Oakland Athletics: Top 10 Seasons By Relief Pitchers
By Phil Watson
3. Keith Foulke, 2003
| Year ▾ | Age | W | L | ERA | G | GF | SV | IP | H | ER | HR | BB | SO | ERA+ | WHIP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | 30 | 9 | 1 | 2.08 | 72 | 67 | 43 | 86.2 | 57 | 20 | 10 | 20 | 88 | 215 | 0.888 |
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 3/5/2014.
Foulke was acquired from the White Sox in December along with catcher Mark Johnson and pitcher Joe Valentine in exchange for closer Billy Koch and two players to be named later, with pitcher Neal Cotts and minor leaguer Daylon Holt later heading to Chicago. He pitched just one year in Oakland before signing with Boston as a free agent, but was good while he was here. Foulke earned his only All-Star Game nod and led the American League with 43 saves and 67 games finished, finishing in the top 10 in the Cy Young voting and top 15 of the MVP balloting as the A’s won the AL West for the second straight year.
He was ninth in the AL with 72 games.
Foulke converted 43 of 48 save chances and allowed four of 23 inherited runners to score, with an ALI of 1.651.
He led AL relievers with a 0.888 WHIP, was third with a .184 opponents batting average and 52 opponents OPS-plus, sixth with a 215 ERA-plus, seventh with a 2.08 ERA and ninth with 9.14 strikeouts per nine innings.
Against the Red Sox in the ALDS, Foulke was 0-1 in three appearances, allowing two runs on four hits and two walks in five innings, striking out three. He was tagged with the loss in Game 4, when Boston came back from down 2-0 to tie the series up. The Red Sox went on to win Game 5.