We've had some discussions in the last couple of weeks about Evanston native and former Cubs pitcher Kevin Foster, who died of cancer October 11.
Since there's no game and no other baseball activity today, I thought I'd post a little more information that I've found about him.
This article from the Evanston Review quotes some people who knew him, and also includes this photo:
with the caption: Kevin Foster unleashes a pitch for the Chicago Cubs in the 1990s. However, if you look more clearly at the photo, he is wearing an Iowa Cubs cap, which means the photo was taken in 1994, 1996 or 1998, the only three years he pitched at Des Moines. You can see his batting statistics in the minor leagues here; he was originally drafted as an infielder and played IF for three years before converting to pitching.
I also wanted to post these comments that I received from Bruce Romain, a friend who is the associate principal at ETHS and who has been very involved with the sports teams there for many years; he knew Kevin and his sister quite well:
Kevin Foster was an outstanding young man at Evanston Township High School as well as an excellent baseball player. He was a leader on and off the field. He led by example and was well liked and respected by his peers and teachers.
He was a tremendous third baseman and hit for a high average with very good power, especially considering he was not a big guy. His exceptional talents came from within, based around hard work, dedication, and a lot of heart.
We lost one of the good ones when Kevin Foster died.