Bernie Friberg
Third Baseman · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1919-1933)
Bernie Friberg was a third baseman who played in Major League Baseball from 1919 to 1933 for the Chicago Cubs, the Philadelphia Phillies, and the Boston Red Sox, a span of 15 seasons. In 1,299 career games, he hit .281 with 1,170 hits, 38 home runs, and 471 RBI. His career PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of offensive impact — is 59.
- 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
- Position
- Third Baseman
- Bats / Throws
- R / R
- Height / Weight
- 5'11" / 178 lb
- Died
- 12/8/1958 in Lynn, MA, USA
- MLB Debut
- 1919-08-20
- Last Game
- 1933-06-27
Full name: Bernard Albert Friberg
Career Batting Statistics
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1,299 | 4,169 | 544 | 1,170 | 181 | 44 | 38 | 471 | 51 | 471 | 498 | .281 | .356 | .373 | .728 | 59 |
Career AVG .281 vs. league average .281 across their career seasons — near league average.
Career OBP .356 vs. league average .342 across their career seasons — near league average.
Career SLG .373 vs. league average .392 across their career seasons — 5.1% below league average.
Career OPS .728 vs. league average .735 across their career seasons — near league average.
Season-by-Season Batting
Click a stat to plot it across every season.
| Year | Team | Lg | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | Lg AVG | Lg OBP | Lg SLG | Lg OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1919 | CHN | NL | 8 | 20 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .200 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1920 | CHN | NL | 50 | 114 | 11 | 24 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 6 | 20 | .211 | .271 (-23%) | .331 (-25%) | .363 (-25%) | .694 (-25%) | -454.5 |
| 1922 | CHN | NL | 97 | 296 | 51 | 92 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 23 | 8 | 37 | 37 | .311 | .285 (+9%) | .345 (+13%) | .397 (-12%) | .743 (avg) | 171.4 |
| 1923 | CHN | NL | 146 | 547 | 91 | 174 | 27 | 11 | 12 | 88 | 13 | 45 | 49 | .318 | .282 (+12%) | .344 (+8%) | .390 (+21%) | .734 (+15%) | 1622.7 |
| 1924 | CHN | NL | 142 | 495 | 67 | 138 | 19 | 3 | 5 | 82 | 19 | 66 | 53 | .279 | .283 (-2%) | .345 (+7%) | .389 (-8%) | .734 (-1%) | 160.0 |
| 1925 | CHN | NL | 44 | 152 | 12 | 39 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 16 | 0 | 14 | 22 | .257 | .288 (-11%) | .349 (-6%) | .407 (-14%) | .756 (-11%) | -262.2 |
| 1925 | PHI | NL | 91 | 304 | 41 | 82 | 12 | 1 | 5 | 22 | 1 | 39 | 35 | .270 | .288 (-6%) | .349 (+1%) | .407 (-10%) | .756 (-5%) | -262.2 |
| 1926 | PHI | NL | 144 | 478 | 38 | 128 | 21 | 3 | 1 | 51 | 2 | 57 | 77 | .268 | .279 (-4%) | .345 (avg) | .390 (-15%) | .735 (-8%) | -525.0 |
| 1927 | PHI | NL | 111 | 335 | 31 | 78 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 28 | 3 | 41 | 49 | .233 | .282 (-17%) | .344 (-7%) | .392 (-29%) | .736 (-19%) | -911.1 |
| 1928 | PHI | NL | 52 | 94 | 11 | 19 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 12 | 16 | .202 | .280 (-28%) | .342 (-15%) | .395 (-33%) | .737 (-24%) | -352.6 |
| 1929 | PHI | NL | 128 | 455 | 74 | 137 | 21 | 10 | 7 | 55 | 1 | 49 | 54 | .301 | .289 (+4%) | .353 (+5%) | .415 (+5%) | .769 (+5%) | 489.8 |
| 1930 | PHI | NL | 105 | 331 | 62 | 113 | 21 | 1 | 4 | 42 | 1 | 47 | 35 | .341 | .293 (+16%) | .354 (+20%) | .429 (+4%) | .784 (+11%) | 969.7 |
| 1931 | PHI | NL | 103 | 353 | 33 | 92 | 19 | 5 | 1 | 26 | 1 | 33 | 25 | .261 | .276 (-6%) | .338 (-4%) | .388 (-10%) | .726 (-7%) | -403.0 |
| 1932 | PHI | NL | 61 | 154 | 17 | 37 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 19 | 23 | .240 | .275 (-13%) | .335 (-3%) | .391 (-19%) | .726 (-12%) | -262.9 |
| 1933 | BOS | AL | 17 | 41 | 5 | 13 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 6 | 1 | .317 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| Career · 15 seasons | 1,299 | 4,169 | 544 | 1,170 | 181 | 44 | 38 | 471 | 51 | 471 | 498 | .281 | — | — | — | — | -20 | ||
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.
