Rich Folkers

Richard Nevin Folkers (born October 17, 1946) is an American former professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball as a left-handed pitcher from to for the New York Mets, St. Louis Cardinals, San Diego Padres and Milwaukee Brewers. He was tall and weighed .

The draft Before entering professional baseball, Folkers attended both Ellsworth Community College and Parsons College and was originally drafted by the San Francisco Giants in the fourth round of the 1966 draft. Deciding not to sign, he was drafted by the Chicago White Sox and the New York Mets in 1967 at different times. The White Sox chose him in the third round, while the Mets took him in the first. The 20th pick overall of the secondary phase draft of 1967, Folkers decided to sign with the Mets. Danny Breeden went from the Padres to the Cardinals to subsequently complete the transactions.

His tenure with the Padres was not nearly as successful as his tenure with the Cardinals. His first year with the San Diego team, 1975, ended with him posting a 6–11 record and a 4.18 ERA for a team which went 71–91 overall. He started 15 games that year, six more than his previous highest total. He walked only 39 in 142 innings of work. However, he was also 10th in the league in wild pitches, with nine thrown.

His final season with the Padres was 1976. The 29-year-old posted a 5.28 ERA that season in 59 innings of work.

He was claimed off waivers by the Milwaukee Brewers on March 23, 1977. Overall, he threw just over six innings for the Brewers that year, posting a 4.26 ERA.

Folkers was traded with Jim Slaton from the Brewers to the Tigers for Ben Oglivie at the Winter Meetings on December 9, 1977. Folkers never appeared in a big league game with the Tigers, and Slaton only pitched one season with them (however, he went 17–11 that year with a 3.89 ERA) before being reclaimed by the Brewers when he entered free agency after the 1978 season. Oglivie, on the other hand, went on to have the best years of his 16-season career while with the Brewers, hitting as many as 41 home runs in a season.

Folkers played in his final big league game on June 8, 1977.

Career statistics Overall in the majors, Folkers went 19–23 with a 4.11 ERA in 195 games. He gave up 416 hits in 423 innings of work, along with 170 walks, 40 home runs, 207 runs and 193 earned runs. Of the 28 games he started, he completed five of them. He had seven career saves.

He batted only .143 in 77 career at bats. Of the 11 hits he collected, only one was for an extra base hit—it was a double off Bob Forsch and his former team the Cardinals on August 8, 1975. He drove in six runs in his career, scored three and walked four times. He struck out 28 times.

As a fielder, he committed five errors in his career for a .941 fielding percentage.

Personal life Folkers currently lives in Bradenton, Florida. He served as a pitching coach at Eckerd College between 1988 and 1992, and later in the St. Louis Cardinals' farm system. He is probably best remembered for a line by the Padres' malaprop-prone broadcaster Jerry Coleman: "Rich Folkers is throwing up in the bullpen."