Joe Foy

Joseph Anthony Foy (February 21, 1943 – October 12, 1989) was an American professional baseball player who played third base in Major League Baseball.

Early life Foy was born on February 21, 1943, in New York City, just seven blocks from Yankee Stadium, though he became a Brooklyn Dodgers fan. He attended Evander Childs High School in the Bronx, where he starred in baseball.

Foy was not signed by any professional baseball teams after graduating, and played for an amateur team, the New York Billikens. The Minnesota Twins then signed him for a $5,000 bonus in 1962.

Professional baseball career

Minor leagues The Twins assigned Foy to the Class D Erie Sailors, where he had a .285 batting average, 109 bases on balls, 9 home runs and 76 runs batted in (RBI) in 113 games.

Boston Red Sox In his first year in the major leagues, with the Boston Red Sox in 1966, Foy batted a solid .262, drew the second-most walks in the American League (91), had a .364 on-base percentage, good for eighth in the junior circuit, and .413 slugging percentage. He also scored 97 runs, fifth in the league. He had 21 errors and a .953 fielding percentage at third base.

As pitching became more dominant in the late 1960s, Foy's numbers dropped. In 1967, while receiving over 100 fewer at-bats, Foy batted slightly worse with a .251 batting average.325 on base percentage, and .426 slugging percentage; and his walk total halved. Foy had a .225 average.336 on-base percentage and .326 slugging percentage. The Royals then traded Johnson the following year, after a 200 strikeout season, to the Pittsburgh Pirates for shortstop Fred Patek, who became another cornerstone of their rising franchise.

New York Mets

Foy posted a career-best .373 OBP while hitting .236–.373–.329 with 6 home runs and 37 RBIs in 322 at-bats with New York.

Although his averages were not that far off from his career average, Foy was considered a disappointment to Mets fans. Additionally, according to Mets pitcher Jerry Koosman, Foy fell under the influence of his old friends in the Bronx. In the first game of one doubleheader, Koosman and others thought he was high on some kind of drug (eventually confirmed to be marijuana), especially when he walked in front of manager Gil Hodges in the dugout during a pitch and started cheering. Still, Hodges started him at third base in the second game. The first batter hit a hard ground ball by Foy. He never even saw it, but even after it went by him, he kept punching his glove and yelling, "Hit it to me, hit it to me." Koosman and others all wanted Foy out right then, but according to Koosman, Hodges left Foy in the game just a little longer to show that he didn't fit on the team.

After the season, the Mets left him off the roster, and the Washington Senators drafted him in the Rule 5 draft. He had suffered from diabetes and heart issues.