-in-giants-trade-marshall-is-also-acquired-for.html |access-date=October 29, 2020 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>
Overall, in 705 major-league games, he batted .226 with 30 home runs and 177 RBIs.<ref name=retro/> He played primarily as an outfielder, while also making some appearances as a first baseman.<ref name=retro>{{cite web |url=https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/G/Pgosgj101.htm |title=Jim Gosger |website=Retrosheet |accessdate=April 6, 2025}}</ref>
In June 2019, the Mets accidentally included Gosger in a video meant to honor deceased members of their 1969 championship team; the Mets later apologized to Gosger.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://nypost.com/2019/06/30/mets-have-apologized-to-one-of-the-players-they-accidentally-had-dead/ |title=Mets apologize to player they accidentally declared dead |first=Justin |last=Tasch |newspaper=New York Post |date=June 30, 2019 |accessdate=July 1, 2019}}</ref>
As of 2024, Gosger was still living in Port Huron.<ref name=porthuron/>
The 2025 Preakness Stakes<ref>{{cite web | title=2025 Results | Preakness 150 | Preakness Stakes | date=April 29, 2019 | url=https://www.preakness.com/2025-contenders }}</ref> featured a colt named Gosger; the Preakness represented the third start for the colt, Gosger finished 2nd. The colt won the Lexington Stakes<ref>Lexington Stakes (Keeneland)#Winners</ref>{{Circular reference|date=September 2025}} in April 2025.
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== {{Baseballstats |mlb=114986 |br=g/gosgeji01 |fangraphs=1004892 |brm=gosger001jam |retro=G/Pgosgj101}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gosger, Jim}} Category:1942 births Category:Living people Category:Sportspeople from Port Huron, Michigan Category:Baseball players from St. Clair County, Michigan Category:American expatriate baseball players in Canada Category:Major League Baseball outfielders Category:Boston Red Sox players Category:Kansas City Athletics players Category:20th-century American sportsmen Category:Montreal Expos players Category:New York Mets players Category:Oakland Athletics players Category:Seattle Pilots players Category:Winston-Salem Red Sox players Category:Tidewater Tides players Category:Winnipeg Whips players Category:Phoenix Giants players Category:Vancouver Mounties players Category:Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Category:Reading Red Sox players Category:Toronto Maple Leafs (International League) players Category:Florida Instructional League Red Sox players