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Former All Star catcher Hank Foiles handed away late final month on the age of 94, as famous by varied sources together with Jami Frankenberry of The Virginian-Pilot. An veteran of 11 main league seasons, Foiles performed for the Reds, Indians, Pirates, Athletics, Tigers, Orioles, and Angels all through his time within the massive leagues.
Foiles began his skilled profession on the age of 19 as a member of the Yankees group again in 1948, however he didn’t make his massive league debut for a number of years. He was chosen within the 1951 Rule 5 draft by the Reds however didn’t make his massive league debut with the membership till 1953. He appeared in simply 12 video games on the massive league stage that season between Cincinnati and Cleveland and picked up three hits throughout his first 20 main league at-bats. Foiles wouldn’t play on the massive league stage in 1954 however cut up time with Hal Naragon because the backup to five-time All Star Jim Hegan in 1955. In 132 plate appearances that 12 months, Foiles hit .261 with a stable .354 on-base share.
Foiles would seem in only one extra recreation with Cleveland earlier than being traded to Pittsburgh in the course of the 1956 season. Though he had a down season on the plate throughout his first 12 months with the membership, his years in Pittsburgh would show to be essentially the most important of his profession as he earned the on a regular basis catching job for the Pirates in 1957 and 1958. Foiles made the lone All Star look of his profession in 1957 when he mixed his glove-first profile with above common offense to slash .270/.352/.431 in 109 video games.
On the 1957 NL All Star workforce, he joined legends of the sport resembling Stan Musial, Frank Robinson, and Henry Aaron reverse AL legends like Yogi Berra, Mickey Mantle, and Ted Williams. Foiles pinch-hit within the backside of the ninth inning with Willie Mays on third base and drew a wild pitch to attain Mays and convey the NL inside two earlier than delivering a single towards longtime White Sox ace Billy Pierce. Foiles later scored from second on a single by Ernie Banks, although the NL would go on to lose the sport 6-5.
Foiles would stay in Pittsburgh for 2 extra seasons following his All Star season, and although his offense took step backward with a .209/.314/.355 line between the following two campaigns, he nonetheless made 157 appearances and 402 journeys to the plate throughout these two seasons. 1960 noticed Foiles change organizations a number of occasions, as he was traded from the Pirates to the then-Kansas Metropolis Athletics in the course of the 1959-60 offseason however appeared in simply six video games with the membership earlier than being returned to the Pirates. He was then traded to Cleveland to behave as their back-up catcher earlier than a late July deal despatched him to the Tigers. He completed the 1960 season in Detroit however was chosen within the Rule V Draft for the second time that November, placing him in 5 totally different organizations over the course of 1 calendar 12 months.
Over the following two years, Foiles would discover his groove on the plate once more as a back-up catcher for the Orioles and Reds with a mixed slash line of .275/.338/.482 throughout 43 video games. Foiles discovered himself on the transfer once more in 1963 when he joined the Angels, and he appeared in 45 video games for the membership over the following two seasons with a roughly league common slash line of .216/.289/.386. He performed his last recreation within the massive leagues only a month earlier than his thirty fifth birthday on Might 2, 1964. A profession .243/.321/.392 hitter who appeared in 608 massive league video games, Foiles tallied 353 hits, 46 house runs, and 166 RBI throughout a stable main league profession.
We at MLBTR provide our condolences to the Foiles household and to his buddies, followers, and others who’re mourning him across the recreation.
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