Bob Friend, Pirates pitching legend, dies at 88
Matt Freed/Post-Gazette
Bob Friend, Pirates pitching legend, dies at 88
Matt Freed/Post-Gazette
Bob Friend, an
ironman right-handed pitcher who never spent a day on the disabled list during
his 16-year Major League Baseball career, died Sunday from a cardiac event in
his sleep. He was 88.
“It was sudden and
there were no warning signs,” his son, also Bob Friend, a longtime pro golfer,
said. “He wasn’t suffering and went out quickly and was discovered by my
mother [Pat Friend] this morning.”
The elder Mr.
Friend, who lived in O’Hara, was a poster boy for the Pirates in the 1950s and
1960s. The 20-year-old was thrust into the starting rotation in 1951 and asked
to ride out the storm. The pitiful Pirates lost more than 100 games in three of
his four seasons; he had 50 losses to his name before age 24.
As the kid pitcher
grew, so did the ball club. In 1955, Mr. Friend became the first pitcher to have
the league’s lowest earned run average, at 2.83, while playing for a last-place
team. In 1958, he led the league with a career-best 22 wins. In 1960, the
four-time All-Star became a World Series champion.
Mr. Friend, who had
the nickname “Warrior,” played for the Pirates from 1951 to 1965 and closed his
baseball career in 1966 suiting up for the New York Yankees and, later, the
Mets.
Mr. Friend still is
the Pirates’ franchise leader in many statistical pitching categories,
including starts (477), innings pitched (3,480⅓) and strikeouts (1,682). His 218 losses also are first in club
history, his 191 wins fourth.
Another famous
first: On April 13, 1963, Mr. Friend gave up a leadoff triple in the eighth
inning to a Cincinnati Reds rookie named Pete Rose — it was the future hit
king’s first career hit.
“My father was a
Renaissance man,” his son said. “He sang in a barbershop quartet in high
school and college and was recruited by the Pirates right out of high school.
But went back to Purdue for seven offseasons and earned a degree in economics.”
He sold mutual
funds for Federated Investors of Pittsburgh and spent the 26 years prior to
retirement in 2001 with Babb Inc., a Pittsburgh insurance broker.
“I never met anyone
in my entire life who had every quality that makes a man a man,” his son
said. “He was loyal. He was smart. And he worked hard. He had incredible
character, and had a great sense of humor. He was a man’s man and a gentleman
who stood whenever a lady entered the room and held doors open for
ladies.
Each week, the
elder Mr. Friend would receive 10 to 20 requests for his autograph, his son
said.
Robert Bartmess
Friend was born on Nov. 24, 1930, in Lafayette, Ind., and grew up in nearby
West Lafayette. The son of an orchestra director, young Bob was more musician
than athlete as a boy. He was a virtuoso pianist before giving it up at age 16
after his father died. An all-star halfback and pitcher, he enrolled at Purdue
University, like his father and several siblings had previously, and planned to
play on the football team.
A shoulder injury,
however, made him choose between football and baseball, and Mr. Friend signed
with the Pirates shortly after starting at Purdue in the fall of 1949. After
just two years in the minors, he was promoted by Branch Rickey to join the
starting rotation of a team coming off a 96-loss season.
Things got worse
before they got better. The Pirates lost 90, 112, 104, 101, 94, 88 and 92 games
in Mr. Friend’s first seven seasons in the majors, the years before the great
turnaround.
Before the 1960
postseason began, Myron Cope, then a Pittsburgh Post-Gazette sportswriter,
scrawled this anecdote: “When [Friend] joined the Pirates at age 20 in 1951,
his teammates dubbed him ‘Nervous, Nervous Friend.’ On days he was scheduled to
pitch he would pace back and forth in the clubhouse, bending his pitching arm
up and down at the joint while massaging it nervously. In time he suppressed
his nervousness, but he remains a keyed-up athlete.”
Mr. Friend stumbled
in the World Series, taking two blowout losses before a doggone miracle
happened: Bill Mazeroski blasted a Game 7, walk-off home run to lift the
Pirates past the Yankees.
Mr. Friend finished
his 16-year career with a 3.58 ERA in 602 career appearances, 497 starts. He
was the Pirates’ opening day starter seven times. He won two All-Star Games,
and he beat the New York Giants, 9-1, in their last game at the Polo Grounds on
Sept. 29, 1957.
