Robert Bartmess Friend (November
24, 1930 – February 3, 2019) was a right-handed starting pitcher in Major League Baseball who
pitched primarily for the Pittsburgh Pirates (1951–1965),
joining the New York Yankees and New York Mets in his final season of 1966. He is the first man to lead the league in ERA while
pitching for a last place team. 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. 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. In 1956, Friend led the
NL with 42 starts (in 49 appearances) and with 314.1 innings pitched. He was
selected to his first all-star team and was the winning pitcher of the 1956
All-Star Game. He finished 12th in the NL MVP race. He went 17-17
(NL eighth in wins) with a 3.46 ERA. His 5.6 pWAR was good enough to rank
second in the NL. He also racked up 166 strikeouts (NL third). On June 8, he
struck out nine Cardinals in a complete game, 11-inning, 2-0 six-hit victory.
The Pirates finished with a 66-88 record, six games ahead of the last-place
Cubs. Friend again led the NL in starts in 1957, with 38, and in innings
pitched, with 277. He compiled a 14-18 record with a 3.38 ERA (NL seventh). He
registered a 1.231 WHIP (NL ninth), 143 strikeouts (NL sixth), and 17 complete
games (NL second). On August 13, he pitched a two-hit victory, striking out
five in a 6-0 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies. The
team finished the year tied for last, at 62-92. Also this season, he earned his
degree from Purdue University in Economics, a result of him having attended the
school during the off-season for eight years. In 1958 Friend was selected to
his second all-star team, finish sixth in the NL MVP race, and third for the NL
Cy Young Award. He led the league in wins, going 22-14 with a 3.68 ERA. In 274
innings, (NL third), he racked up a 1.314 WHIP (NL ninth), 135 strikeouts (NL
fifth), and 16 complete games (NL fifth). He ranked fourth in the NL with 10
sacrifice hits. He won his first four decisions of the season, but only pitched
one shutout all year, a 2-0 win against St. Louis on August 3. He allowed nine
hits and struck out two. The Pirates finished the year at 84-70, second only to
the NL pennant-winning Milwaukee Braves, by eight games. In 1959 Friend led the
NL in losses, going 8-19 on the season with a 4.03 ERA. He placed second in the
NL with 12 sacrifice hits. He earned his first win of the season on May 28
(against seven losses) by shutting out the Braves 3-0, striking out five and
allowing four hits and two walks. Pittsburgh finished mid-pack, in fourth
place, nine games back with a 78-76 record. In 1960, Friend made the all-star
roster for the third time, leading the NL with 4.1 strikeouts per walk issued.
He went 18-12 (NL fifth in wins) with a 3.00 ERA (also NL fifth). He posted a
5.6 pWAR (NL fourth), a 1.128 WHIP (NL third), and 183 strikeouts (NL fifth)
over 257.2 innings (NL second). Of his NL third-best four shutouts, his best
was probably on April 28, when he struck out 11 and allowed just four hits in a
3-0 win over the Phillies. The 95-59 Pirates finished seven games ahead of
second place Milwaukee for the NL pennant. The Pirates defeated the New York Yankees in the 1960 World Series in seven games. Of Pittsburgh's three
losses, Friend was on the hook for two, racking up a 13.50 ERA over his three
appearances. Friend led the NL in losses for the second time in 1961, going
14-19 with a 3.85 ERA (his win total ranked him 10th in the league). He started
35 games (NL fourth), completing 10 and using 236 innings (NL 10th). He was
undefeated through his first five starts (4-0, 3.20). This includes his start
on April 19, when he defeated the Cubs, 4-1, allowing three hits and striking
out seven. The Pirates regressed to 75-79, finishing a distant sixth in the
eight-team National League. In 1962, Friend went 18-14 (NL seventh in wins)
with a 3.06 ERA (NL ninth) and a league-leading five shutouts. He had a 5.9
pWAR (NL fourth) with 13 complete games (NL ninth). His .984 fielding
percentage at the position ranked him fourth in the NL. On opening day, April
10, he tossed a 6-0 shutout against the Phillies, allowing a walk with five
hits while striking out five. On August 20, he blanked the expansion New York Mets, 2-0, whiffing six with two walks and four hits.
Pittsburgh went 93-68, finishing in fourth place eight games behind the
pennant-winning San Francisco Giants.