Monday, April 14, 2014

#193 Steve Foster

About the Front: Steve Foster wore #54 for parts of three seasons in Cincinnati. The Reds' current #54 is closer Aroldis Chapman.

About the Back: Earlier in the 12th round of the 1988 draft, the Orioles chose Pete Rose, Jr. with their pick. The son of the Hit King played 21 pro seasons, but his entire MLB career consisted of an 11-game stint with the Reds in September 1997.

Triple Play:

1. Steve earned his first (and only) career win with four scoreless innings of relief against the Padres on April 24, 1992. The game lasted 16 innings, and Foster had a bunt single as part of the winning rally but was thrown out trying to advance to third base on Bill Doran's go-ahead sacrifice fly. Fortunately, lead runner Bip Roberts crossed the plate before Foster was gunned down.

2. During the 1993 season, Steve wound up on the disabled list with inflammation in his right shoulder shortly after appearing on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno to throw baseballs at milk bottles.

3. Since his playing career ended, he has served as a scout for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays and a coach in the Marlins and Royals organizations. Foster has been Kansas City's bullpen coach since 2010.

11-Year-Old Kevin Says: I always preferred David Letterman to Jay Leno. Maybe it's because he didn't cause any injuries to promising major leaguers.

Bill James Said: "Righthander, not big, has excellent control, is described by the papers as a bulldog."

On This Date in 1993: April 14. In the ninth inning of a 12-2 rout at the hands of the Angels, Milwaukee reliever Graeme Lloyd and catcher Dave Nilsson make history by becoming the first all-Australian battery in the major leagues.

1 comment:

  1. I have heard people defend Leno before, but I have never actually met anyone who liked him. Have you? It boggles the mind he was on The Tonight Show for 20+ years with a reputation like that.

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