In 1957, Mr. Friend
married Patricia Koval, a nurse who worked for the Pirates’ team doctor. Robert
Charles Friend of Aspinwall, one of the couple’s two children, enjoyed a long
career on the Nationwide Tour and PGA Tour.
A union leader for
National League players during his time in the majors, Mr. Friend entered local
politics after his retirement. He served as Allegheny County controller from
1967, when he knocked off Democrat James W. Knox, until 1975. He was a
three-time delegate to the Republican National Convention, and he also was an
insurance broker for many years.
“Our thoughts,
prayers and support go out to Bob’s wife, Pat, son, Bob, and daughter, Missy,
as well as the rest of the Friend family members and loved ones,” Pirates
president Frank Coonelly said in a statement.
“Bob was truly one
of the very best to ever wear the Pirates’ black and gold. He will be deeply
missed.”
In addition to his
wife of 61 years and his son, Mr. Friend is survived by one daughter, Missy
Friend Alexander of Myrtle Beach, S.C.; five grandchildren; and one
great-granddaughter. The Burket-Truby Funeral Home of Oakmont will announce
funeral arrangements.
Stephen J. Nesbitt:
snesbitt@post-gazette.com and on Twitter @stephenjnesbitt. David Templeton
contributed.
Bob Friend, 88, Mainstay of Pirates Team That Stunned Yanks, Dies
Bob Friend, who learned how to pitch on lowly Pittsburgh Pirate teams of the early 1950s, then became one of the National League’s finest right-handers and an anchor of the team that stunned the Yankees in the thrilling 1960 World Series, was found dead on Sunday at his home in O’Hara Township, Pa., a suburb of Pittsburgh. He was 88.
His death was announced by the Pirates. Friend’s son, Bob, told The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that Friend had died of a “cardiac event” in his sleep.
Friend won 197 games in his 16 major league seasons. But he lost 230 games, mostly for teams that struggled after Branch Rickey, the Pirates’ general manager, embarked on a rebuilding period.
ADVERTISEMENT
Friend had his first winning season in 1955, his fifth year with the Pirates, when he altered his windup so he could hide the ball and his grip from batters until the last possible moment. The Pirates finished in last place that season, but Friend went 14-9 and became the first pitcher to lead the N.L. in earned run average on a basement team when he posted a 2.83 mark.
Friend led the league in innings pitched twice, totaling almost 600 innings through 1956 and 1957, and led the N.L. in games started each season from 1956 to 1958. His best season came in 1958, when he had a 22-14 record, tying the Milwaukee Braves’ Warren Spahn for the league lead in wins. He was an All-Star in 1956, 1958 and 1960.
“I had a real good sinker that carried me through most of the prime of my career,” Friend recalled in an interview with Clifton Parker for the Society for American Baseball Research. “I had also had a hard curve and a fair off-speed pitch, but it was the sinker more than anything else.”
“I was able to pitch every third or fourth day for more than 10 years and never miss starts,” he said.
Friend went 18-12 in the 1960 regular season while Law was 20-7. But coming off a heavy workload in September, Friend pitched poorly in the World Series against the Yankees.
ADVERTISEMENT
Friend started Game 2, but was lifted for a pinch-hitter in the bottom of the fourth inning after yielding three runs in a 16-3 trouncing by the Yankees; he earned the loss. (The Yankees outscored the Pirates 55-27 in the Series.)
He was the starter again in Game 6, giving up five runs in two innings as the Yankees went on to even the Series. In Game 7 at Forbes Field, Friend relieved at the start of the ninth inning but left after yielding a pair of singles. The Yankees scored twice to tie the game, setting the stage for Bill Mazeroski’s bases-empty ninth-inning home run off Ralph Terry. Pittsburgh’s wild 10-9 victory gave the Pirates their first World Series championship in 35 years.
Robert Bartmess Friend was born on Nov. 24, 1930, in Lafayette, Ind., and grew up in West Lafayette, the home of Purdue University. Friend’s father conducted local band concerts, and Bob began taking piano lessons as a child with thoughts of becoming a concert pianist.
But he was a baseball and football star at West Lafayette High School and, while a freshman at Purdue, was signed by the Pirates’ organization before the 1950 season.
