Bruce Boisclair: Late Seventies Mets Outfielder (1974-1979)

Bruce Armand Boisclair was born December 9, 1952, in Putnam, Connecticut. The tall slender six foot two, outfielder was drafted in the 20th round of the 1970 draft by the New York Mets.

 In 1972 he hit .348 at A ball Visalia, by far the best average he ever hit for in his pro career. That season he also hit a minor league career high four HRs.

He was known for his base stealing as he stole 20 bases at A ball Pompano Beach in 1971, followed by 16 more in 1972 with Visalia. In 1974 he played at AAA Tidewater, where he stole ten bases & batted .239 good enough to earn a September call up.

Mets Career: On September 11th, 1974, Boisclair made his MLB debut as a pinch runner in a classic extra inning game. Bruce entered the game as a pinch runner, in the 23rd inning of the Mets-Cardinals marathon. He actually reached third base with two outs, but Cleon Jones flied out to end the inning. 

He went 3-12 that month.

In 1975 Bruce spent the season at AAA Tidewater where he hit .278 & stole 20 bases.

1976 Bicentennial Year: Boisclair returned to the Mets squad in 1976, making the club as a fourth outfielder. He was issued Rusty Staub’s old uniform number 4, after Staub had been traded to the Detroit Tigers that off season.

Boisclair would finish off the first two Mets games of the year, as a defensive replacement. On April 11th, he came into the game in the 5th inning & got his first hit of the season. Bruce would have ten hits in an April stretch where he hit safely in seven of nine games.

Walk Off Hit: On April 27th, in a game against the Atlanta Braves at Shea Stadium, the Mets came back from a 5-3 deficit. In the bottom of the 9th inning, John Milner tied the game up with a pinch-hit single. Next Boisclair won it, with a walk off double hit off pitcher Pablo Torrealba. 

Bruce didn't drive in another run for two months, but he hit well enough playing as a reserve, to remain over the .300 mark into late July. 

On July 15th he had a 7th inning pinch hit, RBI single off the Houston Astros J.R. Richard, helping the Mets to a 3-1 win.

On August 15th he helped Jerry Koosman in his five-hit shutout win against the World Champion Big Red Machine, by driving in the only run of the game. 

In late August thru early September, he hit safely in 19 of 22 games. On August 28th he hit his first career HR, coming off the Los Angeles Dodgers, Rick Rhoden at Shea Stadium. Boisclair had another hot streak hitting safely in 16 of 20 games toward the end of the season. 

On the season he hit a solid .287, with two HRs 13 doubles 13 RBIs 28 walks & a .350 on base % playing in 110 games with 286 at bats. 

The tall Boisclair still had his speed & led the slow-footed Met team with nine stolen bases.

1977: Showing some promise for a good future, he returned next year in the mix for the third outfielder's job. He started out April, hitting safely in 9 of 11 games. On April 17th, he drove in three runs against the Chicago Cubs. He hit an RBI double off Bill Bonham & then a two-run single off Jim Todd. It was to be one of Tom Seaver's last wins in a Mets uniform, a 6-0 shutout. 

Boisclair went on a hot streak, driving in a total of ten runs in his next eight games, unfortunately, they were all Mets losses. On April 23rd, he drove in another three runs in a 6-5 Mets loss to the Pirates. On April 29th he had a three-hit game in San Diego, driving in a run with an RBI single in the Mets 9-2 win. At the end of April Boisclair was batting .364.

In May he saw some more playing time, but he only hit .241 & drove in just one run all month. He had two more three hit games the week of May 21st & was consistent throughout the year when he played. 

On June 15th, the night Tom Seaver was traded away in "The Midnight Massacre" Boisclair hit a two run HR, at Atlanta Fulton County Stadium in the Mets 6-5 win. On June 19th, his three run HR off Houston's Joaquin Andujar, helped the Mets beat the Astros 8-3. 

On June 30th, in the 7th inning, he drew a bases loaded walk, from the Expos Steve Rogers, tying up the game. The Mets would win it in the top of the 9th inning when Mike Vail brought in Lee Mazzilli on a ground out. 

On July 9th in a game against the Expos at Shea Stadium, Bruce came to bat in the 5th inning with the bases loaded. He hit a bases clearing, pinch hit double off Steve Rogers. The wild game went 17 innings until Lenny Randel hit a walk off HR in the 7-5 Mets win. 

In August Bruce would play in 19 games & bat .409 with 18 hits in 44 at bats.   On August 22nd at Shea Stadium, he drove in both runs of a 2-1 Mets win over J.R. Richard & the Houston Astros. Pat Zachry & Skip Lockwood combined for the Mets pitching.

In September he drove in 14 runs and kept his season average up near .300, also having six multi-hit games. In a series at Wrigley Field, he had two games where he drove in a pair of runs. He also drove in runs in six of the last nine games of the season.

In the last week of the season, he drove in runs in five of seven games with RBIs in each game of the Mets last three wins.

On October 2nd, he drove in three runs in an 8-4 win at St. Louis. It was the fifth time on the season he had three RBIs in a game.

On the season Boisclair hit a career best .293 in 307 at bats. He also had career highs in hits (90) doubles (21) RBIs (44) & on base % (.359 %) while leading the team in sacrifice hits as well. 

1978: By now he was primarily seeing action just against right hand pitchers. On April 9th, in the third game of the season, Boisclair hit a 1st inning, two run HR off Montreal's Wayne Twitchell, helping the Mets in a 6-5 win over the Expos. 

On April 19th, he drove in both runs of a 2-0 Pat Zachary shut out against the Cardinals in St. Louis. On May 8th, he drove in the winning run in the 10th inning, off the Reds' Pedro Borbon at Riverfront Stadium, scoring Lenny Randle. 

At the end of May he drove in runs in three straight games, while homering in two of them. On May 29th, in the first game of a double header, Boisclair hit a three run HR off the Cards, John Urrea in a 7-2 Mets victory.

In June he batted .313 seeing action in 19 games while collecting ten hits.

Bruce’s career soon took a nosedive, he only drove in four runs in the last four months of the season & his batting average plummeted to. 224 to end the season.

Overall, for the 1978 dismal Mets, he played in 107 games with 48 hits in 214 at bats, 4 HRs 7 doubles 15 RBIs & a .293 on base %. 

1979: Boisclair would only play in 59 games for the last place 1979 Mets. He suffered a wrist injury on July 8th missing two months of action. He drove in just four runs all year, all in September & saw his batting average fall to just .184. 

In 98 at bats, he had six extra base hits with four RBIs & a poor .210 on base %. 

Post Mets Career: He was released at the start of the 1980 season, and then went to Japan to play for the Hanshin Tigers. 

In February 1981, Bruce signed with the Toronto Blue Jays but never resurfaced in the majors again. 

Career Stats: Boisclair finished his brief five season career with a .263 lifetime average, 241 hits 10 HRs 47 doubles 6 triples 18 stolen bases 77 RBIs & 114 runs scored. He struck out 183 times, walked 86 times with a .324 on base % & .684 OPS. in 410 games played.

Family: Bruce & his wife Dolores raised their family in Agoura Hills, California. Their daughter Erin was a teenage Tennis star & became a US Tennis Pro. Erin also coaches' women's Tennis.