Frank Barnes (barnefr02)

Frank Barnes

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 0", Weight 170 lb.

• Debut September 22, 1957
• Final Game May 4, 1960
• Born August 26, 1926 in Longwood, MS USA
• Died October 19, 2014 in Greenville, MS USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Frank Barnes started out at the age of 18 with the Indianapolis Clowns of the Negro American League in 1947. He was with the Kansas City Monarchs before being purchased, along with Elston Howard, by the New York Yankees. He was never able to reach the majors until late 1957 when he was brought up by the St. Louis Cardinals. This was just after his 2.40 ERA for the Omaha Cardinals led the American Association. He also led the league with 6 shutouts while setting another league record by hurling 41 consecutive shutout innings. Frank, who threw a no-hitter for the Oklahoma City Indians of the Texas League in 1955, had a second no-hitter while with Omaha in 1958. In 1958, he was with with the Cardinals long enough to win his only big league game in four decisions and to be used as a pinch-runner for Stan Musial following "The Man"'s 3,000th career base hit. He had one last brief stint with the Cardinals in 1960 before pitching for several more years in the Mexican League.

Frank was up only for 15 major league games over a period of three short seasons, going 1-3 and pitching only 37 innings with a 5.89 ERA. His minor league work sheet, minus the five years he spent in the Mexican League, show twelve years, building a record of 109-83, appearing in 316 games, pitching 1,619 innings, giving up 1,437 hits while walking 836 for a good 3.89 ERA. In Mexico, he went 58-31 from 1963-1967 with a 2.33 ERA, all for the Reynosa Broncos. At age 38 in 1966, he completed 20 of 25 starts. In 1965, his .762 winning percentage (13-5) led the Mexican League, as did his 1.58 ERA. He is third all-time in Mexican League history in ERA for pitchers with 500+ innings, trailing only Mike Nagy (2.01) and Mike Paul (2.06). He also was 10th in winning percentage for pitchers with 500+ innings through 2000. Not counting the Negro Leagues, he was 168-117 in professional baseball.

Following his playing days, Barnes retired in Greenville, MS, where he owned a pool hall and a liquor store. He died in 2014 at the age of 88.

Sources

Baseball-Reference.com
Baseball Players of the 1950s
SABR MILB Database:page

• The Mexican League: Comprehensive Player Statistics by Pedro Treto Cisneros