Frank Linzy

Frank Linzy wasn't considered a 'closer' when he began his major league career in 1963, but between 1965-1967, he collected 53 saves, finishing in the top five in the National League each year. Over his 11-year big-league career with four different teams, Linzy notched a total of 110 saves. He wasn't a star, never made an All-Star team, but was dependable enough that he made at least 50 appearances in seven different seasons.

Frank Alfred Linzy was a star basketball player who was named to the Oklahoma Class B All-State teams in both his junior and senior seasons at Porter HS. He also was an All-State baseball player his senior season. After graduation in 1959, the right-handed pitcher attended Oklahoma State and Northeastern State College (Tahlequah, OK) and was signed in June 1960 by San Francisco Giants scout J.R. McLean. Linzy spent four years in the minors before getting called up to the Giants in August 1963. The 6-foot-1 Linzy led the Double-A Eastern League in wins (16), ERA (1.55), and complete games (18) while pitching for Springfield (MA) prior to his call-up. Linzy struggled for the Giants, pitching in eight games (one start) with an ERA+ of just 68. He spent the 1964 season at Triple-A Tacoma, winning 11 games with 11 complete games in 28 starts. 

Linzy spent the next nine seasons in the majors. He pitched for San Francisco from 1965 until the middle of 1970, when he was traded to St. Louis. In his first five years with the Giants, Linzy pitched in at least 50 games each season and had at least 10 saves each year, with a high of 20 in 1965. He finished third in the National League Rookie of the Year voting and even finished 13th in the MVP voting in 1965, ahead of players like Willie Stargell and Frank Robinson. In his first five years with the Giants, he posted an ERA+ of 143.

In his two seasons with the Cardinals, Linzy appeared in 97 games with an ERA+ of 134. In two campaigns with Milwaukee, after being acquired in a trade with St. Louis prior to the 1972 season, Linzy saved 25 games for Milwaukee, including a team-high 13 in 1973. 

Linzy was traded to Philadelphia after the 1973 season and pitched in 22 games for the Phillies in 1974 and was released after that season, He signed with the San Diego Padres prior to 1975 but did not make it back to the big leagues, instead playing for Triple-A Hawaii in his last professional season.