Emilio Antonio Fossas Morejon (born September 23, 1957) is a former

left-handed In human biology, handedness is an individual's preferential use of one hand, known as the dominant hand, due to it being stronger, faster or more dextrous. The other hand, comparatively often the weaker, less dextrous or simply less subject ...

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), ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

who played between 1988 and 1999.

Amateur career

Fossas attended St. Mary's High School (Brookline, Massachusetts) and was signed as a 12th round pick by the Texas Rangers during the 1979 Major League Baseball Amateur Draft. The previous year he was drafted by the Minnesota Twins, but decided not to sign with the team, instead finishing his college studies and collegiate career at

University of South Florida The University of South Florida (USF) is a public research university with its main campus located in Tampa, Florida, and other campuses in St. Petersburg and Sarasota. It is one of 12 members of the State University System of Florida. USF i ...

in Tampa. In 1978, he played collegiate summer baseball for the

Falmouth Commodores The Falmouth Commodores are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Falmouth, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the league's West Division. The Commodores play their home games at Arnie Alle ...

of the Cape Cod Baseball League.

Professional career

At the age of 31, Fossas received a promotion to the majors in 1988 with the Rangers, who released him during the offseason. Although he only pitched innings that initial year, Fossas eventually became an entrenched yeoman

setup pitcher In baseball, a setup man (or set-up man, also sometimes referred to as a setup pitcher or setup reliever) is a relief pitcher who regularly pitches before the closer. They commonly pitch the eighth inning, with the closer pitching the ninth. As ...

with the Milwaukee Brewers from 1989 to 1990, the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eigh ...

from 1991 to 1994, and 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 ...

from 1995 to 1997. Fossas' greatest success came as a left-handed specialist reliever, or

LOOGY In baseball, a left-handed specialist (also known as lefty specialist) is a relief pitcher who throws left-handed and specializes in pitching to left-handed batters, weak right-handed batters, and switch-hitters who bat poorly right-handed. Beca ...

, a pitcher who was brought in expressly to face one or two particularly dangerous left-handed batters (during Fossas's tenure, this included such players as

Fred McGriff Frederick Stanley McGriff (born October 31, 1963) is an American former first baseman in Major League Baseball (MLB) who played for six teams from 1986 through 2004. He was one of the most consistently productive powers hitters of the 1990s, post ...

, Ken Griffey Jr., Barry Bonds, and

George Brett George Howard Brett (born May 15, 1953) is an American former professional baseball player who played all of his 21 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a third baseman for the Kansas City Royals. Brett's 3,154 career hits are second-mo ...

). For example, against the hall of famers, Brett and Griffey, Fossas held them to only 6 hits in 42 at bats, which is a .143 batting average. As a left-handed reliever with an unorthodox delivery, he was well-suited to this role, and often faced only one or two batters in each appearance. With Boston in 1992, Fossas made 60 appearances, but due to his specialized use he pitched a total of less than 30 innings. Fossas amassed 7 career saves; five of those required him to only retire one batter (a left handed hitter) for the final out. In 1998 he pitched for the

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The team joined the American League as an expansion team ...

, Chicago Cubs and returned to the Texas Rangers in what would be his last full year before finishing his career with the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of ...

in 1999.

Coaching career

Fossas became a pitching coach for

Florida Atlantic University Florida Atlantic University (Florida Atlantic or FAU) is a public research university with its main campus in Boca Raton, Florida, and satellite campuses in Dania Beach, Davie, Fort Lauderdale, Jupiter, and Fort Pierce. FAU belongs to the 12-ca ...

Owls in 2005. He became the pitching coach for the minor league

Dayton Dragons The Dayton Dragons are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. They are located in Dayton, Ohio, and play their home games at Day Air Ballpark, formerly known as Fifth Third Field. I ...

in 2009. Fossas lives in Florida with his wife Pura, daughter Keila, son Mark.

References

External links

Tony Fossas
at Baseball Almanac
Tony Fossas
at Baseball Library

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fossas, Tony 1958 births Living people Baseball players from Havana Asheville Tourists players Boston Red Sox players Burlington Rangers players Chicago Cubs players Columbus Clippers players Denver Zephyrs players Edmonton Trappers players Falmouth Commodores players Gulf Coast Rangers players Iowa Cubs players Major League Baseball pitchers Major League Baseball players from Cuba Cuban expatriate baseball players in the United States Milwaukee Brewers players New York Yankees players Pawtucket Red Sox players Oklahoma City 89ers players Oklahoma City RedHawks players St. Louis Cardinals players South Florida Bulls baseball players Seattle Mariners players Texas Rangers players Tulsa Drillers players Cuban expatriate baseball players in Canada Plataneros de Tabasco players Cuban expatriate baseball players in Mexico