Foster, Hoy voted into Reds' Hall of Fame

From: FOX Sports - 21 Jan 2003

BY JOE KAY
Associated Press

CINCINNATI (AP) - The most dangerous hitter on the Big Red Machine is going into the Cincinnati Reds' Hall of Fame.

The Cincinnati chapter of the Baseball Writers' Association of America voted George Foster and 19th century outfielder William "Dummy" Hoy into the team's Hall of Fame. The Reds announced Tuesday they will be inducted on Aug. 3.

Foster led the Reds in homers and RBIs for six straight years, an accomplishment that was overshadowed because of the cast around him. Not even Foster took note until the last few years how valuable he was to the two-time World Series champions.

"When I was looking through the stats book, I didn't realize I had led the team in RBIs more years than any individual," Foster said Tuesday during a conference call. "At that time, I thought that I did what I needed to do to get into the Reds' Hall of Fame."

Pete Rose was the grit. Joe Morgan was the dash. Tony Perez was the glue. Johnny Bench was the foundation. Each got credit for playing a big role in molding the Big Red Machine. Three of them made baseball's Hall of Fame - Rose is ineligible because of his gambling.

Foster never made Cooperstown, in part because his career dropped off markedly after he was traded to the New York Mets after the 1981 season. To this day, he is still considered in the second tier of stars on those Reds teams.

"It's part of life," he said. "Some people are going to get the credit, and some are not. It was just great to be able to play on the Big Red Machine. Maybe they felt that Bench, Rose and Perez were more marketable than me. But it was great to be around those guys."

The Reds obtained him in a 1971 trade with San Francisco that disappointed the outfielder. He grew up idolizing Giants outfielder Willie Mays and wanted to continue playing for his team.

Instead, he came to Cincinnati and blossomed as a power hitter. He hit 23 homers and drove in 78 runs as the Reds won their first World Series in 1975, then hit 29 homers with an NL-leading 121 RBIs as the Reds made it two in a row in 1976.

His best season was 1977, when he led the NL with 52 homers and 149 RBIs and won its MVP award. He became only the seventh player in baseball history to hit 50 homers.

In those days, 40 homers was considered a benchmark and 50 was a level for the all-time elite. Sammy Sosa, Mark McGwire and Barry Bonds have all topped 60 in recent years, with McGwire getting 70 and Bonds the current record of 73.

Foster can't imagine how many homers he could hit today with his long, muscular forearms and trademark black, 35-ounce bat.

"I try not to torture myself," he said. "If you ask how many I feel I would have hit, I'd say I'd probably have 70 - at the All-Star break."

He left Cincinnati as the Big Red Machine was crumbling under the team's policy of shunning free agency. His power already was in decline - 25 homers in 1980, 22 in 1981 - when he went to the Mets, who signed him to a five-year, $10 million contract.

His numbers continued to tail off - 13 homers in 1982, never again more than 28 homers a season. He retired in 1986.

"It was not going to New York," he said. "It was just not performing as consistently in New York as I had in Cincinnati. The Mets were really just starting to rebuild."

Hoy, who got his nickname because he was deaf and mute, grew up in Houcktown and played five of his 14 major league seasons with the Reds - 1894-79 and 1902. He batted .300 three times and scored 100 runs eight times.

Because Hoy was deaf, umpires started using hand signals to accompany their verbal calls. He died in 1961 at age 99.

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