J.C. Boscán

Jean Carlos Boscán

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 2", Weight 215 lb.
• High School Nuestra Senora del Fatima High School
• Debut October 1, 2010
• Final Game September 29, 2013
• Born December 26, 1979 in Maracaibo, Zulia, Venezuela

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Biographical Information

"'Brundy' (Dave Brundage) tells people he didn't mess with me at all because he saw the look on my face when I went in," he [J.C. Boscán] said, a smile creasing his face as he sat in the almost empty clubhouse where his best baseball moment had taken place. "Actually, for a minute he did. The first thing he said when I sat down was 'J.C., you've been playing a long time, haven't you?' For a split second I panicked because I thought he was going to tell me I should feel good about my career but this was the end. Then he said, 'Have you ever been to the big leagues?' That's when I thought maybe this was it because he knew I'd never been. Everyone knew I'd never been. That was when he said 'I was going to mess with you, but I can't,' and he told me I was going up. I'll never forget the words: 'This is your day.' I'm sure I was crying by the time he finished the sentence." - John Feinstein, discussing with J.C. Boscán his first big league call up in the book Where Nobody Knows Your Name

J.C. Boscán played fourteen (!!!) minor league seasons before making it to the big leagues.

After being signed by scout Rolando Petit, Boscán began his career in 1997 with the GCL Braves in the Atlanta Braves organization, with whom he hit .202/.317/.279 in 36 games. He played for the Danville Braves in 1998, hitting .218/.362/.306 in 51 games. His 20 passed balls led the Appalachian League but he led his club with 37 walks. In 105 games with the Macon Braves in 1999, Boscán hit .226/.304/.278 with a career-high 38 RBI, as well as a career-high 40 runs scored. His 798 putouts led South Atlantic League backstops. He spent 2000 with Macon as well, hitting .205/.311/.334 in 93 games. He hit a career-high nine home runs that season and fielded .995, best of any SAL catcher. Boscán split the 2001 season between the GCL Braves, Macon Braves and Myrtle Beach Pelicans, hitting a combined .260/.317/.380 in 61 games while missing time with a broken bone in his left hand. He split 2002 between the Pelicans, Greenville Braves and Richmond Braves, hitting a combined .220/.300/.314 in 98 games. In 2003, he hit .197/.275/.284 in 72 games split between Myrtle Beach, Richmond and Greenville. He played for Richmond and Greenville in 2004, hitting .246/.347/.313 in 74 games total and was 4 for 8 in the postseason. With Richmond for all of 2005, his first full year in Triple A, Boscán hit .222/.313/.292 in 72 games while splitting catching duties with Brayan Peña. He spent the winter with the Cardenales de Lara.

A free agent after nine years in the Braves chain, he signed with the Milwaukee Brewers. In 2006, he hit .197/.259/.258 in 45 games split between the Huntsville Stars and Nashville Sounds. In 2007, he was in the Cincinnati Reds organization on another one-year deal, hitting .215/.377/.252 in 38 games split between the Chattanooga Lookouts and Louisville Bats. He hit .286 that winter for the Bravos de Margarita. Boscán returned to the Braves organization in 2008, hitting .235/.334/.310 in 79 games with the Mississippi Braves, the first time since 2001 he had not seen any time at Triple A. He led Southern League catchers in both fielding percentage (.997) and runners caught stealing (41.3%). He fell to .211 in the Venezuelan Winter League. He split 2009 between the Mississippi Braves and Gwinnett Braves, hitting .259/.341/.313 in 86 games and threw out 36% of opposing base-stealers. He hit .225 that winter for the Bravos.

He began 2010 with Gwinnett, hitting .250/.324/.368 in 66 games prior to his September 1, 2010 promotion to the majors. He had hit 5 home runs, his best total in ten years and was fielding .997. He waited a whole month to make his playing debut, as the Braves were locked in a tight race for a postseason slot. He finally got into a game on October 1st, making him the last player to debut in 2010. He drew a walk and scored in his only plate appearance and played an inning behind the plate against the Philadelphia Phillies. Boscán was released after the season to clear a space on the 40-man roster, but was quickly re-signed to a new minor league deal with an invitation to spring training. Back with Gwinnett in 2011, he batted .182/.235/.222 in 61 games. He made four big league appearances, each of them in different months, and connected for his first big league hit with a single off the Florida Marlins' Ricky Nolasco on July 31st. A week later, he went 2-for-4 against the New York Mets and pitcher Dillon Gee in a 6-5 Braves victory. In 2012, he scuffled again in Gwinnett (.189/.264/.284 in 70 games) but saw his personal best 6 games of action as a Brave, batting 2-for-10.

J.C. was again outrighted off the Braves' 40-man roster in 2012, this time striking a minor league pact with the Chicago Cubs. His bat was a little more robust with the Triple A Iowa Cubs, as he batted .232/.297/.270 in 74 games in 2013. The Cubs gave him a six-game look in the majors and he laced his first (and only) extra-base hit, a pinch-hit double off St. Louis Cardinals reliever Edward Mujica, on September 28th. He was outrighted once more after the year. He spent his final two seasons as a pro in a backup catcher capacity, with the Double A Chattanooga Lookouts in the Los Angeles Dodgers organization in 2014 and the Omaha Storm Chasers, the Triple A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals, in 2015.

Following his playing career, Boscán served as the Kansas City Royals minor league catching coordinator from 2017-2022.

Boscán is featured briefly in John Feinstein's book about the 2012 Triple A season, Where Nobody Knows Your Name.

Related Sites

• J.C. Boscan on mlb.com