Roy Foster (July 29, 1945 – March 21, 2008) was an American
outfielder
An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to cat ...
in
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...
who played for the
Cleveland Indians
The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive F ...
from to . Born in
Bixby, Oklahoma
Bixby is a city in Tulsa County, Oklahoma, Tulsa and Wagoner County, Oklahoma, Wagoner counties in the U.S. state of Oklahoma, and is a suburb of Tulsa, Oklahoma, Tulsa. The population was 28,609 at the United States Census, 2020, 2020 census and ...
, he
batted .268 with 23
home run
In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...
s and 60
runs batted in
A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the bat ...
as a 1970 rookie, and received one vote for the
American League
The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...
's
Rookie of the Year Award
A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year).
In contrast with a veteran who has experience and expertise, a rookie is usually inexperienced ...
. He was traded along with
Frank Coggins
Franklin Coggins (May 22, 1944 – October 30, 1994) was an American professional baseball player. A switch-hitting native of Griffin, Georgia, who primarily played second base and shortstop, Coggins stood tall, weighed , and threw right-handed. ...
and cash from the
Milwaukee Brewers
The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. The Brewers are named for t ...
to the
Indians for
Russ Snyder
Russell Henry Snyder (born June 22, 1934) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as an outfielder for the Kansas City Athletics (1959–60), Baltimore Orioles (1961–67), Chicago White Sox (1968), C ...
and
Max Alvis
Roy Maxwell Alvis (born February 2, 1938) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a third baseman from through , most notably for the Cleveland Indians where he became a two-time All-Star. He pla ...
during
spring training
Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for Schedule (workplace), roster and position spo ...
on April 4, 1970. He was dealt along with
Rich Hand
Richard Allen Hand (born July 10, 1948) is an American retired professional baseball player. A right-handed pitcher, he played for four seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cleveland Indians, Texas Rangers and California Angels.
Born ...
,
Mike Paul
Michael George Paul (born April 18, 1945 in Detroit, Michigan) is a former left-handed Major League Baseball pitcher who played from 1968 to 1974 for the Cleveland Indians, Texas Rangers and Chicago Cubs.
Career
Drafted in the 20th round of the ...
and
Ken Suarez
Kenneth Raymond Suarez (Born April 12, 1943) is an American former professional baseball player. He played as a catcher in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1966 to 1973. The , . right-handed hitter is best remembered for a suit he filed against t ...
from the
Indians to the
Texas Rangers for
Del Unser
Delbert Bernard Unser (born December 9, 1944) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a center fielder and utility player from to , most prominently with the Philadelphia Phillies, where he was a ...
,
Denny Riddleberger
Dennis Michael Riddleberger (born November 22, 1945) is an American former Major League Baseball pitcher. Listed at , , Riddleberger threw left-handed and batted right-handed.
Dennis attended Churchland High School and then Old Dominion Universit ...
,
Terry Ley
Terrence Richard Ley (born 21 February 1947, Portland, Oregon) is a retired baseball pitcher who began his career in the season for the New York Yankees. He was a student of University of Oregon before he was drafted in the 3rd round of the Janu ...
and
Gary Jones at the
Winter Meetings
Representatives of all 30 Major League Baseball teams and their 120 Minor League Baseball affiliates convene for four days each December in the Winter Meetings to discuss league business and conduct off-season trades and transactions. Attendees in ...
on December 2, 1971.
Durso, Joseph. "White Sox Add Bahnsen, Ship McKinney to Yanks," ''The New York Times'', Friday, December 3, 1971.
Retrieved December 5, 2021. Foster died in Tulsa
Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the U.S. state, state of Oklahoma and List of United States cities by population, 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. ...
at age 62.
References
External links
1945 births
2008 deaths
People from Bixby, Oklahoma
Major League Baseball left fielders
African-American baseball players
Booker T. Washington High School (Tulsa, Oklahoma) alumni
Cleveland Indians players
Memphis Blues players
Macon Pirates players
Gastonia Pirates players
Kingsport Pirates players
Oklahoma City 89ers players
Tidewater Tides players
Hawaii Islanders players
Baseball players from Oklahoma
20th-century African-American sportspeople
21st-century African-American people
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