Steve Foster - Baseball Coach - Texas Tech Red Raiders

Steve Foster

Title:
Pitching Coach

A native of Dallas, Foster has spent nearly two decades working in pro baseball including a seven-year run as the Colorado Rockies pitching coach from 2015-2021 before transitioning to the organizations director of pitching following the conclusion of the 2021 season.

Foster brings extensive experience in modern day pitch technology and analytics. His knowledge extends from his time as the director of pitching in Colorado, where he has worked in and developed the pitching lab for the Rockies.

Inheriting a Rockies staff that recorded the highest ERA in MLB in 2014, Foster helped the Rockies go from dead-last to 17th in total ERA in just three seasons.

Foster helped the Rockies make back-to-back postseason appearances in 2017 and 2018 as the Rockies won 178 games over that two-year span. That time also saw top-prospect Kyle Freeland finish fourth in the voting in the AL Cy Young race and the organization make the only back-to-back postseason appearances in franchise history.

Freeland's fourth place AL Cy Young finish came after the lefty finished seventh in AL Rookie of the Year voting a year prior, two spots behind teammate German Marquez who finished fifth in the same vote.

Freeland posted the two-highest WAR seasons of his career with Foster as his pitching coach including a career-best 7.8 WAR when he went 17-7 with an ERA of 2.85 in 2018.

Under the tutelage of Foster, Marquez tallied the best four seasons of his MLB career as after making a career-high 33 starts and tossing a career-best 197 innings in 2018, Marquez made his lone All-Star appearance of his career in 2021 tossing three complete games. The All-Star game appearance for Marquez was the first by a Rockies starter since 2010 and is the most-recent appearance by a Colorado pitcher in the Midsummer Classic.

The All-Star appearance by Marquez was one of two by a Rockies pitcher during Foster's tenure as Greg Holland also was named an All-Star in 2017 a year in-which the righty would nail down 41 saves and pitch to a 3.61 ERA.

In addition to the pitchers listed above, Foster also worked with former Texas Tech standout Chad Bettis who recorded the two best years of his career when Foster took over in 2015. After going 8-6 with a 4.23 ERA, Bettis nearly doubled his win total in 2016, going 14-8 in a career-high 32 total starts.

Coming to the Rockies after a six-year stint as the Kansas City Royals pitching coordinator and a special assistant to general manager Dayton Moore (2012-14) as well as the Royals bullpen coach (2010-12), Foster helped Moore and the Royals assemble a core that won the American League pennant in back-to-back seasons before taking home the 2015 World Series title.

Taking over a bullpen that was second-to-last in the MLB in ERA, Foster helped the unit go from a 5.02 ERA in 2009 to a 3.75 ERA in 2011.

Prior to his six seasons of service in the Royals organization, Foster served as the bullpen coach for the then Florida (Miami) Marlins helping the Marlins finish the 2009 season with the 14th-lowest ERA in baseball.

Born in Dallas, Foster went an impressive 44-4 for DeSoto High School, helping lead the Eagles to the second state title in school history. A two-time All-State selection, Foster played one season of baseball at Blinn College before transferring to UT Arlington where he was named the 1988 Southland Conference Pitcher of the Year.

A 12th Round selection by the Cincinnati Reds in the 1988 MLB Draft, Foster went 9-21 with a 2.90 ERA and 72 saves in four seasons before earning his call up to the Reds in August of 1991. Foster made 59 appearances and one start for the Reds amassing a record of 3-3 with an ERA of 2.41 before suffering a career-ending injury in 1993.

Foster began his post-playing career as a scout for the Tampa Bay Rays in 1996 and spent four seasons as a scout in the organization. After leaving the Rays in 2001, Foster served as the manager for the Wisconsin Woodchucks of the Northwoods League from 2001-03. Foster helped lead the Woodchucks to a pair of Northwoods League Championships in both 2001 and 2003.

In addition to his experience as bullpen coach in the Royals, Rockies and Marlins systems, Foster also served as the pitching coach of the Marlins Class A affiliate, the Greensboro Grasshoppers for two seasons (2005-06).

Foster and his wife Cori have one son Casey and a daughter Lauren.

FOSTER FILE:
Scout, Tampa Bay Rays (1996, 1999-01)
Assistant Coach, Wisconsin-Stevens Points (1997-98)
Manager, Wisconsin Woodchucks (2001-03)
Pitching Coach, Greensboro Grasshoppers (2005-06)
Bullpen Coach, Miami Marlins (2007-09)
Bullpen Coach, Kansas City Royals (2010-12)
Special Assistant to GM/Pitching Coordinator (2012-14)
Pitching Coach, Colorado Rockies (2015-21)
Director of Pitching, Colorado Rockies (2021-25)