Johnny O'Brien

For other people with the same name, see John O'Brien.

Johnny O'Brien
Second Baseman/Pitcher
Born: (1930-12-11) December 11, 1930 South Amboy, New Jersey
Batted: Right Threw: Right
MLB debut
April 19, 1953, for the Pittsburgh Pirates
Last MLB appearance
July 19, 1959, for the Milwaukee Braves
MLB statistics
Batting average	.250
Home runs	4
Runs batted in	59
Win-Loss record	1–3
Earned run average	5.61
innings pitched	61
Teams
Pittsburgh Pirates (1953; 1955–1958) St. Louis Cardinals (1958) Milwaukee Braves (1959)

John Thomas O'Brien (born December 11, 1930 in South Amboy, New Jersey) is a former backup second baseman and pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the Pittsburgh Pirates (1953, 1955–58), St. Louis Cardinals (1958) and Milwaukee Braves (1959). O'Brien batted and threw right-handed. His twin brother, Eddie, is a former major league shortstop.

O'Brien attended Saint Mary's High School in South Amboy, now Cardinal McCarrick High School, where he has been inducted into the school's sports hall of fame.

He attended Seattle University, where he played on the basketball team for the Chieftains (along with his brother Eddie) and scored 43 points in a stunning 84-81 upset over the Harlem Globetrotters on January 21, 1952. Later he and Eddie were drafted by the NBA's Milwaukee Hawks in 1953, but the twins never played in the NBA.

In a six-season career, O'Brien was a .250 hitter (204-for-815) with four home runs and 59 RBI in 339 games played. From 1956–1958, O'Brien also doubled as a pitcher, appearing in 25 games (all but one in relief) and 61 innings, surrendering 61 hits, walking 30 and striking out 35. O'Brien lost three of four decisions (.250) with an earned run average of 5.61.

While in Pittsburgh, Johnny and Eddie O'Brien became the first twins in major league history to play for the same team in the same game. They are also one of only four brother combinations to play second base/shortstop on the same major league club. The others are Garvin and Granny Hamner, for the Philadelphia Phillies in 1945; Frank and Milt Bolling, with the Detroit Tigers in 1958, and Billy and Cal Ripken, for the Baltimore Orioles during the 1980s.

External links

• Baseball Library
• Career statistics and player information from Baseball Reference
• Retrosheet
• 2B/SS combinations