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Frank Fernandez
New York Yankees
Catcher
Born: April 16, 1943, Staten Island, NY
Signed: Signed by the New York Yankees as an amateur free agent, September 13, 1961
Major League Teams: New York Yankees 1967-69; Oakland Athletics 1970; Washington Senators 1971; Oakland Athletics 1971; Chicago Cubs 1971-72
Catcher Frank Fernandez was drafted by his hometown Yankees in 1961 and made his debut with the club as a September call-up in 1967. He spent the entire 1968 and 1969 seasons on the Yankees roster, backing up regular catcher Jake Gibbs (#401) and providing occasional pop from the plate. Gibbs hit three home runs during those two seasons in 195 games to the 19 home runs hit be Fernandez in 140 games. Fernandez's best season was 1969, when he batted .223 with 12 home runs and 29 RBIs, but with Thurman Munson waiting in the wings, his time in the Bronx came to an end. He was dealt to the Athletics following the 1969 season, and he'd serve as their opening day catcher in 1970. Fernandez spent a little over a month with the Senators in 1971 following a five-player deal in early May, but the Athletics repurchased his contract in late June. He was on the move again in August 1971, traded to the Cubs.
His last big league action came with the Cubs, playing in 20 games between the end of the 1971 season and the beginning of the 1972 season. In 285 big league games, Fernandez batted .199, collecting 21 doubles, 39 home runs and 116 RBIs.
September 21, 2025 from The Philly Show (America's Pastime)
On Sunday morning, September 21st, I made the hour-long drive to the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, Pennsylvania for the latest installment of the Philadelphia Sports Card & Memorabilia Show, known to its friends as The Philly Show. The show has a legitimate official sponsor (eBay) and the advertisement for the event notes the show is in its 50th year. I hadn't attended a baseball card show since the last Philly Show in December, and I was flying solo to this one as our oldest son is in his first month of college at Villanova. I posted a full summary of the show over at The Phillies Room.
I made stops at six tables at the show, all yielding needed cards for our 1969 Topps set, and I left the show with just 16 more cards to go for my version of a complete set. The first place I stopped was a table with well-organized and well-marked binders of commons and semi-stars with 20% Off notes across the front of each binder.
I took my time and found 32 commons and semi-stars needed before asking to see the dealer's star cards from the set. It turned out this first purchase was also my biggest, as I spent over half my allotted budget here, America's Pastime from Fair Lawn, New Jersey, before moving on to my second stop. This was the 18th of 36 total cards bought from America's Pastime, and the 18th of 91 cards for set added overall on the day, and it cost a little over $4 after the dealer discount. I likely paid a premium given this is a Yankees card.
The Card / Yankees Team Set / Accuracy Index +5
This is Fernandez's first solo baseball card, as he appeared on Rookie Stars cards in 1966 with Fritz Peterson (#46) and in 1968 with Stan Bahnsen (#380). The write-up on the back draws attention to his low average, but ability to provide power in the clutch. The cartoon refers to his opening day home run on April 10, 1968. Fernandez hit a second inning home run off Angels' starter George Brunet (#645), the only run on the day.
Accuracy Index: Fernandez's nice, clean, posed at Yankee Stadium card earns a +5.
1969 Season
As mentioned above, this was Fernandez's best season. Manager Ralph Houk (#447) penciled his name in as the Yankees starting catcher in 57 games, compared to 66 starts for Gibbs, 24 starts for Munson (all coming after Munson' debut on August 8th) and 15 starts for John Ellis. Trying to keep Fernandez's bat in the line-up, Houk had him make 12 starts in right field after Munson had been called up. On December 5th, Fernandez and Al Downing (#292) were traded to the Athletics for Danny Cater (#44) and Ossie Chavarria.
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First Mainstream Card: 1966 Topps #584
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (5): 1966, 1968-71
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1971 Topps #468
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 22 in the Beckett online database as of 10/12/25.
Sources:
Baseball Reference / Wikipedia
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