Ghost Peppers name Tony Fossas pitching coach

GASTONIA, N.C. – The Gastonia Ghost Peppers have hired Tony Fossas as their new pitching coach, as announced by general manager Brady Salisbury on Tuesday.

Fossas, 67, spent 12 years in the Major Leagues as a relief pitcher, from 1988-1999.

The southpaw pitched for seven different MLB teams in the dozen years, those being the Rangers, Brewers, Red Sox, Cardinals, Mariners, Cubs and Yankees.

Fossas compiled a career 3.90 ERA in over 415 innings pitched. His best season was in 1995 with the Cardinals, owning a 3-0 record with a 1.47 ERA, 10 walks, 40 strikeouts and a 1.04 WHIP in 58 appearances.

The Cuban native was part of the Yankees 1999 World Series championship squad, however he did not receive a ring due to having just five outings.

Shortly after his career in the big leagues, Fossas became the pitching coach at Florida Atlantic University in 2005. He remained on the staff at FAU for three years.

Fossas then worked in the Cincinnati Reds organization for 12 years, starting in 2009 when he was hired as the pitching coach for the Dayton Dragons. Fossas worked for the Dragons, as well as the Billings Mustangs and Daytona Tortugas, until 2018, when he became the minor league pitching coordinator for the Reds.

“I am very blessed to have the confidence of the ownership, coaching staff and general manager to have been asked to come and be the pitching coach for a very successful team that has won a historic amount of games over the past few years,” Fossas said. “I’m looking forward to helping the Ghost Peppers make a championship run in 2025.”

Fossas was in the minor leagues for nine years before making it to the big leagues, spending seven of those years in the Texas Rangers system. The Gastonia Rangers were the Class A team affiliated with the Rangers, so Fossas is excited to head back to the place he pitched almost 40 years ago.

“Life is really funny because back in the 1980s I played for the Texas organization and now I’m coming back to a place where I came and pitched quite a bit at the old Gastonia park,” Fossas said.

Fossas joins a staff led by Mauro “Goose” Gozzo, who is returning as the manager for the Gastonia Ghost Peppers. Chuck Stewart is also returning as the hitting coach for the Peppers.