Les Moss

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For American football coach, see Les Moss (American football).
Les Moss
Runs batted in
276
Managerial record39–50
Winning %.438
Teams
As player

As manager

John Lester Moss (May 14, 1925 – August 29, 2012) was an

scout and manager.[1] He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher for the St. Louis Browns for the most significant portion of his career, and was a backup catcher almost all his career.[1]

Baseball career

Born in

Eastern League where he posted a .308 batting average in 96 games.[2] He missed the 1944 and 1945 seasons while serving in the Merchant Marines during the Second World War.[3] He would play for the Toledo Mud Hens in 1946, hitting .297 in 121 games before, being called up late in the season to make his major league debut at the age of 21 with the St. Louis Browns on September 10.[1][2]

Moss

runs batted in.[5] In 1949, the Browns acquired 24-year-old Sherm Lollar from the New York Yankees and Moss became the second-string catcher.[6] Moss' hitting continued to improve with a .291 average and an impressive .399 on-base percentage.[1]

On May 17, 1951, Moss was traded to the Boston Red Sox.[7] After producing a .198 batting average in 71 games for the Red Sox, he was shipped back to the Browns on November 28, 1951.[1][7] He continued as the Browns' second string catcher backing up Clint Courtney. Moss was the Browns' catcher on May 6, 1953 when Bobo Holloman pitched a no-hitter against the Philadelphia Athletics.[8] In 1954, the Browns relocated to Baltimore and were renamed the Orioles. Moss played one full season in Baltimore before being traded to the Chicago White Sox on June 6, 1955, where he once again served as a backup to Sherm Lollar.[7] He played three more seasons with the White Sox before ending his major league career after the 1958 season.[1] He would remain a member of the White Sox organization for the next dozen years.

Moss returned to the minor leagues, appearing in two games for the Indianapolis Indians in 1959 and then, appeared in three games for the San Diego Padres in 1960, before retiring as a player at the age of 35.[2]

Career statistics

In a 13-year major league career, Moss played in 824

at bats for a .247 career batting average along with 63 home runs, 276 runs batted in and a .333 on-base percentage.[1] He ended his career with a .978 fielding percentage.[1]

Coaching and managing career

After his playing career, Moss served as the White Sox' batting practice catcher, then moved into their player development organization as a manager in their

MLB staff from 1967 to 1970. Moss served as interim manager in 1968 for 36 games when White Sox manager Al López had to undergo an emergency appendectomy.[3][9] He was the White Sox pitching coach in 1970.[3]

From

The Sporting News named him Minor League Manager of the Year.[3]

Moss succeeded Ralph Houk as manager for the 1979 Detroit Tigers. In his time with the Tigers he went 27–26.[9] He actually was not fired for cause or because he was ineffective, but rather because Sparky Anderson had unexpectedly become available. Moss was named manager soon after the 1978 season concluded. However, the Tigers had not counted on Anderson being fired on November 27, 1978 by the Cincinnati Reds. Moss was a victim of bad timing, as the Tigers came to a deal to bring Anderson to the Tigers after the first third of the 1979 season. Dick Tracewski coached four games as interim manager until Anderson's arrival.

Moss finished with a managing record of 39–50 (.438) in 89 games.

Western Division title.[3] Mike Scott won the 1986 National League Cy Young Award while Moss served as the Astros' pitching coach. In 1990, he worked as minor-league pitching instructor for the Astros, before working as a pitching coordinator for the San Francisco Giants starting in 1991. He retired from baseball in 1995.[3]

Moss died in Longwood, Florida on August 29, 2012 at the age of 87.[11]

Managerial record

Team Year Regular season Postseason
Games Won Lost Win % Finish Won Lost Win % Result
CWS 1968 2 0 2 .000 interim – – – –
34 12 22 .353 interim
CWS total 36 12 24 .333 0 0 –
DET 1979 53 27 26 .509 fired – – – –
DET total 53 27 26 .509 0 0 –
Total 89 39 50 .438 0 0 –

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h "Les Moss". Baseball Reference. Retrieved 10 November 2010.
  2. ^ a b c d "Les Moss minor league statistics". Baseball Reference. Retrieved 13 November 2010.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Les Moss at the SABR Baseball Biography Project , by Bill Nowlin, Retrieved 13 November 2010.
  4. ^ "1947 St. Louis Browns season". Baseball Reference. Retrieved 13 November 2010.
  5. ^ "1948 St. Louis Browns season". Baseball Reference. Retrieved 13 November 2010.
  6. ^ "1949 St. Louis Browns season". Baseball Reference. Retrieved 13 November 2010.
  7. ^ a b c "Les Moss Trades and Transactions". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved 13 November 2010.
  8. ^ "May 6, 1953 Athletics-Browns box score". retrosheet.org. Retrieved 13 November 2010.
  9. ^ a b c "Les Moss managerial record". Baseball Reference. Retrieved 13 November 2010.
  10. ISBN 9781582613659. Retrieved 13 November 2010. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help
    )
  11. ^ "Les Moss obituary". legacy.com. Retrieved 25 October 2012.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Les_Moss&oldid=1172237098"