Product Code Database
John Lester Moss (May 14, 1925 – August 29, 2012) was an Americans professional baseball player, coach, scout and manager. 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.
Moss Platoon system alongside left-handed-hitting catcher Jake Early, producing a .157 batting average in 96 games during the 1947 season. He held the franchise record as the youngest catcher to hit a home run until he was surpassed by Samuel Basallo on 30 August 2025. Schulman, Henry. "Basallo's first HR another milestone in whirlwind month for O's," MLB.com, Saturday 30 August 2025. Retrieved 31 August 2025. He caught the majority of the games for the Browns in 1948 while his hitting improved substantially, with a .257 average along with 14 and 46 runs batted in. In 1949, the Browns acquired 24-year-old Sherm Lollar from the New York Yankees and Moss became the second-string catcher. Moss' hitting continued to improve with a .291 average and an impressive .399 on-base percentage.
On May 17, 1951, Moss was traded to the Boston Red Sox. After producing a .198 batting average in 71 games for the Red Sox, he was shipped back to the Browns on November 28, 1951. 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. 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. He played three more seasons with the White Sox before ending his major league career after the 1958 season. 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 and then, appeared in three games for the San Diego Padres in , before retiring as a player at the age of 35.
From through , Moss managed high-level teams in the California Angels' system, at Shreveport of the Texas League and Salt Lake City of the Pacific Coast League. Then, after a year as an Angels' scout, in , Moss was hired by the Detroit Tigers to manage in their minor league organisation. He managed the Montgomery Rebels to two Southern League championships in 1975 and . In and , Moss managed the Tigers' Triple-A affiliate, the Evansville Triplets. There he was credited with developing Lance Parrish's catching skills, after the Tigers converted him from a third baseman. After the 1978 season, Moss was voted Manager of the Year in the American Association, and Sporting News named him Minor League Manager of the Year.
Moss succeeded Ralph Houk as manager for the 1979 Detroit Tigers. In his time with the Tigers he went 27–26. He actually was not fired for cause or because he was ineffective, but rather because Sparky Anderson, a proven big-league manager and four-time pennant winner with the Cincinnati Reds, had unexpectedly become available. Moss was named the Tigers' manager soon after the 1978 season concluded. However, after Anderson was fired by the Reds on November 27, 1978, the Tigers came to a deal to bring Anderson to Detroit after the first third of the 1979 season. Following Moss's dismissal on June 12, 1979, coach Dick Tracewski served as interim manager for two games until Anderson's arrival on June 14.
Moss finished with a managing record of 39–50 (.438) in 89 games. Moss became a minor-league pitching instructor in the Chicago Cubs' system in 1980, then served as pitching coach of the MLB Cubs in 1981 and Houston Astros from 1983 to 1989, helping the Astros win the 1986 National League Western Division title. 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 . He retired from baseball in .
Moss died in Longwood, Florida on August 29, at the age of 87.
Managerial record
interim
External links
, or Retrosheet, or SABR Biography Project
Categories: 1925 Births, 2012 Deaths, Americus Pioneers Players, Baltimore Orioles Players, Boston Red Sox Players, California Angels Scouts, Chicago Cubs Coaches, Chicago White Sox Coaches, Chicago White Sox Managers, Chicago White Sox Players, Chicago White Sox Scouts, Detroit Tigers Managers, Elmira Pioneers Players, Houston Astros Coaches, Indianapolis Indians Managers, Indianapolis Indians Players, Major League Baseball Bullpen Coaches, Major League Baseball Catchers, Major League Baseball Pitching Coaches, Rapiños De Occidente Players, San Diego Padres Players, Baseball Players From Tulsa, Oklahoma, St. Louis Browns Players, 20th-century American Sportsmen, Toledo Mud Hens Players
|
|
