George Foster (baseball)

Early in the 1975 season, Reds manager Sparky Anderson shifted perennial All-Star Pete Rose to third base, and used a platoon of Foster and Dan Driessen in left.[9] Foster soon won the everyday job with a .300 batting average, 23 home runs and 78 RBIs. With Foster now in left, the final piece of the "Big Red Machine" was in place. The Reds won 108 games that year, tying the 1970 World Series champion Baltimore Orioles for the most regular season wins that decade. They dominated the Pirates in the 1975 National League Championship Series, out-scoring their opponent 19–7 to sweep the series in three games. For his part, Foster batted .364 and scored three runs.[10]

The Boston Red Sox proved a far tougher opponent in the World Series, as the Reds needed seven games to win their first World Series title since 1940. Foster went two-for-six and drove in two runs in the classic game six of the World Series at Fenway Park.[11] His most memorable moment was on the field. The game was tied, and with the bases loaded and no outs in the ninth inning, reigning MVP and Rookie of the Year Fred Lynn lifted a ball down the left field line. Foster made the catch near the stands for the first out of the inning. Denny Doyle tagged up on the play, and was out at home on a strong throw from Foster.[12] Rico Petrocelli grounded out to Rose at third for the final out and sent the game to extra innings.

Anderson moved Foster into the clean-up spot in his batting order during a 17-game hitting streak in June 1976 when Foster's batting average peaked at .343. With 17 home runs and 71 RBI at the All-Star break, he was elected to start his first All-Star game. He turned in an MVP performance with a two-run home run and third RBI to pace his team to a 7–1 victory over the American League All-Stars.[13] He ended the season batting .306 with 29 home runs and a major league-leading 121 RBIs to finish second behind teammate Joe Morgan in National League MVP balloting. Rose and Griffey also finished within the top ten.

The Reds won the National League West by 10 games over the Los Angeles Dodgers. They became the only team to go undefeated in post-season history since the establishment of the Divisional Era in 1969 when they swept the Philadelphia Phillies in the 1976 National League Championship Series and New York Yankees in the World Series. For his part, Foster batted just .167 in the NLCS, but hit key home runs in games one[14] and three.[15] His average jumped to .429 in the World Series, while driving in four.

Foster, circa 1977

Foster turned in one of the all-time great seasons in 1977 on his way to winning the National League's Most Valuable Player Award. On July 14, Foster clubbed three home runs against the Atlanta Braves.[16] A home run the following day off the Houston Astros' Gene Pentz brought his season mark to 29 heading into the All-Star break.[17] He started his second consecutive All-Star game, and led the NL charge with a first inning double to drive in Dave Parker with the first run of the game.[18] On September 23, in the ninth inning of the Reds' 5–1 victory over the Atlanta Braves, Foster hit his fiftieth home run of the season off Buzz Capra,[19] making him the first player since Willie Mays in 1965 to hit fifty in a season.[20] The 50 home run mark would not be reached again until Cecil Fielder hit 51 home runs in 1990.[21] Foster was just the 10th player in major league history to reach the mark, and the first ever Cincinnati Reds player.[22] His 149 RBIs also led the majors. He finished fourth in the NL in batting, missing the Triple Crown by .018 behind Dave Parker. He also led the NL in slugging percentage (.631), runs scored (124) and total bases (388).

He took over where he left off in 1978, with 18 home runs and 63 RBIs in the first half of the season to earn his third consecutive All-Star start. For the season, he batted .281 and paced the NL in both home runs and RBIs with 40 and 120, respectively. He was voted onto his fourth consecutive All-Star team in 1979, but needed to be pulled in the second inning after pulling his thigh.[23] The Reds lost Foster for a month, and had been decimated by injuries, but managed to stay in the NL West race during Foster's absence.[24] Shortly after his return, the Reds went on an eight-game winning streak that saw them jump into first place by 1.5 games over the Houston Astros. The Reds held off the Astros to win their first division crown since 1976, but were swept by the Pirates in the 1979 National League Championship Series. Foster's highlight was a game tying home run in game one of the NLCS.[25]

Following the 1979 season, Joe Morgan headed to the Houston Astros via free agency. With Tony Pérez and Pete Rose already gone, the "Big Red Machine" was beginning to come apart, and the Reds slumped to a third-place finish in 1980. Foster led the club with 25 home runs and 93 RBIs. A rejuvenated Cincinnati Reds team won a major league best 66 games in the strike shortened 1981 season, but managed to miss the playoffs as a result of the split-season format used that season.[26] Foster returned to form, finishing second to Mike Schmidt in the NL's RBI race. At this point in his career, when it looked like he would one day rank among the game's all-time greats, Lawrence Ritter and Donald Honig included him in their book The 100 Greatest Baseball Players of All Time.

Foster was 37 years old and in the final year of his contract when the 1986 season began. Although he had been respectable for several years, he had not fully lived up to the expectations that were set for him by the Mets and his age was starting to become a factor as well. He put up respectable power numbers (13 home runs and 37 RBIs), but had a .237 batting average, and had lost considerable range in left field. Meanwhile, the Mets manager Davey Johnson was looking for an everyday position for utilityman Kevin Mitchell. When the Mets headed to Cincinnati for a three-game series on July 21, Foster sat out the series, making just one pinch hit appearance in the second game of the set.[35]

This game was highlighted by a bench-clearing brawl that was ignited when the Reds' Eric Davis stole third base in the tenth inning. After a hard tag by Mets third baseman Ray Knight, the two men exchanged words, leading to Knight's punching Davis in the face.[36] Both benches emptied with the exception of Foster. Foster said that he stayed out of the ruckus because it set a bad example for children.[37] After the series in Cincinnati, the manager Johnson officially announced Mitchell as the everyday left fielder.[38]

Foster complained that his demotion was racially motivated, with Los Angeles Times writer Mike Downey criticizing him for making that statement considering that Mitchell, who replaced Foster, was black (like Foster).[39] He made just 14 plate appearances after that point, walking once, getting one single, and striking out six times. On August 7, the Mets released Foster and replaced him on their major league roster with Lee Mazzilli.[40]