On the blog today, how about a "not so missing" 1973 card for former Chicago White Sox pitcher Ken Frailing, who made his MLB debut in 1972 as a 24 year old:
Frailing appeared in four games for the White Sox in 1972, going 1-0 with a 3.00 earned run average over three innings of work.
He'd
appear in only 10 games the following year, throwing 18.1 innings while
posting a nice 1.96 ERA with 15 strikeouts and seven walks.
In
1974 he found himself up on the North Side of the city, playing for the
Chicago Cubs, appearing in 55 games and posting a record of 6-9 with a
respectable 3.88 ERA over 125.1 innings, completing a game while also
picking up a save.
The
following year Frailing would appear in 41 games, all out of the
bullpen, going 2-5 with a 5.43 ERA over 53 innings, yet Topps wouldn't
give him a card in their 1976 set (something I created for the blog
years ago).
The 1976 season would turn out to be his last, as he appeared in six games, going 1-2 with a 2.41 E.R.A., with three starts.
He'd play in the minors until 1978 before leaving the game for
good, with his final Major League numbers: a 10-16 record with a 3.96
E.R.A., two saves and 136 strikeouts over 116 games, 19 of which were
starts.
