Joe Kehoskie
Joe Kehoskie /ˌkiːˈoʊskiː/ (born January 18, 1973[1]) is an American baseball consultant, executive, and entrepreneur.[2][3] He has worked in professional baseball in a variety of capacities since 1984, formerly working in minor league baseball (1984–1994)[4] and as a player agent (1996–2011).[5][6]
Joe Kehoskie | |
|---|---|
Kehoskie in February 2015 | |
| Born | January 18, 1973 Auburn, New York, U.S. |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation(s) | Baseball consultant Baseball executive |
| Years active | 1984–present |
| Height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) |
| Website | Joe Kehoskie Baseball |
Kehoskie is often quoted in the media as an expert on baseball-related topics, particularly baseball in Latin America.[7][8][9] He has made national TV appearances on outlets including ESPN,[10][11][12] CBC,[13] Al Jazeera English,[13] and PBS,[14] and been interviewed on radio networks including ESPN Radio,[13] CBC Radio,[13] NPR,[15][16] and WFAN.[13]
Early life edit
Kehoskie was born and raised in Auburn, New York,[1] a small city 25 miles southwest of Syracuse in the Finger Lakes region of central New York.
He is a 1990 graduate of Auburn High School,[17] from which he graduated in three years.[4]
Professional baseball career edit
Minor leagues (1984–1994) edit
Kehoskie was hired as a batboy by his hometown Auburn Astros, then the short-season Class A affiliate of the Houston Astros, in 1984 at age 11.[4] He worked for the team through 1991 in a variety of roles including office assistant, official scorer, and clubhouse manager.[18] From 1989 to 1991, he also covered the team as a correspondent for The Citizen, Auburn's daily newspaper.
In early 1992, Kehoskie was hired by the Rochester Red Wings, then the Triple-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles, where he was a member of a staff that included Joe Altobelli, Russ Brandon, Josh Lewin, Bob Socci, and Glenn Geffner.[19][20] He worked for the Red Wings until late 1994.[21]
Player agent (1996–2011) edit
Kehoskie worked in the Minor Leagues for 11 years with the goal of becoming a Major League Baseball general manager.[1] However, he found entry-level opportunities in MLB to be limited in the years during and after the 1994–95 baseball strike, which had caused cutbacks throughout the sport.[22][23] After failing to land a job with an MLB team and wanting to remain in baseball in a job involving baseball operations and scouting, he started working as a player agent in 1996.[1]
Kehoskie has been the president and CEO of Joe Kehoskie Baseball since 1996.[24] One of his earliest clients was left-handed pitcher Brad Pennington, who had pitched for the Rochester Red Wings when Kehoskie worked for the team.[25]
In 1998, Kehoskie was asked to represent a group of five Cuban defectors in Costa Rica,[26] who became the first of approximately two dozen Cuban players he represented.
Aside from Cuban defectors, Kehoskie has worked extensively in Latin America, including the representation of players from the Dominican Republic and Venezuela. Among the notable players Kehoskie has advised or represented are José Bautista and Félix Hernández.
