Jerry Goff

Jerry Leroy Goff (born April 12, 1964 in San Rafael, California) is a former Major League Baseball player. Primarily a catcher, Goff was listed at 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) tall and weighed 207 pounds. He batted from the left side and threw with his right hand.

Amateur career

Goff was drafted twice as a player at San Rafael High School, by the Oakland Athletics and the New York Yankees, but he elected instead to attend the University of California, Berkeley. He is 9th in career home runs for Cal (29; tied with Josh Satin).^[1]

In the third round of the 1986 Major League Baseball Draft, the Seattle Mariners took him with the 63rd overall selection, and this time he decided to turn pro.

Professional career

Goff struggled with a low batting average while advancing through Seattle's minor league system, but also showed good power. The Montreal Expos acquired him from Seattle in exchange for Pat Pacillo on February 27, 1990, and he made his Major League debut with them on May 15 of that year.

Goff returned to the minors for 1991, but he spent parts of the next six years as a backup catcher for the Expos, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Houston Astros. His best offensive performance came in 1993, when as a member of the Pirates he batted .297 with two home runs, two doubles, and eight walks in only 46 plate appearances.

On May 12, 1996, Goff accomplished an unusual and dubious achievement. While catching Mike Hampton in a game against the Montreal Expos, Goff allowed six passed balls: two each in the first, third, and fourth innings. This tied him with catchers Rube Vickers and Geno Petralli for the single-game record. Goff had two hits in the game, including a home run, but his miscues led to five unearned runs for the Expos, who went on to win the game 8–7.^[2] In response to this, the Astros sent Goff to AAA on May 17, and he never appeared in another major league game. For his major league career as a whole, he appeared in 90 games, batting .215 with a .320 on-base percentage and a .336 slugging percentage in 214 at bats.

Goff continued to play professional baseball after his days in the Major Leagues were finished. While with the independent Amarillo Dillas, Goff was a member of the Texas-Louisiana League All-Star team in 1997.^[3] The last healthy position player remaining on the roster, Goff entered the game as a pinch hitter in the ninth inning and hit a game-winning double.^[4]

Working as a firefighter in 2001, Goff was still playing on the semi-pro level, appearing with the Novato Knicks, an exhibition team based in Marin County, California.^[5]

Post-career

Goff now lives in Novato, CA with his wife and two children, Lauren and Jared.

Notes

External links

• Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube