Frank Tepedino

Frank Ronald Tepedino (born November 23, 1947) is an American former left-handed professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball for the New York Yankees (–), Milwaukee Brewers and Atlanta Braves (–) professional baseball teams in Major League Baseball during his career. Tepedino was inducted into the Suffolk Sports Hall of Fame in 2004.

Career Tepedino graduated from George W. Wingate High School in Brooklyn, New York, in 1965. He was drafted by the Baltimore Orioles on June 8, 1965, in the third round of the 1965 amateur draft. He was then drafted from the Orioles by the New York Yankees on November 28, 1966, in the 1966 first-year draft. He pinch hit for Whitey Ford in the bottom of the third inning of a blowout, and popped out to shortstop. The Yankees lost the game by a score of 14–0. On March 31, 1972, he was repurchased by the Yankees from the Brewers, During an assembly at Rocky Point High School six years afterward, Tepedino said, "I lost 343 friends on September 11, 2001," referring to his fire department colleagues. "I didn't know them all personally, but they were all my friends." On October 11, 2001, one month after the attacks, Tepedino threw out the first pitch at the second game of the 2001 American League Division Series at Yankee Stadium.

Tepedino became addicted to alcohol at age 19. He has recovered and has given speeches to youngsters for the Long Island, New York based Winning for Winning, co-founded with former Yankee teammate Rusty Torres, which educates youth about the dangers of alcohol and drugs and promotes youth athletics.