George Foster and the 1977 Reds : The Rise of a Slugger and the End of an Era

The Cincinnati Reds are recognized as one of the great teams in baseball history. Left fielder George Foster, an integral part of the Reds' back-to-back 1975 and 1976 World Championships, has never received proper credit for his contribution to their legacy. In 1977, Foster became the most feared slugger in the National League, batting .320, with 52 home runs and 149 runs batted in to win the NL MVP Award, establishing a new single-season home run record for the Reds' franchise that still stands. Yet Foster's big year was not enough to stem the emergence of the Los Angeles Dodgers, who roared out of the gate and ran away with the NL West Division pennant. This book tells the story of Foster's record-setting season and puts his pre-steroid era achievements in their proper perspective. The author chronicles the subsequent decline of the Big Red Machine and the rest of Foster's big league career.