News
Former All-Star pitcher Frank Tanana has fond memories of career, classic rookie card
Frank Tanana laughed when he heard the names of three other former Major League Baseball players — and he immediately knew why they were mentioned.
Vic Albury, Ken Frailing and Kevin Kobel.
Those three, plus Tanana, are pictured on the 1974 Topps card No. 605 — Tanana’s rookie card.
“I see that card a lot,” he said, laughing. “I think, due to [the pandemic], the fan mail autograph requests really took off. Almost daily, I receive that card in the mail [to be signed].
“It’s a classic, a wonderful memory.”
Tanana pitched in the majors from 1973-1993 with the California Angels, Boston Red Sox, Texas Rangers, Detroit Tigers, New York Mets and New York Yankees. The left-hander had a career record of 240-236 with a lifetime 3.66 ERA and 2,773 career strikeouts.
Tanana was a three-time American League All-Star (1976-78) and the AL ERA leader in 1977 and the major league strikeout leader in 1975.
He certainly was the gem on that 1974 four-player card.
• Albury, a left-handed pitcher, played four seasons for the Minnesota Twins, appearing in 101 games from 1973-76, compiling an 18–17 career record.
• A left-handed pitcher, Kobel pitched for the Milwaukee Brewers and New York Mets from 1973-80, finishing with an 18-34 record.
• Frailing pitched for the Chicago White Sox, then the Cubs from 1972-76, and finished with a 10-16 career record.
“I probably need to Google them,” said Tanana, who has not stayed in contact with the others.
Tanana was a first-round draft pick of the California Angels in 1971 and made his debut in 1973. He finished that season as a 14-game winner.
So started Tanana’s card run. He appeared on cards from every manufacturer, including Topps, Score, Donruss, Upper Deck, Hostess and others.
“I collected cards as a kid. I loved collecting cards as a kid,” Tanana said. “I think every young boy who was into baseball got into [card] collecting. We used to trade [cards] and played [a flipping game] up against the garage, [flipping them and] trying to land on others or knock down [a stack].
“I think my mom eventually filed my cards [in the garbage].”
Tanana cards were commonplace from 1974-92.
“I have a lot of mine that I give away,” he said.
His least favorite cards were 1980 and 1981 Topps — because of his permed hair, he said.
“That [hair style] was a thing back then,” he said. “I think those are brutal-looking cards, but I see them often. Those are the cards that I’m not crazy about. If I had to do it over on my cards, it would be with them.
“But overall, there were a lot of cards, and there were a lot of them that I really enjoy.”
Cards are in line with Tanana’s favorite collectible: photos. He wishes he had more pictures with the players he played with and some of those he opposed.
Near the end of his career, he was given a framed present with most of his cards.
“That was a very, very nice gift,” he said.
Tanana’s collectible array also includes game-used baseballs from key moments and key games. He also has game-worn hats from all his teams.
The prized item in his collection is a painting from his stint with the Angels (1973-80).
“It’s quite large, a good-sized picture of me pitching,” he said. “Every time I see it, it’s a fond, fond memory.”
He also cherishes a retro photo of him and Jimmie Reese, a member of the Angels Hall of Fame whose baseball career dates to the early-1930s, when he was roommates with Babe Ruth. And a picture of Tanana from the last game of the 1987 season, when Tanana and the Tigers defeated Toronto.
Tanana also spoke highly of pictures from father-son-daughter games.
“I’ve got some cool stuff,” he said. “With a photo, you get an instant recollection of that time; that’s what makes photos so precious to me.”
Tanana did not collect a variety of memorabilia from his collection, though he does have a game-used bat from his 1993 season with the Mets, his lone in the National League.
He has been a regular, steady autograph signer and has appeared at card shows for decades, mostly in the Michigan area.
And every autograph includes a Bible verse, JOHN 14:6.
“I am a follower of Christ, so signing autographs gives me the opportunity to put [out] a Bible verse, and I’ve been doing that for a long time and appreciate the opportunity to do that,” said Tanana, who recited the verse, word for word, without hesitation.
He said adding the verse to his autograph “keeps the focus on Jesus, right where it belongs.”
Tanana became a born-again Christian in November 1983 and, after retiring from baseball, he served as an elder in his church and assisted the Tigers’ chaplain with Bible studies and marriage counselling.
Tanana still gets three or four fan mail letters every day from around the world — from Japan to Canada to Italy, and beyond. “It’s amazing,” the array of fan mail letters, he said.
Tanana’s career spanned 638 games, including 616 starts. He pitched 4,188.1 innings — and he finished with one career save.
He had 14 seasons with 10 or more wins, including a 19-10 mark for the Angels in 1976. He also had three consecutive seasons, 1975-77, with 200-plus strikeouts.
“I was blessed, to pitch 20 years is really an amazing achievement. To stay healthy that long, to pitch that long … I really feel blessed,” Tanana said. “The thing I’m most proud of is, I appeared in 638 games as a big-league pitcher. I’m very proud of that.”
Tanana started 30 or more games 16 years.
“I always showed up, always took my turn [in the rotation],” he said. “I was fortunate to play in some fabulous cities. I had a beautiful career.”
With many memorable moments. Case in point, he pitched the Angels clincher when they won their first-ever Division title against the Kansas City Royals. Or the 1987 classic, pitching against Jimmy Key and the Toronto Blue Jays for the Division win, on national TV, in the last game of the season, at sold-out Tiger Stadium.
“To pitch nine innings and win 1-0 in my hometown. That game was, by far, the highlight of my career,” he said.
Tanana spent his first eight seasons pitching for the Angels, alongside then-future Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan. Tanana had five consecutive seasons (1974-78) with a minimum of 10 complete games, including two with more than 20.
The lefty and righty formed an Angels duo that led to the saying “Tanana and Ryan and two days of cryin.’”
“That was a special time,” Tanana said. “We spurred each other on. We both were highly competitive, and both wanted to be the best pitcher on the team; that helped. It was a lot of fun; I have a lot of fond memories from that period.”
Tanana also has fond memories of pitching against the Chicago White Sox and Baltimore Orioles — the two teams he had the most wins against. But Kansas City, well, that’s another story.
“Nineteen years in the American League, and I never won a game in KC. Isn’t that amazing? I beat them at home, but never in Kansas City,” he said.