After a year in the minors, Friend joined the Pirates in 1951. They finished in seventh place that year and in last place during the next four seasons under Rickey, who took over as general manager in Pittsburgh in 1950 and hoped to duplicate the success he had had building the Brooklyn Dodger teams that would dominate the N.L. for much of the 1950s.
“I simply wasn’t ready to pitch in the major leagues, and for four years it was a terrible struggle,” Friend told The New York Times after he was traded to the Yankees in 1966.
Rickey’s signings and the deals made by Joe L. Brown, who succeeded him as general manager in the mid-1950s, eventually built a solid lineup and pitching staff. The 1960 Pirates featured Roberto Clemente in right field, Bill Virdon in center, Dick Groat at shortstop and Mazeroski at second base, complementing the pitching of Friend, Law, Harvey Haddix, Vinegar Bend Mizell and Face.
ADVERTISEMENT
Friend became a Yankee before the 1966 season. He posted a 1-4 record before they sold him to the Mets in June. He went 5-8 for them to close out his career.
He pitched 3,611 innings, struck out 1,734 batters, threw 36 shutouts and had a career earned run average of 3.58.
Friend was active in the major league players’ union, serving as the Pirates’ player representative and the N.L. player representative in negotiations with the club owners. He attended Purdue during off-seasons and received a bachelor’s degree in economics in 1957.
After leaving baseball, Friend remained in the Pittsburgh area. Running as a Republican, he served as the Allegheny County controller from 1967 to 1975, and he was a three-time delegate to the Republican National Convention. He was later an insurance broker.
Friend had a passion for golf and played recreationally at leading courses in the United States and Scotland, attaining a notably low 6 handicap. His son, Bob, played on the PGA Tour and other circuits.
In addition to his son, Robert Charles Friend, Friend’s survivors include his wife, Patricia (Koval) Friend; his daughter, Missy Alexander; five grandchildren; and a great-grandchild.
Over the years, the Pirates’ 1960 World Series victory has beencelebrated by fans gathering in October at a remnant of a wall from Forbes Field, which was demolished in 1971, to hear the rebroadcast of Game 7.
Friend, who attended many of the annual commemorations, was hailed as a special guest in 2014.
“It was a magic season for all of us,” The Post-Gazette quoted him as saying. “The team had suffered a long time.”
A version of this article appears in print on , on Page B12 of the New York edition with the headline: Bob Friend, 88, Mainstay Of Pirates’ Pitching Staff. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe
Bob Friend
| Bob Friend | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Friend in about 1953
| |||
| Pitcher | |||
| Born: November 24, 1930 Lafayette, Indiana | |||
| Died: February 3, 2019 (aged 88) Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | |||
| |||
| MLB debut | |||
| April 28, 1951, for the Pittsburgh Pirates | |||
| Last MLB appearance | |||
| September 24, 1966, for the New York Mets | |||
| MLB statistics | |||
| Win–loss record | 197–230 | ||
| Earned run average | 3.58 | ||
| Strikeouts | 1,734 | ||
| Teams | |||
| Career highlights and awards | |||
| |||
Robert Bartmess Friend (November 24, 1930 – February 3, 2019) was a right-handed starting pitcher in Major League Baseball who pitched primarily for the Pittsburgh Pirates (1951–1965), joining the New York Yankees and New York Mets in his final season of 1966. He is the first man to lead the league in ERA while pitching for a last place team.
Contents
Early life[edit]
Friend was born in Lafayette, Indiana, and grew up in nearby West Lafayette. His father was an orchestra leader, and Friend studied piano seriously until age sixteen, about the time of his father's death. At West Lafayette High School, Friend was an all-state football halfback and an all-state pitcher on the baseball team, and also played basketball and golf.
Friend's father and many other family members had attended Purdue University before he came of age, and Friend dreamed of playing college football for Purdue, as well as pursuing a baseball career. However, a high school shoulder injury led him to focus on baseball, and he signed a professional contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates. He enrolled at Purdue in the fall of 1949, but was ineligible for college athletics. Friend attended Purdue during baseball off-seasons for eight years, eventually earning a bachelor's degree in economics in 1957, and was a member of the Sigma Chi fraternity.
Entering Pittsburgh's farm system in 1950, Friend pitched for the Waco Pirates minor league team in the Big State League, compiling a 12–9 record. He was then promoted to the Indianapolis Indians of the Triple-A American Association, where he finished the year with a 2–4 record. Pittsburgh Pirates general manager Branch Rickey was anxious to develop young players quickly, and moved Friend onto the major league roster at the beginning of 1951.
