White was signed by the Royals from a tryout camp and was one of the few successful products of the baseball school the club operated in the early 1970s. By 1989, White and George Brett had been Royals for 17 seasons, longer than anyone else in the franchise's history. In 1977 White played 62 consecutive games without an error. He collected eight Gold Gloves and is the only second baseman in AL history to win six straight. Three times he led the league in fielding percentage and in 1988 he made only four errors in 150 games.
White also was productive with the bat and on the basepaths. Generally a singles hitter whose speed converted a fair number to doubles, he muscled up late in his career to belt 22 home runs in back-to-back seasons. In 1986 TSN awarded him a Silver Bat. (FO)
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FROM THE BASEBALL CHRONOLOGY
»June 4, 1970: In the June draft, the Padres select high school catcher Mike Ivie as the number-one pick and sign him in three days to a $100,000 contract. He'll play in the ML 11 years but catch only nine games in the bigs because of a phobia about throwing the ball back to the pitcher. Choosing next, the Indians take Stanford P Steve Dunning, who will debut in 10 days. Catchers Barry Foote (Expos) and Darrell Porter (Brewers) go next. The Pirates wait till the 14th round to take Dave Parker. Rich Gossage goes in the 9th round to the White Sox; Rick Reuschel to the Cubs (3); pitcher Dale Murphy to the Braves (18th). The Giants took Randy Moffitt and Chris Speier on the first round in January and repeat the good first round picks today with John D'Acquisto and Dave Kingman. The Reds take prep SS Gary Polczynski in the first round, but have better luck in the 8th (Will McEnaney), the 10th (Ray Knight) and the 19th (Pat Zachry). The Phillies, Royals, Dodgers, and Angels pick 5th, 8th, 9th and 10th on the first round and also come up with duds. Future seventeen-year major leaguer Frank White goes undrafted today.
»April 19, 1977:
Kansas City whips the Twins, 11–3, as Frank White paces the KC offense with a double and homer in one inning.
»May 8, 1979: During an 8–7 loss to Texas, Kansas City loses two regulars, both as a result of being hit by pitches from Ed Farmer. OF Al Cowens suffers a fractured jaw and will miss 21 games. 2B Frank White sustains a broken hand and will sit out 33 contests. Farmer will be traded three times in the next 12 months. On June 20, 1980, Cowens will hit a grounder off Farmer and charge the mound.
»May 1, 1981: Frank White's 4th-inning sacrifice fly off Steve Comer ends the Rangers' consecutive-scoreless-inning streak at 39, and Kansas City goes on to a 4–0 win. Texas pitchers had tossed four consecutive shutouts, one shy of the American League record.
»August 3, 1982:
Kansas City's Frank White completes the cycle with an RBI triple in the bottom of the 9th to give the Royals a 6–5 win over the Tigers.
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