Kenneth Douglas Frailing (January 19, 1948 – August 26, 2022) 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 leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

player Player may refer to: Role or adjective * Player (game), a participant in a game or sport ** Gamer, a player in video and tabletop games ** Athlete, a player in sports ** Player character, a character in a video game or role playing game who ...

, a left-handed

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 116 Major League games for 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 ...

(1972–1973) and Chicago Cubs (1974–1976). Drafted by the White Sox in the fifth round of the 1966 Major League Baseball draft after graduating from Marion High School, the , Frailing spent seven seasons in the ChiSox farm system before his recall in the closing weeks of the 1972 season. He appeared in four games as a

relief pitcher In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed because of fatigue, ineffectiveness, injury, or ejection, or for other strategic reasons, such as inclement weat ...

that year, then ten more in 1973 during a year largely spent with the Triple-A Iowa Oaks. However, his success 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 No ...

that season — he won 11 of 14 decisions with a stellar 2.86

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 was named to the official

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 ...

All-Star Team — attracted the attention of the crosstown Cubs who acquired Frailing along with Steve Stone and

Steve Swisher Steven Eugene Swisher (born August 9, 1951) is an American former professional baseball player and minor league manager. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher for the Chicago Cubs, St. Louis Cardinals, and San Diego Padres from 1974 to ...

from the White Sox for Ron Santo on December 11, 1973.

Jim Kremmel James Louis Kremmel (February 28, 1949 – October 12, 2012) was an American left-handed pitcher who spent two seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the Texas Rangers (1973) and Chicago Cubs ( 1974). Born in Belleville, Illinois, on ...

was also sent to the Cubs to complete the transaction one week later on December 18. Frailing made the 1974 Cubs' Major League roster and appeared in 55 games as a "swing" man, making 16 starts and compiling a 6–9 record and a 3.88 earned run average in innings pitched. On May 27, he registered his only MLB complete game, a 12–4 triumph over 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 ...

Wrigley Field Wrigley Field is a Major League Baseball (MLB) stadium on the North Side of Chicago, Illinois. It is the home of the Chicago Cubs, one of the city's two MLB franchises. It first opened in 1914 as Weeghman Park for Charles Weeghman's Chicago ...

, despite surrendering 15 hits. Notably, though, Frailing helped his own cause as a batter that day, with three hits in four

at bats 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 ...

and three

runs batted in A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the ba ...

. Frailing made 41 more appearances for the Cubs, all in relief, in 1975, but his ERA ballooned to 5.43. He began 1976 in promising fashion, with only one earned run allowed in his first innings pitched, but a lingering shoulder injury shut him down and effectively ended his career. He pitched in only 16 games in 1976 and 15 in 1977, all but six of them in the minor leagues, and retired as an active player after the 1978 season. During his MLB career, Frailing made 19 starts and 97 relief appearances. He allowed 252 hits and 82 bases on balls, with 136 strikeouts, in innings pitched. He compiled a 10–16 (3.96) record with two saves. Frailing died suddenly on August 26, 2022, at the age of 74.

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Frailing, Ken 1948 births 2022 deaths Appleton Foxes players Baseball players from Wisconsin Chicago Cubs players Chicago White Sox players Fox Cities Foxes players Iowa Oaks players Knoxville Sox players Lynchburg White Sox players Major League Baseball pitchers Mobile White Sox players Sportspeople from Madison, Wisconsin Tucson Toros players Wichita Aeros players