| George Foster | |
|---|---|
 Foster in 2012 | |
| Left fielder | |
| Born: (1948-12-01)December 1, 1948 (age 76) Tuscaloosa, Alabama, U.S. | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| September 10, 1969, for the San Francisco Giants | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| September 6, 1986, for the Chicago White Sox | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .274 |
| Home runs | 348 |
| Runs batted in | 1,239 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
George Arthur Foster (born December 1, 1948) is an American former professionalbaseball player andscout. He played inMajor League Baseball as anoutfielder from1969 through1986, most notably as an integral member of theCincinnati Reds, with whom he won twoWorld Series championships, in1975 and1976. He also played for theSan Francisco Giants,New York Mets and theChicago White Sox.
A five-timeAll-Star, Foster was one of the most feared right-handed sluggers of his era, leading theNational League inhome runs twice (1977 and 1978), and in RBI three times (1976, 1977, and 1978).[1] He won the National League'sMost Valuable Player Award in 1977 and aSilver Slugger Award in 1981.[2] In 2003, Foster was inducted into theCincinnati Reds Hall of Fame.[1]
Born inTuscaloosa, Alabama, Foster attendedLeuzinger High School inLawndale, California. After just a single year atEl Camino College, Foster was drafted by theSan Francisco Giants in the third round (55th overall) of the1968 Major League Baseball draft.[3] After two seasons in their farm system, he debuted with the Giants at the age of 20 on September 10,1969.[4] He went 2-for-5 with onerun batted in (RBI) as apinch hitter and late inning defensive replacement.[5] That year on September 22,Willie Mays pinch hit for Foster and hit his600th career home run.[6]
Foster returned to the Giants in September of the following year, hitting his first careerhome run off theSan Diego Padres'Pat Dobson.[7] He finally made an opening day roster in1971 as afourth outfielder behind Mays,Bobby Bonds andKen Henderson, but shortly after the season started, Foster was traded to theCincinnati Reds forshortstopFrank Duffy andpitcherVern Geishert on May 29.[8]
Foster was immediately inserted into the starting line-up in center field, as startingcenter fielderBobby Tolan was lost for the season with a tornAchilles tendon.[9] In 104 games with the Reds, he batted .234 with 10 home runs and 50 RBI.[5] He returned to a back-up role in1972,platooning inright field withCésar Gerónimo, and managed just a .200batting average, two home runs and 12 RBI in 59 games.[5] The nucleus of the "Big Red Machine" began coming together that season, however, and the Reds returned to the post-season playoffs after a disappointing fourth-place finish in 1971. Foster played in the1972 National League Championship Series against thePittsburgh Pirates only as apinch runner forTony Pérez in Game 5 of the series; he scored the series-winningrun on awild pitch fromBob Moose.[10] Foster appeared in Games 1 and 7 of the World Series against theOakland Athletics, but did not log anat bat.[11]
Foster spent the majority of the1973 season with the Reds'Triple-A affiliate, theIndianapolis Indians, batting .262 with 15 home runs and 60 RBI in 134 games.[12] and made a September return to the majors when the minor league season ended. He batted .282 with four home runs and 9 RBI in 17 games.[5] He was not part of the Reds' post-season roster. Tolan had suffered through a poor 1973 season in which he batted just .206, and was traded that winter to the San Diego Padres for pitcherClay Kirby.[13] Foster,Merv Rettenmund and rookieKen Griffey all took turns filling the hole the trade created inright field in1974, with Foster batting .264 with seven home runs and 41 RBI in 106 games.[5]
Early in the1975 season, RedsmanagerSparky Anderson shifted perennialAll-StarPete Rose tothird base, and used a platoon of Foster andDan Driessen in left field.[14] Foster soon won the everyday job with a .300 batting average, 23 home runs and 78 RBI in 134 games.[5] With Foster now in left, the final piece of the "Big Red Machine" was in place. The Reds won 108 games that year, tying the1970 World Series championBaltimore Orioles for the most regular season wins that decade. They dominated the Pirates in the1975 National League Championship Series, out-scoring their opponent 19–7 to sweep the series in three games. For his part, Foster batted .364 and scored three runs.[15]
TheBoston Red Sox proved a far tougher opponent in the World Series, as the Reds needed seven games to win their first World Series title since1940. Foster went 2-for-6 and drove in two runs in the classic Game 6 of the World Series atFenway Park.[16] His most memorable moment was on the field. The game was tied, and with thebases loaded and noouts in the ninth inning, reigning MVP andRookie of the YearFred Lynn lifted a ball down the left field line. Foster made the catch near the stands for the first out of theinning.Denny Doyle tagged up on the play, and was out at home on a strong throw from Foster.[17]Rico Petrocelli grounded out to Rose at third for the final out and sent the game to extra innings.
