Frank Tepedino

Frank Ronald Tepedino (born November 23, 1947) is a former left-handed Major League Baseball player. He was born in Brooklyn, New York. He played for the New York Yankees (1967–1972) and the Atlanta Braves (1973–1975) professional baseball teams in Major League Baseball during his career. Tepedino was inducted into the Suffolk Sports Hall of Fame in 2004.^[1]

Career

Frank Tepedino made his major league debut on May 12, 1967 with the New York Yankees. During that day, the Baltimore Orioles were playing against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium with 22,300 people attending the game.^[2] Tepedino was called to pinch hit for Whitey Ford batting ninth at the bottom of the third inning. He had one at-bat, hitting the ball to shortstop for a flyout. At the top of the fourth inning, Jim Bouton was called to replace Frank Tepedino pitching and batting ninth.^[2] At the end of the game, the New York Yankees had a frustrating loss against the Baltimore Orioles with the score at 14–0.^[2]

On June 8, 1965, Tepedino was drafted by the Baltimore Orioles in the third round during the 1965 amateur draft.^[3] On November 28, 1966, Tepedino was drafted by the New York Yankees from the Baltimore Orioles during the 1966 first-year draft.^[3] On June 7, 1971, he was traded by the New York Yankees along with Bobby Mitchell to the Milwaukee Brewers for Danny Walton.^[3] On March 31, 1972, he was purchased by the New York Yankees from the Milwaukee Brewers.^[3] On June 7, 1973, Tepedino was traded by the New York Yankees with players along with Wayne Nordhagen to the Atlanta Braves for Pat Dobson. In order to fully complete the trade, the New York Yankees sent Dave Cheadle (August 15, 1973) and Al Closter (September 5, 1973) to the Atlanta Braves.^[3]

Personal life

September 11 attacks

After retiring from Major League Baseball, Tepedino served as a firefighter for the New York City Fire Department. During the September 11 attacks, Tepedino's son called him and asked if he had heard a plane hit the World Trade Center. Tepedino had no knowledge of the event. He later realized it was a terrorist attack when the second plane hit the World Trade Center. Tepedino, along with three others, drove to the World Trade Center. When they got there, the World Trade Center had already collapsed.^[4] During an assembly at Rocky Point High School six years after the September 11 attacks, Tepedino said, "I lost 343 friends on September 11, 2001," referring to his colleagues in the New York Fire Department who died during the terrorists attacks. "I didn't know them all personally, but they were all my friends."^[5] On October 11, 2001, one month after the attacks, Tepedino threw out the first pitch at Game Two of the American League Division Series at Yankee Stadium.^[6]

Alcoholism and beyond

Tepedino is a recovering alcoholic. He became addicted to alcohol at age 19 and as of 2011 has given an estimated 60,000 speeches for the Long Island, New York based Winning for Winning co founded by a former Yankee teammate Rusty Torres which educates youth about the dangers of alcohol and drugs and promotes youth athletics.^[7]

References

External links

• Baseball-Reference
• Baseball-Almanac
• Baseball Library