| Owen Friend | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Second baseman | |
| Born:(1927-03-21)March 21, 1927 Granite City, Illinois, U.S. | |
| Died: October 14, 2007(2007-10-14) (aged 80) Wichita, Kansas, U.S. | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| October 2, 1949, for the St. Louis Browns | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| May 16, 1956, for the Chicago Cubs | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .227 |
| Home runs | 13 |
| Runs batted in | 76 |
| Teams | |
| |
Owen Lacey Friend (March 21, 1927 – October 14, 2007) was aMajor League Baseballsecond baseman for five different teams between1949 and1956. Listed at 6'1, 180 lb., Friend batted and threwright-handed. Nicknamed "Red", he was born inGranite City, Illinois.
Strictly a line drive hitter, Friend entered the majors with theSt. Louis Browns, playing for them two years (1949–50) before joining theDetroit Tigers (1953),Cleveland Indians (1953),Boston Red Sox (1955) andChicago Cubs (1955–56). His most productive season came for the 1950 Browns, when he posted career-numbers ingames played (119),home runs (8),RBI (50) andruns (48), while hitting a .237batting average. In a five-season career, Friend was a .227 hitter (136–for–598) with 13 home runs and 76 RBI in 208 games, including 24doubles, twotriples, and twostolen bases. As an infielder, he made 194 appearances at second base (141),third base (27) andshortstop (26).
Following his playing retirement, Friendmanaged in theminors during 11 seasons (1960–65, 1967, 1970–71, 1974–75), served as ascout for theHouston Astros (1966) andBaltimore Orioles (1967–68), and also joined the originalcoaching staff of the 1969Kansas City Royals. Friend wore uniform number 5 for the Royals, a numberGeorge Brett would later wear and retire. Friend died inWichita, Kansas at age 80.