William Ashley Freehan

Positions: Catcher and First Baseman
Bats: Right, Throws: Right
Height: 6' 3", Weight: 203 lb.

Born: November 29, 1941 in Detroit, MI
High School: Royal Oak HS (Royal Oak, MI)
School: University of Michigan (Ann Arbor, MI)
Signed by the Detroit Tigers as an amateur free agent in 1961. (All Transactions)
Debut: September 26, 1961 (Age 19)   vs. KCA 4 AB, 2 H, 0 HR, 1 RBI, 0 SB
Team: Tigers 1961-1976

Final Game: October 3, 1976 (Age 34)   vs. MIL 3 AB, 1 H, 0 HR, 1 RBI, 0 SB
Relatives: Brother-In-Law of Dan O'Brien
View Player Bio from the SABR BioProject
    About biographical information

• 4/29 D.C. Baseball Yesterday and Today: This Date in Washington Senators History: April 29 1969 - At Tiger Stadium, Senators starter Joe Coleman heads into the bottom of the 9th inning with a 4-2 lead over Detroit....
• 4/23 Motor City Bengals: Hereditary Fandom: My prolonged absence Motor City Bengals is in part because of my grandpa, who has recently been having serious health problems....
• 4/15 Not in the Hall of Fame: 49. Bill Freehan: You would not think that an eleven time All Star would be forgotten among Hall of Fame consideration, but in the case of career...

• 3/29 baseballintheblood.com : BitB Interviews Denny McLain: “I’ve only had one bad moment in my life, and that was when we lost Krissy.”: On the Phone With…Denny McLain By Todd Coppernoll – March 29, 2013 I just got off the line with Denny McLain. Today...
• 3/6 Kings of Kauffman: Salvador Perez and Expectations: Since showing up in the big leagues, Salvador Perez has done nothing wrong.  Over and over you will hear people gush about minor...

• 2/28 Wahoo Sam: When judging candidates, does it matter who’s already in the Hall of Fame?: Baseball fans love to argue about the Hall of Fame. No one really cares (nor knows much) about the Football Hall of Fame or any...

• 1/30 Wahoo Sam: When judging candidates, does it matter who’s already in the Hall of Fame?: Baseball fans love to argue about the Hall of Fame. No one really cares (nor knows much) about the Football Hall of Fame or any...
• 1/30 For Baseball Junkies: Tigers All-Time Team v.2012: Today, we're taking a look at the Tigers All-Time team, version 2012.Last year's inaugural team can be seen here.I would consider...
• 1/23 Blog Red Machine: All-Star Game Coming to Cincy in 2015 Takes Me Back to 1969: The recent announcement that the Reds would be hosting the 2015 All-Star game has sent me into ‘sentimental journey’...

• 10/7 High Heat Stats: 1972 ALCS Opener: A’s 3, Tigers 2 (11 innings): As the 1972 playoffs began, the bloom was off the League Championship Series. Born in ’69, the first six tilts had produced...

• 6/7 High Heat Stats: The Mount Rushmore of the Detroit Tigers: OK…let’s get one of the big franchises out of the way. The Tigers are another team that joined MLB in 1901 (although...

• 5/20 D.C. Baseball Yesterday and Today: This Date in Washington Senators History: May 20 1909 - After opening the season with 5 losses, Walter Johnson picks up his first victory over the Naps at Cleveland 3-2....
• 5/15 D.C. Baseball Yesterday and Today: Flashback: Harper’s Shot Recalls Another D.C Phenom’s First Homer: Bryce Harper ensured his place in Washington baseball history even before he became the youngest major leaguer since 1998 to hit...

• 4/30 High Heat Stats: The greatest Detroit Tiger: Brandon Inge ?!?!?!?!?: Brandon Inge was released by the Tigers and is poised to join the Oakland Athletics. For a while, it looked as if Inge would spend...
• 4/29 D.C. Baseball Yesterday and Today: This Date in Washington Senators History: April 29 1969 - At Tiger Stadium, Senators starter Joe Coleman heads into the bottom of the 9th inning with a 4-2 lead over Detroit....

