Draft and minor leagues Frisella was drafted by the
New York Mets in the third round of the June Secondary draft, and signed. Frisella went 5-4 with a 2.96
earned run average mostly as a
starting pitcher with the
Auburn Mets of the
New York–Penn League in . He began the season in the
Carolina League with the
Durham Bulls, where he went 9-3 with a 1.49 ERA in thirteen starts to earn a promotion all the way up to triple A. He began seeing more work as a
relief pitcher with the
Jacksonville Suns, and was added to the major league
bullpen by the end of July. After three relief appearances (8 innings pitched, no earned runs) for
manager Wes Westrum, Frisella was added to the Mets' starting rotation. He was 1-6 in his eleven starts with a 3.82 ERA. His one win came against the
Pittsburgh Pirates on August 11. In a no-decision against the
San Francisco Giants. Frisella allowed just two
hits over nine
innings while striking out seven. Frisella spent the next two seasons shuffling from the minor leagues to the majors, compiling a 2-4 record and 4.28 ERA in 22 games at the major league level, and a 15-4 record and 2.65 ERA in the minors.
New York Mets (1967–1972) Following the season, Frisella played winter ball in
Venezuela.
Venezuelan Baseball Hall of Famer Diego Segui, who was a forkball specialist, taught Frisella the pitch. It turned out to be Frisella's
out pitch for the rest of his career, as it had such impressive movement on it that he was often accused of throwing a spitter. After starting the season in Triple A, Frisella joined the Mets at the beginning of July. He earned his first career
save in his first appearance of the season, and his record stood at 4-0 with a 1.88 ERA at the end of the month. He ended the season with an 8-3 record, 3.02 ERA and 54
strikeouts in 65.2
innings pitched. Opposing batters batted just .204 against him. Despite missing half the season, his 29 relief appearances were the third most on the team. In , Frisella and
Tug McGraw formed a devastating righty/lefty tandem closing out Mets games. Following three innings of scoreless ball pitched on the
4th of July, Frisella saw his ERA hit a season low of 1.37. He ended the season at 8-5 with a 1.99 ERA and a team leading twelve saves. After going 5–8 with a 3.34 ERA and nine saves, Frisella was traded along with
Gary Gentry from the Mets to the
Atlanta Braves for
Félix Millán and
George Stone on November 1, .
Atlanta Braves (1973–1974) Frisella developed arm trouble during spring training , and dealt with nagging health issues throughout the season. While he led the team with eight saves, Frisella had nine
blown saves. The second of these came against his former club in his first game back at
Shea Stadium. Entering the game in the eighth inning with the Braves leading 2-1, Frisella allowed both inherited base runners to score, and gave up an additional four
earned runs of his own, while retiring just two batters. His role diminished substantially in . After logging five saves through June, poor performance and injury limited him to just one over the remainder of the season. His last game as a Brave was also his only start for the team. Against the Mets at Shea, he went four innings, and gave up four earned runs in a no-decision. At the winter meetings after the season, the Braves sent Frisella to the
San Diego Padres to reacquire
Cito Gaston.
San Diego Padres (1975) Frisella enjoyed something of a resurgence in
San Diego. Despite a 1-6 record, he pitched a career high 97.2 innings in a career high 65 appearances to go along with a 3.13 ERA. He and
Bill Greif, both right handers, shared closing duties, with each recording nine saves. During spring training in , Frisella was dealt to the
St. Louis Cardinals for lefty pitcher
Ken Reynolds and minor leaguer Bob Stewart.
Cardinals & Brewers (1976) With
Al Hrabosky already in their bullpen, the Cards had no need for a
closer. Thus, Frisella became more of a right handed specialist for the Cardinals. He did well in that role, holding opposing batters to a .190
batting average, and compiling a 1.45 ERA. Two poor performances against
Cincinnati's "
Big Red Machine" saw his ERA balloon to 3.97 before he was sent to the
Milwaukee Brewers for a
player to be named later midway through the season. In his half season with the Brewers, he became manager
Alex Grammas' favorite right hander out of the bullpen. He pitched 3.1 innings of one-hit ball against the
California Angels to earn his first save with his new team, on his way to a team leading nine. He went 5-2 with a 2.74 ERA while holding batters to a .175 batting average. ==MLB career statistics==