Former Pirates Pitcher Bob Friend Dies at the Age of 88
Former MLB pitcher Bob Friend, who spent the bulk of his career with the Pittsburgh Pirates, died Sunday.
"It is with heavy hearts and great sadness that we confirm the passing of a beloved member of the Pirates family, Bob Friend, earlier this morning at the age of 88," Pirates President Frank Coonelly said, per MLB.com's Manny Randhawa. "Bob was an outstanding baseball man, and an even better person."
Friend played 15 years in Pittsburgh before splitting the 1966 season with the New York Mets and New York Yankees.
Friend made 477 starts for the Pirates, which remain a franchise record. He finished 191-218 with a 3.55 ERA in 568 career appearances. According to Baseball Reference, he's third in career WAR (47.7), first in strikeouts (1,682), eighth in complete games (161) and third in shutouts (35) among Pirates pitchers.
Friend was also a four-time All-Star, the last of his All-Star nods coming in 1960 as Pittsburgh won its third World Series title. His most notable season came in 1958, when he not only reached the All-Star Game but also finished third in the National League Cy Young voting and sixth on the Most Valuable Player ballot.
Randhawa noted Friend was a founding officer for the Pirates Alumni Association after he retired in 1966.