Frey, a lifelong friend of Don Zimmer (they were teammates at Western Hills High School in Cincinnati), never reached the major leagues as a player. A left-handed-batting and -throwing outfielder, he spent much of his career in the farm systems of the Boston/Milwaukee Braves and the St. Louis Cardinals, then joined the Baltimore Orioles as a scout and minor league manager. He was promoted to the Orioles\' coaching staff under Earl Weaver in 1970, and coached on three American League pennant winners and one World Series champion through 1979 before his hiring by the Royals.\n', '

A week after the end of the 1979 World Series on October 24, Frey was named to succeed Whitey Herzog as manager of the Kansas City Royals. He led the Royals to a 97-65 mark and the American League West Division title in 1980; then, in the 1980 American League Championship Series, the Royals defeated their long-time postseason nemesis, the New York Yankees in three straight games to capture the AL title. (The Yanks had defeated Whitey Herzog\'s Royals for three consecutive seasons (1976–78) in the ALCS). But Frey\'s Royals dropped the World Series to the Philadelphia Phillies in six games.\n', '

During the strike-marred 1981 season in which the Royals finished the first half with a 20–30 record, Frey was criticized widely for not taking full advantage of a team built for speed and for failing to motivate his players by Kansas City vice president/general manager Joe Burke. Frey was relieved of his duties on August 31 despite the 10–10 ballclub leading the second-half American League West standings. His replacement was Dick Howser who had lost his managerial job with the Yankees after the previous year\'s ALCS. Frey\'s record in just less than two seasons as Royals manager was 127–105.\n', '

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