Bobby Fontaine Jr., scout of several Hall of Famers, dies at 73

Bobby Fontaine Jr., a longtime baseball executive, scout and scouting director who spent 48 years in the industry, died on Friday, the Angels announced. He was 73.

Fontaine, the son of former Padres general manager Bob Fontaine Sr., worked for several clubs, getting his start with the Padres as a scout from 1974-80 before becoming the Expos' West Coast scouting director in 1982 and the Angels' scouting director from 1987-99. Additionally, he was director of player development for the White Sox from 2001-03 and the scouting director for the Mariners from 2004-08 before joining the Blue Jays' scouting department in '14.

During his time in baseball, he scouted several Hall of Famers and future stars, such as Tony Gwynn, Ozzie Smith, Randy Johnson, Kevin McReynolds, John Kruk, Jim Abbott and most of the core of the 2002 Angels, who won the only World Series in franchise history. Among those he scouted for the Angels included Jim Edmonds, Garret Anderson, Tim Salmon, Darin Erstad and Francisco Rodríguez.

A native of San Jose, Calif., Fontaine got his start with the Padres at 19 years old. His father was a former Minor League pitcher in the Brooklyn Dodgers’ system who was the first scouting director for the Padres and later served as their GM from 1976-80. He then served as scouting director for the Giants before passing away in 1994 at age 70.

Fontaine Jr. was known for his love of teaching the game and the art of scouting to fellow scouts, coaches and sportswriters.

Longtime Angels head of communications Tim Mead was close with Fontaine Jr. and penned a touching tribute to his longtime friend.

“Beyond the titles and accomplishments, he was regarded as a true baseball lifer who loved the game and believed deeply in the importance of teaching the next generation of scouts,” Mead wrote. “He continued sharing his knowledge and experience through scouting education, serving as a lead instructor for scout schools and drawing upon lessons accumulated from more than 50 years around professional baseball.”

Fontaine Jr.’s life as a scout was also chronicled by longtime Angels writer Taylor Blake Ward in the book, “In Search of Millionaires the Life of a Baseball Gypsy: The Accounts of Bob Fontaine Jr.,” which was released in 2021. Ward wrote a tribute to Fontaine Jr. on X.

“Bobby's baseball career spoke for itself. He was part of the signings, or the signing scout, of Ozzie Smith, Randy Johnson, Tony Gwynn, Jim Abbott and the majority share of the 2002 Angels. He worked for six different clubs and enhanced each one with his decision making. I had the great privilege of helping document Bobby's baseball life. I had the greater privilege of getting to know and see his life away from baseball and the honor of calling him a mentor and a friend.”

Fontaine Jr. was memorably involved in the Angels signing three players from Russia in 1992. Former Angels coach and manager Joe Maddon recalled that Fontaine Jr. believed there were good enough athletes in Russia that he could help mold them into Major League players. The hope was to create a baseball academy in Russia, but it fell through due to the collapse of the USSR in December 1991.

“Bobby thought we could find guys based on their athletic prowess and get them interested in baseball,” Maddon recalled in 2020. “It never quite got off the ground because of political things.”

Maddon often brought up how much he learned from Fontaine Jr. about scouting and how to analyze players. He thanked him for allowing him to be in the war room on Draft days, and said it built the foundation for his eventual managerial career.

“Bobby would always incorporate everybody,” Maddon said in ’21. “Bobby even let me scout when I was a full-time [Minor League] manager. I am here to tell you the most important thing I've ever done in this game to be sitting where I am right now is to be professional scout.”