Foster turned in one of the all-time great seasons in on his way to winning the National League's Most Valuable Player Award. On July 14, Foster clubbed three home runs against the Atlanta Braves. A home run the following day off the Houston Astros' Gene Pentz brought his season mark to 29 heading into the All-Star break. He started his second consecutive All-Star game, and led the NL charge with a first inning double to drive in Dave Parker with the first run of the game. On September 23, in the ninth inning of the Reds' 5–1 victory over the Atlanta Braves, Foster hit his fiftieth home run of the season off Buzz Capra, making him the first player since Willie Mays in to hit fifty in a season. The 50 home run mark would not be reached again until Cecil Fielder hit 51 home runs in 1990. Foster was just the 10th player in major league history to reach the mark, and the first ever Cincinnati Reds player. His 149 RBIs also led the majors. He finished fourth in the NL in batting, missing the Triple Crown by .018 behind Dave Parker. He also led the NL in slugging percentage (.631), runs scored (124) and total bases (388).