Bob Friend

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 and , 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 . 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. 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.