Hank Foiles
From BR Bullpen
Henry Lee Foiles Jr.
- Bats Right, Throws Right
- Height 6' 0", Weight 195 lb.
- School University of Virginia
- Debut April 21, 1953
- Final Game May 2, 1964
- Born June 10, 1929 in Richmond, VA USA
[edit] Biographical Information
Catcher Hank Foiles is one of very few players to have been selected twice in the Rule V Draft. He was drafted by the Cincinnati Reds in the 1951 Rule 5 Draft and sold to the Cleveland Indians in May 1953. The Pirates obtained Foiles in a trade with the Indians on May 15, 1956. Foiles proceeded to split the Pirates catching duties with Jack Shepard that year. When Shepard unexpectedly retired prior to the 1957 season, Foiles became the Pirates primary backstop. Known as a good defensive catcher rather than for his hitting, Foiles was an unlikely All-Star for the 1957 Pittsburgh Pirates, when he was hitting .313 at the All-Star break. Foiles' only All-Star appearance came in the bottom of the ninth inning when he singled as a pinch hitter against Billy Pierce, advanced to second on a walk, and scored the final run of the game on a single by Ernie Banks in a game the National League lost 6-5 on July 9, 1957. He finished the season with a career-high 281 at-bats, a .270 batting average, 9 home runs and 36 RBIs. Foiles remained the Pirates starting catcher in 1958 but batted only .205. With the Pirates seeking more offense from the catching position in 1959, they traded for Smoky Burgess. Burgess became the starting catcher while Foiles shared back-up duties with Danny Kravitz.
In December 1959, Foiles was traded to the Kansas City Athletics in a deal that brought Hal Smith to the Pirates. But Foiles received little playing time with the Athletics. With the Pirates looking for catching help for their AAA Columbus Jets team, they traded Kravitz to the Athletics on June 1, 1960 in exchange for Foiles. Foiles was immediately assigned to Columbus but refused to return to the minor leagues. He received permission from Pirates general manager Joe Brown to arrange a trade to another major league club. The following day, June 2, 1960, Foiles was traded from the Pirates to the Cleveland Indians for John Powers, who the Pirates then assigned to Columbus. Foiles served as a back-up catcher for the Indians until being traded less than two months later to the Detroit Tigers on July 26, 1960, where he finished the season as a back-up catcher for the Tigers. In November 1960, Foiles was selected by the Baltimore Orioles in the Rule 5 draft. Thus, in the 12 months from December 1959 to November 1960, Foiles went from the Pirates to the Athletics to the Pirates to the Indians to the Tigers to the Orioles. He remained in the major leagues through 1964 as a back-up for the Orioles, Reds and Angels. Foiles played 11 years in the majors with a career .243 batting average and 46 home runs.
[edit] Notable Achievements
- NL All-Star (1957)
