Vernard Arthur Hoscheit (April 1, 1922 – June 11, 2007) was an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the ( home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the ca ...

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

, and

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities ...

. He served as a coach on four

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the World ...

championship

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), ...

(MLB) teams with the Oakland Athletics and

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 ...

. Hoscheit was the Mets' bullpen coach from 1984 to 1987, which included their World Series championship run in

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 **Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal enter ...

. During that season's spring training, he accurately predicted that the team would clinch the

National League East Division The National League East is one of Major League Baseball's six divisions. Along with the American League Central it is one of two divisions to have every member win at least one World Series title. The division was created when the National Leag ...

title on September 17, long before any regular season game was even played.

Career

Playing

Born in Brunswick, Nebraska, Hoscheit originally signed 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 ...

and was a catcher in their farm system for 12 seasons, starting in 1941. He missed the 1943–45 seasons because of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

military service, but returned to hit .245 for the

Binghamton Triplets The Binghamton Triplets were a minor league baseball team based in Binghamton, New York between 1923 and 1963. The franchise played as members of the New York–Penn League (1923–1937), Eastern League (1938–1963), New York–Penn League (19 ...

in the Class A Eastern League, where his manager was Baseball Hall of Fame

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 ...

Lefty Gomez Vernon Louis "Lefty" Gomez (November 26, 1908 – February 17, 1989) was an American professional baseball player. A left-handed pitcher, Gomez played in Major League Baseball (MLB) between 1930 and 1943 for the New York Yankees and the Washingt ...

. Hoscheit also caught 25 games in 1947 for Binghamton while hitting .271. He hung on in the

minor leagues Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in No ...

until 1955, his best season being 1951, when he hit .354 with 11 home runs and 109 RBIs for the

McAlester Rockets The McAlester Rockets were a minor league baseball team based in McAlester, Oklahoma. Between 1907 and 1926, previous McAlester teams played as members of the 1905 Missouri Valley League, 1906 South Central League, 1907 Oklahoma-Arkansas-Kansas Lea ...

of Class D

Sooner State League The Sooner State League was a Class D (baseball), Class D level minor league baseball league that operated from 1947 in sports, 1947 through 1957 in sports, 1957. The league owners kept it alive in 1958, anticipating a return to play in 1959. Howev ...

. Hoscheit managed in the lower levels of the Yankees' organization from 1948 to 1959.

Coaching and management

Hoscheit also was an executive in minor league baseball. He was the

general manager A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...

for the Quincy (1955–56), Peoria (1957), and

Greensboro Greensboro (; formerly Greensborough) is a city in and the county seat of Guilford County, North Carolina, United States. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, third-most populous city in North Carolina after Charlotte, North Car ...

(1958–59) clubs, concurrent with being their field manager, and then became president of the Three-I League in 1960. After the Three-I League disbanded following the 1961 season, Hoscheit joined the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. As one of the American League's eight charter ...

and was a scout and minor league instructor (1962–67) and Major League coach (1968). He switched to Oakland and was a coach from 1969 to 1974, earning

World Series ring A World Series ring is an award given to Major League Baseball players who win the World Series. Since only one Commissioner's Trophy is awarded to the team, a World Series ring is an individual award that players and staff of each World Series ...

s in his final three seasons. He coached for the California Angels (1976) and was the Mets'

Gulf Coast League The Florida Complex League (FCL) is a rookie-level Minor League Baseball league that operates in Florida, United States. Before 2021, it was known as the Gulf Coast League (GCL). Together with the Arizona Complex League (ACL), it forms the l ...

manager in 1983. With the parent team, he served as bullpen coach when New York won the 1986 World Series. He became a minor league catching instructor for the Mets in 1988. In retirement, Hoscheit returned to his native Nebraska, where he coached American Legion teams in

Plainview, Nebraska Plainview is a city in Pierce County, Nebraska, United States. It is part of the Norfolk, Nebraska Micropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 1,246 at the 2010 census. History The area of Plainview was first settled by William B. Chilver ...

for many years including a state championship team in 1982. In 1983, he returned to the Mets to become their Gulf Coast League Manager in 1983 and went on to receive his 4th World Series Ring with the 1986 Mets as a bullpen coach

Death

He died at the Pierce Manor nursing home in

Pierce, Nebraska Pierce is a city in and county seat of Pierce County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 1,767 at the 2010 census. History Pierce was platted in 1871, and a courthouse was erected that same year. Like Pierce County, the name honors Pr ...

on June 11, 2007.The Plainview News

References

External links

Vern Hoscheit
at SABR (Baseball BioProject) : {{DEFAULTSORT:Hoscheit, Vern 1922 births 2007 deaths Baltimore Orioles coaches Baltimore Orioles scouts Baseball catchers Baseball coaches from Nebraska Baseball players from Nebraska Binghamton Triplets players California Angels coaches Joplin Miners players Kansas City Blues (baseball) players Major League Baseball bullpen coaches McAlester Rockets players Minor league baseball executives Minor league baseball managers New York Mets coaches Norfolk Tars players Oakland Athletics coaches People from Antelope County, Nebraska People from Plainview, Nebraska Quincy Gems players American military personnel of World War II