Anderson moved Foster into the clean-up spot in his batting order during a 17-game hitting streak in June1976 when Foster's batting average peaked at .343. With 17 home runs and 71 RBI at theAll-Star break, he was elected to start his firstAll-Star Game. He turned in anMVP performance with a two-run home run and third RBI to pace his team to a 7–1 victory over theAmerican League All-Stars.[18] He ended the season batting .306 with 29 home runs and a major league-leading 121 RBI in 144 games.[5] After the season, Foster finished second, behind only teammateJoe Morgan, inNational League MVP balloting. Rose and Griffey also finished within the top ten.[19]
The Reds won theNational League West by 10 games over theLos Angeles Dodgers. They became the only team to go undefeated in post-season history since the establishment of the Divisional Era in 1969 when they swept thePhiladelphia Phillies in the1976 National League Championship Series andNew York Yankees in the World Series. For his part, Foster batted just .167 in the NLCS, but hit key home runs in Games 1[20] and 3.[21] His average jumped to .429 in the World Series, while driving in four.[11]
Foster turned in one of the all-time great seasons in1977 on his way to winning the National League's Most Valuable Player Award. On July 14, Foster clubbed three home runs against theAtlanta Braves.[22] A home run the following day off theHouston Astros'Gene Pentz brought his season mark to 29 heading into the All-Star break.[23] He started his second consecutive All-Star game, and led the NL charge with a first inningdouble to drive inDave Parker with the first run of the game.[24] On September 23, in the ninth inning of the Reds' 5–1 victory over the Atlanta Braves, Foster hit hisfiftieth home run of the season offBuzz Capra,[25] making him the first player since Willie Mays in1965 to hit fifty in a season.[26] The 50 home run mark would not be reached again untilCecil Fielder hit 51 home runs in 1990.[27] Foster was just the 10th player in major league history to reach the mark, and the first ever Cincinnati Reds player.[28] In 158 games, he batted .320 with 52 home runs and 149 RBI, leading the majors in the latter two categories.[5] He finished fourth in the NL in batting, missing theTriple Crown by .018 behind Dave Parker. He also led the NL inslugging percentage (.631),runs scored (124) andtotal bases (388).[5]
Foster picked up where he left off in1978, with 18 home runs and 63 RBI in the first half of the season to earn his third consecutive All-Star start.[29] For the season, he played in 158 games and batted .281 while pacing the NL in both home runs and RBIs with 40 and 120, respectively.[5] He was voted onto his fourth consecutive All-Star team in1979, but needed to be pulled in the second inning after pulling his thigh.[30] The Reds lost Foster for a month, and had been decimated by injuries, but managed to stay in the NL West race during Foster's absence.[31] Shortly after his return, the Reds went on an eight-game winning streak that saw them jump into first place by 1.5 games over the Houston Astros. The Reds held off the Astros to win their first division crown since 1976, but were swept by the Pirates in the1979 National League Championship Series. Foster's highlight was a game tying home run in Game 1 of the NLCS.[32]
Following the 1979 season, Joe Morgan headed to the Houston Astros via free agency. With Tony Pérez and Pete Rose already gone, the "Big Red Machine" was beginning to come apart, and the Reds slumped to a third-place finish in1980. Foster hit .273, and led the club with 25 home runs and 93 RBI in 144 games.[33] A rejuvenated Reds team won a major league best 66 games in thestrike shortened1981 season, but managed to miss the playoffs as a result of the split-season format used that season.[34] Foster returned to form, finishing second toMike Schmidt in the NL's RBI race. At this point in his career, when it looked as if he would one day rank among the game's all-time greats,Lawrence Ritter andDonald Honig included him in their bookThe 100 Greatest Baseball Players of All Time.
With one year remaining on his contract, Foster was seeking a new five-year deal with the Reds. Unwilling to meet his contract demands,[35] the Reds traded him to theNew York Mets forGreg Harris,Jim Kern andAlex Treviño on February 10,1982.[36] The next day, Foster agreed with the club on a five-year, $10 million contract.[37]
Whereas the Reds were at or near the top of their division Foster's entire time in Cincinnati, the Mets were consistent cellar dwellers in theNational League East when Foster joined his new club. The franchise was hoping for a turn around with Foster in tow,[38] but it was not to be, as all of Foster's power numbers declined. He hit just .247 with 13 home runs and 70 RBI in 151 games, the lowest numbers he'd put up since 1974.[5]
The Mets acquiredKeith Hernandez and brought up rookie prospectDarryl Strawberry during the1983 season. Given more protection in the line-up, Foster rebounded with a team-best 28 home runs and 90 RBI.[39] When the Mets became a contending team in1984, Foster batted .269 with 24 home runs and 86 RBI in 146 games.[5]
The1985 season came down to the wire between the Mets andSt. Louis Cardinals. On September 10, with the two teams tied atop the NL East, an incident between Foster and Cardinals pitcherDanny Cox caused both benches to clear.[40] The race remained tight, but the Cardinals pulled off a three-game lead as the Mets headed toBusch Stadium for a three-game set on October 1. The first game was apitchers' duel betweenRon Darling andJohn Tudor that the Mets won in extra innings.[41] With the Mets now just two games back, 20 game winnersDwight Gooden andJoaquín Andújar faced off in the second game.
