Joe Ferguson (baseball)

Joe Ferguson
Catcher / Right fielder
Born: (1946-09-19) September 19, 1946 (age 75) San Francisco, California
Batted: Right Threw: Right
MLB debut
September 12, 1970, for the Los Angeles Dodgers
Last MLB appearance
June 17, 1983, for the California Angels
MLB statistics
Batting average	.240
Home runs	122
Runs batted in	445
Teams
Los Angeles Dodgers (1970–1976) St. Louis Cardinals (1976) Houston Astros (1977–1978) Los Angeles Dodgers (1978–1981) California Angels (1981–1983)
Career highlights and awards
World Series champion (1988)

Joseph Vance Ferguson (born September 19, 1946) is an American former professional baseball player and coach.^[1] He played as a catcher in Major League Baseball from 1970 to 1983 for the Los Angeles Dodgers, St. Louis Cardinals, Houston Astros, and the California Angels. After his playing career, Ferguson became a coach and minor league manager.

Career[]

Prior to his professional baseball career, Ferguson played baseball but also basketball at the University of the Pacific in Stockton, CA. In fact, he played in the West Regional Final in March of 1967, where Pacific fell to eventual National champion UCLA, led by sophomore Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

Ferguson reached the majors in 1970 with the Los Angeles Dodgers, becoming their everyday catcher in 1973. He set a major league record for catchers by committing only three errors, leading the National League catchers in fielding percentage (.996) and double plays (17), while hitting .263 with a .369 on-base percentage. He also reached career-highs in games played (136), home runs (25), RBI (88), runs (84), doubles (26) and walks (87).

When Steve Yeager became a regular in the 1973 midseason, Ferguson shared catching duties and played right field against left-handed pitchers. He soon became known for having one of the strongest throwing arms of any outfielder in the major leagues. This came into play during Game One of the 1974 World Series against the Oakland Athletics, when Ferguson made a memorable play in right field in the top of the eighth inning, running in front of teammate Jimmy Wynn to catch a fly ball off the bat of Reggie Jackson, and then firing a 300-foot strike to Yeager to gun down Sal Bando, who was trying to score from third base. In Game Two, Ferguson hit a two-run homer off Vida Blue to provide the only Dodgers' victory in the Series. He enjoyed another fine season in 1977 with Houston, catching 122 games and hitting 16 home runs with 61 RBI and a .379 OBP. Reacquired by the Dodgers in the 1978 midseason, he helped his team reach the 1978 World Series.

After retiring, he coached at the major league level with the Texas Rangers (1986–87), working under former Dodger teammate Bobby Valentine, and the Dodgers (1988–94). He also managed in the Dodgers, Baltimore Orioles and San Diego Padres minor league systems. He managed the Camden Riversharks Atlantic League baseball team in New Jersey for 3 seasons from 2007 - 2009.

In a 14-season career, Ferguson was a .240 hitter with 122 home runs and 445 RBI in 1013 games. In 13 postseason games, he hit .200 (7-for-35) with one home run and four RBI.

References[]

External links[]

• Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)
• Baseball Gauge
• Baseball Library
• Camden Riversharks website
• Retrosheet
• Venezuelan Professional Baseball League