Local Foulke hero

By Dan Shaughnessy, Globe Staff, 10/1/2003

OAKLAND, Calif. -- He's an MVP candidate on a first-place team, but few fans could pick Keith Foulke out of a lineup. At the start of an interview with the A's closer, a reporter from the Hub says, "People in Boston don't know you."

"That's OK," says Foulke. "People here don't know me, either."

It's true. He is not Dennis Eckersley. He's not even Rod Beck in his heyday with the Giants. But the 30-year-old righthander saved 43 games this year, posting a 9-1 record and a 2.08 ERA. Oakland manager Ken Macha says Foulke is a candidate for Most Valuable Player in the American League.

"He should be considered," says Macha. "I'm looking at all these teams and trying to pick somebody out. When you have a guy who can go more than one inning in a save situation, it makes the other guys in your bullpen so much better. Normally when he comes in in the eighth inning, he's facing their best hitter. He keeps things together and he's always the guy you can fall back on, and that's what he's done this year for us."

Foulke, a six-year veteran who pitched for the Giants and White Sox before joining Oakland this year, says, "He's the manager. He can say what he wants. Obviously it's flattering to hear him say that I could possibly be the MVP of this team. That makes me feel good. Makes me feel like I've done my job here. But the team puts me in the position where I can succeed. If I get it, it says a lot about the team, a lot about the bullpen."

The arrival of Foulke in Oakland is a story in itself. He saved 34 and 42 games with the White Sox in 2000 and 2001. Last year he had arm problems early in the season and his stats suffered. He gave up a game-winning homer to Vladimir Guerrero in June and told Chicago manager Jerry Manuel to take him out of the closer role for a while. Manuel never put him back. Foulke finished with only 11 saves and a 2-4 record but still had a 2.90 ERA and walked only 13 batters in 77 2/3 innings.

Oakland general manager Billy Beane, who likes to think he's smarter than everyone else, saw a chance to upgrade his bullpen. In a bold December trade, Beane sent Billy Koch, who had 44 saves and 11 wins last year, to the White Sox in a six-player deal that brought Foulke to Oakland.

"It wasn't really much of a shock," says Foulke, who was acquired by the White Sox as part of Jerry Reinsdorf's white flag sale back in the summer of 1997. "After the way things went last year, I wasn't really surprised. When I found out it was Oakland, I was happy about it. They brought me over here to be a closer, and as long as I went to spring training and did my job, it was my job. It's not like I had to go in there and prove myself to them."

Foulke was almost untouchable this year. Meanwhile, Koch lost 6 miles per hour off his fastball and struggled with the White Sox. Beane looked like a genius again, much to the dismay of his growing legion of critics.

"We also gave them a good pitching prospect in Neal Cotts," says Beane, trying to be humble. "Keith had a difficult year the year before, not up to his usual standards. But we didn't walk out after making that deal thinking we just hit a home run. We knew we gave up talent. It was just one we felt like Keith could return to his level of previous years and it worked out."

It worked out for one year, anyway. Foulke is in the final year of his contract and history says the A's won't be able to afford him.

An unimposing 6 feet tall, Foulke is deceptive. His big weapon is the changeup, and he has two varieties. He hides the ball well from his no-windup delivery, and beats hitters with surgical control and an occasional fastball that tops out on the gun at 91 m.p.h.

"It's a combination of different pitches," Foulke says. "The fastball's in a different location to keep them off balance. Obviously the changeup keeps them off my fastball, and it's the combination that makes me effective, I believe. There's a couple of guys out there that can go out and do the job effectively without blowing the ball by them every pitch. I'll take my stuff against a lot of the other guys any day." The braces on his teeth make him look younger than 30, but Foulke has the cynicism that comes with six years in the bigs. He doesn't have much interest in talking about himself and loathes stupid questions.

"He's not your typical closer," says Scott Hatteberg, the former Red Sox catcher who plays first base for the A's. "He doesn't throw 96 and doesn't have overpowering stuff. He throws a lot of strikes, has a great changeup and incredible command. Nobody says you've got to throw that hard. He's just done the job all year. We've been in so many one-run games and he's closed out most of them."

Macha loves the idea that Foulke can come into a game in the eighth inning. Ten of Foulke's saves required him getting more than three outs.

"This is my fifth year here," says the rookie manager. "Billy Taylor. Jason Isringhausen. Billy Koch. And all of 'em really did a good job. But this guy here has been above and beyond what they were. He has great command. He's got a tremendous out pitch with his changeup. He doesn't walk anybody, gives up very few hits. He's had six-out saves, five-out saves, four-out saves. There's really been only two days all season that I couldn't use him."

Foulke says he probably could pitch in all five games of the Division Series if needed.

"I don't go out there and overthrow the ball every time, so it doesn't take a toll on my arm and my body," he says. "I enjoy throwing a lot. It's almost like the more I throw, the better I am."

Manny Ramirez touched Foulke this year for a ninth-inning homer, but the confident closer likes his chances against the Sox.

"I feel we match up pretty well," says Foulke. "We played 'em pretty tough. I think we've got the pitching to keep their offense in check. I'm sure they're going to be good games. It's going to be who can muster the big innings."