Frank Richard Papish (October 21, 1917 – August 30, 1965) was an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

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 ...

who appeared in 149

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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), ...

, 64 as a

starting pitcher In baseball (hardball or softball), a starting pitcher or starter is the first pitcher in the game for each team. A pitcher is credited with a game started if they throw the first pitch to the opponent's first batter of a game. Starting pit ...

, over six seasons as a member of 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 ...

(1945–48),

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 F ...

(1949) and

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

(1950). The native and lifelong resident of

Pueblo, Colorado Pueblo () is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Home rule municipality, home rule municipality that is the county seat and the List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous municipality of Pueblo County, Colorado, Pueblo County, Colorado ...

,"Frank Richard 'Pap' Paish," Greater Pueblo Sports Hall of Fame
/ref> threw left-handed and was listed as tall and . Papish entered pro baseball in 1936 after his graduated from Pueblo Central High School and toiled in the

minor leagues Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nor ...

for nine seasons until the White Sox gave him an opportunity in 1945, the final season of the

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

manpower shortage. As a 27-year-old

MLB 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), ...

rookie A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year). In contrast with a veteran who has experience and expertise, a rookie is usually inexperienced ...

, Papish pitched effectively in 19 games, 14 of them in

relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that the ...

, and tossed two

complete game In baseball, a complete game (CG) is the act of a pitcher pitching an entire game without the benefit of a relief pitcher. A pitcher who meets this criterion will be credited with a complete game regardless of the number of innings played—pitche ...

s among his five starts. In , with many players returning to the majors after their war service, Papish held onto his job with Chicago, with a 7–5

won–lost record In sports, a winning percentage is the fraction of games or matches a team or individual has won. The statistic is commonly used in standings or rankings to compare teams or individuals. It is defined as wins divided by the total number of match ...

and a nifty 2.74

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 ...

in 31 games; among his 15 starts, he threw six complete games and two

shutouts 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 ...

. Then, in , he won a career-best 12 games, with an ERA of 3.26. His performance fell of in 1948, however; pitching for a White Sox team that lost 101 games and finished in last place, Papish won only two of ten decisions, and his ERA climbed to 5.00 in 95

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 ...

. He was traded to the defending World Series champion Cleveland Indians in December. Papish spent only one campaign with the pitching-rich Indians, and his 1949 workload declined to 62 innings pitched, his lowest total yet in MLB, in 25 appearances. He made only three starts, but registered his 18th and final MLB complete game with an 8–1 thrashing of the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

on July 5 at

Briggs Stadium Tiger Stadium, previously known as Navin Field and Briggs Stadium, was a multi-purpose stadium located in the Corktown, Detroit, Corktown neighborhood of Detroit. The stadium was nicknamed "The Corner" for its location at the intersection of U. ...

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br>box score (5 July 1949): "Cleveland Indians 8, Detroit Tigers 1"
/ref> That off-season, Cleveland sold his contract to the Pittsburgh Pirates' organization, where, in 1950, Papish spent most of the year with Triple-A

Indianapolis Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...

and was treated rudely in four June appearances that concluded his big-league career. All told, he posted a 26–29 career won–lost mark, three shutouts and nine saves, with a 3.58 earned run average. In his 149 career games and 581 innings pitched, Papish allowed 541

hits Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * ''H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block * ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998 * ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014 - a British compilation album se ...

and 319

bases on balls A base on balls (BB), also known as a walk, occurs in baseball when a batter receives four pitches that the umpire calls '' balls'', and is in turn awarded first base without the possibility of being called out. The base on balls is defined in Se ...

striking out ''Striking Out'' is an Irish television legal drama series, broadcast on RTÉ, that first aired on 1 January 2017. Produced by Bl!nder F!lms for RTÉ Television, ''Striking Out'' stars Amy Huberman as Dublin-based solicitor Tara Rafferty, who is ...

255. After his professional career ended in 1953 in its 18th season, Papish was active in youth baseball in his home city, worked for a trucking firm, and was a

deputy sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transla ...

. He died in Pueblo in 1965, aged 47.

References

External links

1917 births 1965 deaths Anniston Rams players Baseball players from Colorado Birmingham Barons players Chattanooga Lookouts players Chicago White Sox players Cleveland Indians players Dallas Steers players Indianapolis Indians players Little Rock Travelers players Major League Baseball pitchers Memphis Chickasaws players Minneapolis Millers (baseball) players Pittsburgh Pirates players Rock Island Islanders players Sportspeople from Pueblo, Colorado {{US-baseball-pitcher-1910s-stub