Don Bosch

When the New York Mets obtained minor leaguer Don Bosch in a trade with Pittsburgh, on December 6, 1966, anticipation ran high. Bosch was touted to be as good defensively as Willie Mays, and for the Mets and their fans, it seemed that their search for a reliable center fielder was finally over. To acquire Bosch, the Mets had to give up pitcher Dennis Ribant, a fan favorite. Losing the popular Ribant only intensified the hopes placed on Bosch. Facing the pressure of these expectations, Bosch never lived up to the hype. His fielding never matched his promise, and his batting average did not exceed .179 in any of his four major-league seasons.

Donald John Bosch was born on July 15, 1942, in San Francisco, California. He was of German descent and was the eldest of five children of Joseph and Adele (née Seitz) Bosch.1 Joseph was a carpenter and was involved in the building construction business.2

Writing about his upbringing in 2017, Bosch expressed gratitude for his parents’ encouragement and support, including with respect to “the many endeavors and challenges that I faced during my youth and beyond. Words cannot describe how fortunate I was to be raised by them. I often reflect on their contribution of example and the many sacrifices they made on my behalf.”3

Bosch fondly recalled how “Mom always put the interests and well being of others ahead of her own … cared for the needs of less fortunate ones by volunteering her time, energy and limited resources to make the world a better place in which to live. Dad, better known as J.B., could never come under question about his honesty, integrity or the size of his heart. As a family, we never lacked in our daily needs due to his commitment to hard work. I especially benefited as he spent countless hours to mentor me in the tools of his trade.”4

A lifelong Californian, Bosch graduated from St. Ignatius College Preparatory School in San Francisco in 1960. St. Ignatius, a Catholic school in the Jesuit tradition, had a rich baseball history.5 A star on the baseball team, Bosch played third base and made the All-City team in his senior year, leading all San Francisco high schoolers in RBIs.6 Growing up, he was known as a good student, an outstanding athlete and a kind classmate.7

Bosch was signed by the Pirates directly out of high school in 1960.8 A switch-hitter, he played on six teams in the Pirates organization, moving rapidly up the minor league ladder. Slightly built, at 5- foot-10 and 160-165 pounds, Bosch had to convince people that he could succeed despite his size. In the minors, he excelled in all phases of the game.

He started his career at age 17 in the short season Class D Appalachian League, before playing a full season in the Class D New York-Penn League in 1961. Bosch was then promoted to the Class C Northern League, where, in 1962, he led the league in stolen bases and outfield assists. Moving up to Class A in 1963, he led the Carolina League in batting (.332) and was second in stolen bases, making the All-Star team. Promoted once again, he led Class AA Southern League outfielders in assists during the 1964 season and made the Southern League All Star team in 1965.9 In 1966, now in Triple-A, Bosch again was an All-Star, as he batted a solid .283, hit 11 home runs, stole 17 bases, threw out 16 baserunners, and was the unanimous choice of the league’s managers as the best defensive outfielder as well as his team’s Player of the Year. His fine play resulted in a major league call-up to Pittsburgh at the end of the 1966 season.10

That December, Bosch was traded by the Pirates to the Mets with pitcher Don Cardwell for Ribant and Gary Kolb.11 Formed as an expansion team for the 1962 season, the Mets famously lost a record 120 games.12 Things did not improve much in the seasons immediately following, as they lost 111 games in 1963, 109 in 1964, and 112 in 1965, finishing last in the National League each year. Finally, in 1966, the Mets escaped the cellar, going 66-95 to finish ninth. Hope sprang eternal for the Mets in those days as they looked forward to the 1967 season.