Major League career[edit]
In 1951, Friend joined the Pirates to begin the season, making his first appearance on June 28 in relief, allowing two hits over two innings of scoreless work in an eventual 4-2 loss to the Cincinnati Reds. He totaled 149.2 innings that season, making 22 starts and 12 relief appearances. On August 15, he pitched his first career shutout, blanking the St. Louis Cardinals 7-0 on two hits while striking out three. He also managed to walk eight batters that day. He ended up with a 6-10 record and a 4.27 ERA. the Pirates posted a 64-90 record, finishing ahead of only the last-place Chicago Cubs.
Friend began 1952 as Pittsburgh's number four starter. He opened the year with a shutout, striking out six Reds en route to a five-hit, 3-0 victory. He went 7-17 (NL third in losses) with a 4.18 ERA, allowing a respectable 9.0 H/9. The Bucs finished with a 42-112 record, their worst mark in 62 years.
Friend went 8-11, 4.90 in 1953. For the first time in his career, he struck out more batters than he walked (66 K's to 59 walks). On June 15, he earned his second win of the seasons, striking out six Milwaukee Braves in a complete game, 10-inning five-hitter, a 3-2 victory. Pittsburgh finished 55 games out of first place, going 50-104.
Friend made 35 appearances, 20 of them starts for the 1954 Pirates. He went 7-12 with a career-worst 5.07 ERA on the season. He defeated the Chicago Cubs, 4-0 in the back half of a doubleheader on September 14, allowing no walks and five hits while striking out five. In his next start, he earned a 1-0 win over the Brooklyn Dodgers by allowing six hits and no walks, whiffing three batters on September 19. Pittsburgh managed to improve their record by only three games, going 53-101.
In 1955 Friend posted a 14-9 record (NL fifth in wins, NL third-best .609 win percentage) and won the NL pitching title with an NL-best 2.83 ERA. 20 of his 44 appearances were starts, and he finished 16th in the NL MVP vote. His 6.0 pWAR also ranked him first in the league. He allowed 7.997 hits per nine innings pitched (NL sixth) with a 1.148 WHIP (NL third). His 50 defensive assists from the hill was the most in the league. On September 7, he struck out eight Cubs while allowing a single baserunner, a single to opposing left fielder Frank Baumholtz in a 2-0 win over Chicago. Despite his success, the Pirates still finished in last, at 60-94.
In 1956, Friend led the NL with 42 starts (in 49 appearances) and with 314.1 innings pitched. He was selected to his first all-star team and was the winning pitcher of the 1956 All-Star Game. He finished 12th in the NL MVP race. He went 17-17 (NL eighth in wins) with a 3.46 ERA. His 5.6 pWAR was good enough to rank second in the NL. He also racked up 166 strikeouts (NL third). On June 8, he struck out nine Cardinals in a complete game, 11-inning, 2-0 six-hit victory. The Pirates finished with a 66-88 record, six games ahead of the last-place Cubs.
Friend again led the NL in starts in 1957, with 38, and in innings pitched, with 277. He compiled a 14-18 record with a 3.38 ERA (NL seventh). He registered a 1.231 WHIP (NL ninth), 143 strikeouts (NL sixth), and 17 complete games (NL second). On August 13, he pitched a two-hit victory, striking out five in a 6-0 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies. The team finished the year tied for last, at 62-92. Also this season, he earned his degree from Purdue University in Economics, a result of him having attended the school during the off-season for eight years.
In 1958 Friend was selected to his second all-star team, finish sixth in the NL MVP race, and third for the NL Cy Young Award. He led the league in wins, going 22-14 with a 3.68 ERA. In 274 innings, (NL third), he racked up a 1.314 WHIP (NL ninth), 135 strikeouts (NL fifth), and 16 complete games (NL fifth). He ranked fourth in the NL with 10 sacrifice hits. He won his first four decisions of the season, but only pitched one shutout all year, a 2-0 win against St. Louis on August 3. He allowed nine hits and struck out two. The Pirates finished the year at 84-70, second only to the NL pennant-winning Milwaukee Braves, by eight games.
