Ray Fosse Stats

Ray Fosse was born on Friday, April 4, 1947, in Marion, Illinois. Fosse was 20 years old when he broke into the big leagues on September 8, 1967, with the Cleveland Indians. His biographical data, year-by-year hitting stats, fielding stats, pitching stats (where applicable), career totals, uniform numbers, salary data and miscellaneous items-of-interest are presented by Baseball Almanac on this comprehensive Ray Fosse baseball stats page.

Baseball Almanac Top Quote

"Ray Fosse, the catcher who was injured by Pete Rose in 1970, was asked about a possible rule change. His response was the rules should be left alone. 'The game has been around more than 100 years, and now they're going to start protecting catchers?" Fosse told the San Francisco Chronicle. "In high school, you can't run over the catcher. But that is high school. The idea is to score runs. If the catcher has the ball and he's standing there, the runner has to stop? Is that protection?" - Coker, W. Laurence. M.D. Baseball Injuries: Case Studies, by Type, in the Major Leagues. McFarland Publishing. 25 March 2013. Page 180.

Ray Fosse

Ray 'The Marion Mule' Fosse Autograph on a 1970 Topps Baseball Card (#184 | <a href='../baseball_cards/baseball_cards_oneset.php?s=1970top01' title='1970 Topps Baseball Card Checklist'>Checklist</a>)

Ray 'The Marion Mule' Fosse Autograph on a 1970 Topps Baseball Card (#184 | Checklist)

CareerCollegeAll-StarWild CardDivisionLCSWorld SeriesManagerTradesAwardsVideosCardsmlb   espn
Birth Name:   Raymond Earl Fosse
Nickname:   Mule or Ray or The Marion Mule
Born On:   04-04-1947  (Aries)
Place of Birth Data Born In:   Marion, Illinois
Year of Death Data Died On:   10-13-2021 (1,000 Oldest Living)
Place of Death Data Died In:   Diablo, California
Cemetery:   Not Yet Determined
High School:   Marion High School (Marion, IL)
College:   None Attended
Batting Stances Chart Bats:   Right   Throwing Arms Chart Throws:   Right
Player Height Chart Height:   6-02   Player Weight Chart Weight:   215
First Game:   09-08-1967 (Age 20)
Last Game:   09-30-1979
Draft:   1965 : 1st Round (7th) / Signing Bonus = $28,000

Ray Fosse

Ray Fosse Pitching Stats

- - Did Not Pitch - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Ray Fosse

Ray Fosse Hitting Stats

1967 20 Indians 7 16 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 0 0 0 0 .063 .063 .063
1968 21 Indians 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000
1969 22 Indians 37 116 11 20 3 0 2 0 9 8 1 29 0 1 1 3 .172 .230 .250
1970 23 Indians 120 450 62 138 17 1 18 1 61 39 5 55 4 3 1 9 .307 .361 .469
1971 24 Indians 133 486 53 134 21 1 12 1 62 36 6 62 0 3 4 15 .276 .329 .397
1972 25 Indians 134 457 42 110 20 1 10 0 41 45 15 46 1 2 3 18 .241 .312 .354
1973 26 Athletics 143 492 37 126 23 2 7 0 52 25 4 62 9 5 1 10 .256 .291 .354
1974 27 Athletics 69 204 20 40 8 3 4 0 23 11 1 31 2 3 2 6 .196 .241 .324
1975 28 Athletics 82 136 14 19 3 2 0 0 12 8 0 19 1 1 1 5 .140 .192 .191
1976 29 Indians 90 276 26 83 9 1 2 0 30 20 1 20 3 1 0 8 .301 .347 .362
1977 30 Indians 78 238 25 63 7 1 6 0 27 7 2 26 8 1 3 5 .265 .293 .378
1977 30 Mariners 11 34 3 12 3 0 0 0 5 2 0 2 0 0 0 2 .353 .389 .441
1979 32 Brewers 19 52 6 12 3 1 0 0 2 2 0 6 0 0 2 1 .231 .286 .327
12 Years 924 2,957 299 758 117 13 61 2 324 203 35 363 28 20 18 82 .256 .306 .367

Ray Fosse

Ray Fosse Fielding Stats

1967 Indians C 7 5 142 53 7.6 53 46 7 0 0 2 3 4 1.000 10.08
1968 Indians C 1 0 6 1 1.0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.000 4.50
1969 Indians C 37 32 885 261 7.1 255 237 18 6 2 7 36 14 .977 7.78
1970 Indians C 120 120 2,430 934 7.8 924 854 70 10 7 17 40 48 .989 10.27
1971 Indians 1B 4 5 111 19 4.8 19 19 0 0 6 n/a n/a n/a 1.000 4.62
1971 Indians C 126 119 3,156 831 6.6 821 748 73 10 16 13 56 38 .988 7.02
1972 Indians 1B 3 2 63 28 9.3 28 27 1 0 3 n/a n/a n/a 1.000 12.00
1972 Indians C 124 121 3,258 795 6.4 783 713 70 12 9 12 54 31 .985 6.49
1973 Athletics C 141 137 3,602 786 5.6 776 713 63 10 5 5 41 52 .987 5.82
1974 Athletics C 68 64 1,589 336 4.9 327 299 28 9 6 3 35 19 .973 5.56
1975 Athletics 1B 1 0 6 3 3.0 3 3 0 0 0 n/a n/a n/a 1.000 13.50
1975 Athletics 2B 1 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 n/a n/a n/a .000 0.00
1975 Athletics C 82 41 1,214 270 3.3 265 250 15 5 1 2 35 12 .981 5.89
1976 Indians 1B 3 1 39 11 3.7 11 10 1 0 1 n/a n/a n/a 1.000 7.62
1976 Indians C 85 78 2,057 532 6.3 525 483 42 7 9 4 67 30 .987 6.89
1977 Indians 1B 1 0 6 1 1.0 1 1 0 0 0 n/a n/a n/a 1.000 4.50
1977 Indians C 77 67 1,810 482 6.3 474 426 48 8 4 4 67 35 .983 7.07
1977 Mariners C 8 7 171 31 3.9 30 29 1 1 1 1 2 0 .968 4.74
1979 Brewers 1B 1 1 24 9 9.0 9 9 0 0 0 n/a n/a n/a 1.000 10.13
1979 Brewers C 13 5 178 35 2.7 35 32 3 0 1 0 2 2 1.000 5.31
C Totals 889 796 20,498 5,347 6.0 5,269 4,831 438 78 61 70 438 285 .985 6.94
1B Totals 13 9 249 71 5.5 71 69 2 0 10 n/a n/a n/a 1.000 7.70
2B Totals 1 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 n/a n/a n/a .000 0.00
12 Years 903 805 20,747 5,418 6.0 5,340 4,900 440 78 71 70 438 285 .986 6.95

Ray Fosse

Ray Fosse Miscellaneous Stats

1967 Indians 0 0 .000 0 0 n/a 0.0 3.2 0.0 - - -
1968 Indians 0 0 .000 0 0 n/a 0.0 0.0 0.0 - - -
1969 Indians 1 0 1.000 1 0 n/a 58.0 4.0 12.9 - - -
1970 Indians 1 5 .167 0 0 n/a 25.0 8.2 7.4 - - -
1971 Indians 4 1 .800 7 1 n/a 40.5 7.8 7.8 - - -
1972 Indians 5 1 .833 9 0 n/a 45.7 9.9 11.1 - - -
1973 Athletics 2 2 .500 0 0 2 70.3 7.9 9.5 - - -
1974 Athletics 1 1 .500 1 0 1 51.0 6.6 8.9 - - -
1975 Athletics 0 1 .000 2 0 0 0.0 7.2 11.3 - - -
1976 Indians 1 2 .333 6 0 1 138.0 13.8 9.2 - - -
1977 Indians 0 5 .000 0 0 1 39.7 9.2 8.8 - - -
1977 Mariners 0 1 .000 2 0 2 0.0 17.0 6.8 - - -
1979 Brewers 0 0 .000 4 0 5 0.0 8.7 26.0 - - -
12 Years 15 19 .441 32 1 12 48.5 8.1 9.1 - - -

Ray Fosse

Ray Fosse Miscellaneous Items of Interest

1967 Cleveland Indians 8 $4,100.00 - -
1968 Cleveland Indians 8 $5,300.00 - -
1969 Cleveland Indians 8 $5,700.00 - -
1970 Cleveland Indians 8 $15,000.00 Stats -
1971 Cleveland Indians 8 $28,000.00 Stats -
1972 Cleveland Indians 8 $28,000.00 - -
1973 Oakland Athletics 10 $40,500.00 - Stats
1974 Oakland Athletics 10 $50,000.00 - Stats
1975 Oakland Athletics 10 $50,000.00 - -
1976 Cleveland Indians 10 $59,000.00 - -
1977 Cleveland Indians 10 $75,000.00 - -
1977 Seattle Mariners 38 "     "     - -
1979 Milwaukee Brewers 13 $68,500.00 - -

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Raymond Earl Fosse was a Major League Baseball player with the Cleveland Indians (19671972), Oakland Athletics (19731975), Cleveland Indians (19761977), Seattle Mariners (1977), and Milwaukee Brewers (1979). When Ray, his nickname, made his big league debut on September 8, 1967, he became the first Marion High School graduate to play in the majors.

