Bob Friend

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1951-1966)

W–L 197–230
ERA 3.58
WHIP 1.29
SO 1,734
Pitcher PIV 45735.4
Position
Pitcher
Bats / Throws
R / R
Height / Weight
6'0" / 190 lb
Born
11/24/1930 in Lafayette, IN, USA
Died
2/3/2019 in O'Hara Township, PA, USA
MLB Debut
1951-04-28
Last Game
1966-09-24
Awards
3× All-Star

Full name: Robert Bartmess Friend

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Career Pitching Statistics

W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
197 230 602 497 163 36 11 3611.0 3,772 1,438 286 894 1,734 3.58 45735.4

Career ERA 3.58 vs. league average 3.81 across their career seasons — 5.8% better than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

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
1951 PIT NL 6 10 34 22 3 1 0 149.7 173 71 68 41 4.27 4.04 (-6%) -1110.8
1952 PIT NL 7 17 35 23 6 1 0 185.0 186 86 84 75 4.18 3.70 (-13%) -1581.8
1953 PIT NL 8 11 32 24 8 0 0 170.7 193 93 57 66 4.90 4.14 (-19%) -453.1
1954 PIT NL 7 12 35 20 4 2 2 170.3 204 96 58 73 5.07 3.90 (-30%) 424.3
1955 PIT NL 14 9 44 20 9 2 2 200.3 178 63 52 98 2.83 4.00 (+29%) 3302.9
1956 PIT NL 17 17 49 42 19 4 3 314.3 310 121 85 166 3.46 3.96 (+13%) 6606.1
1957 PIT NL 14 18 40 38 17 3 0 277.0 273 104 68 143 3.38 3.83 (+12%) 2551.3
1958 PIT NL 22 14 38 38 16 1 0 274.0 299 112 61 135 3.68 3.86 (+5%) 3430.3
1959 PIT NL 8 19 35 35 7 2 0 234.7 267 105 52 104 4.03 3.90 (-3%) 2715.7
1960 PIT NL 18 12 38 37 16 4 1 275.7 266 92 45 183 3.00 3.82 (+21%) 9342.5
1961 PIT NL 14 19 41 35 10 1 1 236.0 271 101 45 108 3.85 4.03 (+4%) 5420.1
1962 PIT NL 18 14 39 36 13 5 1 261.7 280 89 53 144 3.06 3.96 (+23%) 4587.6
1963 PIT NL 17 16 39 38 12 4 0 268.7 236 70 44 144 2.34 3.46 (+32%) 6207.0
1964 PIT NL 13 18 35 35 13 3 0 240.3 253 89 50 128 3.33 3.58 (+7%) 5207.0
1965 PIT NL 8 12 34 34 8 2 0 222.0 221 80 47 74 3.24 3.50 (+7%) -502.0
1966 NYA AL 1 4 12 8 0 0 0 44.7 61 24 9 22 4.84 3.52 (-37%) 861.5
1966 NYN NL 5 8 22 12 2 1 1 86.0 101 42 16 30 4.40 3.52 (-25%) -1273.1
Career · 17 seasons 197 230 602 497 163 36 11 3,611.0 3,772 1,438 894 1,734 3.58 — 45,735

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.

Career Batting Statistics

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
602 1,137 56 138 16 2 2 60 0 38 375 .121 .150 .144 .294 -9,531

Career AVG .121 vs. league average .255 across their career seasons — 52.4% below league average.

Career OBP .150 vs. league average .323 across their career seasons — 53.8% below league average.

Career SLG .144 vs. league average .386 across their career seasons — 62.7% below league average.

Career OPS .294 vs. league average .710 across their career seasons — 58.6% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

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
1951 PIT NL 34 44 1 4 2 0 0 2 0 2 19 .091 — — — — 0.0
1952 PIT NL 35 52 2 3 0 0 0 0 0 2 20 .058 .252 (-77%) .326 (-72%) .369 (-84%) .696 (-78%) -632.3
1953 PIT NL 32 52 4 7 1 0 0 1 0 1 16 .135 .264 (-49%) .335 (-55%) .397 (-61%) .733 (-58%) -494.9
1954 PIT NL 35 51 6 14 1 1 1 7 0 5 8 .275 .261 (+5%) .333 (+2%) .390 (+1%) .723 (+1%) 11.5
1955 PIT NL 44 61 3 10 1 0 0 4 0 3 15 .164 .258 (-37%) .332 (-39%) .393 (-54%) .726 (-47%) -459.4
1956 PIT NL 49 97 7 16 2 0 1 8 0 1 19 .165 .258 (-36%) .331 (-48%) .397 (-46%) .728 (-46%) -732.6
1957 PIT NL 40 87 5 16 2 0 0 4 0 6 22 .184 .257 (-29%) .323 (-28%) .391 (-47%) .715 (-38%) -527.1
1958 PIT NL 38 94 3 10 2 0 0 6 0 4 28 .106 .257 (-59%) .324 (-56%) .394 (-68%) .719 (-63%) -946.4
1959 PIT NL 35 73 4 12 2 0 0 7 0 2 25 .164 .256 (-36%) .323 (-42%) .392 (-51%) .715 (-47%) -544.9
1960 PIT NL 38 88 5 6 1 0 0 3 0 6 31 .068 .255 (-73%) .323 (-61%) .387 (-79%) .711 (-71%) -979.5
1961 PIT NL 41 79 6 11 0 1 0 7 0 1 36 .139 .258 (-46%) .328 (-54%) .399 (-59%) .727 (-57%) -722.9
1962 PIT NL 39 91 3 11 2 0 0 5 0 0 31 .121 .257 (-53%) .326 (-63%) .393 (-64%) .719 (-63%) -916.5
1963 PIT NL 39 86 2 9 0 0 0 2 0 1 31 .105 .246 (-58%) .308 (-63%) .371 (-72%) .680 (-68%) -871.7
1964 PIT NL 35 71 2 5 0 0 0 2 0 3 26 .070 .250 (-72%) .312 (-65%) .377 (-81%) .690 (-74%) -798.7
1965 PIT NL 34 71 2 3 0 0 0 1 0 1 26 .042 .245 (-83%) .310 (-82%) .371 (-89%) .682 (-86%) -915.1
1966 NYA AL 12 11 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 .000 — — — — 0.0
1966 NYN NL 22 29 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 17 .034 — — — — 0.0
Career · 17 seasons 602 1,137 56 138 16 2 2 60 0 38 375 .121 — — — — -9,531

