Lew Burdette, baseball player, 1950-1967

Lew Burdette

Born: 11/22/1926 in Nitro, WV, USA

Died: 2/6/2007 in Winter Garden, FL, USA

MLB Debut: 1950-09-26 | Final Game: 1967-07-16

Bats: R | Throws: R | Height: 6'2" | Weight: 180 lbs

Full name: Selva Lewis Burdette

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Biography

Lew Burdette was a prominent pitcher in Major League Baseball who made his mark from 1950 to 1967. Born in 1926, Burdette played the majority of his career with the Milwaukee Braves, where he became known for his durability and competitive spirit on the mound. With a career record of 203 wins and 144 losses, Burdette finished with an earned run average (ERA) of 3.66 and recorded 1,074 strikeouts. His ability to keep runs off the board contributed significantly to his team's success during the 1950s and 1960s, an era characterized by strong pitching and fierce competition. Burdette earned three All-Star selections during his career, highlighting his status as one of the top pitchers of his time. He was particularly noted for his performance in the 1957 World Series, where he helped lead the Braves to victory over the New York Yankees, further solidifying his legacy in baseball history. Throughout his career, Burdette's work ethic and strategic pitching style earned him respect among players and fans alike, making him a significant figure in the game during a transformative period in baseball.

Career Pitching Statistics

W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
203 144 626 373 158 33 31 3067.3 3186 1246 289 628 1074 3.66 0

Career ERA 3.66 vs. league average 3.80 across their career seasons — near league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Year Team Lg W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER BB SO ERA Lg ERA Pitcher PIV
1950 NYY AL 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 1.3 3 1 0 0 6.75 — -
1951 BSN NL 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 4.3 6 3 5 1 6.23 — 0.0
1952 BSN NL 6 11 45 9 5 0 7 137.0 138 55 47 47 3.61 3.70 (+2%) 585.6
1953 ATL NL 15 5 46 13 6 1 8 175.0 177 63 56 58 3.24 4.14 (+22%) -
1954 ATL NL 15 14 38 32 13 4 0 238.0 224 73 62 79 2.76 3.90 (+29%) -
1955 ATL NL 13 8 42 33 11 2 0 230.0 253 103 73 70 4.03 4.00 (-1%) -
1956 ATL NL 19 10 39 35 16 6 1 256.3 234 77 52 110 2.70 3.96 (+32%) -
1957 ATL NL 17 9 37 33 14 1 0 256.7 260 106 59 78 3.72 3.83 (+3%) -
1958 ATL NL 20 10 40 36 19 3 0 275.3 279 89 50 113 2.91 3.86 (+25%) -
1959 ATL NL 21 15 41 39 20 4 1 289.7 312 131 38 105 4.07 3.90 (-4%) -
1960 ATL NL 19 13 45 32 18 4 4 275.7 277 103 35 83 3.36 3.82 (+12%) -
1961 ATL NL 18 11 40 36 14 3 0 272.3 295 121 33 92 4.00 4.03 (+1%) -
1962 ATL NL 10 9 37 19 6 1 2 143.7 172 78 23 59 4.89 3.96 (-24%) -
1963 ATL NL 6 5 15 13 4 1 0 84.0 71 34 24 28 3.64 3.46 (-5%) -
1963 STL NL 3 8 21 14 3 0 2 98.0 106 41 16 45 3.77 3.46 (-9%) -
1964 STL NL 1 0 8 0 0 0 0 10.0 10 2 3 3 1.80 3.58 (+50%) -
1964 CHC NL 9 9 28 17 8 2 0 131.0 152 71 19 40 4.88 3.58 (-36%) -
1965 CHC NL 0 2 7 3 0 0 0 20.3 26 12 4 5 5.31 3.50 (-52%) -
1965 PHI NL 3 3 19 9 1 1 0 70.7 95 43 17 23 5.48 3.50 (-57%) -396.5
1966 LAA AL 7 2 54 0 0 0 5 79.7 80 30 12 27 3.39 3.52 (+4%) -
1967 LAA AL 1 0 19 0 0 0 1 18.3 16 10 0 8 4.91 3.30 (-49%) -

Career Batting Statistics

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
666 1011 101 185 27 4 12 75 2 32 271 0.183 0.216 0.253 0.469 -5186.5

Career AVG .183 vs. league average .255 across their career seasons — 28.2% below league average.

Career OBP .216 vs. league average .324 across their career seasons — 33.3% below league average.

Career SLG .253 vs. league average .385 across their career seasons — 34.3% below league average.

