#242 Frank Kostro - Minnesota Twins

Frank Jerry Kostro
Minnesota Twins
Infield-Outfield

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'2"  Weight:  190
Born:  August 4, 1937, Windber, PA
Signed:  Signed by the Detroit Tigers as an amateur free agent before 1956 season
Major League Teams:  Detroit Tigers 1962-1963; Los Angeles Angels 1963; Minnesota Twins 1964-1965, 1967-1969

Frank Kostro was a utility player for seven seasons with the Tigers, Angels and Twins, playing three infield positions, the corner outfield positions and primarily used as a pinch-hitter.  Kostro found his most success in the minor leagues, batting .303 over 13 seasons between 1956 and 1969.  Only 80 of his 266 Major League appearances were starts, and he had 157 total pinch-hitting appearances.  Kostro earned a lifetime average of .244 with 5 home runs and 37 RBIs.  After departing the Twins following the 1969 season, he appeared in 37 games with the Hankyu Braves of the Japan Pacific League, batting .200.

Some text for this post originally appeared on my 1965 Topps blog.

Building the Set / Card #237
March 12, 2023 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards)

In mid-March last year, Doug and I attended the Philadelphia Sports Collectors Show, held within the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, Pennsylvania.  My main focus for this show was accumulating as many 1969 Topps commons as possible, which I did by adding a grand total of 193 cards to our set.  That's almost 30% of the entire set added in one enjoyable afternoon.  I wrote a full summary of the show in a post over at The Phillies Room, found here.

This is the 160th of the 193 commons and semi-stars purchased, pulled and stacked from the first two neon green binders housing 1969 Topps cards at the multi-table spread of Uncle Dick's Cards from Babylon, New York.  My method was simple - I pulled up a chair, found a card I needed, picked the best of the group from the binder page and set it aside.  After each 100 cards, I'd ask the dealer to tell me how much damage I had done so far.  With a budget in mind, I kept going twice, continuing after card #100 and card #200, and stopping at card #298.  The final amount due was 17% off the sticker price for the pile of 193 cards, with this card costing me $1.25.

The Card / Twins Team Set / Accuracy Index +5

Kostro appears within four Topps flagship sets - a floating heads Rookie Stars card in 1963, and then stand-alone cards in 1965, 1968, 1969.  The latter three cards feature photos taken at Yankee Stadium, with the 1968 and 1969 cards containing photos snapped moments apart.  The cartoon on the back of the card highlights Kostro's success as a pinch-hitter.  For his career, he batted .241 (34 for 141) as a pinch-hitter with a home run and 10 RBIs.

Accuracy Index:  Kostro earns a +5 for the Twins uniform and a different photo from his 1968 Topps card.

1969 Season
New Twins' manager Billy Martin (#547) sent Kostro to Denver, the Twins' Triple-A team, to start the year.  Kostro would spend the entire season with the Denver Bears, batting .311, but limited to 57 games due to a lingering foot injury.  He was a September call-up, and made two final appearances as a pinch-hitter, going 0 for 2, in his final big league action.

1963 Topps #407

1965 Topps #459

1968 Topps #44

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1963 Topps #407
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (4):  1963, 1965, 1968-1969
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1969 Topps #242
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards:  11 in the Beckett online database as of 2/12/24.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia

Beckett Database / The Trading Card Database
1965 Topps Blog

#241 Jim Brewer - Los Angeles Dodgers / #243 Ron Kline - Pittsburgh Pirates