Part of that hope centered around Ribant. Ribant had come to the Mets in 196413 and established himself as an effective reliever. He had an energetic pitching style that endeared him to Mets fans. In 1966, converted to a starting pitcher, Ribant was 11-9 with a team leading 3.20 ERA. At 24 years of age, Ribant was the Mets’ best pitcher and the first full-time starter in Mets history to record a winning season. With a great future ahead of him, Ribant achieved folk hero status with Mets fans.14 Trading him was not popular with the fans, or with Ribant himself. As Ribant  recalled in a 2007 interview with SABR biographer David MacGregor, “I remember [Mets President] Bing Devine15 called me up and said, ‘Dennis, sit down.’ I mean, I wasn’t crying, but God, I couldn’t believe it. I really had a good year, but then I thought, well, get over it. You’re going to a good ballclub with Roberto Clemente and Willie Stargell.”16

Cardwell was a ten-year veteran who would go on to become a member of the starting rotation on the 1969 Mets World Series Championship team. Yet it was Bosch whom Devine touted as “the key man for us in this deal.” Devine gushed about Bosch, saying “We needed a strong center fielder, which Bosch definitely is. He’s a leader-type hitter and has a strong arm. All my reports on his minor league work indicate he can do a major league job for us.”17 Those comments were not surprising given the solid 1966 season Bosch had in Triple-A, displaying impressive batting skills, power, speed and great defensive ability. It seemed almost too good to be true. “I hated to give up Ribant,” Devine said, “but you can’t expect something for nothing in this business,” noting that Ribant was the key to the trade for Pittsburgh.18

Larry Shepard had managed Bosch in Triple-A. At the time of the trade, Shepard remarked, “Name a center fielder – name Mays, Flood or anyone else you want and Bosch will make their plays. … He’ll cover as much territory as any of them.”19 The accolades did not stop there. Pittsburgh catcher Jerry May, who played with Bosch in the minors, said that Bosch was “as good as Mays and better than Curt Flood. I really mean that,” May said. “He can come in on a ball or go back. When he relaxes and gets a few hits, he’ll show you something.”20 A St. Louis Cardinals player who played against Bosch in the International League said, “He’s the best I ever saw.”21 Thus, the stage was set for Bosch to take over as the Mets’ starting center fielder in the 1967 season.22

As if there was not enough pressure on Bosch, the press continued to compare him to the great Mays before he had even played a single game for the Mets. Playing winter ball in the Dominican Republic prior to the 1967 season, the PA system made his name sound like Juan Bosch – a former president of the country. Pittsburgh sportswriter Roy McHugh noted that Bosch no longer had to think of himself as Juan Bosch, since he was now “obliged to be Willie Mays” given how the Mets had advertised him “as the answer to their center field problem.”23 Not everyone thought Bosch was the second coming of Mays. Pirates General Manager Joe L. Brown remarked that “He’s primarily a defensive outfielder” with his role projected as a fifth outfielder and defensive specialist.”24

On his first day of spring training, Bosch drew considerable media attention and was referred to as “the greatest center fielder in Mets history.”25 Bosch said, “This is all new to me. I’d never been traded before, I’ve never been to spring training with a big-league club before. I guess I’m a little awed by it all, but I haven’t begun to feel any extra pressure building up.”26 However, the pressure did build up, especially when Bosch got off to a rocky start in spring training. Bosch said at the time, “I’ve never been anywhere close to a situation like this. People talk so much about pressure and pressing and so on, until finally you’re thinking about it yourself.”27

It turned out that Bosch had an ulcer and Mets manager Wes Westrum spoke to Bosch about trying to relax, advising him to “take a couple of days off and go fishing.”28 Nevertheless, Bosch never managed to turn things around in spring training. Rather, as the press described it, “Bosch did not hit. Or field like Willie Mays.”29 The great New York Daily News columnist, Dick Young, recalled how excited he was to see Bosch in spring training – but when the games started, “the balls began to drop over [his] head, and in front of his feet, and between him and the other guys, and pretty soon the right fielder and the left fielder were catching fly balls you would expect the center fielder to catch.”30 As for his hitting, his spring training batting average was .151, and he was characterized as a “questionable commodity.”31 Bosch remained confident, stating that spring training doesn’t define a player, and remarking that “I think this business of going bad is overrated … people take too much stock in statistics.”32

