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Showing posts from November, 2023

George Foster: Former 1980's Mets Outfielder (1982-1986)

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George Arthur Foster was born December 1, 1948, in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. He grew up in the outskirts of Los Angeles, attending Lawndale high school where he was a top athlete. The six-foot one right hand hitting outfielder was drafted in the third round of the 1968 draft by the San Francisco Giants. In 1969 he hit 14 HRs & bat .321 at A ball Fresno.  MLB Career: Foster got a brief September call up for eight games with the Giants. Foster made just 18 appearances in two years at San Francisco due to the fact that Willie Mays & Bobby Bonds were fixtures in the Giants outfield. Reds Career: In May of 1971 he was traded to the Cincinnati Reds for short stop Frank Duffy & a minor leaguer. It was still a crowded for Cincinnati outfield when he came over to the Big Red Machine, but Foster soon got a lot of playing time when centerfielder Bobby Tolan got injured. Foster showed power as he hit 10 HRs & 18 doubles with 58 RBIs in 104 games while batting .234. He was s

Dan Warthen: 2015 NL Champions Mets Pitching Coach (2008 - 2017)

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Daniel Dean Warthen was born on December 1, 1952, in Omaha, Nebraska. Warthen was an All-American High School quarterback, getting college scholarship offers from Nebraska, USC, UCLA, & Northwestern universities.   Warthen chose to play baseball instead, getting drafted in the second round, by the Montreal Expos in 1971.  The left hander would get brought up to the majors in May 1975 making his debut, pitching a scoreless inning against that year's World Champion, Big Red Machine. He pitched in relief in his first few outings, going 4-2 with three saves toward the end of July.  He was thrown into the Expo rotation finishing the season at 8-6 with 3.11 ERA, striking out an impressive 128 batters in 167 innings. He also walked 87 batters. The following year he was 2-10 as he walked 66 batters in 90 innings pitched, allowing 53 earned runs. He would only pitch 20 more games in the majors at Montreal, going to the Philadelphia Phillies & Houston Astros over the next two seaso