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Giants History: Tom O’Brien Dies After Drinking Sea Water

By David Hill

Aug 4, 2015; Atlanta, GA, USA; General view of a San Francisco Giants hat and glove in the dugout against the Atlanta Braves in the third inning at Turner Field. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports
Aug 4, 2015; Atlanta, GA, USA; General view of a San Francisco Giants hat and glove in the dugout against the Atlanta Braves in the third inning at Turner Field. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports /
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Homeopathic remedies are not a new concept, as those prescriptions have been around seemingly forever. Following those instructions, former Giants utility player Tom O’Brien died on this day in 1901 after his organs became damaged after drinking sea water.

Even though Tom O’Brien spent the 1900 season with the Pittsburgh Pirates, he was still a popular figure in New York due to his time with the Giants. In fact, he was so popular that, when the Giants and the Brooklyn Superbas (Dodgers) traveled to Cuba to take part in several exhibition matches after the season, O’Brien was invited to come along and play with his former team.

However, on the trip to Cuba, both O’Brien and infielder Kid Gleason suffered with seasickness. Their symptoms were so bad that they sought relief from any possible source. After hearing that drinking sea water would cure their seasickness after a bout of illness, the former teammates gave the remedy a chance.

Both players ended up becoming incredibly sick as they expected, but that illness did not go away. While Gleason was able to eventually regain his health, the same did not occur for O’Brien. On this day in 1901, after suffering severe damage to all of his internal organs, O’Brien died at 27 years old.

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This untimely demise cut short what was a promising career. Although he played for three different teams in his four years in the league, O’Brien had begun to show some potential with the bat. In each of his last two seasons, he had a batting average of .290 or better, while showcasing a bit of power and some solid speed.

Overall in his career, O’Brien posted a solid .278/.341/.366 batting line, hitting 60 doubles and 24 triples while stealing 55 bases. He displayed an excellent batting eye and ability to make contact, drawing 120 walks while striking out only 87 times in 1757 plate appearances.

O’Brien was also valuable due to his defensive flexibility. While he spent most of his time in the outfield or at first during his career, he appeared everywhere but pitcher and catcher in those four years. He was a solid player who could have had a long career, only to have it tragically cut short after trying to drink sea water to cure his seasickness.

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People will do anything to take care of an illness that is affecting them, and baseball players are no different. Unfortunately, that search for a cure cost former Giants and Pirates player Tom O’Brien his life on this day in 1901.

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