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Johnny O'Brien
From BR Bullpen
John Thomas O'Brien
- Bats Right, Throws Right
- Height 5' 9", Weight 170 lb.
- School Seattle University
- Debut April 19, 1953
- Final Game July 19, 1959
- Born December 11, 1930 in South Amboy, NJ USA
[edit] Biographical Information
Johnny O'Brien broke into the major leagues as an infielder, then converted into mainly a pitcher, and ended up his major league career as an infielder again. Oddly enough, his best year as a hitter was in the year that he was mainly a pitcher.
As a major league rookie, O'Brien became the regular second baseman for the 1953 Pirates, at team which lost 104 games. After spending a year in the military, the next year with the 1955 Pirates he hit .299 with above-average range in the infield. In 1956 he hit only .173 in 73 games but began his major league pitching career with a 2.84 ERA in eight games. The following year, 1957, he was in 16 games as a pitcher but ineffective, while he hit .314 as a hitter. Thereafter, he pitched in only one more game as a pitcher and was primarily in the infield.
Johnny was the double play partner and twin brother of Eddie O'Brien. They spent most of their careers as teammates with the Pittsburgh Pirates, and they both missed the 1954 season due to military service. During the three seasons that Johnny pitched at the major league level, Eddie also pitched some, albeit in only five games.