RAY FOSSE ROOKIE CARD

Ray Fosse Rookie Card | 1969 Topps Baseball Card (#244 | Checklist)
Baseball Almanac Collection

Did you know that Ray Fosse was named one of the 100 Greatest Cleveland Indians Players ever? As part of the club’s 100th Anniversary Celebration in 2001, a panel of veteran baseball writers, historians and executives selected a roster of the Top 100 Greatest Indians and Fosse was named one of the seven catchers. The other six catchers were: Sandy Alomar, Joe Azcue, Jim Hegan, Steve O'Neill, Johnny Romano, and Hall of Famer Luke Sewell.

In 1970, Ray Fosse hit safely in 23 consecutive games, the longest streak in the American League since 1961. A excellent first half, .313 batting average / 45 runs batted in / 16 home runs, made The Marion Mule an easy choice for Earl Weaver when picking a reserve catcher during the 1970 All-Star Game. The video (below) is an absolutely iconic moment in baseball history, the Ray Fosse / Pete Rose Collision at Home Plate:

Ray Fosse Video | Collision At Home Plate | 14 July 1970

One of Baseball Almanac's favorite baseball bookshelf descriptions of this historic play was wonderfully detailed in Pete Rose: A Biography (Baseball's All-Time Greatest Hitters) (Jordan, David M. Greenwood Publishing. 30 September 2004. Page 52.), an excerpt:

Initial reaction was mostly favorable to Rose, who said, "Fosse was about two feet in front of the plate. If I'd slid in there, I could have broken both legs," somehow overlooking the fact that players, himself included, slid into home plate all the time. "If I had slid head-first," he continued, "I could have broken my neck." Fosse said, "I know he didn't mean it. But who knows? Maybe he should have run around me. It all happened so quick. I never got hit like that before." Later, Fosse said, "if he had slid conventionally on his rear, he would have made it easily.".

Infielder Jim Fregosi of the Angels said, "I didn't particularly like the play. All Rose has to do is slide and nobody gets hurt." (Clyde) Wright, the American League pitcher, had as good a view of what happened as anyone; he said, "I don't know why he had to hit him so hard. I guess it was instinct with Rose. That's the way he plays. But I was standing there and he could have gone around Fosse."

But few players were willing to criticize Rose publicly. The play was within the rules, Fosse was technically in error for occupying the base line without the ball, and Rose's body block had succeeded. Very few observers called it a cheap shot. But there was an uncomfortable feeling about it, a feeling that Pete Rose's "enthusiasm" had become something a bit more dangerous. From this time on, a feeling grew that boyish, playful Pete Rose would do anything to win, even it risked maiming another player.

Dallas Green, who was to manage Rose in Philadelphia years later, felt that Pete's style of play angered quite a few players. "I think there were plenty of times he was 'sent a message' by pitchers during his career," Green said.

For Ray Fosse, the Rose collision was just something that had happened. As a couple of years went by, though, with his shoulder still achy, Fosse began to wonder. He heard of Rose boasting about the play, about proving his manhood, showing his greatness as a competitor. Rose started telling of how he and Fosse ahd been out carousing together till two in the morning the night before but he had still been willing to slam into a good griend the way he had. Fosse had never met Rose until the night before the All Star Game when, after a press conference, Rose, Fosse, his teammate Sam McDowell, and their wives had gone out to dinner. They returned briefly to the Rose home to talk a little baseball before the Indians players and their wives returned to their hotel. Fosse resented Rose portraying him as a bosom buddy.

Finally, Fosse read an article in 1974 in which Rose responded to a question about the collision by saying, "I could never have looked my father in the eye again, if I hadn't hit Fosse that day." This statement confirmed to Fosse that Rose had crashed into him with malicious intent. Later still, he read that Rose had said, "nobody told me the changed it to girls' softball between third and home." Nevertheless, Ray Fosse held no bitterness toward Pete Rose.

Rose missed three games with a bruised thigh from the Fosse collision before getting back to the business of the National League West.

Excerpt from Pete Rose: A Biography.

Do you agree with the play? Disagree? Was the collision in the spirit of game? Or did it go beyond fair play? Share your opinon with us on Baseball Fever.

Ray Fosse Trivia: (1) When the Cleveland Indians selected The Marion Mule during the 1965 baseball draft, he became the answer to, 'name the first player ever drafted by the Cleveland Indians.' (2) When Ray Fosse won his first Gold Glove Award in 1970, he became the answer to, 'name the first Gold Glove catcher in Cleveland Indians history.' Fosse won again in 1971, making him the only Indians two-time recipient (consecutive winner as well).