Frank Tanana

Played For
California Angels (1973-1980)
Boston Red Sox (1981)
Texas Rangers (1982-1985)
Detroit Tigers (1985-1992)
New York Mets (1993)
New York Yankees (1993)

Best Season: 1977
Tanana was still a fine pitcher after he lost his heater, but his very best seasons occurred in his young Angels days. In '77 he led the AL in ERA (2.54) and shutouts (7). He fanned 205 in 241 1/3 innings and completed 20 games. His record was 15-9 for the 5th place Halos. At one point in the middle of the season he had completed 14 straight games. By year's end, his arm would start to feel the pain, which led to his troubles a few years later.

Factoids
Frank Tanana made just 22 relief appearances in more than 600 games pitched.

Pitching for his hometown Tigers, Frank Tanana won the 200th game of his career on April 28, 1990, against Milwaukee, 13-5.

Frank Tanana racked up 32 games of 10 or more strikeouts in his long career. He had 15 10-K games, five 11-K games, five 12-K contests, three of 13 K's, two of 14, one 15-K game, and a 17-K performance on June 21, 1975.

17 Strikeouts
In June, 1975, Frank Tanana still had long hair, a free-spirit, and a 100-MPH fastball. On June 21, in the first game of a twi-nite doubleheader against the Rangers in Anaheim, Tanana enjoyed one of his most dominating performances. With his fastball working well, Tanana recorded the first seven outs of the game via the K, except for a caught baserunner. Tanana had 11 strikeouts through six innings, nursing a 4-2 Angels' lead. He fanned the side in the seventh and eight innings, while allowing two harmless singles. But perhaps due to pitch count, Tanana was pulled to start the ninth, finishing with 17 strikeouts and failing to get the chance to tie the ML record of 19 in a game. He would have faced Lenny Randle, Leo Cardenas and Roy SMalley, who he had whiffed five times already. Regardless, Tanana racked up 17 strikeouts in his 4-2 win over Texas.

Most Career Wins, Never Won 20 Games in a Season
Frank Tanana... 240 wins (19 wins once)
Jerry Ruess... 220 wins (18 three times)
Charlie Hough... 216 wins (18 once)
Milt Pappas... 209 wins (17 twice)
Chuck Finley... 200 wins (18 twice)

Most Career Strikeouts by LHP, American League
Mickey Lolich... 2,679
Frank Tanana... 2,669
Chuck Finley... 2,527
Sam McDowell... 2,267
Lefty Grove... 2,266
Mark Langston... 2,233
Jim Kaat... 2,175
Randy Johnson... 2,162
Eddie Plank... 2,099
Rube Waddell... 1,965

Born
Frank Daryl Tanana was born on July 3, 1953, in Detroit, MI.

Batted:  Left
Threw:  Left

Primary Position:  P

Primary Team:  CAL

College:  Cal St. Fullerton

Major League Debut
September 9, 1973

Nine Other Players Who Debuted in 1973
Dave Winfield
George Brett
Dave Parker
Brian Downing
Frank White
Bill Madlock
Frank Tanana
Steve Rogers
Randy Jones

Uniform Numbers
#40 (1973-1981), #28 (1982-1985 Rangers), #26 (1985 Tigers-1992), #29 (1993 Mets), #31 (1993 Yankees)

Similar Players
Jerry Koosman

Related Players
In his brief 1976 comeback, Minnie Minoso faced Tanana in his first game, going 0-for-3... Tanana was the bad-luck pitcher on May 30, 1977, when Dennis Eckersley pitched a 1-0 no-hitter for the Indians against the Angels. The only run scored on a squeeze play in the first inning.

Hall of Fame Voting Year Election Votes Pct 1999 BBWAA 0 %

Post-Season Appearances
1979 American League Championship Series
1987 American League Championship Series

Post-Season Notes
Tanana failed to get through the fifth inning in each of his two post-season starts: Game Three of the 1979 ALCS and Game Four of the 1987 ALCS. He never made it to a World Series.

Feats
Tanana never pitched on a World Series team and only twice did his team's make the playoffs, but both times Tanana won the clinching game. On September 25, 1979, he beat the Royals 4-1 to win the Angels first AL West crown. On October 4, 1987, he shut out the Blue Jays 1-0 in Tiger Stadium to clinch the AL East flag for Detroit. The Tigers had entered the weekend series one game back of Toronto, but swept the series to make the playoffs.

Milestones

• April 28, 1990: 200th Win...

Transactions
June 8, 1971: Drafted by the California Angels in the 1st round (13rd pick) of the 1971 amateur draft; January 23, 1981: Traded by the California Angels with Jim Dorsey and Joe Rudi to the Boston Red Sox for Fred Lynn and Steve Renko; November 13, 1981: Granted Free Agency; January 6, 1982: Signed as a Free Agent with the Texas Rangers; June 20, 1985: Traded by the Texas Rangers to the Detroit Tigers for Duane James (minors); November 9, 1987: Granted Free Agency; February 17, 1988: Signed as a Free Agent with the Detroit Tigers; November 13, 1989: Granted Free Agency; November 20, 1989: Signed as a Free Agent with the Detroit Tigers; December 3, 1992: Granted Free Agency; December 10, 1992: Signed as a Free Agent with the New York Mets; September 17, 1993: Traded by the New York Mets to the New York Yankees for Kenny Greer; October 29, 1993: Granted Free Agency.

All-Star Selections
1976 AL
1977 AL
1978 AL

Replaced
Clyde Wright, the enigmatic lefty who California traded to the Brewers after the 1973 season.

Replaced By
His last steady job in a rotation was with the Mets in 1993. In 1994, the Mets tried a couple of young lefties in his place: Mike Remlinger and Jason Jacome.

Best Strength as a Player
His ability to throw strikes. He walked less than 2.7 batters per nine innings.

Largest Weakness as a Player
In part because he was around the plate a lot, he surrendered 448 home runs in his career. One of the other weaknesses he had was the lack of a third pitch, especially in the middle of his career. He had a fastball and a curve, but never mastered a third pitch.

Learn More about Frank Tanana
Search Amazon.com for Books about Frank Tanana ⇒
Search for Frank Tanana at Google ⇒
View a map of his hometown at Mapquest ⇒