Frankie Frisch, aka the “Fordham Flash”, wins election to the Circle of Greats in the 94th round of COG balloting. In his first ballot appearance, Frisch was the clear favorite in a crowded field. A complete player, Frisch compiled 140 Rbat and 140 Rfield while stealing over 400 bases, a combination unique among second baseman, and matched only by Barry Bonds and George Davis among players at other positions (Jack Glasscock, with 372 stolen bases, and Bill Dahlen, just a hair below the line for Rbat and Rfield, are the only other players close to this group). Frisch’s career totals exceeding 50 oWAR and 20 dWAR have been matched by only 14 others, none of them second basemen.
More on Frisch after the jump.
Frisch began his career in 1919 when Giant legend Larry Doyle was the incumbent second sacker (Doyle is still the all-time Giants’ leader in games at second base). As a result, Frisch started out as a third baseman, with Frisch and Doyle’s longtime teammate Buck Herzog still the only Giants with 200 career games at both second base and third base. After Doyle’s retirement following the 1920 season, the Giants had Frisch and Johnny Rawlings share the second base job in 1921 and 1922, before moving Frisch there mostly full time in 1923. Despite moving between positions, Frisch compiled two outstanding seasons in 1921 and 1923 with 200 hits, 100 runs and 100 RBI in each, making Frisch the only player to compile such seasons at both second base and third base.
The 1921-24 seasons were the best run of seasons of Frisch’s career, with his 25.8 WAR and 17.9 WAA both second best in the NL for that period, trailing only Rogers Hornsby. That performance helped lead New York to pennants in each of those seasons, still the only four-peat by an NL champion. When Giant fortunes ebbed in 1925 and 1926, so too did Frisch’s performance, in part due to manager John McGraw’s verbal abuse of his team captain, McGraw’s method for sending a message to the team. Frisch, however, found such belittling too much to bear, and bolted the team in the latter part of the 1926 season. He returned to finish out the year but Frisch’s relations with his manager were irreparably damaged, leading to one of baseball’s biggest blockbuster trades when Frisch and Hornsby were swapped following that season.
With a fresh start in St. Louis, Frisch turned in a career best season in 1927 with 9.2 WAR, including a phenomenal 4.4 dWAR, still the best defensive season by a second baseman and ranking in the top 10 seasons for dWAR at any position. Frisch also led the league with 48 stolen bases, his second time doing so with 40+ thefts and 200+ hits (Quiz: who are the two players since Frisch to twice lead their league with 40+ steals while also collecting 200 hits?). Frisch would continue to be a solid contributor for eight more seasons as a Cardinal regular, including an MVP selection in 1931, but would not again post a 5 WAR season.
Success followed Frisch throughout his career, leading both the Giants and Cardinals to four NL pennants. Frisch’s 50 World Series games are the most by any non-Yankee, and his 10 WS doubles are tied with Yogi Berra for the most ever. Frisch succeeded Cardinals’ manager Gabby Street partway through the 1933 season and led St. Louis to a world championship the following year while also continuing as the Cardinals’ everyday second baseman. That would be the only pennant of Frisch’s managerial career that continued with the Cardinals, Pirates and Cubs after his playing days ended in 1937.
