Frank Fernández (born April 16, 1943) is an American former

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 leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the ( home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the ca ...

Biography

Fernández signed as an amateur free agent with the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one 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) upon graduation from

Curtis High School Curtis High School, operated by the New York City Department of Education, is one of seven public high schools located in Staten Island, New York City, New York. It was founded on February 9, 1904, the first high school on Staten Island. Hist ...

in Staten Island in 1961. He spent six seasons in their minor league system before debuting with the Yankees as a September call-up in 1967. He went one for three in his major league debut against the California Angels in the second game of a doubleheader on September 12. Fernández backed up

Jake Gibbs Jerry Dean "Jake" Gibbs (born November 7, 1938) is a former Major League Baseball player who played for the New York Yankees as a platoon catcher from 1962 to 1971. Although Gibbs was the regular starting catcher for New York in 1967 and 1968, h ...

for 1968 and 1969. Upon former first round draft pick

Thurman Munson Thurman Lee Munson (June 7, 1947 – August 2, 1979) was an American professional baseball catcher who played 11 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the New York Yankees, from 1969 until his death in 1979. A seven-time All-Star, Mun ...

's arrival in the major leagues, the Yankees dealt Fernández to the Oakland Athletics with Al Downing for

Danny Cater Danny Anderson Cater (born February 25, 1940) is an American former professional baseball first baseman, third baseman, outfielder, and designated hitter. He signed with the Philadelphia Phillies at the age of 18, on June 8, 1958. Cater played i ...

and Ossie Chavarria prior to the start of the 1970 season. During the 1971 season, the A's traded Fernández to the Washington Senators with

Paul Lindblad Paul Aaron Lindblad (August 9, 1941 – January 1, 2006) was an American Major League Baseball left-handed middle-relief pitcher. During his career, he pitched primarily for the Kansas City / Oakland Athletics. At the time of his retirement in 1 ...

and

Don Mincher Donald Ray Mincher (June 24, 1938 – March 4, 2012) was an American Major League Baseball first baseman and longtime minor league executive. He played in the majors from 1960–1972 for the "original" Washington Senators and Minnesota Twins, Cal ...

for

Mike Epstein Michael Peter Epstein (born April 4, 1943), nicknamed "Superjew", is an American former professional baseball player for the Baltimore Orioles, Washington Senators / Texas Rangers, Oakland Athletics, and California Angels of Major League Bas ...

and

Darold Knowles Darold Duane Knowles (born December 9, 1941) is an American former professional baseball pitcher and coach, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from through , most notably as a member of the Oakland Athletics dynasty that won three consecu ...

. A little over a month later, he was purchased back by the A's, only to be dealt away again during the 1971 season—this time to the Chicago Cubs for Adrian Garrett. Fernández made three pinch hitting appearances with the Cubs in 1972, but spent most of his time with their triple A affiliate, the

Wichita Aeros The Wichita Aeros were an American minor league baseball franchise based in Wichita, Kansas, that played in the Triple-A American Association from 1970 through 1984. The Aeros were established as an expansion franchise when the Association gre ...

before being reacquired by the Yankees in a minor league deal. He also spent time in Oakland's and the Detroit Tigers' farm system before retiring. Fernández holds the record for the most home runs (39) for a player with a

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

less than .200, as well as having the most career walks than hits by a non-pitcher with over 100 at-bats, with 164 walks and 145 hits. Fernández was inducted into the

Staten Island Sports Hall of Fame The Staten Island Sports Hall of Fame mission is "to recognize those individuals who have made extraordinary contributions to Staten Island sports history, and by virtue of their accomplishments, service, or force of character, have enriched tha ...

in 2000.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fernandez, Frank 1943 births Living people Águilas del Zulia players Chicago Cubs players Columbus Confederate Yankees players Curtis High School alumni Florida Instructional League Yankees players Fort Lauderdale Yankees players Greensboro Yankees players Idaho Falls Yankees players Iowa Oaks players Major League Baseball catchers New York Yankees players Oakland Athletics players Sportspeople from Staten Island Baseball players from New York City Syracuse Chiefs players Tiburones de La Guaira players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Tigres de Aragua players Toledo Mud Hens players Tucson Toros players Washington Senators (1961–1971) players Wichita Aeros players