Frank Joseph Herrmann (born May 30, 1984), is an American former

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professiona ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, who attempts to e ...

. He played for the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive ...

and

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has been Citize ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL) ...

(MLB) and the

Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles The , often shortened as the , are a baseball team based in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. It has played in Nippon Professional Baseball's Pacific League since the team's formation in November 2004. The team is owned by the Internet shoppin ...

and

Chiba Lotte Marines The are a professional baseball team in Japan's Pacific League based in Chiba City, Chiba Prefecture, in the Kantō region, and owned by Lotte Holdings Co., Ltd. History The Marines franchise began in 1950 as the Mainichi Orions, an inaugu ...

Nippon Professional Baseball or NPB is the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning ''Professional Baseball''. Outside Japan, it is often just referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league can be traced back to the formatio ...

(NPB).

Amateur career

High school

Herrmann attended

Montclair Kimberley Academy Montclair Kimberley Academy (MKA) is a co-educational private school for students in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade located in Montclair in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. One of New Jersey's largest independent day schools, ...

, where he played baseball, football, and basketball. He was one of the school's few thousand point scorers in basketball. In 2011, he was inducted into the MKA Athletic Hall of Fame.

College

For parts of the Spring and Fall 2006 semesters, Herrmann authored a column for ''

The Harvard Crimson ''The Harvard Crimson'' is the student newspaper of Harvard University and was founded in 1873. Run entirely by Harvard College undergraduates, it served for many years as the only daily newspaper in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Beginning in the f ...

''. He penned nine stories. The column functioned as a diary of his first year as a professional athlete. Though the editor's note before each article describes him as a "former Harvard" pitcher, the stories were written and published before he graduated from Harvard. Herrmann received his degree in economics from

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

in the fall of 2006. He is the fifteenth player to play in the majors after going to Harvard. Jeff Musselman had been the last. As a junior, he pitched a two-hitter against Yale and a one-hitter against Cornell. At the time of his signing with

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U ...

, he was not finished with his studies at Harvard, so the Indians allowed him to return to complete his requirements and finish his degree."Harvard's Frank Herrmann Called Up To Cleveland Indians", ''GoCrimson.com''
/ref>

Professional career

Cleveland Indians

Herrmann was signed as an undrafted free agent by the

in 2006. He made his professional debut with the Single-A

Lake County Captains The Lake County Captains are a Minor League Baseball team in Eastlake, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland, that plays in the Midwest League as the High-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. The Captains joined the Class A Midwest League following ...

, where he pitched to a 3.90 ERA and 4-6 record in 26 games. In 2007, he played for the High-A

Kinston Indians The Kinston Indians were a Minor League Baseball team of the Carolina League (CL) located in Kinston, North Carolina, from 1978 to 2011. They played their home games at Grainger Stadium, which opened in 1949. The team began play in 1978 as the K ...

, recording an 11-5 record and 4.01 ERA in 26 appearances. The next year, Herrmann split the season between the Triple-A

Buffalo Bisons The Buffalo Bisons (known colloquially as the Herd) are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. Located in Buffalo, New York, the team plays their home games at Sahlen ...

, the Double-A

Akron Aeros The Akron RubberDucks are a Minor League Baseball team based in Akron, Ohio. The team, which plays in the Eastern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. They play in Canal Park, located in downtown Akron, which seats 7,630 ...

and Kinston, accumulating an 11-8 record and 4.14 ERA between the three teams. With the Aeros in 2008, Herrmann made 23 starts and, with his 11–6 regular season record and helped lead the team to the 2008 Eastern League championship series. In 2009, he split the season between the Triple-A

Columbus Clippers The Columbus Clippers are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. They are located in Columbus, Ohio, and are named for speedy merchant sailing vessels known as clipp ...

and Akron, posting a 4-4 record and 2.95 ERA in 49 games. Hermann was promoted to the major leagues for the first time and made his major league debut with the Indians on June 4, 2010. In a game against the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...

, he pitched 1.1 innings and gave up no hits, runs, or walks. He was credited with his first career hold, retiring all four batters he faced: Gordon Beckham,

Juan Pierre Juan D'Vaughn Pierre (born August 14, 1977) is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 2000–2013 for the Colorado Rockies, Florida/Miami Marlins, Chicago Cubs, Los Angeles Dodgers, Chic ...

Omar Vizquel Omar Enrique Vizquel González (; born April 24, 1967), nicknamed "Little O", is a Venezuelan former professional baseball shortstop. During his 24-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career, Vizquel played for the Seattle Mariners, Cleveland Indi ...

