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Eddie O'Brien (baseball)

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Eddie O'Brien
Eddie O'Brien in 1969
O'Brien as a coach for the Seattle Pilots in 1969
Shortstop / Center fielder / Pitcher
Born: (1930-12-11)December 11, 1930
South Amboy, New Jersey
Died: February 21, 2014(2014-02-21) (aged 83)
Seattle, Washington
Batted: Right
Threw: Right
MLB debut
April 25, 1953, for the Pittsburgh Pirates
Last MLB appearance
April 19, 1958, for the Pittsburgh Pirates
MLB statistics
Batting average.236
Home runs0
Hits131
Runs batted in25
Won-lost record1–0
Earned run average3.31
Innings pitched16⅓
Teams
As player

As coach

Edward Joseph O'Brien (December 11, 1930 – February 21, 2014) was an American Major League Baseball shortstop, outfielder and pitcher. He played his entire five-year baseball career for the Pittsburgh Pirates (1953, 1955–58). His twin brother, Johnny, is a former second baseman and pitcher.

O'Brien attended Saint Mary's High School in South Amboy, now Cardinal McCarrick High School, where he has been inducted into the school's sports hall of fame.[1]

He attended Seattle University, where he played on the basketball team for the Chieftains (along with his brother Johnny) and participated in a stunning 84–81 upset over the Harlem Globetrotters on January 21, 1952.[2] Later he and Johnny were drafted by the NBA's Milwaukee Hawks in 1953, but they never played in the NBA.

While in Pittsburgh, Johnny and Eddie O'Brien became the first twins in major league history to play for the same team in the same game.[3] They are also one of only four brother combinations to play second base/shortstop on the same major league club. The others are Garvin and Granny Hamner, for the Philadelphia Phillies in 1945; Frank and Milt Bolling, with the Detroit Tigers in 1958, and Billy and Cal Ripken, for the Baltimore Orioles during the 1980s.

In Jim Bouton's book Ball Four, a memoir of the 1969 baseball season, O'Brien—who in that year had served as bullpen coach for the Seattle Pilots expansion club—was represented as Bouton's consistent antagonist. O'Brien also worked as the Athletic Director at Seattle University and as an energy consultant for the Alaskan shipping industry.[4]

On February 21, 2014, O'Brien died at the age of 83.[5][6]

References

  1. ^ Cardinal McCarrick High School: Hall of Fame, accessed April 5, 2007.
  2. ^ Fifty years ago tonight, Seattle U. upset the mighty Globetrotters, accessed January 24, 2008
  3. ^ Neyer, Rob; Epstein, Eddie (2000). Baseball Dynasties: The Greatest Teams of All Time. W. W. Norton & Company. p. 188. ISBN 9780393320084. Retrieved 26 December 2017. johnny eddie o'brien.
  4. ^ Marazzi, Rich; Fiorito, Len (2003). Baseball Players of the 1950s: A Biographical Dictionary of All 1,560 Major Leaguers. McFarland. p. 284. ISBN 9780786446889. Retrieved 27 December 2017.
  5. ^ "Seattle U legend Ed O'Brien dies at 83". The Seattle Times. February 21, 2014. Retrieved February 22, 2014.
  6. ^ Goldstein, Richard (March 3, 2014). "Eddie O'Brien, Who Played for Pirates With His Twin, Dies at 83". The New York Times. Retrieved 2014-03-10.
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