Tech hires former MLB coach Steve Foster as pitching coach

LUBBOCK, Texas – Texas Tech head coach Tim Tadlock has hired former Colorado Rockies pitching coach and director of pitching Steve Foster to be the Red Raiders pitching coach.

"Our staff is excited about the addition of Steve and his family to our program," Tadlock said. "His resume speaks for itself. His passion for mentoring young men and teaching pitching will be a great asset to our program. Fosty has earned the right to be in the category of one of the best in the business at any level by his commitment to be a lifelong learner."

A native of Dallas, Foster has spent nearly two decades working in pro baseball including a seven-year run as the Colorado Rockies pitching coach from 2015-2021 before transitioning to the organizations director of pitching following the conclusion of the 2021 season.

Foster brings extensive experience in modern day pitch technology and analytics. His knowledge extends from his time as the director of pitching in Colorado, where he has worked in and developed the pitching lab for the Rockies.

Inheriting a Rockies staff that recorded the highest ERA in MLB in 2014, Foster helped the Rockies go from dead-last to 17th in total ERA in just three seasons.

Foster helped the Rockies make back-to-back postseason appearances in 2017 and 2018 as the Rockies won 178 games over that two-year span. That time also saw top-prospect Kyle Freeland finish fourth in the voting in the AL Cy Young race and the organization make the only back-to-back postseason appearances in franchise history.

Freeland's fourth place AL Cy Young finish came after the lefty finished seventh in AL Rookie of the Year voting a year prior, two spots behind teammate German Marquez who finished fifth in the same vote.

Freeland posted the two-highest WAR seasons of his career with Foster as his pitching coach including a career-best 7.8 WAR when he went 17-7 with an ERA of 2.85 in 2018.

Under the tutelage of Foster, Marquez tallied the best four seasons of his MLB career as after making a career-high 33 starts and tossing a career-best 197 innings in 2018, Marquez made his lone All-Star appearance of his career in 2021 tossing three complete games. The All-Star game appearance for Marquez was the first by a Rockies starter since 2010 and is the most-recent appearance by a Colorado pitcher in the Midsummer Classic.

The All-Star appearance by Marquez was one of two by a Rockies pitcher during Foster's tenure as Greg Holland also was named an All-Star in 2017 a year in-which the righty would nail down 41 saves and pitch to a 3.61 ERA.

In addition to the pitchers listed above, Foster also worked with former Texas Tech standout Chad Bettis who recorded the two best years of his career when Foster took over in 2015. After going 8-6 with a 4.23 ERA, Bettis nearly doubled his win total in 2016, going 14-8 in a career-high 32 total starts.

Coming to the Rockies after a six-year stint as the Kansas City Royals pitching coordinator and a special assistant to general manager Dayton Moore (2012-14) as well as the Royals bullpen coach (2010-12), Foster helped Moore and the Royals assemble a core that won the American League pennant in back-to-back seasons before taking home the 2015 World Series title.

Taking over a bullpen that was second-to-last in the MLB in ERA, Foster helped the unit go from a 5.02 ERA in 2009 to a 3.75 ERA in 2011.

Prior to his six seasons of service in the Royals organization, Foster served as the bullpen coach for the then Florida (Miami) Marlins helping the Marlins finish the 2009 season with the 14th-lowest ERA in baseball.

Born in Dallas, Foster went an impressive 44-4 for DeSoto High School, helping lead the Eagles to the second state title in school history. A two-time All-State selection, Foster played one season of baseball at Blinn College before transferring to UT Arlington where he was named the 1988 Southland Conference Pitcher of the Year.

A 12th Round selection by the Cincinnati Reds in the 1988 MLB Draft, Foster went 9-21 with a 2.90 ERA and 72 saves in four seasons before earning his call up to the Reds in August of 1991. Foster made 59 appearances and one start for the Reds amassing a record of 3-3 with an ERA of 2.41 before suffering a career-ending injury in 1993.

Foster began his post-playing career as a scout for the Tampa Bay Rays in 1996 and spent four seasons as a scout in the organization. After leaving the Rays in 2001, Foster served as the manager for the Wisconsin Woodchucks of the Northwoods League from 2001-03. Foster helped lead the Woodchucks to a pair of Northwoods League Championships in both 2001 and 2003.

In addition to his experience as bullpen coach in the Royals, Rockies and Marlins systems, Foster also served as the pitching coach of the Marlins Class A affiliate, the Greensboro Grasshoppers for two seasons (2005-06).

Foster and his wife Cori have one son Casey and a daughter Lauren.

