I'm not a major leaguer, but I did know a man who had a great impact on my career: "My career friend..." I've known him since high school, and he pitched for the Pittsburgh Pirates. He was an All-Star for both 1956 and 1958. He was a skilled marketer who eventually rose to the top of the major leagues.
Friend pitched for the Pittsburgh Pirates
My friend and career friend pitched for Pittsburgh Pirates during 1960s. During his career, Friend received three NL Cy Young Awards. He also was named the league’s top pitcher four more times. He was the first pitcher to have a sub-three ERA. Friend also led NL in strikeouts/walk issued. Six times, Friend tossed more than 200 innings. Five seasons were he over 200 innings.
Bob Friend pitched in minor league ball before making his big-league debut in 1950. He won three games in that season for the Pirates, and was a key component of their 1960 championship winning team. Friend was a Lafayette, Ind. native who grew up playing sports such as basketball, baseball and golf. He was a star athlete at West Lafayette High School and signed with the Pirates prior to the 1950 season.
Friend was an All-Star from 1956, 1958, and 1960.
Friend pitched in three seasons in the National League and was an All-Star in each one. He led the league in innings pitched and games started twice. 1958 was his best year. He had a 22-14 record. After going 18-12 in the regular-season, Friend was elected to the All-Star squad in 1960. In the World Series, he also suffered from poor pitching against the New York Yankees.
Friend was born Robert Bartmess Friend in 1930 and raised in West Lafayette, Ind. He began taking piano lessons as a child and planned to become a concert pianist. He was also a star baseball and football player at West Lafayette High School. Before 1950, he was signed to the Pirates.
1960, Friend was an All-Star
Friend had a very good command and was extremely durable. He didn't have to go on the disability list. His best season came in 1958, when he went 22-14 and tied Warren Spahn for the league lead in wins. He was an All-Star again in 1960, when his record was 18-12. Unfortunately, he pitched poorly against the Yankees in the World Series.
After spending one season with the minors Friend joined the Pirates as a player in 1951. The Pirates finished seventh in that series, and Friend was traded the following season. He later went on to become the team's all-time leader in innings pitched, strikeouts, and games started. In 1963, he gave up the first of Pete Rose's 4,256 hits. Friend teamed his friend Bob Cooper with the 1960 World Series. Bob Cooper is an A-list hurler from the Pirates in the 1910s to 1920s.