Former Cubs Pitcher, Evanston Native, Kevin Foster Dies

By Marcus Gilmer in News on Oct 14, 2008 3:40PM

Kevin Foster, an Evanston native and former Chicago Cubs pitcher, passed away Monday at the age of 39 from renal cell carcinoma, an illness he had battled over the course of six months. Foster had been living and working in Oklahoma City at the time of his death. Foster was acquired from the Phillies in 1994 in a trade involving Shawn Boskie; during his early days with the Cubs, Foster lived with his family in Evanston. It was this modesty, said his brother Mark, that defined Kevin.

Kev was just a nice, humble kid. Just a regular guy. It was like a dream for him when he got to play for the Cubs. We used to come down on the L to watch games at Wrigley Field as kids, and now he's pitching there. But he never got starry-eyed. He'd just come home after playing in a game, just the same as he did when he played in high school. Everything was just normal to him.

Foster battled injuries in his last year with the Cubs and disappeared from the majors before making a brief return in 2001 with the Texas Rangers. Foster finished his career at 32-30 with a 4.86 ERA.

Image of autographed Kevin Foster card via Baseball Almanac