Frank Charles Bolick (born June 28, 1966) is a former

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

player from

Ashland, Pennsylvania Ashland is a borough (Pennsylvania), borough in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, Schuylkill and Columbia County, Pennsylvania, Columbia counties in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, northwest of Pottsville, Pennsylvania, Pottsville. It is part of ...

. He was an infielder for the

Montreal Expos The Montreal Expos () were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in the National League (baseball), National League ...

and

Anaheim Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West Division. Since 1966, the team has pl ...

. He also played four seasons in Japan with the

Chiba Lotte Marines The are a professional baseball team in Japan's Pacific League based in Chiba, Chiba, Chiba City, Chiba Prefecture, in the Kantō region, and owned by Lotte Holdings, Lotte Holdings Co., Ltd. The Marines were a founding member of the Pacific Le ...

. He threw right-handed, and was a switch hitter.

Early career

Bolick played high school baseball at Mount Carmel Area and was drafted out of high school by the

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a n ...

, but did not sign, instead choosing to play college baseball at

Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology (commonly referred to as Georgia Tech, GT, and simply Tech or the Institute) is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Established in 1885, it has the lar ...

. He was drafted again by the

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. The Brewers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Di ...

1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...

, and signed with them on June 12 of that year.

Professional career

North America

Bolick made his way through various minor league organizations before making his major league debut in with the Expos. He played in 95 games that year, hitting 4 home runs and 24 RBIs with a .211 batting average. He spent several more years in the minors with five more organizations before being promoted to the majors again in with the Anaheim Angels. He played 21 games before being released at the end of the season.

Japan

Bolick was signed by the

of the Japanese

Pacific League The , or , or the , due to sponsorship reasons, is one of the two professional baseball leagues constituting Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. The winner of the league championship competes against the winner in the Central League for the a ...

in . The Marines hoped he would emerge as the new cleanup hitter that the team badly needed, but he did not hit well in pre-season games, and began the season in the minors. However, he hit a home run in his first at-bat in April, and emerged as the team's best power hitter by the end of his first season. The Marines compiled a 22-2-1 record in games where Bolick hit a home run, and a cult belief emerged among Marines fans that the team would never lose as long as Bolick hit a home run. However, he was also one at-bat away from tying the league record for consecutive at-bats without a hit, going 0 for 51 at the end of the season. He finished the season with 26 home runs and 61 RBIs. Bolick's production increased in his second season in Japan, where he hit 29 home runs with 102 RBIs in 125 games. He played his best season in , hitting 31 home runs and 101 RBIs with a .279 batting average. He also drew 107 walks; the Japanese single-season record, and won the

Best Nine Award The Best Nine Award is awarded annually to the best player at each position in both the Central League and Pacific League of Japanese professional baseball as determined by a pool of journalists. History While the Best Nine Award was first prese ...

for

designated hitter The designated hitter (DH) is a baseball player who bats in place of another position player, most commonly the pitcher. Unlike other players in a team's lineup, they generally only play as an offensive player and usually do not play defense as ...

. He played an epic game on July 9, 2001, against the

Fukuoka Daiei Hawks The are a Japanese professional baseball team based in Fukuoka, Fukuoka Prefecture. They compete in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) as a member of the Pacific League. Founded on February 22, 1938, as the Nankai Club, being the first Kansai ...

; the Marines were 3 runs behind in the 10th inning, and Bolick finished the game with a walk-off grand slam off closer

Rodney Pedraza Rodney Bernard Pedraza (born December 28, 1969) is an American former professional baseball pitcher in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). He played for the Fukuoka Daiei Hawks from 1999 to 2002 and Yomiuri Giants in 2003. He was an All- Star four ...

. A new strike zone was established in

Nippon Professional Baseball is a professional baseball league and the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning simply ''Professional Baseball''; outside of Japan, NPB is often referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league ...

in , and Bolick was unable to continue his hitting prowess, ending the season with a .204 batting average. He was demoted to the minors after injuring his left knee, and was released in August. He left Japan on September 28, and a large number of Marines fans showed up at

Narita International Airport , also known as Tokyo-Narita International Airport or simply Narita Airport, formerly and originally known as , is the secondary international airport serving the Greater Tokyo Area, the only other one being Haneda Airport (HND). It is about e ...

to bid him farewell.

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bolick, Frank 1966 births Living people American expatriate baseball players in Canada American expatriate baseball players in Japan American expatriate baseball players in Mexico Anaheim Angels players Calgary Cannons players Chiba Lotte Marines players Colorado Springs Sky Sox players Baseball players from Ashland, Pennsylvania Beloit Brewers players Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets baseball players Jacksonville Suns players Lubbock Crickets players Major League Baseball infielders Midland Angels players Montreal Expos players New Haven Ravens players Nippon Professional Baseball designated hitters Ottawa Lynx players San Bernardino Spirit players Stockton Ports players Vancouver Canadians players Guerreros de Oaxaca players