Kevin Foster

Former Cubs pitcher, Kevin Foster died on Saturday at the age of 39, in an Oklahoma City hospital. Foster had been battling renal cell carcinoma for the past six months.

Foster spent seven years in the Major Leagues after being drafted in the 29th round of the 1987 draft by the Montreal Expos as an infielder. After three years, he was converted to a pitcher. He was then traded to Seattle and then to Philadelphia, where he made his Major League debut.

When asked about Foster, then Expos scout Stan Zielinski said,

''I went to watch another player at Evanston
in 1987 when I stumbled upon a skinny third baseman with a perpetual smile and a rocket arm. It was Kevin Foster. I asked his coach, 'Can he pitch, too?' His coach said, 'Yes.' I came back, watched him pitch, and after he went 10-1 on
the mound and hit 25 or 30 home runs for Kishwaukee, we signed him. He was a great athlete who started with Montreal as an infielder. Three years later, he converted to a pitcher with a sneaky fastball and a great changeup.''

In 1994, he was traded to the Chicago Cubs for pitcher Shawn Boskie. In his five years with the Cubs, he went 32-28 with his best year being 1995 when he went 12-11 with a 4.51 ERA. In 1997, Foster's first half record was 10-5 becoming the first Cub since Greg Maddux in 1992 to record 10 first half wins. Also in 1997, with the Cubs losing a National League record 14 games to start a season, Foster ended that streak with the first win of the season against the Mets at Shea Stadium.

Foster experienced arm injuries after the 1997 season which held him out of baseball for several years. In 2001, he made a brief comeback with the Texas Rangers before retiring.

Foster grew up in Evanston and was a lifelong Cubs fan. His dream growing up was to pitch for the Cubs in Wrigley Field. He got to fulfill that dream 42 times, with a 19-9 record and 3.78 ERA in Wrigley Field as a Cub.

The Cubs released a statement after hearing about the loss of Foster this weekend:

He was popular with his teammates, the organization and fans, and he will be tremendously missed.

Amen.