In his prime, Tanana was known for a 100+ MPH fastball, which he abruptly lost when he injured his arm. However, he was able to develop an assortment of off-speed pitches (including an excellent curveball) and continue his career. Throughout his career, he accumulated 34 shutouts, 4,000 innings pitched, and nearly 2,800 strikeouts. He is one of only 23 major league pitchers to have struck out at least 2,700 batters in his career.\n', '

Tanana attended Detroit Catholic Central High School and California State University, Fullerton before embarking on his baseball career. Tanana\'s father, also named Frank, had played professional baseball in the 1950s and was on the 1955 Eastern League championship team, the Reading Indians, before he left baseball and joined the Detroit Police Department.\n', '

Along with Nolan Ryan, Tanana anchored the pitching staff of the California Angels from 1973 to 1979. This led to the saying, "Tanana and Ryan and two days of cryin\'", an indication of just how much the two meant to the rotation. (This was a variation on "Spahn and Sain, then pray for rain," referring to the pitchers of the Boston Braves of the late 1940s.) On June 21, 1975, Tanana struck out 17 batters in one game. The Angels\' offense did not always measure up to its top twosome; in 1976, Tanana and New York\'s Catfish Hunter each pitched 13 scoreless innings in a game where both men received a no-decision. Tanana had had another 13-inning shutout no-decision in 1975 against the White Sox, and he is the only pitcher with two such outings.\n', '

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