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.
| Eddie O'Brien | |
|---|---|
 O'Brien as a coach for the Seattle Pilots in 1969 | |
| Shortstop / Center fielder / Pitcher | |
| Born: December 11, 1930 South Amboy, New Jersey | |
| Died: February 21, 2014 (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 runs | 0 |
| Hits | 131 |
| Runs batted in | 25 |
| Won-lost record | 1–0 |
| Earned run average | 3.31 |
| Innings pitched | 16⅓ |
| Teams | |
| As player
As coach | |
O'Brien attended Saint Mary's High School in South Amboy, later known as Cardinal McCarrick High School, where he was inducted into the school's sports hall of fame.[1]
O'Brien 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] He and Johnny were drafted by the NBA's Milwaukee Hawks in 1953, but they never played in the NBA.[3]
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.[4] 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, owing to his refusal to help catch Bouton's knuckleball pitch after the team catchers were reluctant to do so. O'Brien also worked as the Athletic Director at Seattle University and as an energy consultant for the Alaskan shipping industry.[5]
References
edit- ^ "Cardinal McCarrick High School - Hall of Fame". Cardinal McCarrick High School. Archived from the original on September 28, 2007. Retrieved April 5, 2007.
- ^ Raley, Dan (January 21, 2002). "Fifty years ago tonight, Seattle U. upset the mighty..." Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Retrieved January 24, 2008.
- ^ "1953 NBA Draft". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 17, 2023.
- ^ Neyer, Rob; Epstein, Eddie (2000). Baseball Dynasties: The Greatest Teams of All Time. W. W. Norton & Company. p. 188. ISBN 9780393320084. Retrieved December 26, 2017.
- ^ Marazzi, Rich; Fiorito, Len (2003). Baseball Players of the 1950s: A Biographical Dictionary of All 1,560 Major Leaguers. McFarland & Company. p. 284. ISBN 9780786446889. Retrieved December 27, 2017.
- ^ Withers, Bud (February 21, 2014). "Seattle U legend Ed O'Brien dies at 83". The Seattle Times. Archived from the original on February 24, 2014. Retrieved February 22, 2014.
- ^ Goldstein, Richard (March 3, 2014). "Eddie O'Brien, Who Played for Pirates With His Twin, Dies at 83". The New York Times. Retrieved March 10, 2014.
External links
edit- Career statistics and player information from Baseball Reference, or Baseball Reference (Minors)
- Retrosheet