Despite his difficulties, Bosch was the Mets’ starting center fielder and leadoff hitter on Opening Day. The season started well for him as he singled in his first at-bat and scored the Mets’ first run of the season. The game was a big relief for Bosch, who was nervous before the game, and felt the pressure of his poor spring training performance. Afterwards, Bosch said, “I’m not saying now that I’m going to hit but that first hit was what I’d been thinking about all night, all spring. I won’t be worrying about it now. After I got the hit, I relaxed. I got my confidence.” 33

After his promising opening game, Bosch struggled mightily, managing only two additional hits (both singles) in his first seven games. Bosch recognized the challenges he faced, stating, “When you’re 5-foot-10 and 165 pounds, you have to prove things, explaining that only the Pirates wanted to sign him given his diminutive stature.”34 His physical appearance was such that Mets fans who met him, at the team’s Welcome Home dinner in 1967,  thought he was the bat boy and  looked like a Little Leaguer.35

Playing mostly as a regular through the first 18 games of the season, Bosch batted only .156. And he “didn’t look like a budding Willie Mays in center field.”36 Bosch acknowledged his struggles, stating, “it’s been pretty tough and I’m making it a little tougher. … I haven’t been able to relax. That takes its toll after a while.”37 Bosch was self-aware, telling reporters that “mistakes are magnified in the majors. I still haven’t shown anything, and I feel I’ve failed to make a few plays I should have. I think about these things and magnify them a little bit. If you keep thinking about it, you can wear yourself out mentally.”38 

Relegated to the bench, Bosch stayed with the Mets into early June, when he was sent down to Triple-A Jacksonville. He was batting .161 at the time.39 He was recalled in September and given another chance, playing regularly in most of the Mets’ remaining games. He finished the season with a batting average of .140 in 44 games and 93 at-bats. He had no home runs, two RBIs, and stole three bases in four attempts. He drew only five walks and struck out 24 times.

In the field, while Bosch did not make any errors, his range was not what was expected. The Mets had former Gold Glove center fielder Bill Virdon (then Jacksonville manager) tutor him as a special instructor in spring training. However, it did not help.40  Young, in the New York Daily News, explained that Bosch couldn’t stand the pressure. “It wasn’t the pressure of big-league competition; he couldn’t stand the pressure of the tremendous publicity buildup.”41

The 1967 Mets fell back into the cellar, after escaping it the year before, and once again lost over 100 games (101). In the offseason, the Mets made Gil Hodges their manager, replacing Westrum.42  It was also clear that Bosch was not the answer in center field. Indeed, in December 1967, the Mets swung a major trade to acquire 25-year-old center fielder Tommie Agee – the 1966 AL Rookie of the Year – from the Chicago White Sox.43 The organization was confident that it would not be making a mistake this time around. As Jack Lang wrote in The Sporting News, “No matter what other boo-boos they may make, along the way, the Mets won’t make the same mistake in center field they made last year.”44  Hodges named Agee the starting center fielder and moved Cleon Jones, who had played center in 1967, to left field. Hodges indicated that there would be no pressure on Agee, at least none applied by the manager. 45

Lang wrote that “Bosch was a monumental bust. Fielding had been his forte in the minors, but he couldn’t even do that in the majors. As for Don’s hitting, the Mets hoped he would hit .250. He hit instead a puny .140 and didn’t even last out the season.”46 The analogies to Bosch were present with Agee. “Just as [with Bosch] Tommie is supposed to be a cure-all in center and reporters wondered if he felt there would be pressure on him.”47 At that point, the Mets had tried 25 players in center, including Bosch, without finding anyone who could hold the job. While Agee and Bosch each expressed confidence before their Mets debut, Agee had two full seasons of major league experience (preceded by parts of four others) while Bosch had played only very briefly at the top level.

