Greg Blosser

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Greg Blosser

Durham Bulls — No. 9
Outfield
Born: June 26, 1971 (1971-06-26) (age 40)
Bradenton, FL
Batted: Left Threw: Left 
Organizational debut
April 3, 1997 for the St. Petersburg Devil Rays
Last organizational appearance
September 14, 1998 for the Durham Bulls
Teams

Gregory Brent Blosser (born June 26, 1971 in Bradenton, FL) was an outfielder in the Tampa Bay Devil Rays minor league system. He was signed by the Devil Rays as a minor league free agent on January 25, 1997.[1]

Contents

Amateur career

Blosser graduated from Sarasota High School in 1989, where he played on the Sailors' state championship team as a sophomore[2] and both state and national championship teams as a senior.[1] He had also been named MVP of the USA Junior National Team in 1998, playing with future Devil Ray Charles Johnson. He had committed to playing collegiate ball at Mississippi State.[3]

Professional career

In the 1989 amateur draft, Blosser was selected with the 16th overall pick by the Boston Red Sox, and he forewent his college commitment to play professionally. Greg worked his way up through the Red Sox minor league system quickly, reaching Triple-A Pawtucket by the 1992 season, and earned a September call-up in 1993. He made Boston's Major League roster out of spring training in 1994, but was returned to Pawtucket after only 5 appearances (3 starts),[4] where he spent most of the rest of his time in the Red Sox organization.

On February 2, 1996, Blosser signed a minor league contract with Baltimore that included an invitation to spring training.[5] However, he experienced some back issues while in camp[6] along with several defensive miscues during exhibition games and was reassigned to minor league camp and, ultimately, Triple-A Rochester, where he spent part of the season with limited playing time before being released in June.[7]

Devil Rays Career

The new Tampa Bay Devil Rays organization made Blosser their first player to have Major League playing time when they signed him to a two-year minor league contract on December 17, 1996. He was expected to be one of the few Devil Rays players to be assigned to Double-A Orlando for the 1997 season[8] and be on the Tampa Bay Devil Rays' inaugural roster in 1998.[9]

Instead of going to Orlando (to whom the Devil Rays could send only a limited number of players) Blosser was assigned to the highest fully-affiliated team Tampa Bay had in 1997, the Advanced-A St. Petersburg Devil Rays of the Florida State League.[10] It became clear quickly that league was no match for Blosser. In his first at-bat for St. Petersburg on opening night (April 3, 1997) he hit a 420-foot, three-run homer over the right-centerfield wall of Al Lang Field.[11] He earned the Devil Rays' pick for Player of the Month in April for his early performance, batting .356 in 23 games with seven HR, 18 RBI and a .667 slugging percentage. Other teams in the Florida State League were complaining about the caliber of some of St. Petersburg's players, which led the D-Rays to attempt to loan Blosser out to another organization so he could see higher-level competition.[12] Despite occasional issues with back spasms and a stint on the disabled list in late May for an ankle sprain,[13] Blosser was one of the Devil Rays' three representatives voted to the FSL All-Star game (along with pitchers Mickey Callaway and John Daniels). At the time, he was third in the league in OBP (.422) and second in SLG (.596).[14]

The Devil Rays finally found another place for Blosser when he was loaned to Triple-A Oklahoma City, then the Texas Rangers' top affiliate, on June 18, 1997. After 52 games with St. Petersburg, he finished with an OPS of .987 and 12 HR.[15] His hot bat continued for Oklahoma City, with an OPS of .970 and an additional 12 HR in 54 games at Triple-A, highlighted by a three-homer, five-RBI day on August 29 against Omaha.[16]

Following the regular season, the Devil Rays sent Blosser to play for Sun City in the Arizona Fall League.[17] In AFL play, he hit .210 with 5 HR and 17 RBI in 29 games.[18]

Greg recieved an invitation to Tampa Bay's inaugural Major League spring training in 1998.[19] However, with the strong competition for the left field position (including Luis Polonia, Mike Kelly, Bubba Trammell, Dwight Smith and Jerome Walton) and both right field and center field seemingly locked in for Dave Martinez and Quinton McCracken, respectively, along with many other left-handed bats in camp,[20] Blosser became a long shot to make the Major League roster. Still, he maintained confidence that, given an opportunity at the Major League level, he could "have 20-plus homers and hit over .280".[21] Nonetheless, he was cut and reassigned to minor league camp on March 20.[22]

Assigned to Triple-A Durham of the International League, Blosser started at a torrid pace and would wind up with 25 HR and an OPS of .891 in 115 regular season games.[15] However, he was never called up during the regular season and was not among those called up when the Major League roster expanded in September, instead being left in Durham for the Bulls' playoff run.[23]

After the Devil Rays

Following Durham's division-winning 1998 season, Blosser was not re-signed and he became a minor league free agent.[24] In January, 1999, he signed a one-year contract to play for the Seibu Lions of NPB's Pacific League.[25] He received limited playing time in Japan, though, with only 96 at-bats in 34 games on the season.

