1976 Topps #482 - Tim Hosley

• Tim Hosley caught in parts of ten seasons in the majors from 1971-1981. Hosley was signed by the Detroit Tigers in 1966. He  made several stops in the Tigers' system from 1967-1970 and didn't put up remarkable stats in any of those seasons. Tim came up to the Tigers at the end of the 1970 season and batted .167 in 12 at bats.
• Hosley was in the minors for most of the 1971 season. He had two shorts stints with the Tigers -- one in July and another in September. Tim batted .188 in 16 at bats for the Tigers in '71. Hosley was in the minors for the entire 1972 season and then was traded to the Oakland A's just before the 1973 season for Don Shaw.
• Tim was with the A's during May and  June of 1973 and was in the minors for the rest of the season. He batted .214 in 14 at bats for the A's in '73. Hosley's 1974 season was similar to his 1973 season. He played in 11 games for the A's, none of them starts, and batted .286 (2 for 7). He was a Pacific Coast League All Star in '74. After the 1974 season Tim was taken by the Chicago Cubs in the rule 5 draft.
• In 1975 Hosley was the third catcher behind Steve Swisher and George Mitterwald. Tim batted .255 in 62 games for the Cubs in '75. Hosley made one unsuccessful pinch hitting appearance for the Cubs in 1976 before being waived in mid April. Tim was claimed by the Oakland A's and played for them through June before being assigned to AAA Tucson. Hosley batted .164 in 54 at bats for the A's in '76.
• Hosley was in AAA San Jose for the beginning of the 1977 season and was recalled in July after batting .321. Tim batted .192 in 78 at bats for the A's during the remainder of the 1977 season. Tim was in the minors again in 1978 and didn't appear for the A's until September. He batted .304 in 23 at bats, mostly as a pinch hitter.
• Tim was in the minors for the entire 1979 and 1980 seasons. He had a good year for AAA Ogden in 1980 when he batted .301 with 26 HR and 102 RBI. Hosley was with the A's in 1981 and batted .095 in 22 at bats before being released on August 27. His last appearance was on June 10. Tim played in two games for Oakland's AAA Tacoma club in 1982 and that was it for his career.
• Hosley played one season (1989) for the Fort Myers Sun Sox in the Senior Professional Baseball Association. His TTM address (as of 2006) is here.