Robert Bartmess Friend (November 24, 1930 – February 3, 2019) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a right-handed pitcher between 1951 and 1966, most notably as a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates. A four-time All-Star, Friend was an integral member of the Pirates team that defeated the New York Yankees in the 1960 World Series. He played for the New York Yankees and New York Mets in his final season of 1966. As of 2019, he still held Pirates records for career innings pitched and strikeouts. He was the first man to lead the league in ERA while pitching for a last place team.
Friend was inducted into the Indiana Baseball Hall of Fame in 1979. Later, Friend would be enrolled into the Pittsburgh Pirates Hall of Fame as a part of the class of 2023.
Contents
Early life
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
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.
Personal life and death
In 1957, Friend married Patricia Koval, a nurse in the office of the Pirates' team doctor; they had two children, with son Bob Friend Jr. becoming a 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 in O'Hara Township, outside of Pittsburgh, on February 3, 2019, from cardiac arrest at the age of 88.