Tim Foli

Shortstop · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1970-1985)

Tim Foli was a shortstop who played in Major League Baseball from 1970 to 1985 for 6 teams, including the New York Mets, a span of 16 seasons. In 1,696 career games, he hit .251 with 1,515 hits, 25 home runs, and 501 RBI.

AVG (Batting Average):
Hits divided by at bats. .300 is the traditional mark of an excellent hitter.
HR (Home Runs):
Hits on which the batter circled the bases and scored, almost always by clearing the outfield fence.
RBI (Runs Batted In):
Runs that scored as a direct result of a batter's plate appearance.
OPS (On-Base Plus Slugging):
On-base percentage plus slugging percentage, the quickest single summary of offensive value. .900 or better is star-level.

Data updated

AVG .251
HR 25
RBI 501
H 1,515
OPS .593
PIV -14,915
Position
Shortstop
Bats / Throws
R / R
Height / Weight
6'0" / 179 lb
Born
12/6/1950 in Culver City, CA, USA
MLB Debut
1970-09-11
Last Game
1985-06-15

Full name: Timothy John Foli

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Career Batting Statistics

Tim Foli — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
1,696 6,047 576 1,515 241 20 25 501 81 265 399 .251 .283 .309 .593 -14,915

Career AVG .251 vs. league average .258 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career OBP .283 vs. league average .324 across their career seasons — 12.4% below league average.

Career SLG .309 vs. league average .380 across their career seasons — 18.7% below league average.

Career OPS .593 vs. league average .704 across their career seasons — 15.8% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Tim Foli Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year Team Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG Lg AVG Lg OBP Lg SLG Lg OPS PIV
1970 NYN NL 5 11 0 4 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 .364 — — — — 0.0
1971 NYN NL 97 288 32 65 12 2 0 24 5 18 50 .226 .249 (-9%) .316 (-14%) .365 (-23%) .682 (-19%) -852.8
1972 MON NL 149 540 45 130 12 2 2 35 11 25 43 .241 .243 (-1%) .310 (-10%) .353 (-20%) .664 (-16%) -1266.7
1973 MON NL 126 458 37 110 11 0 2 36 6 28 40 .240 .256 (-7%) .325 (-13%) .378 (-27%) .703 (-20%) -1436.9
1974 MON NL 121 441 41 112 10 3 0 39 8 28 27 .254 .256 (-1%) .324 (-7%) .369 (-21%) .693 (-15%) -1000.7
1975 MON NL 152 572 64 136 25 2 1 29 13 36 49 .238 .257 (-8%) .327 (-13%) .374 (-21%) .701 (-18%) -1606.9
1976 MON NL 149 546 41 144 36 1 6 54 6 16 33 .264 .255 (+3%) .320 (-12%) .360 (+1%) .681 (-5%) -639.3
1977 MON NL 13 57 2 10 5 1 0 3 0 0 4 .175 .264 (-34%) .329 (-48%) .401 (-26%) .730 (-36%) -362.2
1977 SFN NL 104 368 30 84 17 3 4 27 2 11 16 .228 .264 (-14%) .329 (-25%) .401 (-19%) .730 (-22%) -362.2
1978 NYN NL 113 413 37 106 21 1 1 27 2 14 30 .257 .257 (avg) .323 (-12%) .378 (-16%) .702 (-14%) -960.1
1979 NYN NL 3 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1979 PIT NL 133 525 70 153 23 1 1 65 6 28 14 .291 .265 (+10%) .329 (+1%) .397 (-13%) .727 (-7%) 0.0
1980 PIT NL 127 495 61 131 22 0 3 38 11 19 23 .265 .264 (avg) .326 (-9%) .387 (-16%) .714 (-13%) -1035.9
1981 PIT NL 86 316 32 78 12 2 0 20 7 17 10 .247 .255 (-3%) .320 (-11%) .368 (-19%) .688 (-15%) -772.6
1982 CAL AL 150 480 46 121 14 2 3 56 2 14 22 .252 .261 (-3%) .324 (-16%) .388 (-21%) .712 (-18%) -1462.6
1983 CAL AL 88 330 29 83 10 0 2 29 2 5 18 .252 .260 (-4%) .324 (-19%) .389 (-23%) .714 (-21%) -1130.0
1984 NYA AL 61 163 8 41 11 0 0 16 0 2 16 .252 .259 (-3%) .322 (-18%) .384 (-17%) .707 (-17%) -469.2
1985 PIT NL 19 37 1 7 0 0 0 2 0 4 2 .189 — — — — 0.0
Career · 18 seasons 1,696 6,047 576 1,515 241 20 25 501 81 265 399 .251 — — — — -13,358

Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.

Postseason Statistics

Playoff Career Batting

Tim Foli — Playoff Career Batting
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
15 58 7 16 2 1 0 7 2 3 .276

Playoff Batting by Year

Tim Foli — Playoff Batting by Year
Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1982 ALCS CAL 5 16 0 2 0 0 0 1 0 3 .125
1979 NLCS PIT 3 12 1 4 1 0 0 3 0 0 .333
1979 WS PIT 7 30 6 10 1 1 0 3 2 0 .333

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (1696 games) →

Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).

