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

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

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 catc ...

. He played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

for 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) Am ...

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (frequently referred to as the Oakland A's) were an American Major League Baseball (MLB) team based in Oakland, California from 1968 to 2024. The Athletics were a member club of the American League (AL) American League We ...

, Washington Senators, and

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...

from 1967 to 1972.

Biography

Fernández signed as an amateur free agent with the

(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 The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West Division. Since 1966, the team has pl ...

in the second game of a doubleheader on September 12. Fernández backed up

Jake Gibbs Jerry Dean "Jake" Gibbs (born November 7, 1938) is an American 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 a ...

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

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 ...

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 ...

and Don Mincher for

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

and Darold Knowles. A little over a month later, he was purchased back by the Athletics. Late in the 1971 season, the Athletics traded Fernández and Bill McNulty to the

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 grew ...

before being reacquired by the Yankees in a minor league deal. He also spent time in Oakland's and 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 club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. One of the AL's eight chart ...

' farm system before retiring. Fernández once held the record for the most

home runs In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run ...

(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 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 upon completion of his turn at bat, b ...

, 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 that ...

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 Baseball players from Staten Island 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 20th-century American sportsmen Wichita Aeros players