Bill Freehan

Freehan attended the University of Michigan, where he set an all-time Big Ten Conference batting mark of .585 in 1961 and also played football.[4] He signed with his hometown Tigers in 1961 for a $100,000 bonus, which his father withheld until he graduated in 1966, and broke in briefly with 4 games at the end of the season before returning to the minors in 1962.[5] In 1963 he arrived in the majors to stay, working with former catcher Rick Ferrell on his defense and splitting catching duties with Gus Triandos, who was traded following the season. The 1964 campaign gave indications of what was to come; he batted .300 to finish sixth in the American League (AL), along with 18 home runs and 80 runs batted in.[6] He also led the AL by throwing out 53% of potential base stealers, earned the first of his ten consecutive All-Star selections, and placed seventh in the Most Valuable Player Award balloting.[7] In 1965 he led the AL in putouts for the first of six times, and received the first of his five consecutive Gold Gloves. In 1966 he again led the league in putouts, and also led in fielding percentage for the first of four times.

1967 was his best season yet, as he batted .282 – ninth in the AL as averages hit an all-time low – with 20 home runs, and broke Elston Howard's 1964 AL single-season records with 950 putouts and 1,021 total chances. Freehan led the league in both intentional walks and times hit by pitch, and finished third in the MVP voting after Detroit came within one game of the Boston Red Sox for the AL pennant.[8][9]

Freehan wearing protective catcher's gear as a member of the Detroit Tigers in 1966.

He had an even better year in 1968 as he was considered the quiet leader of the 1968 World Series championship squad. In a year marked by dominant pitching, he posted career highs with 25 home runs and 84 RBI, fifth and sixth in the AL respectively.[10] Freehan broke his own records with 971 putouts and 1,050 total chances, marks which remained league records until Dan Wilson topped them with the 1997 Seattle Mariners. He was also hit by 24 pitches, the most in the AL since Kid Elberfeld in 1911. Despite playing in hitter-friendly Tiger Stadium, Freehan guided the Tigers' pitching staff to an earned run average of 2.71, third best in the league.[11] McLain won 31 games and Lolich won 17 as the Tigers ran away with the pennant. Because of his offensive and defensive contributions, he finished second to McLain in the MVP voting.[12] Freehan and Carl Yastrzemski were the only players to finish in the top ten of the voting in both 1967 and 1968, and only Yastrzemski reached base more often in 1968. He capped his season by recording the final out of the World Series against the St. Louis Cardinals, retiring Tim McCarver on a popup. He also made a pivotal play in Game 5, with the Cardinals leading the Series 3-1 and the game 3-2.[13] In the fifth inning, Lou Brock – whom Freehan had thrown out on an attempted steal in the third inning – doubled with one out and attempted to score on Julián Javier's single, but Freehan successfully blocked the plate with his foot, and held on to the ball even though Brock came in standing up in an attempt to knock the ball loose. Detroit won by scoring three runs in the seventh inning, and went on to take the last two games.[14]

Although his later seasons rarely approached the brilliance of those two campaigns, he continued to turn out All-Star years for the Tigers. His offensive numbers dipped in 1970, but he threw out 47% of potential base stealers (his highest mark since 1964) and had a .997 fielding percentage. In 1971 he batted .277 with 21 home runs, three of those coming in one game against the Boston Red Sox in August. He hit .262 for the 1972 Eastern Division champions. He missed the first two games (both losses) of the 1972 American League Championship Series against the Oakland Athletics while recovering from a hairline fracture of his thumb, then doubled and homered in a 3-0 Game 3 win, in which Joe Coleman set a League Championship Series record with 14 strikeouts.[15] Freehan drove in the first of three runs in the tenth inning of Game 4 in a memorable 4-3 come-from-behind victory which tied the series;[16] he also drove in Detroit's only run in the 2-1 Game 5 loss.[17] In 1974, playing primarily at first base, he finished fifth in the American League in slugging average with a .479 mark.[18] He moved back behind the plate the following year to earn his 11th All-Star berth. Freehan ended his career in 1976, batting .270.

In his 15-year career, Freehan played in 1,774 games with 1,591 hits in 6,073 at bats for a .262 batting average along with 241 doubles, 200 home runs, 758 RBI, and a .340 on-base percentage.[1] In addition to his home runs and total bases, his .412 slugging average and totals of 1,591 hits, 706 runs and 476 extra base hits all put him among the top five AL catchers to that time. His batting totals are particularly remarkable in light of the fact that offense was at a low throughout the sport during his career, with a decided advantage toward pitchers. Freehan led all AL catchers in fielding percentage four times (1965, 1966, 1970, 1973).[19] He also ranked sixth in American League history with 114 times being hit by a pitch. Freehan caught more games than any other player in Tigers' team history.[20] In his book, The Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract, baseball historian Bill James ranked Freehan 12th all-time among major league catchers.[21]

Freehan held the major league record for highest career fielding percentage (.9933) until 2002, when Dan Wilson broke his record. In 1973 and 1974 he surpassed Yogi Berra to become the AL's all-time leader in putouts and total chances; he broke Johnny Roseboro's major league marks in 1975. Bob Boone broke his major league mark of 10,734 career total chances in 1987, and Gary Carter surpassed his putouts total of 9,941 in 1988;[22][23] Carlton Fisk broke his AL records in 1989 (total chances) and 1990 (putouts).[24] Freehan caught 114 shutouts during his career, ranking him 18th all-time among major league catchers.[25]

In 1969, Freehan penned "Behind the Mask", a diary-type recording of his thoughts and experiences as seen from the catcher's perspective.[26] After retiring, he coached Tigers catcher Lance Parrish on the fine points of playing his position. In 1978, Freehan was one of seven members of the inaugural class of inductees to the University of Michigan Athletic Hall of Honor. He served as a color commentator for Seattle Mariners broadcasts in 1979–80, and for Tigers broadcasts on PASS Sports television in 1984–85, and returned to the University of Michigan as head coach of the baseball team from 1989 to 1995.

In 1963, he married Pat Freehan.[27]

Freehan was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease in his later years.[27] In October 2018, it was revealed that Freehan was in hospice care at his home in Northern Michigan.[27]

• List of Gold Glove Award winners at catcher
• List of Major League Baseball players who spent their entire career with one franchise

• Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)