When general manager Theo Epstein was putting the pieces of the Red Sox together last winter, he asked then-managerial candidate Terry Francona about Keith Foulke, one of the prized relievers on the free-agent market.
“I kind of tempered my answer,” said Francona, who had spent the season as Oakland’s bench coach and watched as Foulke saved 43 games in the A’s run to the American League West championship.
“I didn’t know if I was going to be in Boston. And if I wasn’t going to be in Boston and I was going to stay in Oakland, I didn’t want Foulke to be in Boston.”
But as Epstein’s courtship of Foulke continued after Francona was hired, the new Red Sox manager knew what he would be getting if Foulke signed with Boston.
“He’s one of the best I’ve ever seen,” Francona said.
Foulke put on a remarkable run in Games 4, 5 and 6 of the American League Championship Series as Boston rallied from a 3-0 deficit to beat the Yankees for the pennant.
Foulke threw 50 pitches in Game 4, 22 in Game 5 and 28 in Game 6 as he nailed down a tense bottom of the ninth.
That adds up to six scoreless innings, one hit allowed, one big save–and a lot of heart.
“He’s kind of a rare breed,” said Francona. “He will pitch anytime you give him the ball. He just wants to pitch with the game close regardless of anything else.”
Foulke pitched on three consecutive days only twice during the regular season–April 19-21 against New York and Toronto (1 hit, 0 runs, 38 pitches) and Sept. 20-22 against Baltimore at Fenway (five hits, four runs, 61 pitches).
But those games didn’t come with the pressure associated with Tuesday’s ninth-inning performance against the Yankees. He walked Hideki Matsui to open the inning, and then, after getting two outs, walked Ruben Sierra. With Boston ahead, 4-2, Tony Clark came to the plate representing the winning run. After Clark worked the count full, Foulke struck him out.
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The finish came just after midnight, which meant Foulke didn’t get to make the save on his birthday. He turned 32 Tuesday but wasn’t showing any age. He said all the recent work actually has him pitching better.
“I’ve been able to slow down and take a step back and think about the simple things,” Foulke said.
Said Epstein: “I couldn’t imagine a relief pitcher assuming this workload and pitching this well. It’s shocking.”