Joe Ferguson (baseball)
Joseph Vance Ferguson (born September 19, 1946) is a former American MLB catcher and right fielder who played from 1970 to 1983 for the Los Angeles Dodgers, St. Louis Cardinals, Houston Astros, and California Angels. He later coached in the major leagues and managed in the minors.
Ferguson played college basketball at the University of the Pacific in Stockton, California, and even reached the West Regional Final in 1967. He debuted with the Dodgers in 1970 and became their everyday catcher in 1973. That year he set a major league record for catchers with only three errors and led NL catchers with a .996 fielding percentage and 17 double plays, while hitting .263 with a .369 on-base percentage. In 1973 he also began sharing catching duties with Steve Yeager and, against left-handed pitchers, started playing some right field. Ferguson was known for his strong throwing arm as an outfielder.
A highlight came in the 1974 World Series: in Game 1 he caught Reggie Jackson’s fly ball and threw out Sal Bando at the plate to end the inning. In Game 2 of the series he hit a two-run homer off Vida Blue. He had a productive 1977 season with Houston, catching 122 games with 16 home runs, 61 RBIs and a .379 on-base percentage. Dodgers fans welcomed him back in 1978, and he helped the team reach the World Series again.
After his playing career, Ferguson coached for the Texas Rangers (1986–87) under Bobby Valentine and for the Dodgers (1988–1994). He also managed in the Dodgers, Orioles and Padres minor-league systems and led the Camden Riversharks in the Atlantic League from 2007 to 2009.
In 14 MLB seasons, Ferguson was a power hitter with strong on-base skills, finishing with a .240 batting average, .358 on-base percentage, 122 home runs, and 445 RBIs in 1,013 games. In 13 postseason games, he batted .200 but had a .378 on-base percentage with 1 home run and 4 RBIs.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 08:10 (CET).