Agee was named the starting center fielder in 1968, but Bosch, somewhat surprisingly, made the team as a reserve outfielder. On the first day of camp that season, Hodges told Bosch, “I want you to know one thing. You will be judged only on what I see here, so stay loose.”48  Bosch later told a friend that what Hodges said “took 20 years of worry off my life.” 49

Bosch had his moments during the 1968 season. On June 14, coming into the game batting .095, Bosch hit his first career home run against San Francisco’s Mike McCormick in a 7-3 Mets win. The next day, Bosch went 3-for-5 and homered again, this time off future Hall of Famer Juan Marichal, in a 9-5 Mets loss. He hit his third homer in the second game of a July 4 doubleheader against the Pirates in a 3-2 Mets loss. All told, though, he batted only .171 in 50 games, with three homers and seven RBIs. As a result, Bosch was sent down to Jacksonville in August.50 By then, he had played his last game for the New York Mets.

Following the 1968 season, the Mets cut ties with Bosch, selling him to the expansion Montreal Expos – with the amount conditional on his making the Expos roster.51  Reporting on the move, Joe Trimble wrote in the New York Daily News that “ the compact youngster was an immediate and permanent flop, who “could neither field nor hit.”52 In The Sporting News, Lang wrote that “Bosch will go down in Met history as one of the all-time busts.”53 Young, in his column, took a sarcastic tone (as he often did), writing, “I see where the Mets just sold the greatest center fielder since Willie Mays.” Young wrote that if Bosch didn’t make the Expos roster, the Mets would only get $10,000 (instead of a larger amount) – and “worse than that” they would get Bosch back. Young concluded that “there is something wrong with this arrangement…the club that winds up with Don Bosch should get more money, not less.”54

Despite the negative commentary, the Expos were excited about obtaining Bosch. As an expansion team, Montreal acquired Bosch and ex-Pirate “bonus baby” Bob Bailey, both of whom “were highly rated young men who never fulfilled the potential seen in them.”55 With “plenty of vacant space on [their] 40 man roster,” the Expos were in a position to give Bosch (and Bailey) a “second chance.”56 Montreal general manager Jim Fanning was excited about Bosch; while noting the conditional nature of the deal, he said, “I don’t think we’ll be returning Bosch.”57

The Expos played their inaugural game, against the Mets at Shea Stadium on Opening Day 1969. Bosch came into the game in the eighth inning as a defensive substitute. He struck out in his only at-bat. He got his first start, with Montreal, three days later and went 4-for-5.

When the Expos had their first-ever home opener on April 14, 1969, Bosch came into the game hitting .333 with an OPS of .750. As the leadoff hitter that day, Bosch singled and came around to score – thereby making him the answer to a trivia question: Who was the first player to score a run in a major league game played outside of the United States? He got another hit that day, going 2-for-5, and lifted his average to .353. Yet it was downhill from there, as Bosch stopped hitting. By the end of April, he was batting under .200. He played 49 games for the Expos before a knee injury ended his season in July. His final batting average was .179 and his OPS was .483.

The knee injury was a low point for Bosch. In a 2018 interview with Danny Gallagher of The Canadian Baseball Network, Bosch recalled, with some bitterness, how he was a different athlete after having exploratory surgery on his knee. “They gave me a butcher,” Bosch said. Spending a week in the hospital, “nobody from the front office called me, not a player called me, not even a trainer to see how I was doing. There was no rehab. I was sent home to California.”58

With the after-effects of the knee injury adversely affecting his defensive ability, Bosch began the 1970 season in the minors, at Triple-A Buffalo-Winnipeg. He was not the same player. “Balls I could catch in my hip pocket, I couldn’t get to them anymore,” Bosch recalled.59 In midseason he was traded to the Astros for pitcher Mike Marshall60 and assigned to Triple-A Oklahoma City. He finished the season there, batting a combined .242, before leaving professional baseball. Bosch told Gallagher, “I was not going to hang onto baseball until I was 40 years old. I was 27 years old. When you play at the major-league level and have knee surgery and you lose a step, that’s the end of your career.”61

