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Bruce Bochte

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Not to be confused with Bruce Bochy, a former baseball catcher and manager.

Bruce Bochte
Bochte in 1978
First baseman / Left fielder
Born: (1950-11-12) November 12, 1950 (age 74)
Pasadena, California, U.S.
Batted: Left
Threw: Left
MLB debut
July 19, 1974, for the California Angels
Last MLB appearance
October 5, 1986, for the Oakland Athletics
MLB statistics
Batting average.282
Home runs100
Runs batted in658
Stats at Baseball Reference Edit this at Wikidata
Teams
Career highlights and awards

Bruce Anton Bochte (/ˈbɒktiː/ BOK-tee;[1] born November 12, 1950) is an American former professional baseball first baseman and outfielder who played in Major League Baseball from 1974–1982 and 1984–1986. He played his entire career in the American League for the California Angels, Cleveland Indians, Seattle Mariners and Oakland Athletics. Bochte graduated from Arcadia High School in California and played collegiate ball for the Santa Clara Broncos baseball team until he was drafted by the Angels in the second round (34th overall) of the 1972 Major League Baseball draft.[2]

Bochte was called up to the Angels in 1974 after hitting .355 with nine home runs and 56 RBI in 92 games for the Triple-A Salt Lake City Angels of the Pacific Coast League,[3] and made his major league debut on July 19, 1974. In his first game, Bochte appeared as a pinch runner for Bob Oliver, and scored a run while going 0-for-1 in a 5–4 loss to the Baltimore Orioles.[4] He spent the next four seasons with the Angels, hitting .272 during that span.[5] He batted .290 with two home runs and 8 runs batted in (RBI) to begin the 1977 campaign before being traded along with Sid Monge and cash from the Angels to the Indians for Dave LaRoche and Dave Schuler on May 11.[6] After finishing 1977 with Cleveland, he became a free agent and signed with the Seattle Mariners, who he played with for the next five seasons.[5]

Bochte was selected for the American League All-Star team in 1979 when he hit .316 with 16 home runs and 100 RBI in 150 games and set career highs in virtually every major offensive category.[5] He sat out the entire 1983 season for because he "was fed up with the business of baseball and worried about the state of the world", but returned to play with the Oakland Athletics from 1984–1986.[7]

In a 12-year, 1,538 game major league career, Bochte compiled a .282 batting average (1,478-for-5,233) with 643 runs, 250 doubles, 21 triples, 100 home runs, 658 RBI, 653 walks, 662 strikeouts, .360 on-base percentage and .396 slugging percentage. Defensively, he recorded a career .991 fielding percentage playing at first base and all three outfield positions.[5] For his college career, he was inducted into the Santa Clara University Athletic Hall of Fame in 1987.[8]

As of 2001, Bochte was an avowed agnostic, and was studying cosmology and working on environmental conservation. He stated that he has no contact with anyone from his playing days except for Dusty Baker. Bochte married twice, and has two daughters from his first marriage.[9]

References

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  1. ^ Nack, William (July 2, 1979). "Bruce is loose and in the swing". Sports Illustrated. Archived from the original on September 19, 2021. Retrieved November 22, 2022.
  2. ^ "2nd Round of the 1972 MLB June Amateur Draft". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 27, 2023.
  3. ^ "Bruce Bochte Minor Leagues Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 27, 2023.
  4. ^ "California Angels vs Baltimore Orioles Box Score: July 19, 1974". Baseball-Reference.com. July 19, 1974. Retrieved March 27, 2023.
  5. ^ a b c d "Bruce Bochte Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Rookie Status & More". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 27, 2023.
  6. ^ "Indians' LaRoche Traded To Angels". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Associated Press. May 11, 1977. pp. 3D. Retrieved March 27, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ Weyler, John (April 25, 1985). "Bochte Is Certain His 'Retirement' Improved Enthusiasm for Game". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on November 12, 2021. Retrieved January 2, 2022.
  8. ^ "Bochte, Bruce". Santa Clara University. Archived from the original on January 2, 2022. Retrieved January 2, 2022.
  9. ^ Moore, Jim (July 9, 2001). "Bochte has moved a long way from baseball". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Archived from the original on December 22, 2020. Retrieved January 3, 2022.
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