1976 Topps #369 - Frank White

• Frank White was a second baseman for the Kansas City Royals from 1973-1990. It's cool to see 15 or so stat lines on the back of a card that all have the same team. White was signed by the Royals in 1970 and played in the minors from 1971-1973. Frank came up to the Royals in June of 1973 and batted .223 in 51 games as a backup second baseman and shortstop.

• At first the Royal fans weren't thrilled with Frank because he was going to replace the popular Cookie Rojas at second base. White didn't become the full time second baseman until 1976. In 1974 he had a utility role and batted .221 in 99 games. White batted .250 in 111 games in 1975, again in a utility role.

• White became the starting second baseman for the Royals in 1976. He batted only .229 in 152 games but he was very good on defense. Frank was 1 for 8 in the 1976 ALCS.

• In 1977 Frank won the first of six straight Gold Glove awards. He batted .245 in 152 games and batted .278 in the 1977 ALCS. White made the 1977 AL All Star team but didn't play in the game.

• White was an All Star again in 1978 (he went 0 for 1) and batted .275 in 143 games. Frank batted .231 in the 1978 ALCS.

• Frank was the starting second baseman in the 1979 All Star Game (he was 0 for 2) and won the Gold Glove again. He batted .266 with 28 stolen bases. The Royals finally made it to the World Series in 1980. White batted .264 in 154 games and won the Gold Glove. White batted .545 in the ALCS but only .080 in the World Series.

• In 1981 White was a Gold Glover again and batted .250 in 94 games. He was an All Star (he went 0 for 1 in the game) and batted .182 in the 1981 ALDS. Frank was an All Star again in 1982 (he struck out in his only at bat) and won the Gold Glove for the sixth straight year. White batted a career-high .298 in 145 games in 1982.

• White didn't make to the All Star Game or win the Gold Glove in the next three seasons. He batted .260 in 146 games in 1983 and .271 in 129 games in 1984. Frank batted .091 in the 1984 ALCS as the Royals were swept by the Detroit Tigers. In 1985 the Royals surprisingly won the World Championship. White batted .249 with 22 home runs in 149 games in the regular season, .200 in the ALCS, and .250 in the World Series. The Game I'll Never Forget - July 1987 Baseball Digest.

• Frank hit 22 homers for the second year in a row in 1986. He won the Silver Slugger award, returned to the All Star Game (he was 1 for 2 with a HR), and won the Gold Glove. White batted .272 in 151 games in '86. In 1987 White won his eighth and last Gold Glove and batted .245 with 17 homers in 154 games.

• White was the regular second baseman for two more seasons. In 1988 he batted .235 in 150 games and in 1989 he batted .256 in 135 games. Frank batted .216 in 82 games in 1990 and retired after the season.

• After his playing career White coached for the Royals and Red Sox, managed in the minors, and worked in the Royals front office. In 2004 Frank wrote an instructional manual called Good as Gold. White is now a part time Royals analyst and announcer on FSN Kansas City.

• Liked to face: Wilbur Wood (.591 in 22 AB); Mike Morgan (.500 in 30 AB); Shane Rawley (.484 in 31 AB)
• Hated to face: Stan Bahnsen (.000 in 13 AB); Dennis Eckersley (.082 in 49 AB); Moose Haas (.096 in 52 AB)