Despite his travails, Bosch had some positive, lasting memories, including recalling a particular May 1969 game “like it was yesterday.” As Bosch recounted it, “the Cubs were supposed to play the Game of the Week but they got rained out so we were the backup game.” It was the top of the ninth and Cincinnati had men on first and second with two out with the Expos leading, 3-2. “Tony Perez is hitting and Elroy Face is pitching. I’m playing center field and Perez hits one over my head and I caught it at the fence to make it three out. And we won. That’s my greatest memory with the Expos.”62 That play demonstrated that Bosch had the talent that led so many to once tout him as a great defensive outfielder. Perhaps Bosch’s story would have been different if he had not been under the huge New York spotlight as a barely tested major leaguer.

Though Bosch had a disappointing career, it was nevertheless a memorable one. Mets fans of a certain age remember the hype and excitement that accompanied the arrival of the young center fielder. And perhaps few players who came to the majors with so much hype ended up doing so little. Even a great many years later, Mets fans still remember Bosch as reflected in the many online posts about him.63

After retiring from baseball, Bosch transitioned into a life away from the sport. Married at 21, he raised a family in his home state of California, 64 where he worked for years in a family-run construction and concrete business.65  In retirement, he chose to sever ties with baseball and did not maintain contact with former teammates. “I just wanted to move on with my life,” Bosch said. “Nobody contacted me and I contacted nobody. I’ve never been bitter. I just moved on. I got to do what a lot of people didn’t do.”66

At the age of 75, Bosch self-published a 100-page book titled A Second Journey Through Life. The book comprises poems and prose on the importance of positivity and simplicity in life. When interviewed by the Canadian Baseball Network about the book, Bosch said that he deliberately chose not to discuss his baseball career in the book. “Baseball was left behind for various reasons. The book is about who I am as a person and my philosophy,” Bosch said.67

Even though the book does not discuss his baseball career, he may have had it in mind when describing his positive philosophy and the recognition that life is often about overcoming challenges. In summarizing the contents of his book for Amazon, Bosch wrote:

“All of us, despite our backgrounds, have experienced the positive and the negative throughout our journey. I have been very fortunate to have navigated through the muddy waters that can affect us in a negative way and move on to the clear blue waters of the future by staying on a positive course. I had good parents, a decent education, and mentors that gave freely and willingly of their time. I was privileged to have played Major League baseball, build a moderately successful company, and gifted with good health.” 68

Don Bosch had a short career in the major leagues.69 As a 24-year-old, he was thrust into the New York pressure cooker and hyped to be someone he wasn’t. While his major-league career proved to be a disappointment, Bosch nevertheless recognized and was proud of the accomplishment of getting to play in the major leagues. He kept the ups and downs of his career in perspective, went on to live a productive post-baseball life, and continues to have a place in the hearts of Mets fans everywhere.

Last revised: January 19, 2026

Acknowledgments

This biography was reviewed by Rory Costello and Bill Lamb and fact-checked by Dan Schoenholz.

Photo credit: Don Bosch, Trading Card Database.

Sources

In addition to the sources cited in the Notes, the author relied on Baseball-Reference.com and Myheritage.com. The author thanks the National Baseball Hall of Fame Library for its valuable assistance.

Notes

1 Adele Bosch obituary, https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/pressdemocrat/name/adele-bosch-obituary?id=15129451. Bosch had a sister named Bernadette and three brothers named Laurence, Gerald, and Raymond.

2 1950 U.S. census records.

3 Don Bosch, A Second Journey Through Life (self-published, July 2017), available on Amazon.

4 Bosch, A Second Journey. While playing baseball early in his career, Bosch’s winter occupation was in construction as a lathe operator. Weiss Baseball Questionnaire dated December 27, 1966, https://sabr.org/weiss-questionnaires/donald-john-bosch-27377/      

5 St. Ignatius College Preparatory School, SI History, https://history.siprep.org/athletics. There were at least three other St. Ignatius graduates to play in the major leagues: Matt Krook, Jim Mangan, and Charlie Silvera, a backup catcher who played 10 seasons with the New York Yankees from 1948-1957.

