James Riley Fridley (September 6, 1924 – February 28, 2003) was an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

player. During his

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

career, he was a backup

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to cat ...

, playing mostly at

left field In baseball, a left fielder, abbreviated LF, is an outfielder who plays defense in left field. Left field is the area of the outfield to the left of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In the numbering system ...

for three different teams between

1952 Events January–February * January 26 – Black Saturday in Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses. * February 6 ** Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh, becomes m ...

and

1958 Events January * January 1 – The European Economic Community (EEC) comes into being. * January 3 – The West Indies Federation is formed. * January 4 ** Edmund Hillary's Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition completes the third ...

. Nicknamed "Big Jim", Fridley was listed at and and batted and threw right-handed. He was born in

Philippi, West Virginia Philippi ('FILL-uh-pea') is a city in and the county seat of Barbour County, West Virginia, Barbour County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 2,928 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. In 1861, the city was the site of the ...

. After finishing high school, Fridley worked briefly for the

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and its principal Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement age ...

and later served in the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

for four years during World War II. Following his service discharge, he attended

West Virginia University West Virginia University (WVU) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Morgantown, West Virginia. Its other campuses are those of the West Virginia University Institute of Technology in Beckley, Potomac State College ...

on a

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

scholarship, playing both for the WVU baseball and football teams. He was signed by the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive F ...

as a free agent in 1948, playing for them one year (1952) before joining the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. As one of the American L ...

(1954) and

Cincinnati Redlegs Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

(1958). His most productive season came in 1954, when he posted career-highs in

games A game is a structured form of play, usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator sports or games) or art (such ...

(85), runs (25), RBI (36) and extrabases (17). In a three-season career, Fridley was a .248 hitter (105-for-424) with eight

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

s and 53 RBI in 152 games, including 50 runs, 12 doubles, five triples, three

stolen base In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a runner advances to a base to which they are not entitled and the official scorer rules that the advance should be credited to the action of the runner. The umpires determine whether the runner is safe or ...

s, and a .309

on-base percentage In baseball statistics, on-base percentage (OBP) measures how frequently a batter reaches base. An official Major League Baseball (MLB) statistic since 1984, it is sometimes referred to as on-base average (OBA), as it is rarely presented as a ...

. In 123 outfield appearances, he posted a collective .982

fielding average In baseball statistics, fielding percentage, also known as fielding average, is a measure that reflects the percentage of times a defensive player properly handles a batted or thrown ball. It is calculated by the sum of putouts and assists, divi ...

(four errors in 228 chances). He also played in the

minor league Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nor ...

systems of the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...

Brooklyn Dodgers The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1884 as a member of the American Association (19th century), American Association before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brooklyn until 1957, after which the ...

and

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

. Fridley died in

Port Charlotte, Florida Port Charlotte is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Charlotte County, Florida, United States. The population was 54,392 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Punta Gorda, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. Port C ...

at age 78.

On the records

*On April 29, 1952, Fridley went 6-for-6 for the Indians in a 21-9 rout of the

Philadelphia A's The Philadelphia Athletics were a Major League Baseball team that played in Philadelphia from 1901 to 1954, when they moved to Kansas City, Missouri, and became the Kansas City Athletics. Following another move in 1967, the team became the Oakl ...

Shibe Park Shibe Park, known later as Connie Mack Stadium, was a ballpark located in Philadelphia. It was the home of the Philadelphia Athletics of the American League (AL) and the Philadelphia Phillies of the National League (NL). When it opened April 12, 1 ...

. *Before the 1955 season, in the largest transaction in major league history, Baltimore sent Fridley along

Mike Blyzka Michael John Blyzka (December 25, 1928 – October 13, 2004) was a pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the St. Louis Browns / Baltimore Orioles (–). Listed at , 190 lb., Blyzka batted and threw right-handed. He served in the ...

, Billy Hunter,

Darrell Johnson Darrell Dean Johnson (August 25, 1928 – May 3, 2004) was an American Major League Baseball catcher, coach, manager and scout. As a manager, he led the 1975 Boston Red Sox to the American League pennant, and was named "Manager of the Year" b ...

Dick Kryhoski Richard David Kryhoski (March 24, 1925 – April 10, 2007) was an American professional baseball first baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for four different franchises between 1949 and 1955. Listed at and , he batted and threw lef ...

Don Larsen Don James Larsen (August 7, 1929 – January 1, 2020) was an American professional baseball pitcher. During a 15-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career, he pitched from 1953 to 1967 for seven different teams: the St. Louis Browns / Baltimore O ...

and

Bob Turley Robert Lee Turley (September 19, 1930 – March 30, 2013), known as Bullet Bob, was an American professional baseball player and financial planner. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a pitcher from 1951 through 1963. After his retir ...

to the Yankees, in exchange for Harry Byrd,

Don Leppert Donald George Leppert (born October 19, 1931) is an American former professional baseball player and coach. A catcher, he appeared in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1961 to 1964 for the Pittsburgh Pirates and Washington Senators. Leppert ...

, Jim McDonald, Bill Miller,

Willy Miranda Guillermo "Willy" Miranda Perez (May 24, 1926 — September 7, 1996) was a Cuban-born professional baseball player who played shortstop in the Major Leagues from 1951–1959. Though he was often dazzling in the field, he was a notoriously light ...

Kal Segrist Kal Hill Segrist (April 14, 1931 – June 26, 2015) was a utility infielder in Major League Baseball who played for the New York Yankees (1952) and Baltimore Orioles (1955). Listed at 6' 0", 180 lb., Segrist batted and threw right-handed. He ...

, Hal Smith,

Gus Triandos Gus Triandos (July 30, 1930 – March 28, 2013) was a Greek American professional baseball player and scout (sport), scout. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher and a first baseman for the New York Yankees, Baltimore Orioles, and the D ...

Gene Woodling Eugene Richard Woodling (August 16, 1922 – June 2, 2001) was an American professional baseball player, coach and scout. He played in Major League Baseball as an outfielder between and , most prominently as a member of the New York Yankees dynas ...

and Ted Del Guercio. Del Guercio played 12 seasons in the minor leagues and was the only member of the group not to make the majors.

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fridley, Jim 1924 births 2003 deaths United States Army personnel of World War II Military personnel from West Virginia Ardmore Rosebuds players Baltimore Orioles players Baseball players from West Virginia Burlington Indians players (1947–1949) Cincinnati Redlegs players Cleveland Indians players Dallas Eagles players Dayton Indians players Denver Bears players Houston Buffs players Indianapolis Indians players Little Rock Travelers players Los Angeles Angels (minor league) players Major League Baseball outfielders Mobile Bears players Nashville Vols players Navegantes del Magallanes players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela People from Philippi, West Virginia Richmond Virginians (minor league) players San Antonio Missions players Spartanburg Peaches players Federal Bureau of Investigation agents Victoria Rosebuds players West Virginia Mountaineers football players

On the records

See also

External links