Danny Friend

Daniel Sebastian Friend

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 5' 9", Weight 175 lb.

• Debut September 10, 1895
• Final Game May 8, 1898
• Born April 18, 1873 in Cincinnati, OH USA
• Died June 1, 1942 in Chillicothe, OH USA

BR page

Biographical Information

"Danny Friend, our winning left-hander of last year, has been loaned to Kansas City -- an odd move. Friend won some .600 per cent. of his games last season, and it seems wrong to send him back to the minors without even a chance for the present year. He was easily the winning left-hander of the League last summer." - Sporting Life's Chicago correspondent, May 15, 1897

"The (Kansas City) Blues have won a game. Let someone bless Danny Friend, for it was due to his masterly pitching that the victory was ours. After twelve consecutive defeats the local team braced up and took Detroit's measure by a score of 3 to 2." - Sporting Life's Kansas City correspondent, June 19, 1897, about Danny Friend, who would return to the majors to go 12-11 that year

Danny Friend pitched four years in the 1890s for the Chicago National League team. In 1896 and 1897 he was 18-14 and then 12-11. His minor league career ran from at least 1890-1908.

Friend was born in Cincinnati, OH in 1873, one of several major leaguers born there that year, including George Yeager. Although he was only 22 when he made his major league debut in 1895, he had been playing minor league ball since 1890. Although born in Cincinnati, when Friend first came to the majors Sporting Life remembered him (whether correctly or not) as a teen pitcher on a Chicago school team which had done well. Sporting Life also said he was Jewish, but Friend denied it, saying he was German but not Jewish.

"Danny Friend had the nerve to try to pitch two successive games against New York, and after winning the first day, was well pasted the second, besides being very wild. Friend has curves the like of which I never saw, but he lacks control." - Sporting Life's Chicago correspondent, July 31, 1897, about Danny Friend, who had led the 1896 National League in hit-by-pitch with 39

Notable Achievements

• 200 Innings Pitched Seasons: 2 (1896 & 1897)