Johnny O'Brien
Second Baseman · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1953-1959)
Johnny O'Brien was a second baseman who played in Major League Baseball from 1953 to 1959 for the Pittsburgh Pirates, the St. Louis Cardinals, and the Milwaukee Braves, a span of 7 seasons. In 339 career games, he hit .250 with 204 hits, 4 home runs, and 59 RBI. He also pitched in 25 games, going 1-3 with a 5.61 ERA.
- 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
- Second Baseman
- Bats / Throws
- R / R
- Height / Weight
- 5'9" / 170 lb
- Died
- 6/13/2025 in Seattle, WA, USA
- MLB Debut
- 1953-04-19
- Last Game
- 1959-07-19
Full name: John Thomas O'Brien
Career Batting Statistics
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 339 | 815 | 90 | 204 | 35 | 5 | 4 | 59 | 2 | 59 | 82 | .250 | .306 | .320 | .626 | -1,848 |
Career AVG .250 vs. league average .259 across their career seasons — near league average.
Career OBP .306 vs. league average .329 across their career seasons — 6.9% below league average.
Career SLG .320 vs. league average .394 across their career seasons — 18.8% below league average.
Career OPS .626 vs. league average .723 across their career seasons — 13.4% below 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1953 | PIT | NL | 89 | 279 | 28 | 69 | 13 | 2 | 2 | 22 | 1 | 21 | 36 | .247 | .264 (-6%) | .335 (-8%) | .397 (-17%) | .733 (-13%) | -580.0 |
| 1955 | PIT | NL | 84 | 278 | 22 | 83 | 15 | 2 | 1 | 25 | 1 | 20 | 19 | .299 | .258 (+15%) | .332 (+4%) | .393 (-4%) | .726 (avg) | -25.3 |
| 1956 | PIT | NL | 73 | 104 | 13 | 18 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 7 | .173 | .258 (-33%) | .331 (-37%) | .397 (-54%) | .728 (-46%) | -776.5 |
| 1957 | PIT | NL | 34 | 35 | 7 | 11 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | .314 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1958 | PIT | NL | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1958 | SLN | NL | 12 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1959 | ML1 | NL | 44 | 116 | 16 | 23 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 11 | 15 | .198 | .256 (-23%) | .323 (-16%) | .392 (-34%) | .715 (-26%) | -466.5 |
| Career · 7 seasons | 339 | 815 | 90 | 204 | 35 | 5 | 4 | 59 | 2 | 59 | 82 | .250 | — | — | — | — | -1,848 | ||
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1956 | PIT | NL | 1 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19.0 | 8 | 6 | 9 | 9 | 2.84 | 3.96 (+28%) | -267.3 |
| 1957 | PIT | NL | 0 | 3 | 16 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 40.0 | 46 | 27 | 24 | 19 | 6.08 | 3.83 (-58%) | -1823.5 |
| 1958 | SLN | NL | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 22.50 | — | 0.0 |
| Career · 3 seasons | 1 | 3 | 25 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 61.0 | 61 | 38 | 35 | 30 | 5.61 | — | -2,091 | ||
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 (364 games) →Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).
Batting — Home / Away
| Split | G | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 170 | 402 | 51 | 103 | 3 | 33 | .256 |
| Away | 169 | 413 | 39 | 101 | 1 | 26 | .245 |
Pitching — Home / Away
| Split | G | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 11 | 28.0 | 33 | 18 | 17 | 17 | 5.79 |
| Away | 14 | 33.0 | 28 | 20 | 18 | 13 | 5.45 |
Last 10 Games — Batting
| Date | Tm | Opp | Res | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1959-07-19 | ATL | STL | L | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1959-07-18 | ATL | STL | L | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1959-07-17 | ATL | STL | L | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1959-07-16 | ATL | CHC | L | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1959-07-15 | ATL | CHC | L | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1959-07-14 | ATL | CHC | L | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 1959-07-13 | ATL | SFG | W | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1959-07-12 | ATL | SFG | W | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1959-07-11 | ATL | LAD | L | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 1959-07-09 | ATL | LAD | L | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Last 10 Games — Pitching
| Date | Tm | Opp | Dec | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1958-07-10 | STL | PHI | — | 2.0 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| 1957-09-15 | PIT | STL | — | 2.1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 1957-09-15 | PIT | STL | — | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1957-09-14 | PIT | CHC | L | 1.0 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| 1957-09-02 | PIT | NY1 | L | 6.0 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 2 |
| 1957-08-23 | PIT | CIN | — | 3.0 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| 1957-08-08 | PIT | PHI | — | 3.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 1957-07-29 | PIT | STL | — | 3.0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| 1957-07-21 | PIT | STL | — | 5.0 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 2 | 0 |
| 1957-07-14 | PIT | CIN | — | 4.0 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
Fielding Statistics
Career Fielding Totals by Position
| Position | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2B | 248 | 137 | 497 | 611 | 29 | 142 |
| P | 25 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 0 |
| SS | 15 | 7 | 12 | 14 | 3 | 2 |
Season-by-Season Fielding
| Year | Team | Pos | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1953 | PIT | 2B | 77 | 0 | 172 | 210 | 7 | 48 |
| 1953 | PIT | SS | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1955 | PIT | 2B | 78 | 75 | 185 | 220 | 13 | 53 |
| 1956 | PIT | 2B | 53 | 28 | 67 | 98 | 7 | 17 |
| 1956 | PIT | P | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 1956 | PIT | SS | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1957 | PIT | 2B | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1957 | PIT | P | 16 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 0 |
| 1957 | PIT | SS | 8 | 7 | 11 | 12 | 3 | 2 |
| 1958 | SLN | 2B | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1958 | SLN | P | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1958 | SLN | SS | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1959 | ML1 | 2B | 37 | 34 | 70 | 83 | 2 | 24 |
Career Games by Position
Circle size = games played at each position.
