New class will join former pitchers in Oceanside Hall of Fame

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It is no surprise that the St. Louis Cardinals are once again playing for the National League pennant, and possibly for a chance at their third world’s championship in nine years. The Cardinals, like the Yankees, are constant contenders, having made the playoffs 12 times in the last 19 years. But the Cardinals differ from the Yankees in at least one significant way. While the Yankees have always been a team of stars, the Cardinals are usually a team of kids. More than any other team, the Cardinals continually replenish their talent by bringing up young players that they have drafted and developed.

That’s how it was in 1988, when one of the kids the Cardinals brought up to the big leagues was John Costello of Oceanside. The Cardinals were coming off a trip to the World Series, which they lost to the Minnesota Twins in seven games, when they decided to hand the ball to Costello, a 27-year-old right-hander. Costello had been an all-county pitcher for Oceanside High School in 1979. At Mercyhurst College in Pennsylvania, in 1982, he led all NCAA pitchers with an ERA of 1.12. (Coincidentally, Cardinal great Bob Gibson posted a 1.12 ERA in 1968). Costello had been drafted by St. Louis in the 24th round of the 1983 amateur draft and had fought in the minor leagues for five years for his chance. On June 2, 1988, he made his major league debut. In 36 games, all of them in relief, he went 5-2 with a 1.81 ERA and was voted the team’s Rookie of the Year. In a four-year career, he earned 11 wins against 6 losses and posted an impressive 2.97 ERA.

In 1991, Costello’s last season in the majors, the Cardinals drafted John Frascatore in the 24th round. Frascatore, who starred in both baseball and basketball at Oceanside High School, made his major league debut on July 21, 1994. His best season came in 1997, when he went 5-2 with a 2.48 ERA. He later pitched for the Arizona Diamondbacks and Toronto Blue Jays, and retired after the 2001 season with a lifetime record of 20-17.

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