• 3/20 High Heat Stats: All-time HR leaders by team among single-franchise players (prepare to be amazed!): I started tweeting some of this last night and realized it would make a pretty awesome post. Among players who played their entire...

• 1/17 PaulLebowitz.com: Jorge Posada and the Hall of Fame: Jorge Posada is reportedly set to announce his retirement. Let’s take a look at his Hall of Fame credentials. — Comparable...
• 1/12 High Heat Stats: WAAS Experiment #1: Adjusted WAAS: In a long exchange on the original WAAS post, reader Robert proposed adjusting the WAAS method to account for partial seasons.Basic...
• 1/8 PaulLebowitz.com: Jorge Posada and the Hall of Fame: Jorge Posada is reportedly set to announce his retirement. Let’s take a look at his Hall of Fame credentials. — Comparable...
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• 1/8 WasWatching: Best Ever “One-Team” Catchers: Here’s one list - Rk Player WAR/pos G From To Age PA R H HR RBI BB SO BA OBP SLG Tm 1 Johnny Bench 71.3 2158 1967 1983 19-35...

• 11/14 Classic Minnesota Twins: Most Bizzare Twins Fielding Play: Brant Alyea on April 25, 1970: In the early season of 1970, new Twins outfielder Brant Alyea was the flavor of the month.  He had been acquired...

• 7/24 B-R Blog: 4 BoSox hitters on pace for 6 Wins Above Replacement: Through Saturday 7/23, Red Sox hold 4 of the AL's top 5 spots in Wins Above Replacement* for position players: #2 - Dustin Pedroia,...

• 6/8 Baseball Musings: Northrup Passes: Jim Northrup died today, Wednesday: Jim Northrup, a Michigan native who became a hero of the Detroit Tigers’ 1968 championship...

• 4/22 B-R Blog: J. P. Arencibia and great early games for a catcher: Through Wednesday, J. P. Arencibia had played 23 games in the big leagues. In his 12th career game (Opening Day of this past season)...

• 3/18 B-R Blog: Bloops: The Hall of (Peak-Weighted) WAR: Here's a cool link from Adam Darowski: Hall of wWAR: The Hall of Fame Re-Po**** by Peak-Weighted WAR It is exactly what it sounds...
• 3/4 NY Baseball Digest: Where Does Posada Stand With Elite Catchers?: Ian O’ Connor caught up with Jorge Posada yesterday at ESPN New York. O’ Connor talked about the adjustments Posada...

• 2/28 B-R Blog: Batter Games With RE24 = 6+ Since 1973: Since 1973, here are the games where a batter's RE24 for the contest was 6 or better. The list - Rk Player Date Tm Opp Rslt PA...

• 1/4 B-R Blog: Chet Lemon: I was just foolin'round with Play Index - looking for the best "relatively short career" guys not in the Hall of Fame. And, I...

• 6/22 B-R Blog: Counting When It Didn’t Count: Some All-Star fun via Baseball-Reference.com's Play Index Batting Game Finder - batters with 6+ PA in a single All-Star Game: Rk Player Date Tm Lg Opp Rslt PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB IBB SO HBP SH SF ROE GDP SB CS WPA RE24 aLI BOP Pos....
• 6/10 B-R Blog: They Did What?: Via B-R.com's PI - Players since 1952 with 6+ games where they batted clean-up and had a SAC bunt in the contest: Rk Player #Matching   PA AB H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS SH SF IBB HBP GDP 1 Ron...

• 5/29 B-R Blog: Miguel Cabrera’s 3 HR in a loss: Yesterday Miguel Cabrera hit 3 HR in a game that the Tigers lost. Below is the list of all times this has been done. The most...
• 5/19 B-R Blog: WAR Data: Best Position Players Not In the Hall of Fame: Here's a post concept that's sure to be a lightning rod for discussion: who are the best position players not to be inducted into...
• 5/9 B-R Blog: No Chance for the Cycle: Jody Gerut's final hit for the cycle last night occurred in his 6th trip to the plate. While this is  not the latest anyone has...

• 4/30 B-R Blog: More on John Buck’s 3-HR game: By now you know that John Buck hit 3 homers in a game last night. Here are a couple of things you might not have known. Catchers...