Tuffy Gosewisch

James Benjamin "Tuffy" Gosewisch (born August 17, 1983), is an American former professional baseball catcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Arizona Diamondbacks and Seattle Mariners. Prior to beginning his professional career, he played college baseball at Arizona State University. Gosewisch has also competed for the United States national baseball team.

Tuffy Gosewisch
Gosewisch with the Arizona Diamondbacks
Catcher
Born: (1983-08-17) August 17, 1983
Freeport, Illinois, U.S.
Batted: Right
Threw: Right
MLB debut
August 1, 2013, for the Arizona Diamondbacks
Last MLB appearance
May 21, 2017, for the Seattle Mariners
MLB statistics
Batting average.190
Home runs5
Runs batted in30
Teams
Medals
Men's baseball
Representing  United States
Pan American Games
Silver medal – second place 2011 Guadalajara National team

Amateur career

Gosewisch attended Horizon High School in Scottsdale, Arizona.[1] He was named to the All-State team in his senior season. Undrafted out of high school, Gosewisch enrolled at Arizona State University, where he played college baseball for the Arizona State Sun Devils baseball team in the Pacific-10 Conference of NCAA Division I. He was named the Tempe Regional Most Valuable Player in the 2005 NCAA Division I baseball tournament, as the Sun Devils reached the 2005 College World Series. That season, he was named a semifinalist for the Johnny Bench Award, given to the best catcher in NCAA Division I.[2]

Gosewisch played for the United States national baseball team in the 2011 Pan American Games,[3][4] winning the silver medal. He also appeared in the 2011 Baseball World Cup.

Professional career

Philadelphia Phillies

The Philadelphia Phillies drafted Gosewisch in the 11th round (337th overall) of the 2005 MLB draft. He made his professional debut with the Batavia Muckdogs of the Class-A Short Season New York–Penn League in 2005. He played for the Clearwater Threshers of the Class A Advanced Florida State League in 2006, and for the Threshers and the Lakewood BlueClaws of the Class A South Atlantic League in 2007. He played for the Threshers in 2008, then served as the regular catcher for the Reading Phillies of the Class AA Eastern League from 2009 to 2012 aside from a stint with the Class AAA Lehigh Valley IronPigs of the International League in 2009. The Phillies invited him to spring training in 2012,[5] but assigned him to Lehigh Valley that season.[6]

Toronto Blue Jays

On July 31, 2012, the Toronto Blue Jays acquired Gosewisch from the Phillies and assigned him to the Class AAA Las Vegas 51s of the Pacific Coast League.[7] He played for Las Vegas for he rest of the season[6] and became a free agent after the season.

Arizona Diamondbacks

Gosewisch signed a minor-league contract with the Arizona Diamondbacks for the 2013 season. He started the season with the Class AAA Reno Aces of the Pacific Coast League. He hit .284 with seven home runs and 33 RBIs for Reno,[6] and the Diamondbacks selected his contract on August 1 and promoted him to the major leagues, where he replaced Arizona catcher Miguel Montero, whom the Diamondbacks placed on the disabled list.[8] Gosewisch made his major league debut the same day. He got his first major-league hit, a single, in the same game.[9] Arizona optioned him back to Reno on August 26, and later recalled him on September 3 after major league rosters expanded to 40 players.[10] Overall, Gosewisch played in 45 games for Arizona in 2013, batting .178 with three RBIs.[6]

Gosewisch and a sliding Matt Holliday in 2015

Gosewisch made the Diamondbacks' 2014 25-man roster; at 30 years of age, it was Gosewisch's first time on an Opening Day roster. He traveled with the Diamondbacks to Sydney, Australia, for the 2014 opening series against the Los Angeles Dodgers, where he pinch hit in the ninth slot in the eighth inning of the second game of the series and flied out to left field. He spent the entire season with the Diamondbacks, appearing in 41 games and batting .225, with one home run and seven RBIs.[6]

Gosewisch began the 2015 season as the Diamondbacks' starting catcher. On June 2, however, he was declared out for the season after tearing his left anterior cruciate ligament.[11] He played in 38 games before his injury, batting .211 with one home run and 13 RBIs.[6]

During spring training in 2016, Gosewisch batted only .132, while catcher Chris Herrmann, who the Diamondbacks had acquired in a trade in November 2015, hit .229.[12] To make room for Hermann to serve as their Opening Day back-up catcher, Arizona optioned Gosewisch to Reno on March 31, two days before the start of the season.[12] Gosewisch hit .342 for Reno, with nine home runs and 26 RBIs.[12] The Diamondbacks called him up, and on July 3 he made his major-league season debut, singling in his first at bat. In 33 games with Arizona, he hit .156, with three home runs and seven RBIs.[12]

Atlanta Braves

Gosewisch was claimed off waivers by the Atlanta Braves on November 18, 2016.[13] Twelve days later, he signed a one-year contract with the team worth $635,000.[14] The Braves designated him for assignment in January 2017.

