Timothy John Foli (born December 6, 1950[1]) is an American former professional baseball player, coach and minor league manager.
At age 17, Foli was the first pick in the Major League Baseball Draft in 1968 and went on to be a member of the 1979 World Series champion Pirates.
He was an accomplished bunter, finishing in the league top ten in sacrifice hits eight times including an American League-leading 26 in 1982.
Foli's defensive low occurred on September 9, 1972, when he committed three errors in one inning, leading to three runs in Montreal's 8–3 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates at Jarry Park.
In his second game, Foli started at third base, picked up two hits and drove in a late run as the Mets defeated the St. Louis Cardinals.
[7] Before the 1972 season, the Mets packaged Foli with fellow young prospects Ken Singleton and Mike Jorgensen and sent them to the Montreal Expos for star outfielder Rusty Staub.
On April 21, 1976, Foli hit a single, double and triple against the Chicago Cubs before the game was suspended on account of darkness.
When the game was resumed the next day, Foli hit a home run to complete the first cycle in Montreal Expos history.
His travels began on April 26, 1977, when he was traded from the Expos to the San Francisco Giants for Chris Speier in an exchange of starting shortstops.
1978 was a typical season for Foli, who played 113 games and batted .257,[7] while the Mets finished with the worst record in the National League.
After playing just three games for the Mets in 1979, Foli and a minor league player were traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for shortstop Frank Taveras.
[15] Pittsburgh went on to sweep the Cincinnati Reds in the 1979 National League Championship Series, with Foli driving in a run in all three games.
Foli posted typical numbers for him in 1980 and the strike-shortened 1981 season, but the Pirates, suffering from the decline of future Baseball Hall of Fame member Willie Stargell, as well as other intangibles, dropped from World Champions to mediocrity.
[16] After the 1981 season and shortly after his 31st birthday, Foli was traded again, moving from Pittsburgh to the California Angels in exchange for 22-year-old catcher Brian Harper.
He was slated to be a utility infielder for the Angels, but when Rick Burleson suffered a torn rotator cuff in mid-April, Foli spent the season as the starting shortstop.
[17] A mid-September winning streak propelled the Angels into first place and into the 1982 American League playoffs, but they lost to the Milwaukee Brewers three games to two, as Foli managed only two hits and one RBI.
[21] During the off-season in early 1987, Foli was the manager of the Caguas, Puerto Rico, team in the Caribbean World Series when his fiery personality made news.
After losing the first two games to the Dominican Republic, Caguas general manager Félix Millán fired Foli, claiming he had been disrespectful.