Media appearances edit
Since the late 1990s, Kehoskie has been quoted frequently in the media on baseball-related topics, including Cuban defectors,[11][14][27] baseball in Cuba,[28][29][30] and the use of PEDs in Latin America.[31][32]
In 2000, Kehoskie accurately predicted a record $30 million contract for Cuban pitcher José Contreras more than two and a half years before Contreras left Cuba.[26]
In 2008, Kehoskie told author Michael Lewis, "There’s at least half a billion dollars of baseball players in Cuba right now and probably a lot more."[5] By the end of 2014, approximately 30 subsequent Cuban defectors had signed MLB contracts totaling just under $500 million.[33][34][35]
In 2009, Kehoskie said Cuban defector Aroldis Chapman "might have more upside than any pitcher on the planet"[36] but would struggle to become an MLB starting pitcher.[36][37] After signing with the Cincinnati Reds for over $30 million, Chapman was moved to the bullpen before he had started a single game in the major leagues.[38]
Print and online edit
Kehoskie has been quoted several hundred times in print and online media outlets including the New York Times,[36] Los Angeles Times,[27][30] Washington Post,[39][40] Miami Herald,[6][28] ESPN.com,[37] and Vanity Fair.[5] He has also been quoted in more than a half-dozen books.[41]
Radio and podcasts edit
Kehoskie has been interviewed on the radio by, among others, Cindy Brunson on ESPN Radio,[13] Adam Schein on WFAN,[13] George Stroumboulopoulos on CBC Radio,[13] Greg Allen on NPR's All Things Considered,[16] and John Hockenberry on WNYC's The Takeaway.[42]
Television edit
Kehoskie was featured in a 2001 episode of ESPN's Outside the Lines series and has made many other national and international TV appearances:[13]
| Year | Show | Episode | Topic |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Stealing Home | Cuban baseball defectors | |
| 2001 | ESPN Outside the Lines Primetime | "Witness to a Defection" | Cuban baseball, MLB |
| 2002 | ESPN Outside the Lines Sunday | "Holding an Ace" | José Contreras, MLB |
| 2006 | ESPN Outside the Lines Nightly | "Risky Road Trip" | 2006 WBC, Cuban baseball |
| 2006 | CBC News: The Hour | March 9, 2006 | 2006 WBC, Cuban baseball |
| 2007 | Al Jazeera English | June 19, 2007 | Baseball in the D.R. |
| 2014 | Issues Reports | "Smuggling: Baseball's Open Secret" | Cuban baseball, MLB |
| 2015 | Outside the Lines | "Cuba on Deck?" | Cuban baseball, MLB |
| 2015 | SportsCenter | April 19, 2015 | Cuban baseball, MLB |
| 2015 | CBC News: Toronto | July 15, 2015 | |
| 2015 | CTV News Channel | July 26, 2015 | Cuban baseball defectors, MLB |
| 2016 | CTV News Channel | August 8, 2016 | Alex Rodriguez retires from MLB |
Personal life edit
Kehoskie has lived in central New York;[1] Miami, Florida;[43] and Mérida, Yucatán, México.[44][45]
References edit
- ^ a b c d e Michael, Matt (22 December 1998). "From Cuba with Trust". Syracuse Post-Standard.
- ^ Baxter, Kevin (24 September 2013). "To reach major leagues, Cubans face short distance but long process". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 18 January 2014.
- ^ Jeff Passan; Charles Robinson; Rand Getlin (6 December 2013). "Leonys Martin lawsuit details allegations of Cuban baseball player smuggling". Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved 18 January 2014.
- ^ a b c Weiman Jr., Dale (15 February 2006). "So, you want to be the next Jerry Maguire?". Westlaw. Retrieved 18 September 2011.
- ^ a b c Lewis, Michael (July 2008). "Commie Ball: A Journey to the End of a Revolution". Vanity Fair. Retrieved 18 September 2011.
- ^ a b Spencer, Clark (12 February 2012). "Yoenis Cespedes may be the great unknown for Miami Marlins". Miami Herald. Retrieved 12 February 2012.
- ^ Olney, Buster (18 December 2014). "The future of MLB in Cuba". ESPN.com. ESPN. Retrieved 18 December 2014.
- ^ Spencer, Clark (18 March 2016). "MLB hopes to create pathway for Cubans to play in the U.S." Miami Herald. Retrieved 18 March 2016.
- ^ Hobson, Will; Red, Christian; Thompson, Teri (10 September 2019). "As feds probe MLB's Latin American operations, a flashy scout and contested deal draw interest". The Washington Post. Retrieved 10 September 2019.
- ^ Farrey, Tom (11 July 2001). "Paying the price in pursuit of fame, fortune". ESPN.com. Retrieved 18 January 2014.
- ^ a b "Outside the Lines: 'Holding an ace'". Outside the Lines. ESPN. 10 November 2002. Retrieved 18 January 2014.
- ^ Gonzalez, Jessica (2 April 2015). "Cuba on Deck?". ESPN Press Room. ESPN. Retrieved 2 April 2015.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "IMDb – Joe Kehoskie". IMDb. Retrieved 18 September 2011.
- ^ a b "Stealing Home". PBS. 18 June 2001. Retrieved 18 September 2011.
- ^ "Baseball's International Neighbors". Latino USA. NPR. 17 January 2014. Retrieved 18 January 2014.
