Joe Kehoskie

Joe Kehoskie (born January 18, 1973 in Auburn, New York, U.S.[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
Born (1973-01-18) January 18, 1973
Auburn, New York, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
OccupationBaseball consultant
Baseball executive
Years active1984–present
Height6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
WebsiteJoe Kehoskie Baseball

Kehoskie is often quoted in the media on baseball-related topics. He has made national TV appearances on ESPN (Outside the Lines),[7][8] CBC (The Hour),[9] Al Jazeera English,[9] and PBS (Stealing Home),[10] and been interviewed on ESPN Radio,[9] CBC Radio,[9] and NPR (Latino USA).[11]

Early life

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,[12] from which he graduated in three years.[4]

Professional baseball career

Minor leagues (1984–1994)
1988 Auburn Astros team photo

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.[13] 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.[14][15] He worked for the Red Wings until late 1994.[16]

Player agent (1996–present)

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.[17][18] 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 at least 2000.[19] 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.[20]

In 1998, Kehoskie was asked to represent a group of five Cuban defectors in Costa Rica,[21] who became the first of approximately two dozen Cuban players he has represented to date.

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

Since the early 2000s, Kehoskie has been quoted frequently in the media on baseball-related topics including Cuban defectors,[8][10][22] baseball in Cuba,[23][24][25] and the use of PEDs in Latin America.[26][27]

In 2000, Kehoskie accurately predicted a $30 million contract for Cuban pitcher José Contreras more than two and a half years before Contreras left Cuba.[21] More recently, he predicted Cuban defector Aroldis Chapman, who signed a six-year, $30.25 million contract with the Cincinnati Reds in early 2010, would struggle to become an MLB starting pitcher.[28][29]

Kehoskie has been quoted several hundred times in print and online media outlets including the New York Times,[29] Los Angeles Times,[22][25] Washington Post,[30][31] Miami Herald,[6][23] ESPN.com,[28] and Vanity Fair.[5] He has also been quoted in more than a half-dozen books.[32]

Radio and podcasts

Kehoskie has been interviewed on the radio by, among others, Cindy Brunson on ESPN Radio, Adam Schein on WFAN, and George Stroumboulopoulos on CBC Radio.[9]

Television

Kehoskie was featured in a 2001 episode of ESPN's Outside the Lines series and has made many other national and international TV appearances:[9]

Year Show Episode Topic
2001Stealing HomeCuban baseball defectors
2001ESPN Outside the Lines Primetime"Witness to a Defection"Cuban baseball, MLB
2002ESPN Outside the Lines Sunday"Holding an Ace"José Contreras, MLB
2006ESPN Outside the Lines Nightly"Risky Road Trip"2006 WBC, Cuban baseball
2006CBC News: The HourMarch 9, 20062006 WBC, Cuban baseball
2007Al Jazeera EnglishJune 19, 2007Baseball in the D.R.
2014Issues Reports"Smuggling: Baseball's Open Secret"Cuban baseball, MLB
2015Outside the Lines"Cuba on Deck?"Cuban baseball, MLB
2015SportsCenterApril 19, 2015Cuban baseball, MLB
2015CBC News: TorontoJuly 15, 2015
2015CTV News ChannelJuly 26, 2015Cuban baseball defectors, MLB
2016CTV News ChannelAugust 8, 2016Alex Rodriguez retires from MLB

References
  1. Michael, Matt (22 December 1998). "From Cuba with Trust". Syracuse Post-Standard.
  2. Baxter, Kevin (24 September 2013). "To reach major leagues, Cubans face short distance but long process". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 18 January 2014.
  3. 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.
  4. Weiman Jr., Dale (15 February 2006). "So, you want to be the next Jerry Maguire?". Westlaw. Retrieved 18 September 2011.
  5. Lewis, Michael (July 2008). "Commie Ball: A Journey to the End of a Revolution". Vanity Fair. Retrieved 18 September 2011.
  6. Spencer, Clark (12 February 2012). "Yoenis Cespedes may be the great unknown for Miami Marlins". Miami Herald. Retrieved 12 February 2012.
  7. Farrey, Tom (11 July 2001). "Paying the price in pursuit of fame, fortune". ESPN.com. Retrieved 18 January 2014.
  8. "Outside the Lines: 'Holding an ace'". Outside the Lines. ESPN. 10 November 2002. Retrieved 18 January 2014.
  9. "IMDb – Joe Kehoskie". IMDb. Retrieved 18 September 2011.
  10. "Stealing Home". PBS. 18 June 2001. Retrieved 18 September 2011.
  11. "Baseball's International Neighbors". Latino USA. NPR. 17 January 2014. Retrieved 18 January 2014.
  12. "Classmates.com – Joe Kehoskie". Classmates.com. Retrieved 18 September 2011.
  13. 1991 Auburn Astros Official Program. Auburn, New York. 1991.
  14. 1992 Rochester Red Wings Yearbook. Rochester, New York. 1992.
  15. 1994 Rochester Red Wings Yearbook. Rochester, New York. 1994.
  16. Pitoniak, Scott (14 April 1999). "Cubans bank on agent Kehoskie". Rochester Democrat and Chronicle.
  17. "Baseball Daily Report". Associated Press. 18 August 1994. Retrieved 18 September 2011.
  18. Jamail, Milton H. (2008). Venezuelan Bust, Baseball Boom. United States: Bison Books. p. 151. ISBN 978-0-8032-1571-9.
  19. "Newswire". Los Angeles Times. 14 August 2000. Retrieved 18 September 2011.
  20. Michael, Matt (20 May 1999). "Pennington plans to hit the mark". Syracuse Post-Standard.
  21. Fainaru, Steve; Springer, Shira (28 May 2000). "Hardball". Boston Globe. Archived from the original on 27 March 2012. Retrieved 18 September 2011.
  22. Baxter, Kevin (1 July 2007). "Ballplayers from Cuba are now flee agents". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 18 September 2011.
  23. Baxter, Kevin (21 January 2006). "Cuba can play, but will it show up?". Miami Herald.
  24. King, David (21 April 2007). "Castro's long shadow still dominates Cuban baseball". San Antonio Express-News.
  25. Baxter, Kevin (19 March 2009). "Cubans take big slide in international baseball standing". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 18 September 2011.
  26. 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.
  27. Chass, Murray (10 October 2010). "New Guys Deliver". MurrayChass.com. Retrieved 18 September 2011.
  28. Olney, Buster (5 July 2009). "More on Aroldis Chapman, and a father-son Fourth". ESPN.com. Retrieved 18 September 2011.
  29. Curry, Jack (3 December 2009). "Risks Seen in Signing Cuban Defector". New York Times. Retrieved 18 September 2011.
  30. Fainaru, Steve (18 February 2001). "Yankees Are Building an Empire State". Washington Post. Retrieved 18 September 2011.
  31. Fainaru, Steve; Sheinin, Dave (3 March 2006). "Searching for a Home Base". Washington Post. Retrieved 18 September 2011.
  32. "Google Books – Joe Kehoskie". Google Books. Retrieved 18 September 2011.
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