In 1959 Friend led the NL in losses, going 8-19 on the season with a 4.03 ERA. He placed second in the NL with 12 sacrifice hits. He earned his first win of the season on May 28 (against seven losses) by shutting out the Braves 3-0, striking out five and allowing four hits and two walks. Pittsburgh finished mid-pack, in fourth place, nine games back with a 78-76 record.
In 1960, Friend made the all-star roster for the third time, leading the NL with 4.1 strikeouts per walk issued. He went 18-12 (NL fifth in wins) with a 3.00 ERA (also NL fifth). He posted a 5.6 pWAR (NL fourth), a 1.128 WHIP (NL third), and 183 strikeouts (NL fifth) over 257.2 innings (NL second). Of his NL third-best four shutouts, his best was probably on April 28, when he struck out 11 and allowed just four hits in a 3-0 win over the Phillies. The 95-59 Pirates finished seven games ahead of second place Milwaukee for the NL pennant. The Pirates defeated the New York Yankees in the 1960 World Series in seven games. Of Pittsburgh's three losses, Friend was on the hook for two, racking up a 13.50 ERA over his three appearances.
Friend led the NL in losses for the second time in 1961, going 14-19 with a 3.85 ERA (his win total ranked him 10th in the league). He started 35 games (NL fourth), completing 10 and using 236 innings (NL 10th). He was undefeated through his first five starts (4-0, 3.20). This includes his start on April 19, when he defeated the Cubs, 4-1, allowing three hits and striking out seven. The Pirates regressed to 75-79, finishing a distant sixth in the eight-team National League.
In 1962, Friend went 18-14 (NL seventh in wins) with a 3.06 ERA (NL ninth) and a league-leading five shutouts. He had a 5.9 pWAR (NL fourth) with 13 complete games (NL ninth). His .984 fielding percentage at the position ranked him fourth in the NL. On opening day, April 10, he tossed a 6-0 shutout against the Phillies, allowing a walk with five hits while striking out five. On August 20, he blanked the expansion New York Mets, 2-0, whiffing six with two walks and four hits. Pittsburgh went 93-68, finishing in fourth place eight games behind the pennant-winning San Francisco Giants.
In 1963 Friend went 17-16 (NL ninth in wins) with career bests in ERA, 2.34 (NL third), H/9, at 7.9 (NL sixth), and WHIP, a 1.042 (NL fifth). He had a 5.8 pWAR (NL fourth). He defeated the Mets, 10-1 on June 1, striking out eight and allowing two hits. The run was unearned. At 74-88, the Pirates were the only non-expansion team to register a record below .500, placing in eighth.
Friend completed 13 (NL ninth) of 35 starts (NL seventh) with three shutouts (NL 10th), posting a 13-18 record with a 3.33 ERA in 1964. As in eight of the prior nine seasons, he ranked in the NL top ten in batters faced and in innings pitched. He went the distance on July 15 in a 3-0 shutout over the Phillies, allowing seven hits and striking out four. The Pirates finished tied for sixth at 80-82, 13 games behind pennant-winning St. Louis.
1965 marked the end of Friend's tenure in Pittsburgh, a season in which he went 8-12 with a 3.24 ERA over 34 starts. On July 23, he beat the Cubs 6-0, allowing a walk and two hits for his fifth win of the season. Pittsburgh closed out Friend's stay with a strong 90-72 campaign, seven games back of the Dodgers.
Friend played one more major league season, splitting the year between the two New York clubs. He went 1-4, 4.84 with the Yankees and 5-8, 4.40 with the Mets.
Friend wore #19 for the Yankees. After he was traded to the Mets, Fritz Peterson took over his uniform number.[1]
In 15 full seasons with the Pirates, Friend finished 27 games below .500 on a team that went 1066–1285. Although never considered a Hall of Fame-caliber pitcher, he was often the number one option on a team with no number two.
Personal life and death[edit]
In 1957, Friend married Patricia Koval, a nurse in the office of the Pirates' team doctor. They have two children; son Bob Friend Jr. is a retired professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour.
Friend served as controller of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania from 1967 to 1975. In 1976, he joined an insurance brokerage, eventually becoming a vice president. He was a three-time delegate to the Republican National Convention. He was a Freemason.
Friend died unexpectedly at his home on February 3, 2019 from cardiac arrest at the age of 88.[2][3]
No comments:
Post a Comment