Ilya Bogatyrev

Ilya Bogatyrev
(Bogey)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 0", Weight 165 lb.
• School Moscow State University

• Born March 22, 1969 in Moscow USSR

BR page

Biographical Information

Ilya Bogatyrev was one of the first three Russian-trained players to sign with a MLB club. Ilya played for the USSR in the 1990 Goodwill Games, hitting only .167 with two RBI; his three hits still tied Yevgeny Puchkov, Nugzar Popkhadze and Andrei Kuzich for the team lead. In the 1991 Intercontinental Cup, he hit .250/.300/.286 and fielded .857 at shortstop. Before baseball, Bogatyrev had been a kayaking champion in college before an injury turned him towards baseball. His father Vladimir Bogatyrev managed Russia's national team.

Ilya was signed by the California Angels in 1992 for a $1,500 bonus, along with fellow Russians Puchkov and Rudolf Razhigaev. He hit .196/.288/.261 for the 1992 AZL Angels and fielded only .759 at short; his batting line was at least very comparable to the club's starting shortstop, a Dominican. In 1993, Bogatyrev batted .274/.384/.290 in 25 games for the AZL Angels, He hit better than the team average.

Sources

• 1993-1994 Baseball Almanacs
• Baseball in Europe by Josh Chetwynd

Further Reading

• Tom Singer and Doug Miller: "The Glasnost Gang: When the Halos 'invaded' Russia: In 1992, the Angels signed three Russian players. Here is their story", mlb.com, March 25, 2016. [1]