Ever since Frank White reached the major leagues with the Kansas City Royals in 1973, his name has been synonymous with fundamental baseball. White, the ALCS MVP in 1980, won eight Rawlings Gold Glove Awards at second base and collected more than 2,000 hits during his career. Since his retirement, White has worked on the field and in player development for the Boston Red Sox and the Royals.
In Good as Gold, the most complete instructional book designed for players at every level, White stresses his fundamental approach to every aspect of baseball—defense, hitting, base running, throwing and the mental side. There also is a conditioning chapter designed by Tim Maxey, the Cleveland Indians’ strength and conditioning coordinator. Throughout the book, other current and former major-league players and coaches share their advice and toughest fundamentals. Good as Gold incorporates a lifetime of observations, teaching techniques and player analysis from one of baseball’s all-time greats.
"Frank was involved in my first appearance as a major leaguer and in my first full game. I came in as a pinch runner for Ken Singleton at second base in the 12th inning of a game against Kansas City. It was my first appearance on a big-league field as a player. I had a feeling of how this was a big stage, different from anything I’d ever experienced in the minor leagues. It was very exciting. Frank, I think, recognized that there might have been some nervousness, so he put on a pick-off play immediately, trying to take advantage of that nervousness. I got back to the base OK, but when Frank tagged me, he gave me a little smile. The batter, John Lowenstein, doubled down the line and I scored the winning run.
"The next day, I got a start. In my first at-bat, the pitcher, Paul Splittorff, had two strikes on me. The next pitch was a fastball that I chopped over the mound. When it got over Splittorff’s head, there was a clear lane for that ball to center field. There was nobody in sight. I just knew that the ball was going to bounce into center field for my first major-league hit. All of a sudden, out of nowhere, Frank White came into the picture. He backhanded the ball, jumped up in the air and threw to first for a great play. He threw me out by a millisecond. I ran back to our dugout and Ken Singleton said, ‘Welcome to the big leagues. That’s Mr. Frank White.’ It took me six or seven more at-bats before I finally got a hit."
— Cal Ripken Jr., former Baltimore shortstop and future Hall of Famer
