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Frank Louis Bertaina
Washington Senators
Pitcher
Bats: Left Throws: Left Height: 5'11" Weight: 177
Born: April 14, 1944, San Francisco, CA
Signed: Signed by the Baltimore Orioles as an amateur free agent before 1961 season
Major League Teams: Baltimore Orioles 1964-67; Washington Senators 1967-69; Baltimore Orioles 1969; St. Louis Cardinals 1970
Pitcher
Born: April 14, 1944, San Francisco, CA
Signed: Signed by the Baltimore Orioles as an amateur free agent before 1961 season
Major League Teams: Baltimore Orioles 1964-67; Washington Senators 1967-69; Baltimore Orioles 1969; St. Louis Cardinals 1970
Died: March 3, 2010, Santa Rosa, CA (age 65)
Once considered a top pitching prospect for the Orioles, Frank Bertaina appeared in only 99 major league games over seven different seasons. He flashed signs of brilliance at times with the Orioles, but was never able to fully repeat the success he found with their top farm team in Rochester. He earned a World Series ring with the club in 1966, although he did not pitch in the postseason. Traded to the Senators with Mike Epstein (#461) for Pete Richert (#86) in May 1967, Bertaina would appear in a career-high 27 games for Washington in 1968. He'd pitch for two more seasons, briefly returning to Baltimore, before calling it a career.
Once considered a top pitching prospect for the Orioles, Frank Bertaina appeared in only 99 major league games over seven different seasons. He flashed signs of brilliance at times with the Orioles, but was never able to fully repeat the success he found with their top farm team in Rochester. He earned a World Series ring with the club in 1966, although he did not pitch in the postseason. Traded to the Senators with Mike Epstein (#461) for Pete Richert (#86) in May 1967, Bertaina would appear in a career-high 27 games for Washington in 1968. He'd pitch for two more seasons, briefly returning to Baltimore, before calling it a career.
Bertaina was 19-29 with a 3.84 ERA for his career, striking out 280 batters over 413 innings pitched. Due to the success he had with the International League's Rochester Red Wings, he was inducted into that club's Hall of Fame.
Some text for this post originally appeared on my 1965 Topps blog.
Building the Set / Card #472
December 15, 2024 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards)
On Sunday, December 15th, Doug and I attended the latest Philly Show, spaciously spread out inside Hall A of the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, Pennsylvania. I wrote a full show report over at The Phillies Room, including some thoughts on attending the show with our oldest son, who first graced the Philly Show floors back in 2012.
The Card / Senators Team Set / Accuracy Index +5
1969 Season
Bertaina began the season in the Senators' bullpen, and earned a few starts throughout April, May and June. Struggling with his wildness, Bertaina failed to impress new manager Ted Williams (#650) and he was demoted to Triple-A Buffalo after surrendering a game-winning, 13th inning home run to Reggie Jackson (#260) on June 11th. When Bertaina refused to report to Buffalo, the Senators traded him back to the Orioles on June 16th for minor league pitcher P.J. Campbell. After 22 impressive starts with Rochester, during which he went 12-3 with a 3.67 ERA in 152 innings, he earned a brief, three-game call-up to the Orioles. For the season, Bertaina was 1-3 with a 5.62 ERA, with 30 strikeouts and 26 walks in 41 2/3 innings pitched.
December 15, 2024 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards)
On Sunday, December 15th, Doug and I attended the latest Philly Show, spaciously spread out inside Hall A of the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, Pennsylvania. I wrote a full show report over at The Phillies Room, including some thoughts on attending the show with our oldest son, who first graced the Philly Show floors back in 2012.
Having had success the prior two shows at Uncle Dick's Cards with his well-organized, neon common binders, I opted to pull up a chair once again at the friendly dealer's array of tables. The aim was simple: Clear out Uncle Dick's 1969 Topps commons, starting off where I had left off the year before with card #501 and going through the end of the set, card #664. In less than 25 minutes, I completed my quest, and this is the 28th of 98 commons pulled from the binder. After a generous dealer discount due to my bulk purchase, this card cost me less than a dollar.
The Card / Senators Team Set / Accuracy Index +5
The Senators switched to red hats from blue for the 1968 season, so this photo could date from the team's 1968 spring training. There aren't nearly enough pictures of players with warm-up jackets under their jerseys these days. The back of the card highlights two of Bertaina's best games - his first win against the Angels on September 20, 1964, in which he allowed a fifth inning double to Doc Edwards, and his 11 shutout innings against the Twins on August 26, 1968.
Accuracy Index: Bertaina's card earns a +5.
1969 Season
Bertaina began the season in the Senators' bullpen, and earned a few starts throughout April, May and June. Struggling with his wildness, Bertaina failed to impress new manager Ted Williams (#650) and he was demoted to Triple-A Buffalo after surrendering a game-winning, 13th inning home run to Reggie Jackson (#260) on June 11th. When Bertaina refused to report to Buffalo, the Senators traded him back to the Orioles on June 16th for minor league pitcher P.J. Campbell. After 22 impressive starts with Rochester, during which he went 12-3 with a 3.67 ERA in 152 innings, he earned a brief, three-game call-up to the Orioles. For the season, Bertaina was 1-3 with a 5.62 ERA, with 30 strikeouts and 26 walks in 41 2/3 innings pitched.
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First Mainstream Card: 1965 Topps #396
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (6): 1965-66, 1968-71
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1981 TCMA The 1960s II #446
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 26 in the Beckett online database as of 2/26/25.
Sources:
Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia
Beckett Database / The Trading Card Database
1965 Topps Blog
1965 Topps Blog
#553 Ron Davis - Pittsburgh Pirates / #555 Jim Hart - San Francisco Giants
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