With the Mets leading 1–0, Foster led off the second inning by legging out an infieldsingle. Three batters later, he scored the second run of the game on afielder's choice by Gooden. In the seventh, he drove the first pitch from Andújar to deep center field to give the Mets a 4–1 lead. Foster went 3-for-4 to lead the Mets to a 5–2 victory, and pull to within one game of the division lead.[42] The Mets would, however, lose the following day, and the Cardinals went on to win the division.
Foster was 37 years old and in the final year of his contract when the1986 season began. Although he had been respectable for several years, he had not fully lived up to the expectations that were set for him by the Mets and his age was starting to become a factor as well. He put up respectable power numbers (13 home runs and 38 RBIs), but had a .237 batting average, and had lost considerable range in left field.[5] Meanwhile, the Mets managerDavey Johnson was looking for an everyday position forutilitymanKevin Mitchell. When the Mets headed to Cincinnati for a three-game series on July 21, Foster sat out the series, making just one pinch hit appearance in the second game of the set.[43]
This game was highlighted by abench-clearing brawl that was ignited when the Reds'Eric Davis stole third base in the tenth inning. After a hard tag by Metsthird basemanRay Knight, the two men exchanged words, leading to Knight's punching Davis in the face.[44] Both benches emptied with the exception of Foster. Foster said that he stayed out of the ruckus because it set a bad example for children.[45] After the series in Cincinnati, the manager Johnson officially announced Mitchell as the everyday left fielder.[46]
Despite Johnson's reasoning that Foster's lack of performance warranted the benching, Foster complained that his demotion was racially motivated, withLos Angeles Times writerMike Downey criticizing him for making that statement considering that Mitchell, who replaced Foster, was black (like Foster).[47] In addition, Met teammatesWally Backman andMookie Wilson have since said that Foster's non-combative personality was a bad fit for the team. He made just 14 plate appearances after that point,walking once, getting one single, and striking out six times. On August 7, the Mets released Foster and replaced him on their major league roster withLee Mazzilli.[48]
On August 18, Foster signed a contract with theChicago White Sox,[49] and hit the ground running with his new club. In his first game, he went 2-for-4 with a home run.[50] From there, his game declined, and Foster was released on September 7 after 15 games with his new club.[51] When the Mets won the World Series in1986, they awarded Foster aWorld Series ring (the third of his career) and a three-quarters share as a team member for part of the season.[52] He attempted to sign with a new club in1987, but was unsuccessful.[53]
In 1,977 games over 18 seasons, Foster compiled a .274batting average (1,925-for-7,023) with 986runs, 307doubles, 47triples, 348home runs, 1,239runs batted in (RBI), 666walks, 1,419strikeouts, a .338on-base percentage and a .480slugging percentage. He posted a .984fielding percentage at all three outfield positions. In 23 post-season games (three appearances in the World Series, four appearances in the NLCS), he hit .289 (22-for-76) with 11 runs, two doubles, three home runs, 12 runs batted in and eight walks.[5]
Afterwards, Foster played from 1989 to 1990 in theSenior Professional Baseball Association. In his first season, he hit .269 with 11 home runs and 52 RBI in 70 games for theSt. Lucie Legends.[54] In 1990, he joined theSt. Petersburg Pelicans and batted .273 in three games for the club before the league folded during the midseason.[55]
In February 2010, Foster was hired as ascout advisor for theOrix Buffaloes ofNippon Professional Baseball.[56]
He has two daughters, Shawna and Starr.
Foster began a baseball online radio show, "The George Foster Diamond Report", in which he speaks about how the development and strength of an athlete can build a strong foundation. Foster spends time instructing youth in baseball techniques, and also works as a motivational speaker.[57] He operates a non-profit organization that supports children of military families and who live ininner city neighborhoods. He also sponsors baseball boot camps for children as well as a Cincinnati select baseball team, Foster's Force.[58][59][60][61]
Foster was on theNational Baseball Hall of Fame ballot for four years, having his highest total of 6.9% in 1993 before being dropped off after garnering 4.1% of the vote in 1995. He was inducted into theCincinnati Reds Hall of Fame in2003,[62] He was a celebrity participant in the2010 Cincinnati Reds/Findlay MarketOpening Day Parade and he frequently returns to Cincinnati for the annual Redsfest and other reunion events. He was inducted into theAlabama Sports Hall of Fame in 2002.[63]
· Baseball Almanac| Awards and achievements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | NLPlayer of the Month May 1976 July 1976 June 1977 August 1977 April 1979 June 1979 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
|---|---|
| People | |
| Other | |
