Frank Barnes (August 26, 1926 – October 19, 2014) was an American professional baseball

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

and occasional

pinch runner In baseball, a pinch runner is a player substituted for the specific purpose of replacing another player on base. The pinch runner may be faster or otherwise more skilled at base-running than the player for whom the pinch runner has been sub ...

who played three seasons for the St. Louis Cardinals of

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB). Barnes pitched another sixteen seasons starting with the

Indianapolis Clowns The Indianapolis Clowns were a professional baseball team in the Negro American League. Tracing their origins back to the 1930s, the Clowns were the last of the Negro league teams to disband, continuing to play exhibition games into the 1980s. The ...

of the

Negro leagues The Negro leagues were United States professional baseball leagues comprising teams of African Americans and, to a lesser extent, Latin Americans. The term may be used broadly to include professional black teams outside the leagues and it may be ...

at age 18 in 1947 and ending in the Mexican League in 1967.

Career

Born in Longwood, Mississippi, Barnes was acquired by the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...

from the

Kansas City Monarchs The Kansas City Monarchs were the longest-running franchise in the history of baseball's Negro leagues. Operating in Kansas City, Missouri, and owned by J. L. Wilkinson, they were charter members of the Negro National League from 1920 to 193 ...

in 1950. He was sold to the Yankees along with Elston Howard. Howard later became the first African-American member of the Yankees. Barnes' rights were sent by the Yankees to the

St. Louis Browns The St. Louis Browns were a Major League Baseball team that originated in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as the Milwaukee Brewers. A charter member of the American League (AL), the Brewers moved to St. Louis, Missouri, after the 1901 season, where they ...

during the 1951 season. Before the 1953 season, the Browns returned him to the

Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Div ...

after expiration of minor league working agreement. After the 1956 season he was traded by Toronto to the St. Louis Cardinals for Jim Pearce, cash and a player to be named later, which turned out to be

Rocky Nelson Glenn Richard "Rocky" Nelson (November 18, 1924 – October 31, 2006) was an American professional baseball first baseman who played in Major League Baseball for all or parts of nine seasons between and for the St. Louis Cardinals, Pittsburgh Pi ...

. He played in the Major Leagues for the Cardinals in 1957, 1958, and 1960. On May 19, 1960, the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and p ...

purchased Barnes from the St. Louis Cardinals. After the 1961 season, he was traded by the White Sox with Andy Carey to the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

for Bob Sadowski and Taylor Phillips. However, Carey refused to report to his new team before the 1962 season. Thus, to complete the trade the White Sox sent Cal McLish to Philadelphia and the Phillies sent a minor leaguer to Chicago. During the 1950s, he played in the Eastern League,

Texas League The Texas League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated in the South Central United States since 1902. It is classified as a Double-A league. Despite the league's name, only its five South Division teams are actually based in the ...

and

American Association American Association may refer to: Baseball * American Association (1882–1891), a major league active from 1882 to 1891 * American Association (1902–1997), a minor league active from 1902 to 1962 and 1969 to 1997 * American Association of Profe ...

in Minor League Baseball. After his Major League Baseball career Barnes played in the Mexican Summer League,

Liga Mexicana de Beisbol The Mexican League (, ) is a professional baseball league based in Mexico and the oldest running professional league in the country. The league has 18 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games each season. Five te ...

. In 1965, where he led the circuit in both winning percentage 13–5, .722 and in

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

at 1.58. Additionally, Barnes played winter ball for the

Licoreros de Pampero The Licoreros de Pampero was a baseball club who played from 1955 through 1962 in the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League. The team joined the league as a replacement for the Patriotas de Venezuela and played its home games at the Estadio Univ ...

club of the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League during the 1955–1956 season. He also played in the Dominican Republic's league with Tigres del Licey and Estrellas Orientales in from 1953 to 1959.

Statistics

In 1957, Barnes led the

with a 2.41 ERA for the Omaha Cardinals before being called up to St. Louis in September. He also led the league with six

shutout In team sports, a shutout ( US) or clean sheet ( UK) is a game in which one team prevents the other from scoring any points. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball. Shutouts are usuall ...

s and pitched a record-setting consecutive scoreless innings. On August 4, 1958, he pitched the first

no-hitter In baseball, a no-hitter is a game in which a team was not able to record a hit. Major League Baseball (MLB) officially defines a no-hitter as a completed game in which a team that batted in at least nine innings recorded no hits. A pitcher wh ...

in Omaha Cardinal American Association history. It was not the first no-hitter for Barnes who had pitched one for the Oklahoma City of the

in 1955. Barnes posted a 1–3 record with one save over the course of three seasons with the Cardinals. He accumulated 30

strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is deno ...

s in

innings pitched In baseball, innings pitched (IP) are the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of batters and baserunners that are put out while the pitcher is on the pitching mound in a game. Three outs made is equal to one innin ...

. During his career, Barnes scored three runs despite only having one

hit Hit means to strike someone or something. Hit or HIT may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Hit, a fictional character from ''Dragon Ball Super'' * Homicide International Trust, or HIT, a fictional organization in ...

in ten career

at bat In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens during their turn at bat, but a batt ...

s and having no

walk Walking (also known as ambulation) is one of the main gaits of terrestrial locomotion among legged animals. Walking is typically slower than running and other gaits. Walking is defined by an 'inverted pendulum' gait in which the body vaults ov ...

s, no

hit by pitch In baseball, hit by pitch (HBP) is an event in which a batter or his clothing or equipment (other than his bat) is struck directly by a pitch from the pitcher; the batter is called a hit batsman (HB). A hit batsman is awarded first base, provided ...

es and one

caught stealing In baseball, a runner is charged, and the fielders involved are credited, with a time caught stealing when the runner attempts to advance or lead off from one base to another without the ball being batted and then is tagged out by a fielder whil ...

. Also, over the course of his career he had a 2.84 ERA in games on the

road A road is a linear way for the conveyance of traffic that mostly has an improved surface for use by vehicles (motorized and non-motorized) and pedestrians. Unlike streets, the main function of roads is transportation. There are many types of ...

, but only a 9.17 ERA at

home A home, or domicile, is a space used as a permanent or semi-permanent residence for one or many humans, and sometimes various companion animals. It is a fully or semi sheltered space and can have both interior and exterior aspects to it. H ...

in Sportsman's Park. Barnes appeared as a pinch runner several times in 1957 and 1958.

References

External links

, o
Baseball Almanac
o
Venezuelan Winter League
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barnes, Frank 1926 births 2014 deaths African-American baseball players American expatriate baseball players in Canada American expatriate baseball players in Mexico Baseball players from Mississippi Broncos de Reynosa players Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Charleston Senators players Indianapolis Clowns players Kansas City Monarchs players Licoreros de Pampero players Major League Baseball pitchers Mexican League baseball pitchers Minneapolis Millers (baseball) players Muskegon Clippers players Muskegon Reds players Oklahoma City Indians players Omaha Cardinals players People from Washington County, Mississippi Portland Beavers players Rochester Red Wings players San Diego Padres (minor league) players San Francisco Seals (baseball) players Scranton Miners players Seattle Angels players St. Louis Cardinals players Toronto Maple Leafs (International League) players 20th-century African-American sportspeople 21st-century African-American sportspeople

Career

Statistics

See also

References

External links