A Preakness Stakes long shot is named after an obscure Met
Don't be surprised if a lot of 'Mets money' shows up on a long shot in Saturday's Preakness Stakes.
That's because the No. 9 horse in the 2025 Preakness is named 'Gosger' after Jim Gosger, a journeyman outfielder who played 74 games for the Amazins, including 10 for the 'Miracle Mets' in 1969.
The gray, Kentucky-bred colt is owned by Harvey Clarke Racing Stables and was named after the former MLBer thanks to a random Facebook connection with Donna Clarke, whose family owns the horse, according to Paulick Report.
Gosger was tagged with 20-1 odds on the morning line, tied for the biggest price on the board with No. 5 Pay Billy.
'It's amazing,' the human Gosger told Paulick Report. 'I'm so darn excited about something like this. I had a good career playing ball. I was very fortunate. But this ranks right up at the top.'
4 Gosger works out at Pimlico ahead of the 150th Preakness Stakes.
IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Gosger, 82, played for six teams during his 10-year career, and although his stats may not be memorable, his story certainly is unique.
He was the last batter to face Satchel Paige, and he was once declared dead by the Mets.
Paige was brought out of retirement in a publicity stunt by Kansas City A's owner Charlie Finley. At age 59, Paige hurled three scoreless innings, culminating with a groundball out by Gosger.
'I grounded out, and as I was running by him to grab my glove, he grabbed my arm and it scared the [heck] out of me,' Gosger recounted to the outlet. 'He looked at me and said, 'Good luck, young man.' And that's something I will never forget.'
4 Jim Gosger during the 1969 World Series.
Getty Images
Four years later, Gosger joined the Mets midway through the 1969 season. He played 10 games, mostly as a defensive replacement for Gil Hodges' team, but was left off the postseason roster.
He never got a World Series ring, but he was honored by the club decades later as part of the 'Miracle Mets' 50-year anniversary celebration.
4 Jim Gosger in 2022 with one of his cats.
Sergio Montanez/Times Herald / USA TODAY NETWORK
There was only one problem. The Mets included him in the 'In Memoriam' video during the celebrations.
'They declared me dead, honest to God,' Gosger told the Paulick Report.
An official from the Mets reached out that night to apologize.
'I said, '[Expletive] you' and hung up,' he told the publication.
4 The Mets issued an apology to Jim Gosger and Jessie Hudson after including them in the 'We Remember' segment of their celebration of the 1969 World Series champions.
Paul J. Bereswill
Gosger retired from the major leagues in 1974 after a second stint in Flushing. He hit .226 with 16 home runs and 177 RBIs in 705 games for the Mets, Expos, Red Sox, Seattle Pilots and Athletics.
With numbers like those, imagine Gosger's surprise when he found out a Mets fan wanted to honor him by naming a thoroughbred in his honor.
Donna Clarke was a massive Mets fan and, along with her late husband Harvey, ran the family's stable.
'I was nine-year-old years old in 1969 and I had a big crush on Ken Boswell,' Clarke told Paulick Report.
So Clarke's son, Scott, thought it would be a nice touch to name their new colt 'Boswell.' Unfortunately, that name had already been taken, so they had to pivot.
It just so happened that Clarke and Gosger had struck up a friendship on Facebook a few years earlier, leading Donna to request the horse be named after the journeyman outfielder.
This is not the first time that Harvey Clarke Stables have named a Triple Crown runner after an athlete.
Nyquist, the winner of the 2016 Kentucky Derby, was named in honor of Gustav Nyquist, then of the Detroit Red Wings.
Gosger — the horse — is the son of Nyquist.
Clarke and her family invited Gosger to Baltimore for Saturday's race, but the former Met respectfully declined because he has five cats and a dog to care for at home in Port Huron, Mich.
Jim Gosger may not have ever got that 1969 World Series ring, but he could have his name etched into Triple Crown history on Saturday.
Not too shabby for a .226 lifetime hitter.
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