Batting average .255 Role Baseball player Name Frank White | Runs batted in 886 Home runs 160 Spouse Teresa White | |
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Frank White, Jr. (born September 4, 1950) is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) player, and coach for the Kansas City Royals and their AA affiliate, the Wichita Wranglers. He is one of only three MLB players, along with Ron Washington and U L Washington, who were products of the Royals Academy. He is also a former color commentator for Royals telecasts. He currently serves as the first base coach of the Kansas City T-Bones of the American Association of Independent Professional Baseball. He was elected to the Jackson County Legislature on November 4, 2014.
Bio
White was born in Greenville, Mississippi. After going to college at Longview Community in Lee's Summit, Missouri, he rose through the minors to reach the big leagues. Though initially disliked by fans because he displaced the popular Cookie Rojas at second base, he went on to set a major-league record jointly with teammate George Brett, by appearing in 1,914 games together. The record stood until 1995, when it was broken by the Detroit Tigers' Alan Trammell and Lou Whitaker. In 1980, White was the Most Valuable Player of the American League Championship Series against the New York Yankees, leading the Royals to their first World Series appearance.
A smooth fielder, White was a five-time All-Star. He won the Gold Glove Award eight times, including six consecutive seasons from 1977 to 1982. In 1977 he played 62 consecutive errorless games.
Although in his early years he was a singles hitter who contributed little to the Royals' run column, White improved markedly as an offensive player during his career, hitting 22 home runs two years in a row, in 1985 and 1986. Since the 1985 World Series was played without the designated hitter, White hit cleanup during that series, in place of Hal McRae. Until White, the only other second baseman to hit cleanup in a World Series was Jackie Robinson. In the 1986 Major League Baseball All-Star Game, his solo home run in the seventh off Mike Scott was the deciding run in an 3-2 American League victory.
White retired as a player in 1990 after 18 major-league seasons. White was inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame in 1994. On Sunday July 2, 1995, while White was the First Base Coach with the Boston Red Sox, the Royals retired White's number 20, and the same year he was inducted into the Royals' Hall of Fame. A bronze statue of White was dedicated outside of Kauffman Stadium in 2004, joining Royals founders Ewing & Muriel Kauffman, George Brett, and as of 2009, Dick Howser.
After the end of White's playing career, he was a first base coach with both the Boston Red Sox from 1994 to 1996, and with the Kansas City Royals from 1997 to 2001, wearing uniform number 20 for both teams. He then managed the Wichita Wranglers for three years before moving in Kansas City's front office. White was said to be one of Dayton Moore's favorites to fill the Kansas City Royals vacant manager position starting in 2008 that ultimately went to Trey Hillman.
In February 2008 it was announced that White was joining FSN Kansas City to serve as a part-time color commentator on Royals telecasts (filling in for Paul Splittorff on select games), as well as an analyst on the channel's Royals Live postgame show.
White resigned his position in the front office in January 2011. Fox Sports Kansas City announced in early December 2011 that White's broadcasting contract wouldn’t be renewed as the Royals' television color commentator.
He is currently on the coaching staff of the Kansas City T-Bones in the American Association of Independent Professional Baseball .
He ran for the Jackson County Legislature in 2014, winning election from an at-large seat.