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| Pitcher | 25 |
| Second Base | 248 |
| Shortstop | 15 |
College History
| School Name | City | State | Years Attended |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seattle University | Seattle | WA | 1950, 1951, 1952, 1953 |
Johnny O'Brien: the record in brief
April 19, 1953 and July 19, 1959 bracket Johnny O'Brien's time in the majors: the debut and the last game on record. By club, O'Brien's seasons break down as the Pittsburgh Pirates (1953 through 1958), the St. Louis Cardinals (1958), and the Milwaukee Braves (1959). Born on December 11, 1930, in South Amboy, NJ, USA, O'Brien is listed as a second baseman and batted and threw right-handed. O'Brien's listed size is 5-foot-9 and 170 pounds. O'Brien's death is recorded on June 13, 2025, in Seattle, WA, USA. O'Brien's full given name, per the bio, is John Thomas O'Brien.
O'Brien finished with 204 hits from 815 at bats in 339 games, which works out to .250; the totals also include 4 homers and 59 runs batted in. O'Brien's career OPS of .626 combines a .306 on-base mark with .320 slugging. The .250 career average is close to the .259 the league hit across the same seasons. By OPS the gap is 13.4% below league average (.626 against .723).
Frequently Asked Questions about Johnny O'Brien
- What years did Johnny O'Brien play?
- Johnny O'Brien played in Major League Baseball from 1953 to 1959.
- Was Johnny O'Brien a pitcher?
- Both. Johnny O'Brien pitched in 25 games, going 1-3 with a 5.61 ERA, but spent most of his career as a Second Baseman.
- How many home runs did Johnny O'Brien hit?
- Johnny O'Brien hit 4 career home runs with 204 hits.
- What teams did Johnny O'Brien play for?
- Johnny O'Brien played for 3 teams: the Pittsburgh Pirates (1953, 1955–1958), the St. Louis Cardinals (1958), and the Milwaukee Braves (1959).
- What were Johnny O'Brien's career stats?
- In 339 games, Johnny O'Brien had 204 hits, 4 home runs, 59 RBI, 90 runs, and 2 stolen bases, with a .250 batting average. As a pitcher, in 25 games, he went 1-3 with a 5.61 ERA, 30 strikeouts, and 61.0 innings pitched.
- What position did Johnny O'Brien play?
- Johnny O'Brien played primarily as a second baseman, the position where he appeared in the most games.
- How tall was Johnny O'Brien and how much did he weigh?
- Johnny O'Brien was listed at 5 feet 9 inches and 170 pounds.
- How many home runs did Johnny O'Brien hit each season?
- Johnny O'Brien's home runs by season: 2 in 1953, 1 in 1955, 0 in 1956, 0 in 1957, 0 in 1958, and 1 in 1959. His most in one season was 2, in 1953.
- What was Johnny O'Brien's career batting average?
- Johnny O'Brien batted .250 over his career, with 204 hits in 815 at bats.
- How many RBI did Johnny O'Brien have?
- Johnny O'Brien drove in 59 runs in his career.
- What was Johnny O'Brien's career ERA?
- Johnny O'Brien finished with a 5.61 career ERA, going 1-3 with 30 strikeouts.
- Is Johnny O'Brien in the Hall of Fame?
- No. Johnny O'Brien has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.