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

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
3 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000

Playoff Batting by Year

Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1960 WS PIT 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000

Playoff Career Pitching

W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
0 2 3 2 0 6.0 13 9 3 7 13.50

Playoff Pitching by Year

Year Round Team W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
1960 WS PIT 0 2 3 2 0 6.0 13 9 3 7 13.50

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (1204 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home3055603070032.125
Away2975772668228.118

Pitching — Home / Away

SplitGIPHERBBSOERA
Home3051900.119807214689203.41
Away2971710.117907154258143.76

Last 10 Games — Batting

DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1966-09-24 NYNCINL 000000000
1966-09-13 NYNLADL 200000001
1966-09-05 NYNCINL 100000001
1966-09-04 NYNPHIL 000000000
1966-08-30 NYNLADW 511000002
1966-08-24 NYNCHCL 100000001
1966-08-22 NYNCHCL 000000000
1966-08-19 NYNPHIL 000000000
1966-08-17 NYNPITW 000000000
1966-08-16 NYNPITL 000000000

Last 10 Games — Pitching

DateTmOppDecIPHRERBBSOHR
1966-09-24 NYNCIN L 1.0222200
1966-09-13 NYNLAD L 4.1965111
1966-09-05 NYNCIN L 3.0643010
1966-09-04 NYNPHI — 2.0000200
1966-08-30 NYNLAD W 7.2421101
1966-08-24 NYNCHC L 0.2322200
1966-08-22 NYNCHC — 0.2100010
1966-08-19 NYNPHI L 0.2211001
1966-08-17 NYNPIT SV 3.0100020
1966-08-16 NYNPIT — 0.0000100

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position G GS PO A E DP
P 602 428 228 630 27 40

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1951 PIT P 34 0 10 29 1 1
1952 PIT P 35 0 10 37 2 3
1953 PIT P 32 0 7 36 3 2
1954 PIT P 35 20 7 27 1 1
1955 PIT P 44 20 7 50 2 6
1956 PIT P 49 42 14 49 2 1
1957 PIT P 40 38 18 38 1 3
1958 PIT P 38 38 7 47 1 4
1959 PIT P 35 35 24 37 1 2
1960 PIT P 38 37 24 43 1 1
1961 PIT P 41 35 19 37 3 3
1962 PIT P 39 36 18 43 1 3
1963 PIT P 39 38 23 41 2 2
1964 PIT P 35 35 12 55 2 3
1965 PIT P 34 34 21 39 1 5
1966 NYA P 12 8 3 13 0 0
1966 NYN P 22 12 4 9 3 0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Position Games
Pitcher 602

Awards & Honors

Year Award Notes
1958 TSN All-Star P

Award Voting History

Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
1958 Cy Young Award ML 3rd 3.0 16 3
1958 Most Valuable Player NL 6th 98.0 336 0
1956 Most Valuable Player NL 12th 38.0 336 0
1955 Most Valuable Player NL 16th 10.0 336 0

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Bob Friend (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Rick Reuschel
    214-191, 3.37 ERA
  2. 95
    Jerry Reuss
    220-191, 3.64 ERA
  3. 95
    Claude Osteen
    196-195, 3.30 ERA
  4. 93
    Curt Simmons
    193-183, 3.54 ERA
  5. 92
    Jim Perry
    215-174, 3.45 ERA
  6. 91
    Doyle Alexander
    194-174, 3.76 ERA

Compare Bob Friend

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

vs Bob Gibson
vs Warren Spahn
vs Sandy Koufax
vs Don Drysdale
vs Robin Roberts
vs Whitey Ford

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See Bob Friend in Another Era

What would Friend's 1963 season look like in a different era's run environment? Try the cross-era translation with a live slider.

Translate Bob Friend's peak season across eras →

Frequently Asked Questions about Bob Friend

What years did Bob Friend play?
Bob Friend played in Major League Baseball from 1951 to 1966.
Was Bob Friend a pitcher?
Yes. Bob Friend pitched in the major leagues, recording 197 wins and 1734 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Bob Friend hit?
Bob Friend hit 2 career home runs with 138 hits.