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Pump Jacks Name Former Major Leaguer John Foster Head Coach Foster pitched for the Braves and Brewers before winning an NECBL title and coaching in the Cape Cod League With several former players knocking on the door to the big leagues, the East Texas Pump Jacks tapped a former major leaguer as the team’s new head coach. John Foster, who pitched in the big leagues for the Atlanta Braves and Milwaukee Brewers, has been named the new skipper for the Pump Jacks, the team announced Tuesday. Foster brings to East Texas a resume that includes three seasons in the major leagues during a ten-year professional playing career, followed by coaching stints in several high-profile summer collegiate leagues. But the decision to make him the fifth head coach in Pump Jacks history went deeper than that, according to team officials. “John’s success is a result of his drive and his dedication,” said general manager Mike Lieberman. “His work ethic complements the blue collar roots that run deep in East Texas. “We’re looking forward to John sharing his experience and his passion for the game with our Pump Jacks players this summer. A big league name with major league experience and a summer collegiate championship coaching our future pros… It’ll make for an exciting season!” Foster toiled his way from humble beginnings to pitch alongside legends like 2014 Hall of Fame inductees Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine. He fought through two devastating injuries to make 90 major league appearances, posting a career 7-2 record with a 4.90 ERA. The left-hander’s most productive big league season was 2005, when he went 4-2 with a 4.15 ERA in 62 appearances for the division-champion Braves. In eight minor league seasons, Foster went 26-16 with a 3.21 ERA in 216 relief appearances. A big league career wasn’t expected of Foster when Atlanta selected him in the 25th round of the 1999 draft. Making his debut that summer with the Danville Braves in the Appalachian League, he went 4-1 with a 1.38 against the likes of future big leaguers Josh Hamilton and Carl Crawford. He progressed steadily through the Atlanta system as a lefty specialist. Foster posted a 1.85 ERA for the Myrtle Beach Pelicans in 2000, and he went 8-7 with seven saves for the Greenville Braves in 2001. Foster got his first taste of big league ball the following season. On April 24, 2002, he made his major league debut when Hall of Fame manager Bobby Cox called on him to pitch the eighth inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks. Not only did he pitch a scoreless inning – and struck out former World Series hero Craig Counsell – but the Braves came back to take the lead in the bottom half of the inning. Foster earned his first big league win in his debut, saved by none other than future Hall of Famer John Smoltz. The Braves shipped Foster to Milwaukee in the off-season, and he went 2-0 in 23 games for the Brewers in 2003. The Chicago Cubs picked him up that off-season, but before he ever got the chance to pitch for the Cubs, a devastating shoulder injury sidetracked his career. In April 2004, Foster’s shoulder was torn to shreds, with significant damage to his labrum and rotator cuff. Dr. James Andrews performed the reconstructive surgery, suggesting it would take at least 18 months to return to the mound, if he pitched again at all. Undeterred, Foster was throwing again in six months and by spring training in 2005, he was healthy enough to sign with the Braves. Not only was Foster healthy, but he became Atlanta’s chief lefty option out of the bullpen. He picked up his first major league save on April 26, 2005, this time closing the game for Smoltz as they teamed up to defeat Pedro Martinez. Atlanta went on to win the National League East title for the 11th consecutive season, and Foster finished third on the team with 62 appearances. The Braves were eliminated from the playoffs by the Houston Astros in the Division Series, but Foster came out of the pen twice in four postseason games. The injury bug struck again when Foster underwent Tommy John surgery and missed the entire 2006 season. He came back to sign a free agent contract with the Kansas City Royals, making 25 appearances in their minor league system over the next two seasons. He hung up his spikes at the end of spring training in 2009. That was hardly the end of Foster’s baseball career, though. A member of the NAIA national champion Lewis-Clark State squad in 1999, Foster returned to campus every off-season from 2000 to 2009 to help Hall of Fame coach Ed Cheff prepare the Warriors for the season. Six of those ten squads went on to win the NAIA World Series, and Foster was bitten by the coaching bug. Almost immediately after retiring as a player, Foster was named pitching coach for the Newport Gulls in the New England Collegiate Baseball League. The Gulls posted the league’s best record at 31-10, then went 6-2 in the playoffs to capture the NECBL title. Foster’s pitching staff led the league with a gaudy 2.27 ERA, helping the Gulls finish the season as the No. 3 team in the country. The following summer, he served as pitching coach for the Wareham Gatemen of the venerable Cape Cod League. Wareham produced three of the top four pro prospects in 2010, two of which were pitchers on Foster’s staff. In fact, Foster coached 12 hurlers that summer who were drafted, including two future first round selections. Foster served as head coach at Division III Lehman College for the 2010 and 2011 seasons. He is currently the player development coach at Monroe College in New York City, a position he took in 2012. In just his second season with the Mustangs, Monroe College last year posted 28 wins, the second-most in school history. A native of Stockton, Calif., Foster began his collegiate career at San Joaquin Delta College in his hometown. He was offered the chance to play for University of the Pacific in Stockton, but opted instead for Lewis-Clark. Foster earned seven wins for the Warriors, including two in the 1999 NAIA World Series, and was named the team’s most outstanding player before he was drafted. The 35-year-old Foster takes over a Pump Jacks squad that saw all three of its coaches nab Division I coaching jobs last year. Former head coach Mark Kertenian is now an assistant at the University of Nevada, while Nate Leaser, who took over for Kertenian in mid-season last summer, took a position at Saint Mary’s College in California. Pitching coach Nic Mishler returned to his home state of Indiana when he landed a spot on the staff at Valparaiso University. Foster is hard at work assembling his roster for an organization that is just one year removed from a league title and two nationally-ranked seasons. The Pump Jacks expect to begin announcing players as early as next week. Foster will open his first season with the Pump Jacks on May 29 when he and the Jacks travel to Dallas to take on the Texas Marshals. He’ll make his Historic Driller Park debut on Tuesday, June 3, when East Texas kicks off its home schedule against the Woodlands Strykers. Click here for the complete 2014 Pump Jacks schedule. Season tickets for 2014 are on sale now! Lower Box seats are just $199 and include in-your-seat wait service, and Upper Box seats are $150 each. General admission grandstand season tickets are $105 for adults and $85 for children and seniors. Season tickets offer a discount of at least 25% off the price of tickets at the gate, and all season ticket holders enjoy the benefit of a Pump Jacks Concierge. For more information on Pump Jacks season tickets, click here. To follow all the news as the Jacks prepare for the 2014 season, visit the Pump Jacks official web site at www.pumpjacksbaseball.com. Join the conversation with other members of Pump Jacks Nation by visiting the Pump Jacks on Facebook and Twitter.