, and

Alex Ríos Alexis Israel Ríos (born February 18, 1981) is an American former professional baseball right fielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Toronto Blue Jays, Chicago White Sox, Texas Rangers, and Kansas City Royals. A World Serie ...

. He struck out Vizquel for the first strikeout of his major league career. He finished his rookie season with a 4.03 ERA in 40 major league appearances, also notching a minuscule 0.31 ERA in 19 Columbus games. In 2011, Herrmann appeared in 40 major league games, and pitched to a 4-0 record and a 5.11 ERA. He spent the majority of the 2012 season in Columbus, but posted a 2.33 ERA in 15 major league games for the Indians. On March 13, 2013, Herrmann underwent

Tommy John surgery Ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction, colloquially known as Tommy John surgery (TJS), is a surgical graft procedure where the ulnar collateral ligament in the medial elbow is replaced with either a tendon from elsewhere in the patient's ...

, causing him to miss the entire 2013 season. On December 2, 2013, Herrmann signed a one-year deal with the Indians, avoiding arbitration. He was designated for assignment on March 30, 2014. He was outrighted to Triple-A Columbus on April 8, where he spent the season, pitching to a 6.37 ERA in 28 games. He was released by the Indians organization on August 11, 2014.

Los Angeles Angels

On January 27, 2015, Herrmann signed a minor league contract with the

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

organization that included an invitation to Spring Training. He was assigned to the Triple-A

Salt Lake Bees The Salt Lake Bees are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels. They are located in Salt Lake City, Utah, and play their home games at Smith's Ballpark. The ballpark op ...

to begin the season. After recording a 4.05 ERA in 37 games in Salt Lake, Herrmann was released on August 11, 2015.

Pittsburgh Pirates

On August 16, 2015, Herrmann signed a minor league deal with the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. Founded as part o ...

organization. He finished the season with the Triple-A

Indianapolis Indians The Indianapolis Indians are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. They are located in Indianapolis, Indiana, and play their home games at Victory Field, which opene ...

, pitching to a 1.50 ERA in 7 appearances. He elected free agency on November 6, 2015.

Philadelphia Phillies

On November 18, 2015, Herrmann signed a minor league deal with the

that included an invitation to Spring Training. He was assigned to the Triple-A

Lehigh Valley IronPigs The Lehigh Valley IronPigs are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies. They are located in Allentown, Pennsylvania, and are named in reference to pig iron, used in th ...

to begin the year, where he pitched to a 6-1 record and 1.72 ERA in 27 games. On August 17, 2016, Herrmann was selected to the active roster. Herrman recorded an 8.40 ERA in 14 games for Philadelphia, but was outrighted off of the 40-man roster on October 7, 2016. He elected free agency on October 13, 2016.

Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles

On November 29, 2016, Herrmann signed with the

. Herrmann appeared in 56 games for Rakuten in 2017, pitching to a 2.72 ERA with 58 strikeouts in 53.0 innings of work. The next year, he recorded a stellar 1.99 ERA with 44 strikeouts in 47 appearances. In 2019, Herrmann pitched to a 5-3 record and 3.04 ERA with 49 strikeouts in 50 games. On December 2, 2019, he became a free agent.

Chiba Lotte Marines

On December 19, 2019, Herrmann signed with the

of NPB. In 38 games for the club, Herrmann recorded a neat 2.15 ERA with 37 strikeouts in 38 appearances. On December 2, 2020, Herrmann became a free agent. On December 15, 2020, he re-signed with the Marines. Herrmann worked to a 5.19 ERA with 41 strikeouts in 45 appearances for Lotte in 2021.

Post-playing career

On February 18, 2022, Herrmann joined the

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...

' front office in a scouting, player development, and baseball operations role.

Personal

Hermann married Johanna Nicole Rangel at the Harvard Memorial Chapel on November 6, 2010.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Herrmann, Frank 1984 births Living people Águilas Cibaeñas players American expatriate baseball players in the Dominican Republic Akron Aeros players American expatriate baseball players in Japan Baseball players from New Jersey Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Chiba Lotte Marines players Cleveland Indians players Columbus Clippers players Harvard Crimson baseball players Indianapolis Indians players Kinston Indians players Lake County Captains players Lehigh Valley IronPigs players Major League Baseball pitchers Montclair Kimberley Academy alumni Nippon Professional Baseball pitchers People from Rutherford, New Jersey Philadelphia Phillies players Salt Lake Bees players Sportspeople from Bergen County, New Jersey Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles players