Don Bosch--1969
It is never good to have on the back of
your card, "He has good speed and a
strong arm." Yet, that is how Topps
described Don Bosch on the back of his
'69 cardboard. Indirectly Topps was
saying, "Don can't hit."
Quite honestly, he couldn't--- that is
unless he was facing a future Hall of
Fame pitcher. Then he ripped his jersey
open to expose the big red "S" on his
chest.
Handed 346 at-bats during parts of four
big league seasons, Bosch hit an anemic
.164 with four home runs for the Pirates,
Mets and the expansion Expos. It wasn't
much better in the minors as the
switch-hitter batted .267 in ten years of
apprentice work.
However, when facing future Hall of
Fame hurlers, Bosch shed his milk toast
image to hit a robust .333, going
14-for-42.
The 5-10, 160 center fielder from San
Francisco excelled against Giants pitcher
Juan Marichal; collecting his most hits
against any big league hurler in going
5-for-11 for a .455 norm.
Bosch rapped out hits at a .500-clip
against both Jim Bunning and Fergie
Jenkins, as two of his four career big
league long balls came off Marichal and
Jenkins.
Hits also came against Don Sutton, Bob
Gibson and Gaylord Perry. However,
lefty Steve Carlton and a young Nolan
Ryan held Bosch hitless, showing that he
was human after all.
Editor's Note: Bosch would land on a
1970 Topps card, though it would be his
last appearance in cardboard as his 49
games with the Expos in 1969 were his
final days in the big leagues. Bosch's
claim to fame was that he scored the
first-ever major league run during a
regular season game in Canada.
He was traded to the Houston Astros
midway through the '70 season for the
eccentric screwball hurling Mike
Marshall, who would go on to capture the
Cy Young Award a few years later with
the Los Angeles Dodgers.
(12/4/10)
your card, "He has good speed and a
strong arm." Yet, that is how Topps
described Don Bosch on the back of his
'69 cardboard. Indirectly Topps was
saying, "Don can't hit."
Quite honestly, he couldn't--- that is
unless he was facing a future Hall of
Fame pitcher. Then he ripped his jersey
open to expose the big red "S" on his
chest.
Handed 346 at-bats during parts of four
big league seasons, Bosch hit an anemic
.164 with four home runs for the Pirates,
Mets and the expansion Expos. It wasn't
much better in the minors as the
switch-hitter batted .267 in ten years of
apprentice work.
However, when facing future Hall of
Fame hurlers, Bosch shed his milk toast
image to hit a robust .333, going
14-for-42.
The 5-10, 160 center fielder from San
Francisco excelled against Giants pitcher
Juan Marichal; collecting his most hits
against any big league hurler in going
5-for-11 for a .455 norm.
Bosch rapped out hits at a .500-clip
against both Jim Bunning and Fergie
Jenkins, as two of his four career big
league long balls came off Marichal and
Jenkins.
Hits also came against Don Sutton, Bob
Gibson and Gaylord Perry. However,
lefty Steve Carlton and a young Nolan
Ryan held Bosch hitless, showing that he
was human after all.
Editor's Note: Bosch would land on a
1970 Topps card, though it would be his
last appearance in cardboard as his 49
games with the Expos in 1969 were his
final days in the big leagues. Bosch's
claim to fame was that he scored the
first-ever major league run during a
regular season game in Canada.
He was traded to the Houston Astros
midway through the '70 season for the
eccentric screwball hurling Mike
Marshall, who would go on to capture the
Cy Young Award a few years later with
the Los Angeles Dodgers.
(12/4/10)
