Lyman Bostock (1981) - CSUN Athletics Hall of Fame

Lyman Bostock

Induction:
1981

Lyman Bostock was a member of the inaugural class inducted into the CSUN Athletics Hall of Fame in 1981. Under head coach Bob Hiegert, he was a two-time All-CCAA selection as an outfielder in both of his seasons from 1971 to 1972.

Bostock, who hit .344 as a junior and .296 as a senior, led San Fernando Valley State to a second-place finish at the NCAA Division II College World Series in 1972.

He was named a 1972 All-District VIII selection before being drafted by the Minnesota Twins. He was selected in the 26th round (596th overall) of the 1972 MLB Amateur Draft. His Major League career began with the Twins' Class A Charlotte team. He also played for the Class AA Orland Twins (1973) and the Class AAA Tacoma Twins (1974) before being called up by the Minnesota Twins. Bostock made his major league debut on April 8, 1975, and went on to hit .282 in 98 games for Minnesota as a rookie.

In 1976, he would hit .323 for the season and hit for the cycle against the Chicago White Sox on July 24, 1976. In 1977, Bostock's .336 batting average was second only to Hall of Famer Rod Carew's .388. On May 25, Bostock collected 12 putouts in the second game of a doubleheader against the Boston Red Sox, tying the major league mark for putouts by an outfielder. He went on to post a total of 17 putouts in the doubleheader, which set an American League record for outfielders.

After the 1977 season, Bostock became one of baseball's earliest big-money free agents, signing with the California Angels. In his four-year career, Bostock was a .311 career hitter, with a .365 on-base percentage, 23 home runs, 102 doubles, 30 triples, 45 stolen bases, and 250 RBI's over 526 games. A contact hitter, Bostock finished his career with 171 career walks and a .988 fielding percentage, playing all three outfield positions, with the majority in centerfield.

Bostock tragically passed away on Sept. 24, 1978 at the age of 27. The Lyman Bostock Endowment Scholarship was established in his honor at CSUN, designed to assist Matador baseball players with financial assistance.