Skip to main content

Sunday School: History Lesson 38

Bernie Friberg was an infielder for the Phillies from 1925-1932. Friberg drove in more than 80 runs twice for the Cubs before coming to Philadelphia in 1925.

Friberg's positional versatility kept him active. In 1925, he played all 4 infield positions, the outfield, caught a game and even pitched for the Phillies. In 1926, Friberg spent the entire season at second base, playing 144 games there, but over the next few seasons, he mixed it up all over the infield and played outfield some more. Friberg would fill in where ever he was needed. Phillies manager Burt Shotton called Friberg, "the most valuable man on our team." In 1929, Friberg received some consideration for the league MVP award, finishing 18th in the voting.

Offensively, Friberg never became a huge run producer. His best season at the plate was 1929, when hit 7 homers, drove in 55 and had an OPS of .808. In 8 years with the Phillies, Friberg was a .274 hitter in 795 games played. In 1926, Friberg led the National League in strikeouts, with 77.

By 1932 the team had completed an overhaul of the infield and Friberg's playing time dwindled down. He was released by the Phillies in the 1932-1933 offseason, and was then signed by the Red Sox. In 17 games with Boston, Friberg batted .317 while seeing time at second, shortstop and third base. Friberg would play one more season in the minor leagues before retiring from baseball.

-----------------------------------

Follow PhoulBallz.com on Twitter HERE!


BallHype: hype it up!

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Mike McGuire Living a Dream With Favorite Team

LAKEWOOD, NJ- Every young ballplayer grows up wishing he could play for his favorite team. Mike McGuire has an opportunity to do just that after signing with the Phillies organization in July. McGuire was a 43rd round draft pick taken by the Cleveland Indians in the 2008 amateur draft out of the University of Delaware. Early scouting reports liked McGuire's abilities, despite some arm trouble. He advanced as far as High A Level Kinston last season. While there, he posted an 0-3 record with a 5.46 ERA in 9 games, 8 of which were starts. The Indians weren't happy with McGuire's efforts this spring and released him. McGuire caught on with the Sussex Skyhawks of the independent Can-Am League, where he stayed in shape and pitched against other formerly affiliated minor leaguers. As a starter with the Skyhawks, McGuire went 3-4 with a 5.29 ERA in 8 outings. From there, just as all players in those independent leagues hope for, the 24-year-old McGuire got noticed. The Phillies wer...

Harry's Plaque Has Misprint

At the ballpark today for the first time since Harry Kalas was inducted into the Phillies Wall of Fame on Friday, I noticed an error in the text on his plaque. Verbage on the plaque reads like this... Voice of Phillies baseball on radio and TV for 39 seasons. Teamed with Richie Ashburn from 1971 until 1997. Harry was on the air for all of Mike Schmidt's 548 home runs, five Phillies no-hitters, seven National League Championship Series, three World Series, the first and final games at Veterans Stadium and the Citizens Bank Park 2004 opener. Received the prestigious Ford C. Frick Award in 2002 for "Major Contributions to Baseball" and was inducted into the broadcasters' wing at the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. His calls were legendary, especially his signature home run call, "Outta heeere." On October 29, 2008, he brought utmost joy to Phillies fans: "The 0-2 pitch, swing and miss , struck him out. The Philadelphia Phillies are 2008 Worl...

Series Preview: Braves @ Phillies 5/7-5/9

The Braves make their first visit to Philadelphia this weekend, as the Braves (12-16) will face the Phillies (17-11) in a 3-game series. The series opener will see the 2nd meeting of Derek Lowe and Jamie Moyer this season. The first match up saw Moyer come out on top, when he pitched 6 shut out innings in Atlanta. That win clinched the series victory for the Phils. Off to a good start after winning that series opener against the Phils, the Braves have lost 11 of 15 games since then. The Braves won 5 of the 9 games against the Phils at Citizens Bank Park last season. Atlanta is currently in last place, 5 games behind the division leading Phillies. Read ahead for pitching match ups and other key stats from this series. Friday, 7:05pm. Derek Lowe (4-2, 5.81 ERA) vs. Jamie Moyer (3-2, 5.70 ERA). Lowe is 4-0 with a 1.60 ERA in five career starts at Citizens Bank Park. Lowe is 6-2 with a 2.87 ERA in 15 career games against Philadelphia. Raul Ibanez is 2-for-28 (.071 avg) in his career again...