Frank Tanana
| Frank Tanana | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Tanana warms up at Arlington Stadium, 1992
|
|||
| Pitcher | |||
|
Born: July 3, 1953 Detroit, Michigan |
|||
|
|||
| MLB debut | |||
| September 9, 1973, for the California Angels | |||
| Last MLB appearance | |||
| October 1, 1993, for the New York Yankees | |||
| MLB statistics | |||
| Win–loss record | 240–236 | ||
| Earned run average | 3.66 | ||
| Strikeouts | 2,773 | ||
| Teams | |||
| Career highlights and awards | |||
|
|||
Frank Daryl Tanana (born July 3, 1953) is a former Major League Baseball left-handed pitcher. He was the California Angels' first-round draft pick in 1971. From 1973 to 1993, he pitched for six teams: the Angels, Boston Red Sox, Texas Rangers, Detroit Tigers, New York Mets, and New York Yankees.
In his prime, Tanana was known for a 100+ MPH fastball, which he abruptly lost when he injured his arm. However, he was able to develop an assortment of off-speed pitches (including an excellent curveball) and continue his career. Throughout his career, he accumulated 34 shutouts, 4000 innings pitched, and nearly 3000 strikeouts.
Tanana attended Detroit Catholic Central High School and California State University, Fullerton before embarking on his baseball career. Tanana's father, also named Frank, had played professional baseball in the 1950s and was on the 1955 Eastern League championship team, the Reading Indians, before he left baseball and joined the Detroit Police Department.
Along with Nolan Ryan, Tanana anchored the pitching staff of the California Angels from 1973 to 1979. This led to the saying, "Tanana and Ryan and two days of cryin'", an indication of just how much the two meant to the rotation. On June 21, 1975, Tanana struck out 17 batters in one game. The Angels' offense did not always measure up to its top twosome; in 1976, Tanana and New York's Catfish Hunter each pitched 13 scoreless innings in a game where both men received a no-decision. Tanana had had another 13-inning shutout no-decision in 1975 against the White Sox, and is the only pitcher with two such outings.
Tanana appeared in three consecutive All-Star Games from 1976 to 1978, and led the league in strikeouts in 1975 as well as in ERA and shutouts in 1977. Tanana missed two months of the 1979 season with a shoulder injury, but was able to pitch in September and during the post-season. On January 23, 1981, the Angels traded him to the Boston Red Sox along with Jim Dorsey and Joe Rudi for Steve Renko and Fred Lynn (whom the Red Sox worried they would lose to free agency due to paperwork errors).
...
Wikipedia