After a distinguished Major League playing career, Keith Foulke's managing career is off to a rocky start.
Foulke managed the Boston Hunters in the upstart Women's Professional Baseball League for just three games before being dismissed by league officials over the weekend. The Hunters replaced him with former MLB infielder Jemile Weeks.
According to Foulke, he was fired due to a scheduling conflict. His contract granted him permission to travel home occasionally to spend time with his family in Arizona, but this arrangement ultimately did not work for WPBL leadership.
“It’s just disappointing,” Foulke told The State Journal-Register. “At the end of the day, I walk with my head held high. I didn’t do anything wrong. I didn’t say anything derogatory. I didn’t say anything mean to my players, ever. I was always really positive. I think the ownership just kind of had a change of mind on the schedule that we’d agreed upon. I was the manager, but I wasn’t going to be able to be there full time, and ultimately, they didn’t think that was a good plan.”
It's a disappointing outcome for Foulke, who spent 11 seasons as an MLB pitcher from 1997 to 2008. He was an All-Star with the Oakland A's in 2003 and helped the Boston Red Sox end their 86-year World Series drought in 2004.