Bill Freehan

Catcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1961-1976)

Bill Freehan was a catcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1961 to 1976 for the Detroit Tigers, a span of 16 seasons. In 1,774 career games, he hit .262 with 1,591 hits, 200 home runs, and 758 RBI. Bill Freehan was a 11-time All-Star and a 5-time Gold Glove. His career PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of offensive impact — is 12,940.

AVG (Batting Average):
Hits divided by at bats. .300 is the traditional mark of an excellent hitter.
HR (Home Runs):
Hits on which the batter circled the bases and scored, almost always by clearing the outfield fence.
RBI (Runs Batted In):
Runs that scored as a direct result of a batter's plate appearance.
OPS (On-Base Plus Slugging):
On-base percentage plus slugging percentage, the quickest single summary of offensive value. .900 or better is star-level.

Data updated

AVG .262
HR 200
RBI 758
H 1,591
OPS .752
PIV 12,940
Position
Catcher
Bats / Throws
R / R
Height / Weight
6'3" / 203 lb
Born
11/29/1941 in Detroit, MI, USA
Died
8/19/2021 in Petoskey, MI, USA
MLB Debut
1961-09-26
Last Game
1976-10-03
Awards
11× All-Star · 5× Gold Glove

Full name: William Ashley Freehan

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Career Batting Statistics

Bill Freehan — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
1,774 6,073 706 1,591 241 35 200 758 24 626 753 .262 .340 .412 .752 12,940

Career AVG .262 vs. league average .250 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career OBP .340 vs. league average .317 across their career seasons — +7.2% above league average.

Career SLG .412 vs. league average .370 across their career seasons — +11.4% above league average.

Career OPS .752 vs. league average .687 across their career seasons — +9.5% above league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Bill Freehan Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year Team Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG Lg AVG Lg OBP Lg SLG Lg OPS PIV
1961 DET AL 4 10 1 4 0 0 0 4 0 1 0 .400 — — — — 0.0
1963 DET AL 100 300 37 73 12 2 9 36 2 39 56 .243 .246 (-1%) .308 (+7%) .371 (+4%) .680 (+5%) 361.1
1964 DET AL 144 520 69 156 14 8 18 80 5 36 68 .300 .250 (+20%) .312 (+12%) .377 (+22%) .690 (+18%) 1696.1
1965 DET AL 130 431 45 101 15 0 10 43 4 39 63 .234 .245 (-5%) .310 (-2%) .371 (-9%) .682 (-6%) -299.4
1966 DET AL 136 492 47 115 22 0 12 46 5 40 72 .234 .248 (-6%) .309 (-5%) .376 (-7%) .685 (-6%) -421.7
1967 DET AL 155 517 66 146 23 1 20 74 1 73 71 .282 .242 (+17%) .306 (+27%) .357 (+25%) .663 (+26%) 2961.3
1968 DET AL 155 540 73 142 24 2 25 84 0 65 64 .263 .236 (+11%) .298 (+22%) .340 (+33%) .638 (+28%) 3104.3
1969 DET AL 143 489 61 128 16 3 16 49 1 53 55 .262 .248 (+5%) .320 (+7%) .369 (+10%) .689 (+8%) 853.7
1970 DET AL 117 395 44 95 17 3 16 52 0 52 48 .241 .253 (-5%) .325 (+2%) .385 (+9%) .711 (+6%) 444.5
1971 DET AL 148 516 57 143 26 4 21 71 2 54 48 .277 .249 (+11%) .316 (+12%) .365 (+27%) .682 (+20%) 1990.8
1972 DET AL 111 374 51 98 18 2 10 56 0 48 51 .262 .243 (+7%) .310 (+14%) .353 (+13%) .664 (+14%) 1046.7
1973 DET AL 110 380 33 89 10 1 6 29 0 40 30 .234 .256 (-9%) .325 (-1%) .378 (-17%) .703 (-10%) -462.7
1974 DET AL 130 445 58 132 17 5 18 60 2 42 44 .297 .256 (+15%) .324 (+11%) .369 (+30%) .693 (+21%) 1739.8
1975 DET AL 120 427 42 105 17 3 14 47 2 32 56 .246 .257 (-5%) .327 (-6%) .374 (+6%) .701 (avg) -36.3
1976 DET AL 71 237 22 64 10 1 5 27 0 12 27 .270 .255 (+6%) .320 (-5%) .360 (+6%) .681 (+1%) -38.6
Career · 15 seasons 1,774 6,073 706 1,591 241 35 200 758 24 626 753 .262 — — — — 12,940

Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.

Postseason Statistics

Playoff Career Batting

Bill Freehan — Playoff Career Batting
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
10 36 2 5 2 0 1 5 4 9 .139

Playoff Batting by Year

Bill Freehan — Playoff Batting by Year
Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1972 ALCS DET 3 12 2 3 1 0 1 3 0 1 .250
1968 WS DET 7 24 0 2 1 0 0 2 4 8 .083

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (1774 games) →

Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).

Batting — Home / Away

Bill Freehan — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home8732918345737100374.253
Away9013156361854100384.271

Last 10 Games — Batting

Bill Freehan — Last 10 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1976-10-03 DETMILW 301000112
1976-10-01 DETMILW 300000010
1976-09-29 DETCLEL 401000000
1976-09-28 DETCLEL 401000001
1976-09-25 DETNYYL 412000000
1976-09-20 DETBOSL 502100200
1976-09-19 DETBOSL 400000001
1976-09-18 DETBOSL 402200100
1976-09-15 DETBALL 200000000
1976-09-14 DETBALL 511000102

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Bill Freehan — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
1B 157 159 1294 92 9 98
C 1581 1506 9941 721 72 98
OF 2 0 0 0 0 0

Season-by-Season Fielding

Bill Freehan — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1961 DET C 3 3 14 4 0 0
1963 DET 1B 19 19 147 16 1 14
1963 DET C 73 61 407 22 2 5
1964 DET 1B 1 1 7 0 0 0
1964 DET C 141 137 923 61 7 7
1965 DET C 129 120 865 57 4 4
1966 DET 1B 5 5 44 4 0 3
1966 DET C 132 130 898 56 4 11
1967 DET 1B 11 12 77 5 0 6
1967 DET C 147 137 950 63 8 9
1968 DET 1B 21 21 162 10 1 11
1968 DET C 138 129 971 73 6 15
1968 DET OF 1 0 0 0 0 0
1969 DET 1B 20 21 138 7 3 7
1969 DET C 120 113 821 49 7 7
1970 DET C 114 110 742 42 2 6
1971 DET C 144 142 912 50 4 6
1971 DET OF 1 0 0 0 0 0
1972 DET 1B 1 2 6 3 0 0
1972 DET C 105 99 648 57 8 9
1973 DET 1B 7 7 54 3 0 2
1973 DET C 98 94 584 50 3 3
1974 DET 1B 65 64 590 36 4 49
1974 DET C 63 59 312 45 5 6
1975 DET 1B 5 5 53 2 0 4
1975 DET C 113 112 582 64 6 8
1976 DET 1B 2 2 16 6 0 2
1976 DET C 61 60 312 28 6 2

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Bill Freehan Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position Games
Catcher 1577
First Base 164
Left Field 1
Right Field 1
Designated Hitter 7

Awards & Honors

Bill Freehan — Awards & Honors
Year Award Notes
1971 TSN All-Star C
1969 Gold Glove C
1969 TSN All-Star C
1968 Gold Glove C
1968 TSN All-Star C
1967 Gold Glove C
1967 TSN All-Star C
1966 Gold Glove C
1965 Gold Glove C

College History

Bill Freehan — College History
School Name City State Years Attended
University of Michigan Ann Arbor MI 1961

Award Voting History

Bill Freehan — Award Voting History
Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
1972 Most Valuable Player AL 26th 3.0 336 0
1969 Most Valuable Player AL 26th 3.0 336 0
1968 Most Valuable Player AL 2nd 161.0 280 0
1967 Most Valuable Player AL 3rd 137.0 280 0
1966 Most Valuable Player AL 16th 9.0 280 0
1964 Most Valuable Player AL 7th 44.0 280 0

Most Similar Players

Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.

