Al Downing

Born: 6/28/1941 in Trenton, NJ, USA

MLB Debut: 1961-07-19 | Final Game: 1977-07-13

Bats: R | Throws: L | Height: 5'11" | Weight: 175 lbs

Full name: Alphonso Erwin Downing

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Biography

Al Downing, born in 1941, was a prominent pitcher in Major League Baseball who played from 1961 until his retirement in 1977. Known for his strong left-handed arm, Downing achieved a career record of 123-107 and posted an impressive earned run average (ERA) of 3.22 over his time in the league. He recorded a total of 1,639 strikeouts and notched 3 saves, showcasing his ability to dominate hitters during his tenure on the mound. Downing was selected as an All-Star once, highlighting his status among the elite pitchers of his era. Downing's career unfolded during a transformative time in baseball, which included the latter years of the deadball era and the onset of the more offensive-minded 1970s. He played for several teams, most notably the New York Yankees, where he became a fan favorite for his competitive spirit and reliability as a starting pitcher. His contributions to the game extended beyond the statistics, as he became a respected figure in baseball circles, known for his insights and experiences that reflected the changing landscape of the sport during his active years.

Career Pitching Statistics

W	L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	SO	ERA	Pitcher PIV
123	107	405	317	73	24	3	2268.3	1946	811	177	933	1639	3.22	0

Career ERA 3.22 vs. league average 3.60 across their career seasons — 10.7% better than 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
1961	NYY	AL	0	1	5	1	0	0	0	9.0	7	8	12	12	8.00	4.03 (-99%)	-
1962	NYY	AL	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	1.0	0	0	0	1	0.00	—	-
1963	NYY	AL	13	5	24	22	10	4	0	175.7	114	50	80	171	2.56	3.46 (+26%)	-
1964	NYY	AL	13	8	37	35	11	1	2	244.0	201	94	120	217	3.47	3.58 (+3%)	-
1965	NYY	AL	12	14	35	32	8	2	0	212.0	185	80	105	179	3.40	3.50 (+3%)	-
1966	NYY	AL	10	11	30	30	1	0	0	200.0	178	79	79	152	3.56	3.52 (-1%)	-
1967	NYY	AL	14	10	31	28	10	4	0	201.7	158	59	61	171	2.63	3.30 (+20%)	-
1968	NYY	AL	3	3	15	12	1	0	0	61.3	54	24	20	40	3.52	2.98 (-18%)	-
1969	NYY	AL	7	5	30	15	5	1	0	130.7	117	49	49	85	3.38	3.61 (+7%)	-
1970	OAK	AL	3	3	10	6	1	0	0	41.0	39	18	22	26	3.95	3.89 (-2%)	-777.9
1970	ATL	AL	2	10	17	16	1	0	0	94.3	79	35	59	53	3.34	3.89 (+14%)	-
1971	LAD	NL	20	9	37	36	12	5	0	262.3	245	78	84	136	2.68	3.47 (+23%)	-
1972	LAD	NL	9	9	31	30	7	4	0	202.7	196	67	67	117	2.98	3.26 (+9%)	-
1973	LAD	NL	9	9	30	28	5	2	0	193.0	155	71	68	124	3.31	3.75 (+12%)	-
1974	LAD	NL	5	6	21	16	1	1	0	98.3	94	40	45	63	3.66	3.63 (-1%)	-
1975	LAD	NL	2	1	22	6	0	0	1	74.7	59	24	28	39	2.89	3.71 (+22%)	-
1976	LAD	NL	1	2	17	3	0	0	0	46.7	43	20	18	30	3.86	3.51 (-10%)	-
1977	LAD	NL	0	1	12	1	0	0	0	20.0	22	15	16	23	6.75	4.00 (-69%)	-

Career Batting Statistics

G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	PIV
409	717	36	91	12	3	2	51	0	37	293	0.127	0.169	0.160	0.330	-4552.2

Career AVG .127 vs. league average .252 across their career seasons — 49.6% below league average.

Career OBP .169 vs. league average .318 across their career seasons — 46.8% below league average.

Career SLG .160 vs. league average .373 across their career seasons — 57.0% below league average.

