Age: 28
7th season
with Reds
Bats – Right,
Throws – Right
Height: 6’1” Weight: 180
Prior to 1977:
Foster was born
in Alabama, but his mother relocated to Hawthorne, California where he played
Little League baseball before moving on to Leuzinger High School where he participated
in several sports. A broken leg suffered while playing basketball cost him his
baseball season as a senior. Following graduation he attended El Camino Junior
College where he played baseball and drew the attention of the San Francisco
Giants, who chose him in the third round of the 1968 amateur draft. He played
in 72 games with Medford of the Short-Season Class A Northwest League where he
hit .277. He advanced to Fresno of the Class A California League in 1969, where
he batted .321 with 14 home runs and 85 RBIs and was named to the league’s
all-star team. He got his first taste of major league action after the
conclusion of the California League season, appearing in 9 games for the Giants
and getting two hits and driving in his first major league RBI. Foster spent
1970 with Phoenix of the Class AAA Pacific Coast League where he hit 8 home
runs and drove in 66 runs with a .308 batting average. He received another
late-season call-up to the Giants where he batted .316 in 19 at bats, with a
home run and 4 RBIs. Foster made the Giants as a reserve outfielder in 1971 but
hit poorly while not playing regularly. His average was .267 when he was traded
to the Reds in May. He started in center field in place of the injured Bobby
Tolan and batted .234 with 10 home runs and 50 RBIs over the rest of the year
with his new team. With Tolan’s return to center field in 1972, Foster was once
again utilized as a reserve who appeared in 59 games and hit .200. The Reds won
the NL West and Foster scored the winning run in the fifth and deciding game of
the NLCS vs. Pittsburgh. He saw little action in the ensuing World Series and
was sent down to Class AAA Indianapolis in 1973 where it was hoped that regular
action would aid in his development. Foster hit .262 with 15 home runs and 60
RBIs in 134 games. He returned to the Reds in 1974 in a part-time role and
batted .264 with 7 home runs and 41 RBIs in 314 plate appearances. Foster
became Cincinnati’s starting left fielder in 1975 and broke out with 23 home
runs, 78 RBIs, and a .300 average. The Reds again topped the NL West and Foster
hit .364 in the NLCS win over the Pirates and .276 in the dramatic but
victorious World Series against the Red Sox. That set the stage for a bigger
year in 1976 that included Foster’s first All-Star selection on the way to
accumulating 29 home runs and a league-leading 121 RBIs with a .306 batting
average. Cincinnati again won the World Series and Foster finished second to
teammate Joe Morgan in the NL MVP voting.
1977 Season Summary
Appeared in 158
games
LF – 143, CF –
37
[Bracketed
numbers indicate NL rank in Top 20]
Batting
Plate
Appearances – 689 [6]
At Bats – 615 [11,
tied with Dave Winfield]
Runs – 124 [1]
Hits – 197 [4]
Doubles – 31 [18,
tied with five others]
Triples – 2
Home Runs – 52 [1]
RBI – 149 [1]
Bases on Balls
– 61
Int. BB – 10 [19,
tied with four others]
Strikeouts – 107
[9, tied with Dave Parker]
Stolen Bases – 6
Caught Stealing
– 4
Average - .320
[3]
OBP - .382 [11]
Slugging Pct. -
.631 [1]
Total Bases – 388
[1]
GDP – 17 [8,
tied with four others]
Sac Hits – 0
Sac Flies – 8 [5,
tied with seven others]
League-leading
runs scored were +7 ahead of runner-up Ken Griffey
League-leading
home runs were +11 ahead of runner-up Jeff Burroughs
League-leading RBIs
were +19 ahead of runner-up Greg Luzinski
League-leading
slugging pct. was +.037 ahead of runner-up Greg Luzinski
League-leading
total bases were +50 ahead of runner-up Dave Parker
Midseason
snapshot: HR – 29, RBI – 90, AVG - .316, SLG PCT - .629
---
Most hits, game
– 4 (in 4 AB) at Atlanta 4/25, (in 5 AB) at Philadelphia 9/4, (in 4 AB) at San
Diego 9/22, (in 5 AB) at Atlanta 9/23
Longest hitting
streak – 12 games
HR at home – 21
HR on road – 31
Most home runs,
game – 3 (in 4 AB) vs. Atlanta 7/14
Multi-HR games
– 8
Most RBIs, game
– 7 at Atlanta 4/25
Pinch-hitting –
No appearances
Fielding
Chances – 367
Put Outs – 352
Assists – 12
Errors – 3
DP – 1
Pct. - .992
Awards & Honors:
NL MVP: BBWAA
All-Star (started
for NL in CF)
Top 5 in NL MVP
Voting:
George Foster, Cin.:
291 pts. - 15 of 24 first place votes, 87% share
Greg Luzinski,
Phila.: 255 pts. – 9 first place votes, 76% share
Dave Parker,
Pitt.: 156 pts. – 46% share
Reggie Smith,
LAD.: 112 pts. – 33% share
Steve Carlton,
Phila.: 100 pts. – 30% share
---
Reds went 88-74
to finish second in the NL Western Division, 10 games behind the
division-winning Los Angeles Dodgers.
Aftermath of ‘77:
Foster followed
up with a NL-leading 40 home runs and 120 RBIs in 1978 to go with a .281
batting average. Injuries limited Foster to 121 games in 1979 although he still
produced 30 home runs and 98 RBIs with a .302 average and was an All-Star for
the fourth straight year. Another injury-plagued season in 1980 saw Foster’s
numbers drop to 25 home runs and 93 RBIs and a .273 average. He had one final
significant season for the Reds in 1981, where his strike-interrupted numbers
were 22 home runs, 90 RBIs, and a .295 average in 108 games. He finished third
in NL MVP voting. In the off-season he was traded to the New York Mets. He
signed a five-year, $10 million contract extension with the Mets and batted only .247
with 13 home runs and 70 RBIs in ’82, becoming a frequent target of booing by
the New York fans. He bounced back to 28 home runs and 98 RBIs in 1983 and 24
home runs and 86 RBIs in ’84 as the club developed into a contender. Following
a lesser season in 1985, Foster was benched during ’86 as the Mets were surging
toward a title and amid some controversy he was released in August after having
batted only .227 with 13 home runs and 38 RBIs. He was signed by the Chicago
White Sox and hit just .216 in 15 games before he was released in September,
which ended his career. Overall, Foster hit .274 with 1925 hits, 348 home runs,
and 1239 RBIs. With the Reds he batted .286 with 1276 hits, 244 home runs, and
861 RBIs. He was a five-time All-Star who led the NL in home runs twice and RBIs
three times. Foster was inducted into the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame in
2003.
--
MVP Profiles feature players in the National or
American leagues who were winners of the Chalmers Award (1911-14), League Award
(1922-29), or Baseball Writers’ Association of America Award (1931 to present)
as Most Valuable Player.
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