FOSTER FILE:
Scout, Tampa Bay Rays (1996, 1999-01)
Assistant Coach, Wisconsin-Stevens Points (1997-98)
Manager, Wisconsin Woodchucks (2001-03)
Pitching Coach, Greensboro Grasshoppers (2005-06)
Bullpen Coach, Miami Marlins (2007-09)
Bullpen Coach, Kansas City Royals (2010-12)
Special Assistant to GM/Pitching Coordinator (2012-14)
Pitching Coach, Colorado Rockies (2015-21)
Director of Pitching, Colorado Rockies (2021-25)

WHAT THEY'RE SAYING, STEVE FOSTER:
"I've known Steve Foster since 1976, our first year of playing ball together. Texas Tech is getting a combination of old school and new school and he's going to bring a lot of old school principals and mix in the new school analytics. In talking with Steve recently, he talks about knowing how to pitch and not just what your velocity, spin rate or numbers are. It's about knowing how to pitch, executing a pitch, the purpose of a pitch and setting up hitters. A lot of those concepts have gone away, and Steve is going to bring a lot of that back to Texas Tech"
Mike Humphrys, Texas Tech Hall of Fame Class of 2005

"I'm known Steve Foster for a long time, and he's regarded as one of the most knowledgeable baseball people. He has a great caring spirit and brings people together. I first heard of him when he was the bullpen coach for the Marlins, and he had created such a togetherness in that bullpen. He was regarded as the best bullpen coach in the game, so when I found out he was interested in coming to Kansas City we jumped on the opportunity to bring him on board. He brought such a team-first attitude and an attitude of togetherness to the staff and the players. He meant a lot to our success. He's a terrific leader with a wealth of knowledge and has an ability to connect with people and players because he has a caring spirit. When you have a combination of knowledge and a high degree of care for the players and people, you have the opportunity to really impact. That's what "Fosty" has always done. Anywhere he's been he's been such a great contributor to the chemistry and culture because of who he is. He's got a servant's attitude, loves people and he's extremely knowledgeable. He was not only a Major League player, but he was an area scouting supervisor and he learned to evaluate. He's a terrific teacher, he's a motivational speaker and he's capable of doing a lot of things and has done a lot of things very successfully."
Dayton Moore, Texas Rangers Senior Advisor of Baseball Operations/Former President of Baseball Operations Kansas Royals

"I'm honored to be one of the first to welcome Foster to the Red Raiders family! He's had a huge impact on my life, both on and off the field. As a coach, he played a crucial role in laying the foundation of my pitching career, instilling the mechanics, mindset, and discipline that shaped the way I approached the game. But more than that, Foster stood by my family during one of the most difficult chapters of our lives, offering unwavering prayer, strength, and support as we faced the battle of chemotherapy together. His integrity, leadership, and deep knowledge of the game bring a powerful and fresh perspective to this program. I'm excited to watch the impact he'll have, not just on the pitching staff, but on the entire Texas Tech baseball community."
Chad Bettis Former RHP Colorado Rockies (2010-19), former RHP Texas Tech (2008-10)

"Coach Foster was a part of our pitching development department when I got drafted to the Rockies back in 2022 and I know him very well. He's been one of if not the most influential people in my pitching career and how I approach the game mentally. He's a great man and he did a great job of influencing not only guys we had drafted when I got to the Rockies but young pitchers who were trying to make it to the big-league level. He's a guy that will turn our program in the right direction. He does a good job of teaching how to do things the right way and has a lot of wisdom and will impart that wisdom onto the guys. He's definitely one of the most influential people in pitching career. He's taught me how to go about my business every day and how to mentally approach the game when things get tough. He's taught me so much about how to prepare and go about my business. Mechanically he's worked on specific things with me and he's able to have those conversations being a former pitcher himself. It was less about telling guys what to do and more about seeing how things feel or what guys were thinking about when they threw specific pitches. I'm extremely happy that Texas Tech and Coach Tadlock have hired him and I cannot wait to see what he does at Tech."
Austin Becker, Colorado Rockies RHP/Former Texas Tech Baseball RHP (2020-22)

"Fosty is an incredible coach, a wonderful person and cares about players. He's incredibly loyal and is an unbelievable competitor that gets the most out of players. He's had so much experience and done so many different things in the game, whether it's scouting, coaching college or player development. He's coached in the big leagues and been a pitching coach and a bullpen coach in the big leagues. He's also run the minor league pitching department as well. He's got a wide array of experiences, and his expertise is player development. Steve is really bright and is definitely up with the modern game. He has some old school in him but he's also up with the times and has what it takes to be a modern pitching coach."
Brandon Hyde, Former manager Miami Marlins, Baltimore Orioles

Tech hires former MLB coach Steve Foster as pitching coach

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