Frank Alfred Linzy
San Francisco Giants
Pitcher
Bats: Right Throws: Right Height: 6'1" Weight: 190
Born: September 15, 1940, Fort Gibson, OK
Signed: Signed by the San Francisco Giants as an amateur free agent before 1960 season
Major League Teams: San Francisco Giants 1963, 1965-70; St. Louis Cardinals 1970-71; Milwaukee Brewers 1972-73; Philadelphia Phillies 1974
One of the first pitchers to be given the title of "fireman," Frank Linzy was a successful reliever with the Giants, Cardinals, Brewers and Phillies over 11 big league seasons. His first full season in 1965 was perhaps his best, as Linzy would appear in 57 games and pitch to a 1.43 ERA with a career-high 20 saves. He placed third in that season's Rookie of the Year voting and 15th overall in the league's MVP voting. Linzy would appear in at least 50 games in each season between 1965 and 1971, and he'd save at least 10 games in seven different seasons. Linzy was 62-57 over his career in 516 games pitched, with a 2.85 ERA. His 110 career saves currently rank 144th on the all-time list.
Some text for this post originally appeared on my 1965 Topps blog.
Building the Set / Card #327
December 3, 2023 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards)
Doug and I returned to The Philly Show in early December, once again held inside the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, Pennsylvania. eBay has taken over sponsorship of the show, with the quaint, bubble-lettered Philly Show logo that had been in place since the 1980s replaced with a more modern logo, keeping with the times. I wrote about the show in a post over at The Phillies Room.
The Card / Giants Team Set / Accuracy Index +5
1969 Season
Now in his fifth season as the appointed closer for the Giants, Linzy was 14-9 with a 3.64 ERA and 11 saves in 58 appearances. He was once again the most frequently used pitcher out of manager Clyde King's (#274) bullpen, throwing 116 1/3 innings, all in relief.
Phillies Career - Linzy
On November 7, 1973, the Phillies acquired Linzy from the Brewers for pitcher Bill Wilson (#576). According to the Phillies' 1974 Yearbook, GM Paul Owens acquired Linzy to help fortify a weak Phillies bullpen, especially from the right side. Somewhat surprisingly, Linzy would appear in only 22 games with the club and was demoted to the Reading Phillies in July. With Double-A Reading, Linzy appeared in 20 games, pitching 28 innings and was 0-3 with a 3.21 ERA. He earned a September call-up, but would appear in only one more game for the Phillies - his final game in the majors.
Linzy's Phillies record was 3-2 with a 3.28 ERA over 24 1/3 innings pitched. His sole Phillies baseball card can be found within that year's team-issued photo card set. Linzy was released on October 25, 1974 and he'd sign with the Padres the following February in an attempt to make a comeback.
Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card: 1965 Topps #589
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (9): 1965-73
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1973 Topps #286
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 36 in the Beckett online database as of 7/2/24.
Sources:
Baseball Reference / Wikipedia
![]() |
1974 Philadelphia Phillies Photo Cards |
December 3, 2023 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards)
Doug and I returned to The Philly Show in early December, once again held inside the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, Pennsylvania. eBay has taken over sponsorship of the show, with the quaint, bubble-lettered Philly Show logo that had been in place since the 1980s replaced with a more modern logo, keeping with the times. I wrote about the show in a post over at The Phillies Room.
Similar to my strategy from March, I wanted to focus on accumulating commons and having found success with Uncle Dick's Cards before, I didn't mess around and headed right for the neon green binders. I pulled 145 cards from the binder containing cards 301 to the end of the set, stopping when I reached 500. This card was the 35th of 145 cards purchased for our set, and after the dealer discount due to my bulk purchase, it cost me less than $1, which is surprising given the premium placed on Mets cards from this set.
The Card / Giants Team Set / Accuracy Index +5
It looks as if Linzy is wearing the same turtleneck on his 1967, 1968 and 1969 Topps cards, and all three photos could have taken at the same photo session. The back of the card notes his status as the Giants' best reliever, and his successful 1965 rookie season.
Accuracy Index: It's another +5 and (spoiler alert) that streak is about to end with the next card featured.
1969 Season
Now in his fifth season as the appointed closer for the Giants, Linzy was 14-9 with a 3.64 ERA and 11 saves in 58 appearances. He was once again the most frequently used pitcher out of manager Clyde King's (#274) bullpen, throwing 116 1/3 innings, all in relief.
Phillies Career - Linzy
On November 7, 1973, the Phillies acquired Linzy from the Brewers for pitcher Bill Wilson (#576). According to the Phillies' 1974 Yearbook, GM Paul Owens acquired Linzy to help fortify a weak Phillies bullpen, especially from the right side. Somewhat surprisingly, Linzy would appear in only 22 games with the club and was demoted to the Reading Phillies in July. With Double-A Reading, Linzy appeared in 20 games, pitching 28 innings and was 0-3 with a 3.21 ERA. He earned a September call-up, but would appear in only one more game for the Phillies - his final game in the majors.
Linzy's Phillies record was 3-2 with a 3.28 ERA over 24 1/3 innings pitched. His sole Phillies baseball card can be found within that year's team-issued photo card set. Linzy was released on October 25, 1974 and he'd sign with the Padres the following February in an attempt to make a comeback.
|
|
|
|
|
First Mainstream Card: 1965 Topps #589
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (9): 1965-73
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1973 Topps #286
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 36 in the Beckett online database as of 7/2/24.
Sources:
Baseball Reference / Wikipedia
No comments:
Post a Comment