Bill Freehan

Catcher

1961—1976

bill-freehan-detroit-tigers-370x250
Player LeveL
Star
Top 100 Rank
NR
Catcher RANK
#13

Player Detail

William Ashley
GIVEN NAME
Freehan
SURNAME
November 29, 1941, in Detroit, MI
BORN
August 19, 2021, Walloon Lake, MI
DIED
1961—1976
Playing Career
Played from 19-34
PLAYING AGE
Detroit Tigers
Teams Played For
Catcher
PRIMARY POSITION
Detroit Tigers
PRIMARY TEAM
1968
World Series titles
NONE
NICKNAME
11
UNIFORM NUMBER
#6 IN LINEUP
BATTING ORDER
6-3 / 203
HEIGHT / WEIGHT
Right / Right
BATTED / THREW
September 26, 1961
Major League Debut
October 3, 1976
FINAL GAME

WHO IS Bill Freehan?

Best catcher in the American League for a decade starting in the early 1960s. Famously blocked a non-sliding Lou Brock off the plate in a pivotal victory in Game Five of the 1968 World Series.

60

HITTING

60

POWER

50

RUNNING

70

FIELDING

70

THROWING
20 = NOT MLB CALIBER
30 = WELL BELOW AVG
40 = Below Average
50 = MLB AVERAGE
60 = ABOVE AVG
70 = EXCELLENT
80 = RARE, ELITE
Freeehan wrote a popular book titled “Behind The Mask” that was a diary of his 1969 season with the Detroit Tigers.

Career Stats

GAMES HITS HR RBI AVG
1774
1591
200
758
.262
11 ALL-STAR SELECTIONS

Teammate Team

CATCHER:
First Base:
Second Base:
Shortstop:
Third Base:
Left Field:
Center Field:
Right Field:
Pitcher:
pitcher:
manager:

BEST SEASON

1968 Tigers

26 Years Old

.263
AVG
25
HR
84
RBI
73
RUNS
.366
OBP
142
HITS
24
2B
2
3B
.454
SLG
65
BB
0
SB
6.9
WAR
Finished second in Most Valuable Player voting behind teammate Denny McLain.

SLASH LINE

AVG OBP SLG
.262
.340
.412

FOR THE TRADITIONALISTS.

VERSUS HIS PEERS

OPS LG OPS COMP
.752
.673
112.1

PLAYER OPS COMPARED TO AVERAGE PLAYER AT HIS POSITION IN HIS LEAGUE AND ERA. OPS = ON-BASE + SLUGGING.

Hall of Fame Worthy?

JAWS JAWS BY HOFER
39.2
43.9

PLAYER JAWS COMPARED TO HOF PLAYER AT HIS POSITION. JAWS = AVERAGE OF CAREER WAR & WAR7.

Bill Freehan Per Season

PER 600 PLATE APPEARANCES COMPARED TO Contemporaries AT HIS POSITION

AB H R 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB TB TRB AVG OBP SLG OPS
Freehan
528
138
61
21
3
17
66
54
65
2
218
203
.262
.340
.412
752
AVG C
533
128
54
20
2
13
54
87
3
191
187
.241
.314
.359
.673

Bill Freehan Rankings

AT Catcher BY THESE SOURCES

BASEBALL EGG HALL OF STATS BASEBALL SCHOLAR JAWS BILL JAMES
13
20
17
17
14
Updated THRU 2021
Updated THRU 2021
UPDATED THRU 2021
Updated THRU 2021
UPDATED THRU 2020

AT Catcher BY VALUE

CAREER LONG PEAK PRIME SHORT PEAK
17
16
18
10
CAREER WAR
WAR7
WAR 5 CONSECUTIVE
WAR3

Bill Freehan PLAYER VALUE

WAR COMPARED TO AVERAGE HALL OF FAMER AT HIS POSITION

CAREER WAR7 WAR5C WAR3 WAR PER SN
44.7
33.7
22.5
18.3
4.08
53.0
34.7
25.3
17.3
4.40
BLUE = Bill Freehan
GRAY = AVERAGE HALL OF FAME C

WIN SHARES COMPARED TO AVERAGE HALL OF FAMER AT HIS POSITION

CAREER WIN SHARES 7 WIN SHARES 5C WIN SHARES 3 WS PER SN
263.0
172.7
120.3
88.6
24.0
307.6
181.0
130.7
87.6
24.8
BLUE = Bill Freehan
GRAY = AVERAGE HALL OF FAME C

— Explanation of Advanced Statistics —

Wins Above Replacement is a non-standardized sabermetric statistic developed to sum up a player’s total contributions to his team. A player’s WAR value is claimed to be the number of additional wins his team has achieved above the number of expected team wins if that player were substituted with a replacement-level player:

A player’s best seven seasons according to his Wins Above Replacement (WAR). Also called LONG PEAK.

A player’s best five consecutive seasons according to his Wins Above Replacement (WAR). Also called PLAYER PRIME.

A player’s best three seasons according to his Wins Above Replacement (WAR). Also called SHORT PEAK.

A player’s Wins Above Replacement (WAR) per season (calculated for 162 games).

Advanced statistical method devised by Bill James. A Win Share represents one-third of a team win, by definition, and takes into account defense, offense, baserunning, park effects, and level of competition, era, and many other factors.

A player’s best seven seasons according to his Win Shares. A measure of LONG PEAK.

A player’s best five consecutive seasons according to his Win Shares. A measure of a player’s PRIME.

A player’s best three seasons according to his Win Shares. A measure of a player’s SHORT PEAK.

A player’s Win Shares per season (calculated for 162 games).

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