Bill Friel

Born: 4/1/1876 in Renovo, PA, USA

Died: 12/24/1959 in St. Louis, MO, USA

MLB Debut: 1901-05-03 | Final Game: 1903-09-13

Bats: L | Throws: R | Height: 5'10" | Weight: 165 lbs

Full name: William Edward Friel

📊 Compare This Player 📈 View Career Timeline

Biography

Bill Friel was a professional baseball player who made his mark in the early 20th century, playing primarily as a position player from 1901 to 1903. Born in 1876, Friel's career spanned a transformative period in baseball, where the game was beginning to evolve from the deadball era towards a more offensive style. Over the course of his career, he appeared in 283 games and recorded 244 hits, achieving a batting average of .245. His offensive contributions included 6 home runs and 80 RBIs, complementing his speed on the bases with 23 stolen bases. Friel's playing style reflected the characteristics of his time, as he combined solid hitting with an aggressive approach on the bases. While he may not have been a household name, his contributions to the teams he played for during the early 1900s helped lay the groundwork for the more dynamic play that would come to define the sport in subsequent decades. Friel's career ended in 1903, but he remains a testament to the players who navigated the shifting landscapes of early professional baseball.

Career Pitching Statistics

W	L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	SO	ERA	Pitcher PIV
0	0	1	0	0	0	0	4.0	4	2	0	0	0	4.50	0

Career ERA 4.50 vs. league average 3.17 across their career seasons — 41.8% worse than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Year	Team	Lg	W	L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA	Lg ERA	Pitcher PIV
1902	SLA	AL	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	4.0	4	2	0	0	4.50	—	0.0

Career Batting Statistics

G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	PIV
283	994	123	244	33	17	6	80	23	60	85	0.245	0.292	0.331	0.623	-1451.3

Career AVG .245 vs. league average .267 across their career seasons — 8.0% below league average.

Career OBP .292 vs. league average .322 across their career seasons — 9.3% below league average.

Career SLG .331 vs. league average .350 across their career seasons — 5.4% below league average.

Career OPS 0.623 vs. league average 0.671 across their career seasons — 7.3% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Year	Team	Lg	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	Lg AVG	Lg OBP	Lg SLG	Lg OPS	PIV
1901	MLA	AL	106	376	51	100	13	7	4	35	15	23	17	0.266	.271 (-2%)	.326 (-5%)	.359 (+3%)	.686 (-1%)	-140.9
1902	SLA	AL	80	267	26	64	9	2	2	20	4	14	25	0.240	.266 (-10%)	.321 (-12%)	.343 (-10%)	.665 (-11%)	-526.5
1903	SLA	AL	97	351	46	80	11	8	0	25	4	23	43	0.228	.261 (-13%)	.316 (-12%)	.345 (-12%)	.662 (-12%)	-783.9

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position	G	PO	A	E	DP
1B	10	85	7	1	8
2B	97	187	253	36	24
3B	93	94	228	48	12
C	1	6	0	0	0
OF	71	83	8	5	2
P	1	0	0	1	0
SS	9	23	18	9	3

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year	Team	Pos	G	PO	A	E	DP
1901	MLA	2B	9	17	20	3	2
1901	MLA	3B	61	65	149	33	11
1901	MLA	OF	29	39	2	2	0
1901	MLA	SS	6	21	12	8	3
1902	SLA	1B	10	85	7	1	8
1902	SLA	2B	25	62	62	7	7
1902	SLA	3B	8	7	16	2	1
1902	SLA	C	1	6	0	0	0
1902	SLA	OF	33	32	3	3	1
1902	SLA	P	1	0	0	1	0
1902	SLA	SS	3	2	6	1	0
1903	SLA	2B	63	108	171	26	15
1903	SLA	3B	24	22	63	13	0
1903	SLA	OF	9	12	3	0	1