6 National Baseball Hall of Fame Library, player file for Don Bosch.

7 The Ultimate Mets Database, Don Bosch, post by Sharon Johnson, January 24, 2016, https://ultimatemets.com/profile.php?PlayerCode=0128&tabno=7.          

8 He was signed by Robert Fontaine, a then scout for the Pirates, who later became the general manager of the San Diego Padres, among many roles in a career spanning more than 50 years in professional baseball.

9 He led the Southern League in putouts and assists in 1965.

10  Bosch debuted as a pinch-runner on September 19. He appeared in two subsequent games, one as a defensive replacement in center field and one as a pinch-hitter. He had two at-bats, without a hit.

11  Cardwell was a 10-year veteran who, at age 30, pitched 101 2/3 innings for the Pirates in 1966, with a record of 6-6 and an ERA of 4.60. Kolb played in parts of five major league seasons, including part of the 1965 season with the Mets before spending 1966 in the minors. He ended up playing in parts of two seasons with the Pirates in 1968 and 1969.

12 The Mets were 40-120 in 1962. Their record for most losses in a season was broken in 2024 by the Chicago White Sox who went 40-121.

13 The Mets traded veteran pitcher Frank Lary to Milwaukee to acquire Ribant.

14  David MacGregor, SABR Biography of Dennis Ribant, https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/dennis-ribant/.

15 In his role as President, Devine also acted as General Manager.

16  MacGregor, Ribant bio, above.

17  Red Foley, “Mets Trade Ribant to Bucs; Get Bosch (Key?), Cardwell,” New York Daily News, December 7, 1966: C26. In 1966, the Mets’ regular center fielder was Cleon Jones. Jones, who was one of the best hitters in Mets history, was a natural corner outfielder and spent most of his Mets career in left field.

18 Foley, “Mets Trade Ribant,” above.

19 Same as above.

20 Roy McHugh, “‘Juan Bosch’ Just Wants to Be Himself,” Pittsburgh Press, April 18.1967: 46.  

21 Dick Young, “Young Ideas,” New York Daily News, October 18, 1968: 93.

22 Baseball Digest also had a scouting report on Bosch in its March 1967 issue, describing him as “Good speed, fine fielder. Can be a good center fielder. Sure to make big leagues.” “1967: Mets Best Crop of Prospects Ever?” posted by Barry Duchan, https://metsmerizedonline.com/1967-mets-best-crop-of-prospects-ever/.

23  McHugh, “‘Juan’ Bosch,” above.

24  Same as above.

25  Al Levine, “Whiz Kid Awed by It All; So Are Mets, by Bosch,” St. Petersburg (Florida) Times, March 2, 1967: 1-C.

26  Same as above.

27  McHugh, “‘Juan’ Bosch,” above.

28  Joe Durso, “Days of Travail for Westrum: Cuts 7 Players, Talks to Bosch,” New York Times, March 24, 1967: 35.

29  McHugh, “‘Juan’ Bosch,” above.

30  Young, “Young Ideas,” above.

31 “Westrum Should Spank His Mets,” Lima (Ohio) News, April 16, 1967: B-4.

32  McHugh, “‘Juan’ Bosch,” above.

33  “Westrum Should Spank,” above.

34  McHugh, “‘Juan’ Bosch,” above.

35  The Ultimate Mets Database, Don Bosch.

36 “Touted Rookie Misfiring…Met Hope Bosch Still Struggling,” St. Petersburg Times, May 4, 1967: 2-C.

37  Same as above.

38  Same as above.

39  In Jacksonville, he hit .263 with 5 homers and 31 RBIs in 90 games.

40 Joe Trimble, “Mets Peddle Bosch to Expos,” New York Daily News, October 17, 1968: 101.

41 Young, “Young Ideas, above.

42 Salty Parker had replaced Westrum for the final 10 games of the 1967 season. Hodges was the manager of the Washington Senators. The Mets gave Washington $100,000 plus pitcher Bill Denehy to obtain Hodges.

