Presented by ZAMZOWS.
This Day In Sports…July 11, 2015, 10 years ago today:
Bishop Kelly grad Josh Osich becomes only the third native Boisean to record a major league victory, joining Borah High alum Stephen Fife a couple years before and Pat House, who won two games for the Houston Astros in the late 1960’s. Osich got San Francisco out of a sixth inning jam against Philadelphia, recording the one out he had to against the only batter he faced. And he was the pitcher of record when the Giants scored five runs in the bottom of the inning—and ended up winning 8-5 at AT&T Park.
Osich, a former B.K. running back and linebacker who went on to become a star hurler for Oregon State, retired three years ago. After four seasons with the Giants, he pitched for the Chicago White Sox, Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs and Cincinnati Reds. In seven major league seasons, Osich was 13-6 with a 5.02 ERA in 251 appearances. His best season by far was his rookie campaign in San Francisco, when he threw in 35 games and posted an ERA of 2.20 and a 2-0 record.
Boise High grad James Hoyt of the Houston Astros became the fourth native Boisean with a big league win the following year. What about Larry Jackson, you ask? Jackson was one of the most prolific pitchers ever to come out of Idaho (along with Vern Law). He once starred for Boise Junior College (where he also played quarterback) and was a charter member of the Boise State Athletic Hall of Fame in 1982. Jackson won 194 major league games and was the winning pitcher in the 1963 All-Star Game. He won 24 games for the Cubs in 1964 and was runner-up in voting for the Cy Young Award that year. But…Jackson was born in Nampa.
Which gives me a chance to talk about Michael Stefanic, born in Boise in 1996. The Timberline High alum is still a current story as he toils in the Toronto Blue Jays organization. In 2022, he became the first native Idahoan who also graduated from an Idaho high school to make the majors as a position player since none other than Hall of Famer Harmon Killebrew. Stefanic had the look of an everyday second baseman for the L.A. Angels and played 90 games for the Halos, but he never quite stuck.
Stefanic hit .232 with 14 runs batted in during his time with the Angels. He was left off their 40-man roster last October and opted for free agency, and he signed with Toronto. The Jays called him up in late May, and he got nine games in, hitting .182 before he was sent back down. Stefanic is playing well with the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons, though, batting .313 with five homers and 31 RBI.
(Tom Scott hosts the Scott Slant segment during the football season on KTVB’s Sunday Sports Extra. He also anchors four sports segments each weekday on 95.3 FM KTIK and one on News/Talk KBOI. His Scott Slant column runs every Wednesday.)
