#592 Frank Bork - Pittsburgh Pirates

Frank Bernard Bork
Pittsburgh Pirates
Pitcher

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Left  Height:  6'2"  Weight:  175
Born:  July 13, 1940, Buffalo, NY
Signed:  Signed by the Pittsburgh Pirates as an amateur free agent before 1960 season
Major League Teams:  Pittsburgh Pirates 1964

Frank Bork spent eight seasons pitching in the Pirates' system between 1960 and 1967, seeing his only big league action with 33 games for Pittsburgh in 1964.  A starter for most of his minor league career, Bork went 19-7 for the Class B Kinston Eagles in 1962 with an impressive 2.00 ERA.  He pitched in 230 innings, striking out 191 as arguably the league's best pitcher.  Kinston also boasted Steve Blass (#232) in their rotation that season, with Blass going 17-3 with a 1.97 ERA and 209 strikeouts.  Bork would earn a promotion to the Pirates making the club's opening day roster in 1964 as a reliever.  He'd appear in ten games before being sent back down to the minors in mid-May, where he'd appear in 17 games for the Triple-A Columbus Jets.  The Pirates would call him back up in late July and he'd stick with the team for the duration of the season.  Bork would spend the next three seasons in the minors before retiring.

In 42 innings pitched in 1964, including 31 relief appearances and two August starts, Bork was 2-2 with a 4.07 ERA and 31 strikeouts.

Building the Set
March 6, 2022 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards - Babylon, NY) - Card #545

This is the 61st of 102 cards acquired for our set from the Baseball Card Sports Memorabilia Show, affectionately known as The Philly Show, held in the basement of the Valley Forge Casino Resort in King of Prussia in early March.  We went nuts and left the show needing only 12 more cards to complete our 1965 Topps set, and I wrote about the show in detail over at The Phillies Room.  Having wandered aimlessly among the dealer tables looking for binders with vintage commons, I decided to check to see if Uncle Dick's had refreshed their inventory following the December show, during which I had wiped out both their 1965 Topps binders.  Much to my pleasant surprise, they had. 

1966 Topps #123

This Bork card was $6 and was one of 49 commons and semi-stars purchased in my triumphant return to Uncle Dick's and his replenished neon green binders.

Depending on my ability to compose five posts a week on the cards acquired at this show, I should be completely caught up on this blog by mid-October.  It's entirely feasible we complete our 1965 Topps set by the end of 2022, although nine of the remaining 12 cards needed are fairly expensive.

The Card / Pirates Team Set
This is Bork's rookie card, and Topps would bring him back in 1966, sharing a Rookie Stars card with Jerry May (#143).  #36 is peaking through on the front of his Pirates jersey here, and his Baseball Reference page indicates Bork wore three numbers during the 1964 season - #35, #36 and #57.  The write-up on the back of the card is a little misleading, as he made his big league debut on April 15, 1964, and made his first big league start on August 22, 1964.  Dennis Bennett (#147) was the losing pitcher for the Phillies in that game.  Pirates' opening day in 1965 was on April 12th, so Bork must have made the club's opening day roster and then was optioned down to Columbus three days later on April 15th, not appearing in a game.

1965 Season
Back in Columbus for the entire season, Bork made 16 starts and was 6-7 with a 4.06 ERA.  I'm assuming injuries limited him to just 93 innings pitched for the season.

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1965 Topps #592
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (2):  1965-1966
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1966 Topps #123

7 - Bork non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 8/1/22.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
The Trading Card Database

Wikipedia

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