Even before entering professional baseball, Folkers was a highly touted athlete. He attended both Ellsworth Community College and Parsons College, and was originally drafted by the San Francisco Giants in the fourth round of the draft. Deciding not to sign, he was drafted by the Chicago White Sox and New York Mets in at different times. The White Sox chose him in the third round, while the Mets took him in the first. The 20th pick overall of the secondary phase draft of 1967, Folkers decided to sign with the Mets.
The minors
Folkers saw a large amount of success in the minors. From 1967 to 1970, for example, his earned run average in a minor league season never rose above 3.19. In, he had perhaps the best season of his entire professional career: Although his record wasn't too outstanding, he posted an ERA of 2.41 in 27 games, striking out 142 and walking only 48 in 168 innings. He missed the 1969 season while serving in the U.S. Military.
First glimpse of the majors
Folkers got his first glimpse of the majors in 1970. On June 10, at the age of 23, Folkers pitched two solid innings in relief, giving up only one hit and allowing no runs. The success he witnessed in that game did not carry over to the rest of the games he pitched in that year. In 16 games that year in the majors, his ERA was 6.44. He also walked 25 batters and only struck out 15 in 29.1 innings of work.
Back to the minors
He spent all of 1971 and most of 1972 in the minors. After having a lackluster 1971 season, the Mets traded away their former first round draft pick along with Jim Bibby, Charlie Hudson and Art Shamsky to the Cardinals for Jim Beauchamp, Chuck Taylor, Harry Parker and Chip Coulter on October 18, 1971. He did better overall in 1972 in the minors, posting a 3.10 ERA. He was recalled to the Majors that year, pitching nine games in relief for the Cardinals. This stint in the Majors was much more successful: not only did he collect his first big league win on September 30 against Ron Santo, Rick Monday and the rest of the Chicago Cubs, he also posted a respectable 3.38 ERA.
Back to stay in the majors
Folkers was used both as a starter and reliever in 1973, posting a solid 3.61 ERA in 34 games. If 1968 was his best professional season, then was his second-best professional season. He posted a 6–2 record in 55 relief appearances, which were third most on the team. He also posted a 3.00 ERA, which was 0.59 points better than the league average. Oddly, his 1974 season was his last in a Cardinals uniform. On November 18, 1974, he was part of a three-team deal involving the Cardinals, Padres and Detroit Tigers. The Cardinals sent Folkers, Alan Foster and Sonny Siebert to the Padres, who sent a player to be named later to the Cardinals and Nate Colbert to the Tigers. The Tigers sent Bob Strampe and Dick Sharon to the Padres, and Ed Brinkman to the Cardinals. The player to be named later that was to be sent to the Cardinals ended up being Danny Breeden. His tenure with the Padres was not nearly as successful as was his tenure with the Cardinals. His first year with the San Diego team, 1975, ended with him posting a 6–11 record and a 4.18 ERA for a team that went 71–91 overall. He started 15 games that year, six more than his previous highest total. He showed respectable control that year, walking only 39 in 142 innings of work. However, he was also 10th in the league in wild pitches, with nine thrown. His final season with the Padres was 1976. The 29-year-old posted a 5.28 ERA that season in 59 innings of work. He was selected off waivers by the Brewers on March 23, 1977. Overall, he threw just over six innings for the Brewers that year, posting a 4.26 ERA. In March 1978, the Brewers traded him with Jim Slaton to the Tigers for Ben Oglivie. The Brewers definitely got the better end of that deal—Folkers never appeared in a big league game with the Tigers, while Slaton only pitched one season with them before being reclaimed by the Brewers when he entered free agency after the 1978 season. Oglivie, on the other hand, went on to have the best years of his 16-season career while with the Brewers, hitting as many as 41 home runs in a season. Rich Folkers played in his final big league game on June 8, 1977.
Career statistics
Overall in the majors, Folkers went 19–23 with a 4.11 ERA in 195 games. He gave up 416 hits in 423 innings of work, along with 170 walks, 40 home runs, 207 runs and 193 earned runs. Of the 28 games he started, he completed five of them. He had seven career saves. He was a poor hitter, batting only.143 in 77 career at bats. Of the 11 hits he collected, only one was for an extra base hit—it was a double off Bob Forsch and his former team the Cardinals on August 8, 1975. He drove in six runs in his career, scored three and walked four times. He struck out 28 times. As a fielder, he committed five errors in his career for a.941 fielding percentage. Statistically speaking, Folkers is most related to Danny Coombs.
Other information
The numbers Folkers wore in his career were 38, 28, 26 and 45.
The batter Folkers faced the most in his career was Al Oliver. Oliver hit.214 in 28 at-bats against Folkers.
He is probably best remembered for a line by the Padres' malaprop-prone broadcaster Jerry Coleman: "Rich Folkers is throwing up in the bullpen."
He lives in St. Petersburg, Florida.
Served as Pitching Coach at Eckerd College between 1988 and 1992 and later in the St. Louis Cardinals farm system.