Career OPS 0.469 vs. league average 0.709 across their career seasons — 33.8% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Year Team Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG Lg AVG Lg OBP Lg SLG Lg OPS PIV
1950 NYY AL 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1951 BSN NL 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.000 — — — — 0.0
1952 BSN NL 45 35 1 4 0 0 0 0 0 3 8 0.114 — — — — 0.0
1953 ATL NL 46 53 4 9 0 0 0 1 0 0 13 0.170 .264 (-36%) .335 (-49%) .397 (-57%) .733 (-54%) -500.6
1954 ATL NL 39 79 3 7 1 0 0 4 0 1 14 0.089 .261 (-66%) .333 (-64%) .390 (-74%) .723 (-70%) -970.6
1955 ATL NL 45 86 10 20 5 0 0 7 0 3 20 0.233 .258 (-10%) .332 (-22%) .393 (-26%) .726 (-24%) -376.5
1956 ATL NL 45 86 9 16 1 0 0 8 0 2 16 0.186 .258 (-28%) .331 (-37%) .397 (-50%) .728 (-44%) -683.3
1957 ATL NL 41 88 11 13 2 0 2 9 0 3 22 0.148 .257 (-43%) .323 (-44%) .391 (-39%) .715 (-41%) -638.1
1958 ATL NL 47 99 11 24 1 1 3 15 0 3 24 0.242 .257 (-6%) .324 (-16%) .394 (-8%) .719 (-12%) -213.9
1959 ATL NL 52 104 14 21 7 1 0 8 0 3 36 0.202 .256 (-21%) .323 (-29%) .392 (-26%) .715 (-27%) -520.6
1960 ATL NL 46 91 11 16 3 0 2 4 0 7 22 0.176 .255 (-31%) .323 (-26%) .387 (-29%) .711 (-28%) -443.2
1961 ATL NL 42 103 10 21 5 0 3 11 0 2 39 0.204 .258 (-21%) .328 (-33%) .399 (-15%) .727 (-23%) -442.9
1962 ATL NL 39 51 6 9 0 0 0 1 0 1 17 0.176 .257 (-32%) .326 (-36%) .393 (-55%) .719 (-47%) -396.9
1963 ATL NL 17 26 2 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 11 0.038 — — — — 0.0
1963 STL NL 21 31 0 3 1 0 0 1 1 0 6 0.097 — — — — 0.0
1964 STL NL 8 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.000 — — — — 0.0
1964 CHC NL 28 43 6 12 0 1 2 4 0 3 12 0.279 — — — — 0.0
1965 CHC NL 8 6 0 2 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 0.333 — — — — 0.0
1965 PHI NL 19 20 3 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 7 0.300 — — — — 0.0
1966 LAA AL 54 8 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 3 0.125 — — — — 0.0
1967 LAA AL 19 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0

Postseason Statistics

Playoff Career Batting

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
6 17 1 1 0 0 1 3 1 5 0.059

Playoff Batting by Year

Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1958 WS ML1 3 9 1 1 0 0 1 3 0 3 0.111
1957 WS ML1 3 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 0.000

Playoff Career Pitching

W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
4 2 6 6 0 49.3 43 16 8 25 2.92

Playoff Pitching by Year

Year Round Team W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
1958 WS ML1 1 2 3 3 0 22.3 22 14 4 12 5.64
1957 WS ML1 3 0 3 3 0 27.0 21 2 4 13 0.67

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position G GS PO A E DP
P 626 351 245 622 27 55

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1950 NYA P 2 0 0 1 0 1
1951 BSN P 3 0 0 1 0 0
1952 BSN P 45 0 9 29 1 3
1953 ML1 P 46 0 11 37 1 6
1954 ML1 P 38 32 17 49 4 4
1955 ML1 P 42 33 18 47 2 6
1956 ML1 P 39 35 19 48 1 4
1957 ML1 P 37 33 22 53 4 3
1958 ML1 P 40 36 27 53 1 4
1959 ML1 P 41 39 21 47 1 6
1960 ML1 P 45 32 31 68 2 6
1961 ML1 P 40 36 27 60 1 2
1962 ML1 P 37 19 8 33 2 1
1963 ML1 P 15 13 7 15 3 2
1963 SLN P 21 14 4 12 2 1
1964 SLN P 8 0 0 2 0 0
1964 CHN P 28 17 10 34 0 3
1965 CHN P 7 3 2 3 0 0
1965 PHI P 19 9 4 14 0 3
1966 CAL P 54 0 8 11 2 0
1967 CAL P 19 0 0 5 0 0

Career Games by Position

Position Games
Pitcher 626

Awards & Honors

Year Award Notes
1957 Babe Ruth Award P
1957 World Series MVP

College History

School Name City State Years Attended
University of Richmond Richmond VA 1946

Award Voting History

Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
1959 Most Valuable Player NL 12th 14.0 336 0
1958 Cy Young Award ML 3rd 3.0 16 3
1958 Most Valuable Player NL 11th 47.0 336 0
1957 Most Valuable Player NL 24th 2.0 336 0
1956 Most Valuable Player NL 22th 8.0 336 0