Frank Kostro

[William Malone]

Frank Jerry Kostro was born on August 4, 1937 in Windber, Pennsylvania. 

The Detroit Tigers signed him as an amateur free agent in 1958. He played 16 big league games for them in 1962, and 31 more in the first half of 1963. Detroit traded him to the Los Angeles Angels that June. Kostro finished out the season with the Angels, but he began 1964 in Triple-A.

Los Angeles traded him to the Minnesota Twins on June 11, 1964. He was immediately brought up to the Major League level, and hit .272 with three home runs and 12 RBI for the Twins that summer. Kostro played four different positions on defense, but his primary contributions came as a threat off the bench. He was 10-for-35 (.286) while pinch hitting during his first year with the Twins.

Kostro continued to play for Minnesota for several seasons, often having success as a pinch hitter. Billy Martin took over as Twins manager in 1969, and sent Kostro to Triple-A at the end of spring training. When asked about Martin years later, he declined to answer by saying "if you can't say something good about somebody, you gotta just pass on it." Kostro hit .311 in Triple-A, but was sidelined due to a foot injury in June.

Minnesota called up Kostro when the rosters expanded in September. His foot was still an issue, but this gave him enough service time to qualify for his five year pension. Kostro played just two games that month, going 0-for-2 as a pinch hitter and never playing the field.

He was going to retire due to his foot injury, but the Hankyu Braves of the Japanese league reached out to offer him a contract. Kostro played one year overseas, and used the money he earned to open a successful insurance business in Denver. He was a longtime board member for the Harmon Killebrew Foundation.

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