(pronounced as "folk", ) (born
October 19 ,
1972 in
Ellsworth AFB ,
South Dakota ) is a
Retired Major League Relief Pitcher .
After graduating from Hargrave High School in
Huffman, Texas in
1991 , he attended
Galveston College and
Lewis-Clark State College in
Idaho . He began his career in the minor-league system of the
San Francisco Giants , but was traded to the
Chicago White Sox in
1997 for starting pitchers
Wilson Alvarez and
Danny Darwin , along with top reliever
Roberto Hernandez .
On
December 3 ,
2002 , Foulke, along with catcher
Mark Johnson , minor league pitcher Joe Valentine and cash, was traded by the White Sox to the
Oakland Athletics for closer
Billy Koch and two minor leaguers. It would be in the following years with the Athletics that Foulke would distinguish himself as a closer, leading the league in saves and games finished, being named to the
All-Star team and winning the American League
Rolaids Relief Man Of The Year Award all in 2003. However, it was Foulke who also gave up the game-winning double to
David Ortiz in Game 4 of the
American League Division Series that year.
Foulke was granted free agency on October 27, 2003.
Foulke continued his dominance in his first year with the Red Sox,
Saving , 32 games in 39 opportunities while racking up 79 strikeouts and a 2.17
ERA across 83
Innings . In the 2004 postseason, Foulke appeared in 11 of 14 games, throwing 257 pitches over 14 innings. He would rack up 19 strikeouts, and over the entire stretch, allow exactly one earned run.
Despite being the hero of the previous postseason, Foulke struggled to keep his job as closer as he battled knee injuries throughout 2005. His ERA ballooned to over 5.00 and he eventually lost the role of closer to
Mike Timlin .
On
June 28, 2005 after struggling with injuries and a 6.03 ERA to that point, Foulke lashed out at Red Sox fans, who were booing him.
''They're not going to make it any harder than it is for me to go home and look in the mirror," Foulke said about the booing that rained down from the stands on a sticky night in the Fens. "Like I've told you guys plenty of times, I'm more embarrassed to walk into this locker room and look at the faces of my teammates than I am to walk out and see Johnny from Burger King booing me. I'm worried about these guys, not everybody else."http://www.boston.com/sports/nesn/wilbur/sports_blog/blog/2005/06/29/king_of_pain/
Foulke's perceived lack of respect for Red Sox fans has made him a target for both fans and the Boston media alike. His baseball heart was also questioned because he said he did not care if he was a closer, but clarified, "I love to pitch. I don't care if I pitch in the second inning, the fourth inning, the ninth inning, the 10th inning. I didn't ask to be a closer. It's just the job that I do." http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/articles/2005/07/03/mantei_put_on_dl_season_in_jeopardy/
The media also had a field day when they found out that Foulke demanded a new truck as compensation for his weekly interviews with
Dale & Holley on
WEEI .http://www.patsfans.com/molori/display_story.php?story_id=2810
Some, however, also question whether or not it is Foulke himself who has been treated with disrespect and shortchanged in Boston, whether it's credit where credit is due for the victory in 2004 or the general overreaction to his comments in the press. Some fans (among them the editors of Barstool Sports) have even chosen to interpret Foulke's flippancy to a misunderstood attempt at humor, rather than a serious attack on Boston fans in print.
The Red Sox had high expectations for Foulke in
2006 , after two knee surgeries in the offseason. Manager
Terry Francona was hoping to put Foulke back in the closer role, but after an inconsistent spring and early regular season games, Francona was quick to go to
Jonathan Papelbon as the closer. Foulke pitched mainly as one of the team's middle relievers, along with Mike Timlin,
Julian Tavarez , and
Rudy Seanez . Foulke continued to struggle, with an ERA of 5.63. On
June 12 , 2006, Foulke was put on the
Disabled List with right elbow
Tendinitis . Foulke was activated from the 15-day DL on
August 18 . In November of 2006 Keith Foulke opted for free agency.http://redsox.bostonherald.com/redSox/view.bg?articleid=166736
Foulke signed a one year deal (with an option for a second year) with the Cleveland Indians for the 2007 season after passing a physical in January. However, Foulke announced his retirement on February 16, 2007, before ever putting on an Indians uniform. http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2767796&campaign=rss&source=MLBHeadlines He cited pains in his elbow and injuries from the previous two seasons as the primary reason for ending his ten year career. Pitchers and catchers reported one day earlier and the first spring workout was not scheduled until February 17. The announcement came as a shock to most people, as Foulke was slated to compete with
Joe Borowski to fill the vacant closer's role. In ten seasons, Foulke held a win-loss record of 41-34, with 190 saves and a 3.30 ERA.
Foulke had been one of the top closers in baseball. At the peak of his career, he had an effective 90 MPH
Fastball and what many people considered to be one of the best
Circle Changeup s in the sport. While solid against right-handed hitters, he was particularly lethal against lefties. His strikeout pitch was usually an inside circle changeup.
Foulke had good control, as his career 4.01
Strikeout-to-walk Ratio reveals (625-156). While he didn't hold runners on base particularly well, he covered his position adequately and threw accurately to the bases. In
2004 , he completed a fifth straight season without committing an
Error (71
Total Chances in 307 games). In addition, his relatively unique throwing motion provided him with the ability to mask his changeup well, though runners on base could easily see his grip from his exposed hand and potentially tip his pitches to teammates at-bat.
In an eight-year career, Foulke compiled a 41-34 record, with 692
Strikeout s, 190 saves, 3.32 ERA 344 games finished, and 725 1/2 innings pitched in 501 games.
