Tom O'Brien, baseball player, 1882-1890

Tom O'Brien

Born: 6/22/1860 in Salem, MA, USA

Died: 4/21/1921 in Worcester, MA, USA

MLB Debut: 1882-06-14 | Final Game: 1890-07-28

Bats: R | Throws: R | Height: 6'1" | Weight: 185 lbs

Full name: Thomas H. O'Brien

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Biography

Tom O'Brien was a professional baseball player born in 1860, whose career spanned from 1882 until his retirement on July 28, 1890. Playing primarily as a position player, O'Brien appeared in 270 games throughout his career, showcasing his skills in an era when baseball was transitioning from the deadball period to a more offensive-oriented game. He accumulated a total of 257 hits, achieving a batting average of .231, which reflected the challenges of hitting during a time when pitchers often dominated. O'Brien's contributions to the game included 4 home runs and 61 runs batted in, in addition to demonstrating speed on the bases with 16 stolen bases. While not a standout in terms of power, his versatility and ability to get on base were valuable assets to the teams he played for during the late 19th century. O'Brien's career is a reflection of the early days of professional baseball, where the focus was often on strategy and contact hitting, setting the stage for the evolution of the game in the years that followed.

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 3.7 4 3 0 5 0 7.36 0

Career ERA 7.36 vs. league average 4.17 across their career seasons — 76.5% 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
1887 NY4 AA 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 3.7 4 3 5 0 7.36 — 0.0

Career Batting Statistics

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
270 1111 158 257 50 20 4 61 16 52 24 0.231 0.267 0.323 0.590 -1512.8

Career AVG .231 vs. league average .254 across their career seasons — 9.0% below league average.

Career OBP .267 vs. league average .304 across their career seasons — 12.3% below league average.

Career SLG .323 vs. league average .343 across their career seasons — 5.8% below league average.

Career OPS 0.590 vs. league average 0.647 across their career seasons — 8.8% 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
1882 WOR NL 22 89 9 18 1 1 0 7 0 1 10 0.202 .248 (-19%) .275 (-23%) .329 (-28%) .605 (-26%) -324.3
1883 BL2 AA 33 138 16 37 6 4 0 0 0 5 0 0.268 .257 (+4%) .285 (+3%) .345 (+7%) .631 (+5%) 86.5
1884 BSU UA 103 449 80 118 31 8 4 0 0 12 0 0.263 .243 (+8%) .278 (+1%) .327 (+21%) .606 (+12%) 676.2
1885 BL2 AA 8 33 4 7 3 0 0 5 0 2 0 0.212 — — — — 0.0
1887 NY4 AA 31 129 13 25 3 2 0 18 10 2 14 0.194 .270 (-28%) .331 (-36%) .373 (-34%) .705 (-35%) -769.7
1890 RC2 AA 73 273 36 52 6 5 0 31 6 30 0 0.190 .260 (-27%) .336 (-19%) .351 (-29%) .687 (-24%) -1181.5

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position G GS PO A E DP
1B 96 0 913 28 31 50
2B 142 0 360 400 138 37
3B 3 0 2 1 3 0
C 1 0 5 0 0 0
OF 35 0 73 4 15 0
P 1 0 0 0 0 0

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1882 WOR 2B 2 0 6 5 3 2
1882 WOR 3B 1 0 0 0 2 0
1882 WOR OF 20 0 41 4 12 0
1883 BL2 2B 29 0 77 93 36 8
1883 BL2 OF 4 0 6 0 0 0
1884 BSU 1B 2 0 21 0 0 0
1884 BSU 2B 99 0 257 267 90 23
1884 BSU C 1 0 5 0 0 0
1884 BSU OF 3 0 7 0 1 0
1885 BL2 1B 6 0 38 3 3 1
1885 BL2 2B 2 0 3 10 1 0
1887 NY4 1B 20 0 177 5 7 9
1887 NY4 2B 2 0 5 4 1 1
1887 NY4 3B 2 0 2 1 1 0
1887 NY4 OF 8 0 19 0 2 0
1887 NY4 P 1 0 0 0 0 0
1890 RC2 1B 68 0 677 20 21 40
1890 RC2 2B 8 0 12 21 7 3

Career Games by Position

Position Games
Pitcher 1
Catcher 1
First Base 96
Second Base 142
Third Base 3
Left Field 19
Center Field 13
Right Field 3