Joe Foy attended Evander Child's high school on Gun Hill Road and Barnes Ave. in the Bronx during the early sixties. He was a standout baseball player originally signed by the Minnesota Twins but was then drafted away by the Boston Red Sox. In 1965 he won the International League batting title, hitting .302 with 14 HRs and 73 RBIs at AAA Toronto. In his rookie year of 1966 he got the job as the Red Sox everyday third baseman replacing the departed Frank Malzone.Foy debuted in the second Sox game of the year at Fenway Park going 0-3 against the Baltimore Orioles. In just his third career game he was back home in the Bronx where he had grown up playing against the AL New York team. He got his first career hit that day, an RBI double off Bob Friend, as the Red Sox went on to an 8-5 win.
Foy had a fine Rookie year, coming in second in the league in walks (91) fourth in triples (8) fifth in runs scored (97) and eighth in on base percentage (.364). He hit .262 with 15 HRs, 23 doubles, 63 RBIs and was rated the league's fifth-best third baseman. He was a member of the Red Sox 1967 "Impossible Dream" Pennant season.
On a road trip to New York that summer, he learned of a fire at his family's house while on his way to the ballpark located less than a mile away. In that series he was involved in a bench-clearing brawl when he was hit in the helmet with a pitch by Thad Tillotson. Foy just went to first base after he was beaned, but later when Sox pitcher Jim Lonborg retaliated against Tillotson when he came to bat, the two pitchers had words. Foy stepped in and said, "why don't you just fight me since it all started with me?" The benches cleared and a full-scale brawl ensued.
In the 1967 World Series Foy hit only .133. In 1968 he was selected by the expansion Kansas City Royals and on Kansas City's Opening Day, was the team's first cleanup hitter.
His stay in K.C. was short though, when on December 3rd, 1969 the New York Mets sent a young Amos Otis and Bob Johnson to the Royals for Joe Foy. Foy was in the 1970 Mets Opening Day lineup, batting in the third position, going hitless with a sac fly RBI. Foy did have a few shining moments in a Mets uniform; On May 3rd his 7th inning double off the Padres Pat Dobson in a game at San Diego broke a 2-2 tie and was the game's winning run.
In July he had a seven-game hit streak on a West Coast road trip. In that series he had a three-hit game in Los Angeles and a huge five-hit day in San Francisco. On July 19th in the second game of a Mets-Giants doubleheader, Foy had five hits, hitting two HRs and driving in five runs. His tenth-inning HR off Don McMahon proved to be the game-winner in the Mets 7-6 victory.
As the season went on Foy never fit in with Gil Hodges' ballclub. He was back in his hometown of New York City playing with the Mets, and hooked up with the wrong crowd from his old neighborhood. He got mixed up in drugs and developed an addiction problem.
During a summer doubleheader, he noticeably appeared to be under the influence as he stood in front of manager Gil Hodges and began cheering a pitch loudly while awkwardly laughing. Hodges chose to start him in the nightcap to prove a point to his team. A hard grounder was hit to Foy at third and he never saw it. Reportedly even after the ball passed him he kept shouting "hit it to me." Pitcher Jerry Koosman and his teammates were furious, but Hodges made his point; "this guy doesn't belong here!"
1970 was his only season with the Mets; he was picked up by the Washington Senators in 1971 (Rule 5 draft) and was released in July.
Foy did give back to the community, appearing at Mets events, teaching children to play base ball and coached little league in the South Bronx as well. Sadly he had his demons and maybe wasn't given enough of a chance by M. Donald Grant and the organization. In 1989 Joe Foy died of a heart attack in the Bronx, New York at the age of 46.
The Mets tried Bob Aspromonte at third in 1971, Jim Fregosi in 1972 and neither one worked out either. Eventually Wayne Garrett got the job and in 1973 the Mets went to another World Series. Garrett remained at third for the good part of four seasons.
