My Sportsman Choice: Keith Foulke

By Gabe Miller

Keith Foulke recorded the last out of the World Series. Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images  Chris Stone: Red Sox Nation, you've earned this one  Paul Zimmerman: Boy Wonder brought Boston a title  B.J. Schecter: Red Sox captured Boston's heart  Richard Deitsch: The Babe had a big presence in '04  Rick Reilly: Big Papi did it all for the world champs  Jeffri Chadiha: A reward for reversing The Curse  Lisa Altobelli: Ramirez never took anything seriously  • Sportsman of the Year archive

One of the many nice things about sports is that they disprove the notion that there are no second acts in American life. Two immediate examples that come to mind are Joe Torre and Muhammad Ali.

In 2003 the Oakland A's championship hopes went up in flames during the Division Series, partly because their fireman, Keith Foulke, was lit up by the Red Sox in Game 4.During the regular season Foulke had 43 saves and a 2.08 ERA, giving the A's reason to believe they had a closer who could get them past the Red Sox and Yankees.

It didn't happen.

Foulke became a free agent and Boston called. The Red Sox had decided to abandon their closer by committee, but it seemed they were exchanging it for someone they had exposed as yet another player who wilted when the leaves began to fall. Wasn't that the last thing a team with a legacy of failure needed?

One longtime baseball pal, a colleague here at SI, boasted, "I don't care if they have Pedro Martinez and Curt Schilling. There were other good closers, but they got Foulke." He had a point. Going into 2004, Foulke's record against the Yankees was 2-2, with a 6.91 ERA and five saves in eight chances. In September he gave a hint that his previous autumn might repeat itself when he gave up late-inning home runs to Baltimore in three consecutive games. It was, according to the Boston Globe's Gordon Edes, the first time since 1989 a Red Sox reliever had done that.

But when the World Series ended, Foulke was there. He did not give up a grand slam or incite a St. Louis comeback. He did field Edgar Renteria's last-chance grounder, giving the Red Sox their first world championship since 1918. In Games 4, 5 and 6 of Boston's historic rebound from a three-games-to-none deficit to the Yankees in the ALCS, Foulke threw six scoreless inning and earned a save.

Foulke won Game 1 of the World Series primarily because he did not implode after Manny Ramirez's psychedelic adventures in left field allowed the Cardinals to tie the score. He also had a save in Game 4 and was called on in each game of the Series. Ramirez is a great hitter, worth paying to see, and he had a fine Fall Classic. But Foulke should have been the MVP. Boston played 14 postseason games and Foulke was in 11. He had a 0.64 ERA and passed the modern closer's stamina test, going more than one inning six times. From the stands or on TV Foulke can look easy to hit (especially his changeup). It's not so simple. Ask the Angels, Yankees and Cardinals.

Curt Schilling's contribution to the Red Sox' success is also undeniable, but he has already been Sportsman (he shared the award with Randy Johnson in 2001) and his success, even considering his ankle injury, was at least somewhat predictable. Schilling's lifetime postseason ERA in 11 playoff games before this October was a dreamlike 1.66. Foulke's postseason ERA in five games was 6.14. If humans had the type of past performance charts and comments the Daily Racing Form gives to horses (I've often thought this wouldn't be a bad idea, but only if it applied to our personal lives as well as what we do at work), Foulke's probably would have read something like, "breaks well but fails in stretch. Can't recommend."

Many of us suffer humiliation in the workplace, without almost unimaginable financial security and the freedom to live away from our failures. Nevertheless, Foulke is a candidate for Sportsman of the Year because he reminded us of what someone said a long time ago: "As long as you're alive, you're not a has-been, you're a gonna-be. And if someone gives you a chance and you have the talent, odds are you'll be."

Sports Illustrated will announce the 2004 Sportsman of the Year winner on FOX on November 28. Check back every weekday until then to read more Sportsman picks from SI writers.