Frank Tepedino
{{short description|American baseball player (born 1947)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2023}}
{{Infobox baseball biography
|name=Frank Tepedino
|position=First baseman
|image=
|bats=Left
|throws=Left
|birth_date={{Birth date and age|1947|11|23}}
|birth_place=Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
|debutleague = MLB
|debutdate=May 12
|debutyear=1967
|debutteam=New York Yankees
|finalleague = MLB
|finaldate=April 29
|finalyear=1975
|finalteam=Atlanta Braves
|statleague = MLB
|stat1label=Batting average
|stat1value=.241
|stat2label=Home runs
|stat2value=6
|stat3label=Runs batted in
|stat3value=58
|teams=
- New York Yankees (1967, 1969–1971)
- Milwaukee Brewers (1971)
- New York Yankees (1972)
- Atlanta Braves (1973–1975)
}}
Frank Ronald Tepedino (born November 23, 1947) is an American former left-handed professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball for the New York Yankees ({{Baseball year|1967}}–{{Baseball year|1972}}), Milwaukee Brewers (1971) and Atlanta Braves ({{Baseball year|1973}}–{{Baseball year|1975}}) professional baseball teams in Major League Baseball during his career. Tepedino was inducted into the Suffolk Sports Hall of Fame in 2004.{{cite web|url=http://www.suffolksportshof.com/infoTepedino.html|title=Suffolk Sports Hall of Fame|publisher=Suffolksportshof.com|access-date=November 29, 2008}}
Career
Tepedino graduated from George W. Wingate High School in Brooklyn, New York, in 1965. He was drafted by the Baltimore Orioles on June 8, 1965, in the third round of the 1965 amateur draft.{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/t/tepedfr01.shtml#TRANS|title=Transactions|publisher=Baseball-Reference.com|access-date=November 29, 2008}} He was then drafted from the Orioles by the New York Yankees on November 28, 1966, in the 1966 first-year draft.
Tepedino made his major league debut on May 12, 1967, with the Yankees in a game against Orioles at Yankee Stadium, with 22,300 in attendance.{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/NYA/NYA196705120.shtml|title=May 12, 1967 Baltimore Orioles at New York Yankees Box Score and Play by Play|publisher=Baseball-Reference.com|access-date=November 29, 2008}} He pinch hit for Whitey Ford in the bottom of the third inning of a blowout, and popped out to shortstop. The Yankees lost the game by a score of 14–0.
Tepedino was traded along with Bobby Mitchell from the Yankees to the Brewers for Danny Walton on June 7, 1971.[https://www.nytimes.com/1971/06/08/archives/yanks-get-walton-brewers-obtain-mitchell-and-tepedino-walton-traded.html McGowen, Deane. "Yanks Get Walton," The New York Times, Tuesday, June 8, 1971.] Retrieved December 22, 2021 On March 31, 1972, he was repurchased by the Yankees from the Brewers, and on June 7, 1973, traded again, with Wayne Nordhagen and players to be named later, to the Atlanta Braves for Pat Dobson. To complete the trade, the Yankees also sent Dave Cheadle on August 15, 1973, and Al Closter on September 5, 1973, to the Braves.
Personal life
After retiring from baseball, Tepedino served as a firefighter for the New York Fire Patrol. Following the September 11 attacks, Tepedino drove to the World Trade Center site and participated in search and rescue operations.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uRXSQy5woiwC&q=Frank+Tepedino+9/11&pg=PA82|title=More Tales from the Yankee Dugout|access-date=November 29, 2008 | first=Ed | last=Randall |date=March 2003|publisher=Sports Pub | isbn=978-1-58261-637-7}} During an assembly at Rocky Point High School six years afterward, Tepedino said, "I lost 343 friends on September 11, 2001," referring to his fire department colleagues. "I didn't know them all personally, but they were all my friends."{{cite web|url=http://www.beaconrecord.com/Articles-i-2007-09-13-66575.112114_Lessons_and_recollections_of_that_day.html|title=Lessons and recollections of 'that day'|publisher=Beaconrecord|access-date=November 29, 2008}} On October 11, 2001, one month after the attacks, Tepedino threw out the first pitch at the second game of the 2001 American League Division Series at Yankee Stadium.Yankee for Life, Bobby Murcer and Glen Waggoner, p. 227, Harper Collins, 2008, New York, {{ISBN|978-0-06-147342-5}}
Tepedino became addicted to alcohol at age 19. He has recovered and has given speeches to youngsters for the Long Island, New York based Winning for Winning, co-founded with former Yankee teammate Rusty Torres, which educates youth about the dangers of alcohol and drugs and promotes youth athletics.{{cite web | url=https://www.newsday.com/sports/baseball/yankees/former-yankees-offer-li-youth-life-advice-q05417 | title=Former Yankees offer LI youth life advice | date=April 15, 2011 }}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [https://www.baseball-reference.com/t/tepedfr01.shtml Baseball-Reference]
- [https://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/player.php?p=tepedfr01 Baseball-Almanac]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tepedino, Frank}}
Category:Major League Baseball first basemen
Category:New York Yankees players
Category:Atlanta Braves players
Category:Syracuse Chiefs players
Category:Baseball players from Brooklyn