Season-by-Season Pitching
Click a stat to plot it across every season.
| Year | Team | Lg | W | L | G | GS | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA | Lg ERA | Pitcher PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1925 | PHI | NL | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.0 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 4.50 | — | 0.0 |
| Career · 1 season | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.0 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 4.50 | — | 0 | ||
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.
Game Log & Splits
View full game log (1300 games) →Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).
Batting — Home / Away
| Split | G | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 649 | 2100 | 308 | 624 | 26 | 285 | .297 |
| Away | 650 | 2069 | 235 | 547 | 12 | 194 | .264 |
Pitching — Home / Away
| Split | G | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 1 | 4.0 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 4.50 |
Last 10 Games — Batting
| Date | Tm | Opp | Res | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1933-06-27 | BOS | SLA | W | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1933-06-26 | BOS | SLA | W | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 1933-06-17 | BOS | PHA | L | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1933-06-15 | BOS | NYY | W | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1933-06-14 | BOS | NYY | W | 4 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 1933-06-13 | BOS | NYY | W | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1933-06-09 | BOS | MIN | L | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1933-06-08 | BOS | MIN | L | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 1933-06-02 | BOS | MIN | L | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1933-05-30 | BOS | PHA | L | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Last 1 Games — Pitching
| Date | Tm | Opp | Dec | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1925-08-24 | PHI | STL | — | 4.0 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
Fielding Statistics
Career Fielding Totals by Position
| Position | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1B | 21 | 0 | 141 | 10 | 1 | 9 |
| 2B | 434 | 0 | 1027 | 1390 | 85 | 236 |
| 3B | 479 | 0 | 533 | 930 | 72 | 87 |
| C | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| OF | 195 | 0 | 355 | 25 | 11 | 6 |
| P | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| SS | 123 | 0 | 190 | 277 | 41 | 55 |
Season-by-Season Fielding
| Year | Team | Pos | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1919 | CHN | OF | 7 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1920 | CHN | 2B | 24 | 0 | 57 | 74 | 5 | 9 |
| 1920 | CHN | OF | 24 | 0 | 28 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| 1922 | CHN | 1B | 6 | 0 | 44 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| 1922 | CHN | 2B | 3 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 2 |
| 1922 | CHN | 3B | 5 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 1922 | CHN | OF | 74 | 0 | 126 | 13 | 4 | 4 |
| 1923 | CHN | 3B | 146 | 0 | 168 | 294 | 22 | 33 |
| 1924 | CHN | 3B | 142 | 0 | 163 | 268 | 21 | 21 |
| 1925 | CHN | 1B | 6 | 0 | 46 | 3 | 0 | 2 |
| 1925 | CHN | 3B | 26 | 0 | 24 | 40 | 8 | 5 |
| 1925 | CHN | OF | 12 | 0 | 18 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1925 | CHN | SS | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1925 | PHI | 2B | 77 | 0 | 181 | 257 | 16 | 36 |
| 1925 | PHI | 3B | 14 | 0 | 15 | 17 | 0 | 4 |
| 1925 | PHI | C | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1925 | PHI | P | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1926 | PHI | 2B | 144 | 0 | 381 | 512 | 22 | 89 |
| 1927 | PHI | 2B | 5 | 0 | 10 | 12 | 0 | 1 |
| 1927 | PHI | 3B | 103 | 0 | 124 | 226 | 15 | 23 |
| 1928 | PHI | 1B | 2 | 0 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 1928 | PHI | 2B | 3 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 1 |
| 1928 | PHI | 3B | 5 | 0 | 4 | 11 | 0 | 1 |
| 1928 | PHI | OF | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1928 | PHI | SS | 31 | 0 | 45 | 63 | 11 | 17 |
| 1929 | PHI | 1B | 2 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1929 | PHI | 2B | 8 | 0 | 10 | 19 | 0 | 2 |
| 1929 | PHI | OF | 40 | 0 | 102 | 5 | 1 | 1 |
| 1929 | PHI | SS | 73 | 0 | 132 | 190 | 27 | 32 |
| 1930 | PHI | 2B | 44 | 0 | 104 | 141 | 12 | 26 |
| 1930 | PHI | 3B | 8 | 0 | 9 | 20 | 2 | 0 |
| 1930 | PHI | OF | 35 | 0 | 66 | 4 | 5 | 1 |
| 1930 | PHI | SS | 12 | 0 | 6 | 10 | 2 | 2 |
| 1931 | PHI | 1B | 5 | 0 | 34 | 5 | 1 | 2 |
| 1931 | PHI | 2B | 64 | 0 | 159 | 206 | 17 | 43 |
| 1931 | PHI | 3B | 25 | 0 | 21 | 46 | 3 | 0 |
| 1931 | PHI | SS | 3 | 0 | 6 | 11 | 0 | 3 |
| 1932 | PHI | 2B | 56 | 0 | 107 | 137 | 11 | 22 |
| 1933 | BOS | 2B | 6 | 0 | 14 | 24 | 2 | 5 |
| 1933 | BOS | 3B | 5 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 0 |
| 1933 | BOS | SS | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 |
Career Games by Position
Circle size = games played at each position.