Seattle Mariners

On January 26, 2017, the Seattle Mariners claimed Gosewisch off waivers.[15][16] He began the season with the Class AAA Tacoma Rainiers of the Pacific Coast League. The Mariners called him up on May 5.[17] He went 2-for-28 (.075) in 11 games for Seattle,[6] and the Mariners optioned him back to Tacoma on May 22.[17] The Mariners designated him for assignment on August 6 and assigned him outright to Tacoma on August 10.[17] During the 2017 season, he hit .229 with four home runs and RBIs in 85 games for Tacoma.[6]

Gosewisch re-signed with Seattle on a minor-league deal on November 6, 2017. He failed to make the major-league roster out of spring training in 2018,[18] and the Mariners released him,[18] on April 5, 2018.

Washington Nationals

On April 13, 2018, Gosewisch signed a minor league contract with the Washington Nationals.[19] The Nationals assigned him to the Class AAA Syracuse Chiefs in the International League.[6] He elected free agency on November 2, 2018.[20]

Milwaukee Brewers

On December 7, 2018, Gosewisch signed a minor league deal with the Milwaukee Brewers that included an invitation to spring training.[21] He elected free agency following the 2019 season. On January 9, 2020, Gosewisch re-signed with the Brewers on a minor league deal. He became a free agent on November 2, 2020.

In the offseason, Gosewisch retired and joined X10 Capital as the director of baseball relations.[22]

Post-playing career

In 2023, Gosewisch was announced as a broadcaster for a series of Spring Training webcasts of Diamondbacks games.[23]

Personal life

Gosewisch's father gave him the nickname “Tuffy", when he was six months old, because he was an especially destructive baby. "I used to break my crib and fall out and just keep on going and it wouldn't faze me," recalls Gosewisch.[24][25] He met his wife, Kyleyn, at Arizona State.[26]

References
  1. "Bordow: It all started at Horizon for Diamondbacks' Tuffy Gosewisch". Retrieved November 22, 2016.
  2. "#1 in College Sports". CSTV.com. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved August 2, 2013.
  3. Heck, David (October 20, 2011). "Mendonca plates six in Team USA rout | MiLB.com News | The Official Site of Minor League Baseball". Milb.com. Retrieved August 2, 2013.
  4. "Andrelczyk, Thurston join Team USA | New Orleans Zephyrs News". Milb.com. September 16, 2011. Retrieved August 2, 2013.
  5. Stamm, Dan (February 13, 2012). "Phillies Grades: Catcher | NBC 10 Philadelphia". Nbcphiladelphia.com. Retrieved August 2, 2013.
  6. milb.com Tuffy Gosewisch
  7. "Blue Jays Acquire Tuffy Gosewisch From Phillies". July 31, 2012. Retrieved August 16, 2012.
  8. "Miguel Montero to DL, Tuffy Gosewisch Recalled from Reno". August 1, 2013. Retrieved August 16, 2013.
  9. Sessions, Dave (August 1, 2013). "Homers haunt Spruill as D-backs downed by Darvish". mlb.com. Retrieved August 16, 2013.
  10. "D-backs recall Davidson & Gosewisch from Reno; Select Owings from Reno". Arizona Diamondbacks. September 3, 2013. Retrieved September 3, 2013.
  11. Gleeman, Aaron (June 2, 2015). "Diamondbacks catcher Tuffy Gosewisch out for the season with torn ACL". Retrieved November 22, 2016.
  12. Anonymous, "D-backs option C Gosewisch to Triple-A Reno," Associated Press, March 31, 2016, 8:41 p.m. EDT.
  13. Bowman, Mark (November 30, 2016). "Gosewisch avoids arbitration with 1-year deal". MLB.com. Retrieved December 1, 2016.
  14. O'Brien, David (November 30, 2016). "Gosewisch signs, leaving Braves with 6 arbitration-eligibles". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved December 1, 2016.
  15. Bowman, Mark (January 26, 2017). "Braves claim O's Walker; lose Gosewisch to M's". MLB.com. Retrieved January 27, 2017.
  16. Divish, Ryan (January 26, 2017). "Mariners claim catcher Tuffy Gosewisch off waivers, Jonathan Aro designated for assignment". Seattle Times. Retrieved January 27, 2017.
  17. Mariners 2017 Team Transactions: Trades, DL, Free Agents and Callups – ESPN
  18. Rotowire Staff, "Nationals' Tuffy Gosewisch: Signed by Washington," ssports.com, April 14, 2018, 4:34 p.m.
  19. Polishuk, Mark (April 14, 2018). "Minor MLB Transactions: 4/14/18". mlbtraderumors.com. Retrieved April 14, 2018.
  20. Eddy, Matt (November 6, 2018). "Minor League Free Agents 2018". Baseball America. Retrieved November 12, 2018.
  21. @Brewers (December 7, 2018). "Catcher Tuffy Gosewisch has been signed to a minor-league contract with an invitation to Major League camp" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  22. "Team".
  23. "D-backs announce 2023 Spring Training broadcast schedule". MLB.com. Retrieved February 28, 2023.
  24. Barkowitz, Ed (July 12, 2011). "Five minutes with Tuffy Gosewisch". Philly.com. Retrieved April 3, 2014.
  25. "Pitch and catch with … Diamondbacks' Tuffy Gosewisch". Retrieved November 22, 2016.
  26. "Catching CrossFit". Retrieved November 22, 2016.
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