Batting — Home / Away

Tim Foli — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home854297129675712263.255
Away842307628075813238.246

Last 10 Games — Batting

Tim Foli — Last 10 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1985-06-15 PITPHIL 201000000
1985-06-09 PITCHCL 000000000
1985-06-06 PITCHCL 100000000
1985-06-05 PITCINL 100000000
1985-05-31 PITATLL 100000000
1985-05-29 PITHOUL 100000000
1985-05-28 PITHOUW 200000001
1985-05-26 PITATLL 101000100
1985-05-19 PITCINL 401000000
1985-05-18 PITCINL 000000010

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Tim Foli — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
1B 2 0 2 0 0 0
2B 92 63 170 196 11 52
3B 66 45 48 108 7 12
OF 3 0 6 0 0 0
SS 1524 1446 2687 4804 210 1028

Season-by-Season Fielding

Tim Foli — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1970 NYN 3B 2 1 3 3 0 1
1970 NYN SS 2 1 1 7 0 0
1971 NYN 2B 58 42 115 125 9 33
1971 NYN 3B 36 21 17 54 3 5
1971 NYN OF 1 0 6 0 0 0
1971 NYN SS 12 6 12 20 0 5
1972 MON 2B 1 0 0 0 0 0
1972 MON SS 148 147 281 487 27 94
1973 MON 2B 2 2 3 3 0 1
1973 MON OF 1 0 0 0 0 0
1973 MON SS 123 120 245 396 27 84
1974 MON 3B 1 0 0 0 0 0
1974 MON SS 120 118 220 412 19 85
1975 MON 2B 1 0 1 0 0 0
1975 MON SS 151 140 260 497 21 104
1976 MON 3B 1 1 2 1 0 0
1976 MON SS 146 139 247 469 18 102
1977 MON SS 13 13 33 42 0 6
1977 SFN 2B 1 0 0 1 0 0
1977 SFN 3B 1 0 0 0 0 0
1977 SFN OF 1 0 0 0 0 0
1977 SFN SS 102 96 184 302 13 72
1978 NYN SS 112 105 190 314 18 78
1979 NYN SS 3 1 4 6 0 1
1979 PIT SS 132 129 255 404 15 97
1980 PIT SS 125 122 212 402 12 87
1981 PIT SS 81 78 140 247 14 52
1982 CAL 2B 8 6 12 24 2 6
1982 CAL 3B 2 1 0 6 0 0
1982 CAL SS 139 129 235 432 10 87
1983 CAL 3B 13 13 16 24 3 3
1983 CAL SS 74 74 115 274 10 51
1984 NYA 1B 2 0 2 0 0 0
1984 NYA 2B 21 13 39 43 0 12
1984 NYA 3B 10 8 10 20 1 3
1984 NYA SS 28 20 37 59 5 17
1985 PIT SS 13 8 16 34 1 6

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Tim Foli Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position Games
First Base 2
Second Base 92
Third Base 65
Shortstop 1523
Left Field 1
Center Field 2
Designated Hitter 1

Most Similar Players

Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.

Career Spans

Tim Foli (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Everett Scott
    .249 avg, 20 HR
  2. 83
    Leo Durocher HOF
    .247 avg, 24 HR
  3. 82
    Pete Suder
    .249 avg, 49 HR
  4. 81
    Jack Burdock
    .250 avg, 18 HR
  5. 80
    Rafael Ramirez
    .261 avg, 53 HR
  6. 79
    Bucky Dent
    .247 avg, 40 HR

Tim Foli: the record in brief

According to the bio, Tim Foli debuted on September 11, 1970 and played a final game on June 15, 1985. Foli played for the New York Mets (1970 through 1979), the Montreal Expos (1972 to 1977), the San Francisco Giants (1977), the Pittsburgh Pirates (1979 through 1985), the California Angels (1982 through 1983), and the New York Yankees (1984). Foli, born on December 6, 1950, in Culver City, CA, USA, is listed as a shortstop and batted and threw right-handed. Foli's listed size is 6-foot-0 and 179 pounds. On the record, Tim Foli was born Timothy John Foli.

Foli's career batting table shows 1,696 games, 6,047 at bats and 1,515 hits, a .251 average; the totals also include 25 homers, 501 runs batted in, and 81 stolen bases. On-base and slugging figures of .283 and .309 give Foli a career OPS of .593. Against a .258 league average for those years, Foli's .251 average was near the norm. By OPS the gap is 15.8% below league average (.593 against .704). 1979 produced Foli's most hits, 153 of them for the Pittsburgh Pirates. The RBI column peaks at 65 in 1979.

Frequently Asked Questions about Tim Foli

What years did Tim Foli play?
Tim Foli played in Major League Baseball from 1970 to 1985.
Was Tim Foli a pitcher?
No. Tim Foli was a position player (Shortstop).
How many home runs did Tim Foli hit?
Tim Foli hit 25 career home runs with 1,515 hits.
What teams did Tim Foli play for?
Tim Foli played for 6 teams: the New York Mets (1970–1971, 1978–1979), the Montreal Expos (1972–1977), the San Francisco Giants (1977), the Pittsburgh Pirates (1979–1981, 1985), the California Angels (1982–1983), and the New York Yankees (1984).
What were Tim Foli's career stats?
In 1,696 games, Tim Foli had 1,515 hits, 25 home runs, 501 RBI, 576 runs, and 81 stolen bases, with a .251 batting average.
What position did Tim Foli play?
Tim Foli played primarily as a shortstop, the position where he appeared in the most games.
How tall was Tim Foli and how much did he weigh?
Tim Foli was listed at 6 feet and 179 pounds.
How many home runs did Tim Foli hit each season?
Tim Foli's home runs by season: 0 in 1970, 0 in 1971, 2 in 1972, 2 in 1973, 0 in 1974, 1 in 1975, 6 in 1976, 4 in 1977, 1 in 1978, 1 in 1979, 3 in 1980, 0 in 1981, 3 in 1982, 2 in 1983, 0 in 1984, and 0 in 1985. His most in one season was 6, in 1976.
What was Tim Foli's career batting average?
Tim Foli batted .251 over his career, with 1,515 hits in 6,047 at bats.
How many RBI did Tim Foli have?
Tim Foli drove in 501 runs in his career.
Is Tim Foli in the Hall of Fame?
No. Tim Foli has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.