- ^ a b "Thaw In U.S.-Cuba Relations Comes To Baseball". NPR.org. NPR. 4 February 2015. Retrieved 4 February 2015.
- ^ "Classmates.com – Joe Kehoskie". Classmates.com. Retrieved 18 September 2011.
- ^ 1991 Auburn Astros Official Program. Auburn, New York. 1991.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ 1992 Rochester Red Wings Yearbook. Rochester, New York. 1992.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ 1994 Rochester Red Wings Yearbook. Rochester, New York. 1994.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ Pitoniak, Scott (14 April 1999). "Cubans bank on agent Kehoskie". Rochester Democrat and Chronicle.
- ^ "Baseball Daily Report". Associated Press. 18 August 1994. Retrieved 18 September 2011.
- ^ Jamail, Milton H. (2008). Venezuelan Bust, Baseball Boom. United States: Bison Books. p. 151. ISBN 978-0-8032-1571-9.
- ^ "Newswire". Los Angeles Times. 14 August 2000. Retrieved 18 September 2011.
- ^ Michael, Matt (20 May 1999). "Pennington plans to hit the mark". Syracuse Post-Standard.
- ^ a b Fainaru, Steve; Springer, Shira (28 May 2000). . Boston Globe. Archived from the original on 27 March 2012. Retrieved 18 September 2011.
- ^ a b Baxter, Kevin (1 July 2007). "Ballplayers from Cuba are now flee agents". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 18 September 2011.
- ^ a b Baxter, Kevin (21 January 2006). "Cuba can play, but will it show up?". Miami Herald.
- ^ King, David (21 April 2007). "Castro's long shadow still dominates Cuban baseball". San Antonio Express-News.
- ^ a b Baxter, Kevin (19 March 2009). "Cubans take big slide in international baseball standing". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 18 September 2011.
- ^ Brown, Maury (20 July 2009). "Maury Brown, Will Carroll, Victor Conte, and Joe Kehoskie Discuss PED Use in the Dominican and Venezuelan Summer Leagues". The Biz of Baseball. Retrieved 18 September 2011.
- ^ Chass, Murray (10 October 2010). "New Guys Deliver". MurrayChass.com. Retrieved 18 September 2011.
- ^ Baxter, Kevin; Bennett, Brian (26 April 2014). . Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 21 May 2014. Retrieved 26 April 2014.
- ^ "Rusney Castillo Agrees To Seven-Year, $72.5 Million Deal With Red Sox". CBS Boston. 22 August 2014. Retrieved 22 August 2014.
- ^ "Diamondbacks land Yasmany Tomas". ESPN.com. 26 November 2014. Retrieved 26 November 2014.
- ^ a b c Curry, Jack (3 December 2009). "Risks Seen in Signing Cuban Defector". New York Times. Retrieved 18 September 2011.
- ^ a b Olney, Buster (5 July 2009). "More on Aroldis Chapman, and a father-son Fourth". ESPN.com. Retrieved 18 September 2011.
- ^ "Aroldis Chapman moved to bullpen". ESPN.com. 2 April 2012. Retrieved 2 April 2012.
- ^ Fainaru, Steve (18 February 2001). "Yankees Are Building an Empire State". Washington Post. Retrieved 18 September 2011.[dead link]
- ^ Fainaru, Steve; Sheinin, Dave (3 March 2006). "Searching for a Home Base". Washington Post. Retrieved 18 September 2011.
- ^ "Google Books – Joe Kehoskie". Retrieved 18 September 2011.
- ^ "New U.S.-Cuba Relations a Home Run for Pro Baseball". wnycstudios.org. WNYC. 22 March 2016. Retrieved 22 March 2016.
- ^ Bjarkman, Peter C. (12 May 2016). Cuba's Baseball Defectors: The Inside Story. London, U.K.: Rowman & Littlefield. p. 23. ISBN 9781442247994.
- ^ Sanchez, Jesse (16 August 2013). "Cuban players face great risks chasing dream". MLB.com. Retrieved 16 August 2013.
- ^ Simpson, David Mark (1 December 2015). "Mexican Baseball Is Finally Eliminating One of the Worst Unwritten Rules in Sports". Vice.com. Vice. Retrieved 1 December 2015.