43 Agee played regularly for the White Sox in 1966 and 1967. In 1966, he hit 22 home runs with 86 RBIs. His production tailed off in 1967, batting only .247 with 14 HRs, although he continued to play an excellent center field. The White Sox traded Al Weis, along with Agee, to the Mets for Tommy Davis (a former NL batting champion with the Dodgers) and Jack Fisher (a solid starting pitcher), along with Billy Wynne and Buddy Booker. Davis, who hit .302 in 154 games in 1967, had knee problems that hampered his mobility.

44 Jack Lang, “No Bosch Boo-Boos with Agee, Says Gil,” The Sporting News, February 10, 1968: 25.

45 Lang, “No Bosch Boo-Boos,” above. Agee proved to be the answer for the Mets. While he struggled offensively in 1968, he played a solid center field. Then, in 1969 when The Miracle Mets went from ninth place to first and won the pennant and World Series, Agee was a star, batting .271 with 26 HRs and outstanding defense. In Game Three of the 1969 World Series Agee made two of the greatest, and most memorable, World Series catches of all time.

46 Lang, “No Bosch Boo-Boos,” above.                  

47 Same as above

48 Young, “Young Ideas,” above.

49 Same as above.

50 At Jacksonville, he hit .297 in 23 games.

51 Official reports of the trade did not disclose the dollar amounts involved. However, newspaper reports stated that the Mets received $10,000 immediately and were to receive $20,000 more if Bosch made the Montreal team. If Bosch were returned, the Mets would keep the $10,000. Trimble.

52 Trimble, Mets peddle Bosch,” above. Despite his reported struggles in the field, Bosch was never charged with an error in his time with the Mets.

53 Jack Lang, “Game-Viewing Prescribed for Recuperating Hodges,” The Sporting News, November 2, 1968: 43.

54 Young, “Young Ideas,” above.

55 Ted Blackman, “Expos, as Traders, Insistent on Getting Decided Advantage,” The Sporting News, November 9, 1968: 48.

56 Same as above.

57 Same as above.

58 Danny Gallagher, “Ex-Expos, Jays among non-vested retirees looking for more money,” Canadian Baseball Network, January 24, 2018, https://www.canadianbaseballnetwork.com/canadian-baseball-network-articles/ex-expos-and-jays-among-non-vested-retirees-looking-for-more-money?rq=don%20bosch.

59 Same as above.

60 The 27-year-old Marshall, then in his third season, would go on to pitch 14 years as a reliever, winning the Cy Young Award in 1974.

61 Gallagher, “Ex-Expos, Jays,” above.

62 Same as above.

63 Fans remembered Bosch as a “diminutive center fielder who the 1967 Mets touted as the best CF in the country”, “the “Center Fielder of the Future,” the latest “savior,” and the subject of “unbelievable hype” – “like Clint Hartung before and Gregg Jefferies later.” See “The Ultimate Mets Database,” Don Bosch, above.

64 He married Jeanette on February 9, 1964, and had at least one child, a daughter. The Sporting News Baseball Contract Card Collection, Donald John Bosch, https://digital.la84.org/digital/collection/p17103coll3/search/searchterm/bosch. His daughter was two years old during his rookie season per “Westrum Should Spank,” above.

65 Gallagher, “Ex-Expos, Jays,” above.       

66 Same as above.

67  Danny Gallagher, “Book by former Expo Don Bosch features analytical philosophies”, Canadian Baseball Network, April 16, 2018, https://www.canadianbaseballnetwork.com/canadian-baseball-network-articles/book-by-former-expo-don-bosch-features-analytical-philosophies?rq=don%20bosch. Bosch told Gallagher that he began taking notes for the book around the time he played with the Expos and that “emotional events” prompted him to write the book.

68 Bosch, A Second Journey.

69 Bosch did not qualify for a major league pension. In light of his post-career business success, the lack of a pension did not affect him as adversely as it did others from his era.