Before the 2000 season, Blosser signed a minor league contract with San Francisco and began the year with Triple-A Fresno. On May 6, he was released by the Giants after hitting .159 with eight RBI in 18 games (primarily as the designated hitter).[26]

He signed the following month with the Somerset Patriots of the independent Atlantic League, where he received regular playing time, hitting .368 with four HR and 12 RBI in his first 22 games, and he expected calls to help at Triple-A based on his performance.[27] Greg helped Somerset to a division title that season, then returned in 2001 to help the team to a league championship. In 2003, Blosser signed with Somerset again, but retired less than a month later.[28] He also had a brief return to the Patriots in 2008.[15]

During Blossers various retirements from baseball he has worked in real estate and private investigation, and has been coaching baseball for 15-18 year-olds.[2]

Personal

Blosser filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy and was divorced from his first wife, Tiffany, in 1996.[29]

Before the 1998 season, Blosser's younger brother Doug, a 3rd round pick by Kansas City in the 1995 draft, was killed in car accident.[30]

Prior to Durham's home opener in 1998, Greg proposed to then-girlfriend Julianne Rowe.[31] He was listed as divorced by the end of the 1999 season. He has two children: daughter Bobbi (born ca. 1989) and son Brandon (born ca. 1993).[32]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1997 Tampa Bay Devil Rays Information Guide. St. Petersburg, FL: Tampa Bay Devil Rays. 1997. p. 59. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Martin, Andrew (June 14, 2011). "Greg Blosser: The Floridian Slugger". The Baseball Historian. http://baseballhistorian.blogspot.com/2011/06/greg-blosser-floridian-slugger.html. Retrieved September 3, 2011. 
  3. ↑ Evers-McGee, Brian (November 4, 2000). "2 Sailors to sign with Bulldogs". Sarasota Herald-Tribune: p. C1. 
  4. ↑ "The 1994 BOS A Regular Season Batting Log for Greg Blosser". Retrosheet.org. Retrosheet. http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1994/Iblosg0010021994.htm. Retrieved September 4, 2011. 
  5. ↑ "Transactions". The Sun (Baltimore, MD): p. 2C. February 3, 1996. 
  6. ↑ Olney, Buster (March 2, 1996). "Rhodes and Mills pass follow-up tests". The Sun (Baltimore, MD): p. 7C. 
  7. ↑ Olney, Buster (June 11, 1996). "Mussina, Mills, Rhodes take some cuts, too". The Sun (Baltimore, MD). 
  8. ↑ "Devil Rays sign Blosser". Sarasota Herald-Tribune: p. 5C. December 27, 1996. 
  9. ↑ Topkin, Marc (February 6, 1997). "Taking another swing". St. Petersburg Times: p. 1C. 
  10. ↑ Topkin, Marc (March 29, 1997). "Blosser's A list is minor problem". St. Petersburg Times: p. 7C. 
  11. ↑ Shaw, Parry (April 4, 1997). "Blosser delivers in Rays debut". Bradenton Herald: p. S1. 
  12. ↑ Wells, Kevin (May 4, 1997). "Naimoli learns a lesson from baseball in trust". Tampa Tribune: p. Sports, 7. 
  13. ↑ Page, Rodney; Topkin, Marc (May 28, 1997). "Devil Rays pull reverse on Yanks". St. Petersburg Times: p. 5C. 
  14. ↑ Goodrich, Julie (June 11, 1997). "Three Rays, eight Yanks on all-star team". p. 4C. 
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 "Greg Blosser Minor League Statistics & History". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference, LLC. http://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/player.cgi?id=blosse001gre. Retrieved September 5, 2011. 
  16. ↑ "Blosser hits 3 HRs, 89ers win". Daily Oklahoman: p. Sports, 20. August 30, 1997. 
  17. ↑ "Still, Naimoli just keeps on looking to the (AL) East". St. Petersburg Times: p. 6C. August 24, 1997. 
  18. ↑ Henderson, Joe (November 23, 1997). "McGriff comes to Rays with some reluctance". Tampa Tribune: p. Sports, 10. 
  19. ↑ Topkin, Marc; Romano, John (January 28, 1998). "Rays issue spring invitations". St. Petersburg Times: p. 3C. 
  20. ↑ de Jesus Ortiz, Jose (February 12, 1998). "Outfield spots Rays' strength". Bradenton Herald: p. S1. 
  21. ↑ Topkin, Marc (March 20, 1998). "Rekar, Wade on DL". St. Petersburg Times: p. 4C. 
  22. ↑ Zier, Patrick (March 21, 1998). "Devil Rays fall vicitm to weather". The Ledger (Lakeland, FL): p. C1. 
  23. ↑ "D-Rays Notebook". Sarasota Herald-Tribune: p. 4C. September 1, 1998. 
  24. ↑ Topkin, Marc (October 25, 1998). "Season is a positive for ex-Rays". St. Petersburg Times: p. 6C. 
  25. ↑ "Blosser to play in Japan". Sarasota Herald-Tribune: p. 1C. January 26, 1999. 
  26. ↑ Davis, Jeff (May 7, 2000). "Grizzlies can't seem to find a way off losing track". Fresno Bee. 
  27. ↑ Curtis, Dave (July 2, 2000). "Red Sox fans know of Blosser - Patriots star still feels he can help". Star Ledger (Newark, NJ): p. Sports, 13. 
  28. ↑ "Dryer, Krivda power Patriots by Bluefish". Star Ledger (Newark, NJ): p. Sports, 48. May 22, 2003. 
  29. ↑ Huber, Mic (April 6, 1997). "Blosser starts on the long climb back". Sarasota Herald-Tribune: p. 1C. 
  30. ↑ Jimenez, Jose Luis; Huber, Mic (January 25, 1998). "2 promising careers cut short by accident". Sarasota Herald-Tribune: p. 1A. 
  31. ↑ Featherston, Al (April 17, 1998). "DBAP diamond of dreams: Durham, woman enjoy memorable opening night". Herald-Sun (Durham, NC). 
  32. ↑ Brockmann, John (November 28, 1999). "Heading for home". Sarasota Herald-Tribune: p. 1C. 

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