Career Spans

Bill Freehan (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Sherm Lollar
    .264 avg, 155 HR
  2. 97
    Terry Steinbach
    .271 avg, 162 HR
  3. 94
    Ramon Hernandez
    .263 avg, 169 HR
  4. 94
    Elston Howard
    .274 avg, 168 HR
  5. 93
    Darrell Porter
    .247 avg, 188 HR
  6. 92
    Jason Varitek
    .256 avg, 193 HR

Compare Bill Freehan

Side-by-side career stat comparisons against Freehan's closest peers by position and era.

vs Frank Robinson
vs Harmon Killebrew
vs Willie McCovey
vs Eddie Mathews
vs Al Kaline
vs Dick Allen

Browse all MLB player comparisons →

Bill Freehan: the record in brief

The profile opens with Bill Freehan's first major league game on September 26, 1961; the last one listed came on October 3, 1976. Freehan spent the whole of the career shown here with one club, the Detroit Tigers. Freehan played primarily as a catcher and both batted and threw right-handed. Born on November 29, 1941, in Detroit, MI, USA, Freehan was listed at 6-foot-3 and 203 pounds. Freehan's death is recorded on August 19, 2021, in Petoskey, MI, USA. The given name on file is William Ashley Freehan.

Across 1,774 games at the plate, Freehan's career line reads 1,591 hits in 6,073 at bats for a .262 average, adding 200 home runs, 758 runs batted in, and 24 stolen bases. Freehan got on base at a .340 rate and slugged .412 (.752 OPS). Freehan hit .262 while the league hit .250 over the same span, a figure close to average. 1968 was Freehan's biggest home run year, with 25. The hits column peaks at 156, in 1964.

Frequently Asked Questions about Bill Freehan

What years did Bill Freehan play?
Bill Freehan played in Major League Baseball from 1961 to 1976.
Was Bill Freehan a pitcher?
No. Bill Freehan was a position player (Catcher).
How many home runs did Bill Freehan hit?
Bill Freehan hit 200 career home runs with 1,591 hits.
What teams did Bill Freehan play for?
Bill Freehan played for one team, the Detroit Tigers (1961, 1963–1976).
Did Bill Freehan win an MVP award?
No. Bill Freehan did not win the MVP award.
What awards did Bill Freehan win?
Bill Freehan won 5 Gold Gloves (1965–1969). He was selected to 11 All-Star Games.
What were Bill Freehan's career stats?
In 1,774 games, Bill Freehan had 1,591 hits, 200 home runs, 758 RBI, 706 runs, and 24 stolen bases, with a .262 batting average.
What position did Bill Freehan play?
Bill Freehan played primarily as a catcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.
How tall was Bill Freehan and how much did he weigh?
Bill Freehan was listed at 6 feet 3 inches and 203 pounds.
How many home runs did Bill Freehan hit each season?
Bill Freehan's home runs by season: 0 in 1961, 9 in 1963, 18 in 1964, 10 in 1965, 12 in 1966, 20 in 1967, 25 in 1968, 16 in 1969, 16 in 1970, 21 in 1971, 10 in 1972, 6 in 1973, 18 in 1974, 14 in 1975, and 5 in 1976. His most in one season was 25, in 1968.
What was Bill Freehan's career batting average?
Bill Freehan batted .262 over his career, with 1,591 hits in 6,073 at bats.
How many RBI did Bill Freehan have?
Bill Freehan drove in 758 runs in his career.
Is Bill Freehan in the Hall of Fame?
No. Bill Freehan has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
How many All-Star Games did Bill Freehan make?
Bill Freehan was selected to 11 All-Star Games.