Although I don't play in the major leagues, I was a close friend to ..." who I know since high school. He played 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 childhood friend was a pitcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1960s. Friend won three NL Cy Young Awards, and was also named the league's top pitcher four times during his career. He was the first pitcher with a sub-three ERA. Friend also led NL strikeouts per walked issued. Six times, Friend pitched over 200 innings. He also reached 200 innings in five of his seasons.
Bob Friend was a minor league pitcher before making his big league debut in 1950. He won three games for the Pirates that season and was a key member of their 1960 championship team. Friend was born in 1930 in Lafayette, Ind., and grew up playing football, baseball, golf, and basketball. He was a star athlete from West Lafayette High School. Before the 1950 season, he signed with Pittsburgh.
Friend was an All-Star in 1956, 1958 and 1960
Friend pitched in three seasons in the National League and was an All-Star in each one. He was the league's leader both in innings pitched, and in games started. His best season came in 1958 when he had a record of 22-14 and tied Warren Spahn as the league's leader in wins. After going 18-12 through the regular season, Friend made the All-Star roster in 1960. He also pitched poorly against the New York Yankees in the World Series.
Friend was born Robert Bartmess Friend in 1930 and raised in West Lafayette, Ind. As a child, Friend began piano lessons and hoped to be a concert pianist. He was also a West Lafayette High School standout football and baseball player. He was signed before the 1950 season by the Pirates.
1960, Friend was an All-Star
Friend was a good controllable player and was very durable. He did not have to be on the disabled's list. His best season was 1958 when he finished 22-14 and tied Warren Spahn in the league lead for wins. He was an All-Star in 1956 and 1957 and again in 1960, when he went 18-12. He did not pitch well in the World Series against Yankees.
After one season spent in the minors, Friend was traded to the Pirates in 1951. The Pirates were seventh in that series. However, Friend was traded for the following season. He was later to become the team’s most successful pitcher in innings pitched. In 1963, he surrendered the first of Pete Rose's 4,256 hits. Friend teamed up with Bob Cooper, an A list hurler for Pirates from 1910 to 1920, in the 1960 World Series.