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| Pitcher | 1 |
| Catcher | 1 |
| First Base | 21 |
| Second Base | 429 |
| Third Base | 478 |
| Shortstop | 133 |
| Left Field | 84 |
| Center Field | 50 |
| Right Field | 63 |
Award Voting History
| Year | Award | League | Finish | Points Won | Points Max | Votes First |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1929 | Most Valuable Player | NL | 18th | 4.0 | 80 | 0 |
Most Similar Players
Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.
Bernie Friberg (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.
Bernie Friberg: the record in brief
The profile opens with Bernie Friberg's first major league game on August 20, 1919; the last one listed came on June 27, 1933. Friberg played for the Chicago Cubs (1919 to 1925), the Philadelphia Phillies (1925 through 1932), and the Boston Red Sox (1933). Friberg is listed as a third baseman at 5-foot-11 and 178 pounds. Friberg both batted and threw right-handed, per the bio block. The recorded birth is August 18, 1899, in Manchester, NH, USA. Friberg's death is recorded on December 8, 1958, in Lynn, MA, USA. Friberg's full given name, per the bio, is Bernard Albert Friberg.
Friberg collected 1,170 hits in 4,169 at bats across 1,299 games, good for a .281 batting average, plus 38 homers, 471 RBI, and 51 stolen bases. Reaching base at a .356 clip and slugging .373, Friberg finished with a .728 OPS. The .281 career average is close to the .281 the league hit across the same seasons. The home run peak was 12 in 1923 with the Chicago Cubs.
Frequently Asked Questions about Bernie Friberg
- What years did Bernie Friberg play?
- Bernie Friberg played in Major League Baseball from 1919 to 1933.
- Was Bernie Friberg a pitcher?
- No. Bernie Friberg was a position player (Third Baseman), though he did pitch in 1 career game.
- How many home runs did Bernie Friberg hit?
- Bernie Friberg hit 38 career home runs with 1,170 hits.
- What teams did Bernie Friberg play for?
- Bernie Friberg played for 3 teams: the Chicago Cubs (1919–1920, 1922–1925), the Philadelphia Phillies (1925–1932), and the Boston Red Sox (1933).
- What were Bernie Friberg's career stats?
- In 1,299 games, Bernie Friberg had 1,170 hits, 38 home runs, 471 RBI, 544 runs, and 51 stolen bases, with a .281 batting average.
- What position did Bernie Friberg play?
- Bernie Friberg played primarily as a third baseman, the position where he appeared in the most games.
- How tall was Bernie Friberg and how much did he weigh?
- Bernie Friberg was listed at 5 feet 11 inches and 178 pounds.
- How many home runs did Bernie Friberg hit each season?
- Bernie Friberg's home runs by season: 0 in 1919, 0 in 1920, 0 in 1922, 12 in 1923, 5 in 1924, 6 in 1925, 1 in 1926, 1 in 1927, 1 in 1928, 7 in 1929, 4 in 1930, 1 in 1931, 0 in 1932, and 0 in 1933. His most in one season was 12, in 1923.
- What was Bernie Friberg's career batting average?
- Bernie Friberg batted .281 over his career, with 1,170 hits in 4,169 at bats.
- How many RBI did Bernie Friberg have?
- Bernie Friberg drove in 471 runs in his career.
- What was Bernie Friberg's career ERA?
- Bernie Friberg finished with a 4.50 career ERA, going 0-0 with 1 strikeouts.
- Is Bernie Friberg in the Hall of Fame?
- No. Bernie Friberg has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.