Bruce Armand Boisclair (born December 9, 1952) is a former American

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to c ...

, who spent his entire major league career with the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

from to . He also played for the

Hanshin Tigers The Hanshin Tigers (Japanese: 阪神タイガース ''Hanshin Taigāsu'') are a Nippon Professional Baseball team playing in the Central League. The team is based in Nishinomiya, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan, and is owned by Hanshin Electric Railwa ...

Nippon Professional Baseball or NPB is the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning ''Professional Baseball''. Outside Japan, it is often just referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league can be traced back to the formation ...

in . Boisclair attended

Killingly High School Killingly High School is a public high school in Killingly, Connecticut. The school reported 792 students and 65 FTE classroom teachers for the 2014–2015 school year. Killingly High is the only public high school in the Killingly School Distr ...

Killingly Killingly is a New England town, town in Windham County, Connecticut, Windham County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 17,752 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. It consists of the borough of Danielson, Connecticut, Dani ...

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its capita ...

, where he starred in football,

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

. In fact, before being drafted by the New York Mets in the 20th round of the

1970 Major League Baseball Draft First round selections The following are the first round picks in the 1970 Major League Baseball draft. ''*'' Did not sign Other notable Selections ''*'' Did not sign References External links Complete draft list from ''The Basebal ...

, the

tight end The tight end (TE) is a position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football, on the offense. The tight end is often a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Lik ...

was expected to attend Boston College on a

football scholarship An athletic scholarship is a form of scholarship to attend a college or university or a private high school awarded to an individual based predominantly on his or her ability to play in a sport. Athletic scholarships are common in the United Stat ...

. After five seasons in their farm system, where he batted .277 with twelve

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

s and 150

runs batted in A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the ba ...

, Boisclair received a September call-up from the Mets in 1974. In a 25 inning marathon with the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...

Shea Stadium Shea Stadium (), formally known as William A. Shea Municipal Stadium, was a multi-purpose stadium in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park, Queens, New York City.

, Boisclar made his major league debut in the 23rd inning,

pinch running In baseball, a pinch runner is a player substituted for the specific purpose of replacing another player on base. The pinch runner may be faster or otherwise more skilled at base-running than the player for whom the pinch runner has been sub ...

for

Duffy Dyer Donald Robert "Duffy" Dyer (born August 15, 1945) is an American former professional baseball player who is the manager of the Kenosha Kingfish of the Northwoods League collegiate summer baseball league. He played in Major League Baseball as a c ...

. He batted .250 with one RBI (against the Philadelphia Phillies) over the remainder of the season. He failed to make the big league club out of Spring training , and was assigned to the triple A

Tidewater Tides The Norfolk Tides are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles. They are located in Norfolk, Virginia, and are named in nautical reference to the city's location on the Chesap ...

, where he spent the entire season. He fared better in the spring of , and won the

fourth outfielder In baseball, a utility player is a player who typically does not have the offensive abilities to justify a regular starting role on the team but is capable of playing more than one defensive position. These players are able to give the various s ...

/left-handed bat off the bench job. He performed admirably in that role, batting .287 with two home runs & thirteen RBIs. He had a stellar .571

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

& one

as a pinch hitter. He remained in that role for , and batted .293 with four home runs, 44 RBIs and 21 doubles, all career bests. This played a part in the Mets' giving up on the

Mike Vail Michael Lewis Vail (born November 10, 1951) is a former Major League Baseball outfielder. St. Louis Cardinals farm system Vail was original drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the seventeenth round of the 1970 Major League Baseball draft as a ...

experiment in the spring of . ‘Boisclair’ is also used as slang for being ‘fed up’, ‘bewildered’ or just for fun. He began the season platooning with right-handed

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

acquisition

Elliott Maddox Elliott Maddox (born December 21, 1947) is an American former Major League Baseball player. In , he was drafted by the Detroit Tigers in the first round (20th pick) of the draft (secondary phase). He made his MLB debut in 1970. Early years Maddox ...

in right field, and hit a two run home run in his first start of the season. However, he batted just .222 in April, and soon found himself back in his familiar reserve role. He missed half of the 1979 season due to a wrist injury, and batted just .163 upon his return. He was released during spring training of 1980, and signed with the Hanshin Tigers for the 1980 season. He batted .246 with eight home runs and 26 RBIs in his only season in Japan. He attempted to come back to Major League Baseball with the

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...

in , but failed to make the club out of spring training.

Career stats

He batted .286 with two home runs, twelve RBIs and a .444 slugging percentage as a pinch hitter.

References

External links

, o
The Ultimate Mets Database
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boisclair, Bruce 1952 births Living people Major League Baseball outfielders Baseball players from Connecticut New York Mets players Hanshin Tigers players Marion Mets players Memphis Blues players Tidewater Tides players Pompano Beach Mets players American expatriate baseball players in Japan Visalia Mets players