Tim Hosley

Infobox MLB retired
name=Tim Hosley
position=Catcher


bats=Right
throws=Right
birthdate=birth date and age|1947|5|10
city-state|Spartanburg|South Carolina
debutdate=September 8
debutyear=by|1971
debutteam=Detroit Tigers
finaldate=June 10
finalyear=by|1981
finalteam=Oakland Athletics
stat1label=Batting average
stat1value=.215
stat2label=Home runs
stat2value=12
stat3label=Runs batted in
stat3value=53
teams=
*Detroit Tigers (1970-71)
*Oakland Athletics (1973-74, 1976-78, 1981)
*Chicago Cubs (1975-76)

Timothy Kenneth Hosley is a former Major League Baseball catcher who played parts of nine seasons in the majors between by|1970 and by|1981. He played for the by|1973 and by|1974 World Series champion Oakland Athletics, though he was never on a postseason roster.

Hosley was originally signed by the Detroit Tigers in by|1966, and made it to the majors with them for the first time in by|1970. He played in just 14 games for them over two seasons before being sold to the A's prior to the 1973 season. Again, though, Hosley's major league time was minimal, playing in 24 games over two seasons during the A's 1973 and '74 World Championship seasons. The A's were deep in catching during those seasons, often playing Gene Tenace at first base.

After the 1974 season, Hosley was removed from the A's major league roster, and he was selected by the Chicago Cubs in the Rule 5 Draft. This led to Hosley's best showing in the majors in by|1975, when he batted .255 with 6 home runs in 62 games while splitting time behind the plate with Steve Swisher and George Mitterwald. Despite these hitting numbers, which were good for a catcher at the time, he was placed on waivers by the Cubs just a few games into the by|1976 season, and he was claimed by Oakland.

His return to the A's was somewhat more successful than his first stay from the standpoint of playing time, but his batting numbers declined sharply, as he only hit for a .199 batting average over 79 games between 1976 and by|1978. He remained in the A's farm system until by|1981, when he was released on August 27 after one final stint at the major league level, during which he went just 2-for-21.

In by|1989, Tim Hosley played one more professional season for the Fort Myers Sun Sox of the Senior Professional Baseball Association.

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