Rich Folkers
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Richard Nevin Folkers (born October 17, 1946) is an American former professional
baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...
player and coach. He played in
Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...
as a left-handed
pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...
from to for the
New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National ...
, St. Louis Cardinals,
San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. ...
and
Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. The Brewers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Di ...
. He was tall and weighed .


The draft

Before entering professional
baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...
, Folkers attended both Ellsworth Community College and
Parsons College Parsons College was a private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college located in Fairfield, Iowa. The school was named for its wealthy benefactor, Lewis B. Parsons Sr., and was founded in 1875 with one ...
and was originally drafted by the
San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...
in the fourth round of the
1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...
draft. Deciding not to sign, he was drafted by the
Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...
and the
New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National ...
in
1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Canadian Confederation, Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 6 – Vietnam War: United States Marine Corps and Army of ...
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.


The minors

From 1967 to 1970, Folkers' earned run average in a minor league season never rose above 3.19. In , his record was 13–9, and he posted an ERA of 2.41 in 27 games, striking out 142 and
walking Walking (also known as ambulation) is one of the main gaits of terrestrial locomotion among legged animals. Walking is typically slower than running and other gaits. Walking is defined as an " inverted pendulum" gait in which the body vaults o ...
only 48 in 168 innings. As noted o
Baseball Reference.com
he missed the 1969 regular season whil
serving in the U.S. military
but did play briefly during the winter in the Florida Instructional League.


First glimpse of the majors

Folkers got his first glimpse of the majors in 1970. On June 10, at the age of 23, Folkers pitched two solid innings in relief, giving up only one hit and allowing no runs. However, the success of that game did not carry over to the rest of the games. In 16 games that year, his ERA was 6.44. He walked 25 batters and struck out 15 in 29.1 innings of work.


Back to the minors

He spent all of 1971 and most of 1972 in the minors. After having a lackluster 1971 season (7–11, 4.50 ERA), the Mets traded away their former first-round draft pick with Jim Bibby, Charlie Hudson and Art Shamsky to the Cardinals for Jim Beauchamp, Chuck Taylor, Harry Parker and Chip Coulter on October 18, 1971. /sup> He posted a 3.10 ERA in the minors in 1972. He was recalled to the Majors, pitching nine games in relief for the Cardinals that year. This stint in the Majors was much more successful: not only did he collect his first big league win on September 30 against
Ron Santo Ronald Edward Santo (February 25, 1940 – December 3, 2010) was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) third baseman who played for the Chicago Cubs from 1960 through 1973 and the Chicago White Sox in 1974. In 1990, Santo became a member of the ...
, Rick Monday and the rest of the
Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...
, he also posted a 3.38 ERA.


Back to stay in the majors

Folkers was used both as a starter and reliever in 1973, posting a 3.61 ERA in 34 games (nine of them started). In 1974, he posted a 6–2 record in 55 relief appearances, which were third most on the team. He also posted a 3.00 ERA, which was 0.59 points better than the league average. The 1974 season was Folkers' last in a Cardinals uniform. He was involved in a three-team deal on November 18, 1974 in which he was traded along with Sonny Siebert and Alan Foster from the Cardinals to the Padres for Ed Brinkman who had been sent to San Diego with Bob Strampe and
Dick Sharon Richard Louis Sharon (born April 15, 1950) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as an outfielder from to for the Detroit Tigers and the San Diego Padres. Baseball career Sharon was born in San ...
from the
Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. One of the AL's eight chart ...
for Nate Colbert.
Danny Breeden Danny Richard Breeden (born June 27, 1942) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher from to for the Cincinnati Reds and the Chicago Cubs. Baseball career Breeden was born in Albany, G ...
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 The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. The Brewers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Di ...
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.Durso, Joseph. "Yanks Sign Eastwick to 5‐Year Pact," ''The New York Times'', Saturday, December 10, 1977.
Retrieved October 22, 2020
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 In baseball statistics, fielding percentage, also known as fielding average, is a measure that reflects the percentage of times a baseball positions, defensive player properly handles a batted or thrown ball. It is calculated by the sum of putout ...
.


Personal life

Folkers currently lives in St. Petersburg, Florida. He served as a pitching coach at
Eckerd College Eckerd College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in St. Petersburg, Florida, United States. Founded in 1958, part of the campus is waterfront (area), waterfront and beach on Boca Ciega ...
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."


References


External links

o

{{DEFAULTSORT:Folkers, Rich 1946 births Living people Arkansas Travelers players Baseball players from Iowa Durham Bulls players Florida Instructional League Mets players Leones del Caracas players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Major League Baseball pitchers Memphis Blues players Milwaukee Brewers players New York Mets players Sportspeople from Waterloo, Iowa St. Louis Cardinals players San Diego Padres players Spokane Indians players Tidewater Tides players Tulsa Oilers (baseball) players 20th-century American sportsmen