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Full Name: Keith Charles Foulke Primary Position: P
Height/Weight: 6' 0"/195 First Game: May 21, 1997
Birthdate: October 19, 1972 MLB Experience: 10 years
Birthplace: San Diego, California
Bat/Throw: Right/Right

Biography[]

Career as a pro[]

Foulke has saved 190 games in his 9 year career for the San Francisco Giants, Chicago White Sox, Oakland A's, and Boston Red Sox. He had his best season in 2003 when he appeared in 72 games for the A's with a 2.08 ERA in 86.2 IP. His 43 save season earned him an All-Star appearance and a Rolaids Relief Award. It also earned him a 4 year deal with the Red Sox. The deal looked like a good one when Foulke was one of the key ingredients in the 2004 World Series run, but in 2005 he helped to prove the theory that long term, big money deals are usually a bad idea for relief pitchers. His 2005 season was his worst since his rookie year as he spent most of the year battling knee problems. The Red Sox were forced to go to plan B and gave most of their save chances to Mike Timlin. The team had one of baseball's worst bullpens.

In 2006 Foulke hopes to put his career lowpoint behind him and return to his former self. Things already look bleak, however, as his knees still aren't 100% and Jonathan Papelbon has already usurped his position before Foulke even got a chance to save a game.

Scouting Report[]

Pitching
Foulke lives and dies with his change up. His fastball tops out in the high 80's and he uses that to set up batters for his circle change. His strange deliver and limited repertoire give him little margin for error. When he's healthy he's one of the best around, but it doesn't take much to get him out of whack.

Defense
Put simply, Foulke is great defensively. He has gone 384 consecutive appearances since 1999 without committing an error, the fourth-longest active streak for any major league pitcher. After a couple of seasons in which he struggled to hold baserunners, Foulke allowed only three stolen bases in five attempts last season.

Most Known For
Foulke gave up only one run in the 2004 postseason and, notably, closed the final game of the 2004 World Series against the St. Louis Cardinals. He got Edgar Rentaria to ground out to end the Red Sox' 86 year drought of World Series victories.

Career Achievements[]

  • Won the 2004 World Series with the Boston Red Sox
  • Made the AL All-Star team in 2003
  • Was named the Rolaids Relief man in 2003
  • Lead the league in saves in 2003 with 43. His 190 career saves is good enough for 40th on the all-time list


Player Comparisons[]

Baseball Reference[]
  • Mike Henneman
  • Gregg Olson
  • Bobby Thigpen
Baseball Reference (through age 32)[]
Baseball Prospectus[]
  • Jeff Reardon
  • Enrique Romo
  • Scott Sullivan

Statistics[]

Pitching Stats[]

Year Team G GS W L ERA K R ER CG SHO SV IP H HR BB IB WP HBP
1997 SF N 11 8 1 5 8.26 33 41 41 0 0 0 44.2 60 9 18 1 1 4
1997 CHI A 16 0 3 0 3.45 21 11 11 0 0 3 28.2 28 4 5 1 0 0
1997 Total 27 8 4 5 6.38 54 52 52 0 0 3 73.1 88 13 23 2 1 4
1998 CHI A 54 0 3 2 4.13 57 31 30 0 0 1 65.1 51 9 20 3 3 4
1999 CHI A 67 0 3 3 2.22 123 28 26 0 0 9 105.1 72 11 21 4 1 3
2000 CHI A 72 0 3 1 2.97 91 31 29 0 0 34 88 66 9 22 2 1 2
2001 CHI A 72 0 4 9 2.33 75 21 21 0 0 42 81 57 3 22 1 1 8
2002 CHI A 65 0 2 4 2.90 58 26 25 0 0 11 77.2 65 7 13 2 1 2
2003 OAK A 72 0 9 1 2.08 88 21 20 0 0 43 86.2 57 10 20 2 0 7
2004 BOS A 72 0 5 3 2.17 79 22 20 0 0 32 83 63 8 15 5 3 6
2005 BOS A 43 0 5 5 5.91 34 30 30 0 0 15 45.2 53 8 18 1 0 5
2006 BOS A 44 0 3 1 4.35 36 24 24 0 0 0 49.2 52 9 7 0 2 2
Total NL 11 8 1 5 8.26 33 41 41 0 0 0 44.2 60 9 18 1 1 4
Total AL 577 0 40 29 2.99 662 245 236 0 0 190 711 564 78 163 21 12 39
Total 588 8 41 34 3.30 695 286 277 0 0 190 755.2 624 87 181 22 13 43

Fielding Stats[]

Year Team POS G GS INN PO A ERR DP TP PB SB CS PkO AVG
1997 SF N P 11 8 44.2 5 7 2 0 0 0 7 4 1 .857
1997 CHI A P 16 0 28.2 1 4 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 1.000
1997 Total P 27 8 73.1 6 11 2 1 0 0 8 5 1 .895
1998 CHI A P 54 0 65.1 1 8 2 0 0 0 3 1 0 .818
1999 CHI A P 67 0 105.1 5 13 1 0 0 0 1 2 0 .947
2000 CHI A P 72 0 88 7 3 0 1 0 0 5 3 0 1.000
2001 CHI A P 72 0 81 7 11 0 0 0 0 3 1 1 1.000
2002 CHI A P 65 0 77.2 6 6 0 1 0 0 6 0 0 1.000
2003 OAK A P 72 0 86.2 3 12 0 1 0 0 9 3 1 1.000
2004 BOS A P 72 0 83 5 11 0 1 0 0 3 2 0 1.000
2005 BOS A P 43 0 45.2 0 3 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 1.000
2006 BOS A P 44 0 49.2 1 5 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 .857
Total P 588 8 755.2 41 83 6 5 0 0 42 17 3 .954

Batting Stats[]

Year Team G AB R H HR RBI AVG OBP SLG 2B 3B BB SO HBP SH SB IBB GDP
1997 SF N 11 13 0 2 0 0 .154 .154 .154 0 0 0 4 0 2 0 0 0
1997 CHI A 16 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
1997 Total 27 13 0 2 0 0 .154 .154 .154 0 0 0 4 0 2 0 0 0
1998 CHI A 54 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
1999 CHI A 67 2 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0
2000 CHI A 72 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2001 CHI A 72 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2002 CHI A 65 1 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2003 OAK A 72 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2004 BOS A 72 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2005 BOS A 43 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2006 BOS A 44 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total NL 11 13 0 2 0 0 .154 .154 .154 0 0 0 4 0 2 0 0 0
Total AL 577 3 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0
Total 588 16 0 2 0 0 .125 .125 .125 0 0 0 5 0 2 0 0 0

Transactions[]

  • Selected by Detroit Tigers in the 14th round of the free-agent draft - did not sign (June 3, 1993).
  • Selected by San Francisco Giants in the 9th round of the free-agent draft (June 2, 1994 - signed June 3, 1994).
  • Traded by San Francisco Giants with Lorenzo Barcelo, Mike Caruso, Bob Howry, Brian Manning and Ken Vining to Chicago White Sox in exchange for Wilson Alvarez, Danny Darwin and Roberto Hernandez (July 31, 1997).
  • Traded by Chicago White Sox with Mark Johnson, Joe Valentine and cash to Oakland Athletics in exchange for Billy Koch and 2 players to be named later (December 3, 2002); Chicago White Sox received Neal Cotts and Daylon Holt (December 16, 2002).
  • Granted free agency (October 27, 2003).
  • Signed by Boston Red Sox (January 7, 2004).
  • Granted free agency (October 31, 2006).

Trivia[]

See also[]

Template:Persondata

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