Career OPS 0.330 vs. league average 0.692 across their career seasons — 52.3% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Year	Team	Lg	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	AVG	Lg AVG	Lg OBP	Lg SLG	Lg OPS	PIV
1961	NYY	AL	5	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1962	NYY	AL	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1963	NYY	AL	24	58	4	6	2	0	0	2	3	31	0.103	.246 (-58%)	.308 (-52%)	.371 (-63%)	.680 (-58%)	-532.2
1964	NYY	AL	40	85	5	15	1	1	0	7	4	33	0.176	.250 (-30%)	.312 (-32%)	.377 (-44%)	.690 (-38%)	-536.6
1965	NYY	AL	36	74	4	8	2	0	1	7	3	30	0.108	.245 (-56%)	.310 (-54%)	.371 (-53%)	.682 (-53%)	-645.6
1966	NYY	AL	30	70	4	7	0	1	0	7	4	30	0.100	.248 (-60%)	.309 (-52%)	.376 (-66%)	.685 (-60%)	-669.5
1967	NYY	AL	31	66	5	8	1	0	1	2	5	29	0.121	.242 (-50%)	.306 (-40%)	.357 (-49%)	.663 (-45%)	-462.8
1968	NYY	AL	15	17	1	3	0	0	0	1	1	10	0.176	—	—	—	—	0.0
1969	NYY	AL	30	44	2	6	1	0	0	5	2	17	0.136	—	—	—	—	0.0
1970	OAK	AL	10	11	0	2	0	0	0	1	0	5	0.182	—	—	—	—	0.0
1970	ATL	AL	17	24	0	2	0	0	0	1	0	12	0.083	—	—	—	—	0.0
1971	LAD	NL	37	92	4	16	2	0	0	10	6	28	0.174	.249 (-30%)	.316 (-29%)	.365 (-46%)	.682 (-38%)	-565.2
1972	LAD	NL	31	66	2	8	1	1	0	2	1	27	0.121	.243 (-50%)	.310 (-57%)	.353 (-53%)	.664 (-55%)	-578.0
1973	LAD	NL	30	57	2	5	2	0	0	3	5	18	0.088	.256 (-66%)	.325 (-50%)	.378 (-68%)	.703 (-60%)	-562.3
1974	LAD	NL	21	29	3	5	0	0	0	2	1	11	0.172	—	—	—	—	0.0
1975	LAD	NL	22	16	0	0	0	0	0	1	2	8	0.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1976	LAD	NL	17	6	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	0.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1977	LAD	NL	12	1	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	5	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	0.000

Playoff Batting by Year

Year	Round	Team	G	AB	SO
1974	NLCS	LAN	1	1	0
1974	WS	LAN	1	1	0
1964	WS	NYA	3	2	2
1963	WS	NYA	1	1	1

Playoff Career Pitching

W	L	G	GS	SV	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
0	3	6	3	0	20.3	21	11	8	14	4.87

Playoff Pitching by Year

Year	Round	Team	L	G	GS	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
1974	NLCS	LAN	0	1	0	4.0	1	0	1	0	0.00
1974	WS	LAN	1	1	1	3.7	4	1	4	3	2.45
1964	WS	NYA	1	3	1	7.7	9	7	2	5	8.22
1963	WS	NYA	1	1	1	5.0	7	3	1	6	5.40

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
P	405	317	72	368	18	23

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year	Team	Pos	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
1961	NYA	P	5	1	0	2	0	0
1962	NYA	P	1	0	0	0	0	0
1963	NYA	P	24	22	7	18	1	1
1964	NYA	P	37	35	6	39	0	0
1965	NYA	P	35	32	6	36	2	4
1966	NYA	P	30	30	4	16	3	2
1967	NYA	P	31	28	9	27	1	2
1968	NYA	P	15	12	2	9	0	0
1969	NYA	P	30	15	3	14	1	1
1970	OAK	P	10	6	1	15	0	2
1970	ML4	P	17	16	8	15	3	0
1971	LAN	P	37	36	7	40	1	2
1972	LAN	P	31	30	5	54	1	5
1973	LAN	P	30	28	8	34	3	1
1974	LAN	P	21	16	2	20	1	2
1975	LAN	P	22	6	4	17	0	0
1976	LAN	P	17	3	0	9	0	1
1977	LAN	P	12	1	0	3	1	0