Just three games after joining the upstart Women’s Professional Baseball League, former Boston Red Sox pitcher Keith Foulke is out as manager of the Boston Hunters.
The Hunters announced Foulke’s departure from the team Sunday, thanking him for his contributions while naming former MLB infielder Jemile Weeks as their new manager.
Weeks played in the big leagues from 2011 to 2016, a run that included stops with the Athletics, Baltimore Orioles, Red Sox and San Diego Padres. He was most recently an assistant coach for the WPBL’s Los Angeles Queens.
Foulke was on the mound when the Red Sox closed out the St. Louis Cardinals in Game 4 of the 2004 World Series, breaking an 86-year title drought known as the “Curse of the Bambino.” In addition to his three seasons in Boston, the 11-year MLB veteran also played for the San Francisco Giants, Chicago White Sox and the Athletics. Foulke did not return The Athletic’s request for comment on Wednesday.
In an interview with The State Journal-Register, Foulke said league ownership notified him of his firing half an hour before the Hunters’ Saturday game against the New York Heights. Foulke said the group included WPBL CEO Keith Stein and commissioner Justine Siegal, and that his dismissal stemmed from a scheduling conflict.
According to Foulke, his contract included permission for him to travel home occasionally to spend time with his wife and children in Arizona. He told the Journal-Register that Stein signed off on the contract, but that Siegal seemed unaware of the arrangement.
“It’s just disappointing,” Foulke said to the 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.”
The Hunters are 1-3 in the WPBL’s debut season. They dropped their first two games to the San Francisco Firebells and Los Angeles Queens, respectively. Boston notched its first win Saturday against the Heights in Foulke’s final game as manager, then lost a day later to the Heights in Weeks’ managerial debut.
“We appreciate Keith’s time and commitment to the Boston Hunters and wish him and his family all the best in the future,” said Siegal in the league’s statement announcing Foulke’s firing. “We have a talented group of players, and our focus is on building a strong, unified team and competing at a high level every day. We believe Jemile is the right person to lead this team, and we are excited about what lies ahead.”
The WPBL said it would not comment any further on the managerial change.
Boston will face the Heights again on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. ET. All 30 of the league’s regular-season games are being played at Robin Roberts Stadium in Springfield, Ill.
