Franklin Ray Funk (born August 30, 1935) is an American former

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), ...

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 ...

. He played from 1960–63 for the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive Fi ...

and Milwaukee Braves. During a 4-year baseball career, he compiled 20 wins, 150 strikeouts, and a 3.01 ERA. Born in Washington, D.C., he was signed by the New York Giants as an amateur free agent in 1954. Funk was acquired by Cleveland's AAA International League Toronto Maple Leafs team prior to the 1959 season. He made the most of his debut after a late season call-up from the Maple Leafs in September 1960, finishing with a 4–2 record, a 1.99

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 ...

, and 1 save in just nine games for Cleveland. His best season was 1961, when he posted a won-loss record of 11–11 and led Cleveland with 11 saves and an ERA of 3.31, appearing in 56 games. Two of his victories, both recorded in May, involved pitching over seven innings per game in relief during 15-inning games against the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. As one of the American League's eight charter ...

and Minnesota Twins. After a 2–1 season with a 3.24 ERA and six saves in 1962 over 47 games, he was traded to the Milwaukee Braves along with outfielders Don Dillard and Ty Cline for first baseman

Joe Adcock Joseph Wilbur Adcock (October 30, 1927 – May 3, 1999) was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played in Major League Baseball as a first baseman from 1950 to 1966, most prominently as a member of the Milwaukee Braves teams ...

and pitcher Jack Curtis. He pitched one season for the Braves, posting a record of 3–3 over 25 games, with an ERA of 2.68 in 1963. He served as a minor league manager and pitching coach, and also coached in the Major Leagues with the

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Y ...

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The team joined the American League as an expansion team ...

, Kansas City Royals and Colorado Rockies.

References

External links

RetrosheetVenezuelan Professional Baseball League
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