Ken Johnson, baseball player, 1958-1970

Ken Johnson

Born: 6/16/1933 in West Palm Beach, FL, USA

Died: 11/21/2015 in Pineville, LA, USA

MLB Debut: 1958-09-13 | Final Game: 1970-04-18

Bats: R | Throws: R | Height: 6'4" | Weight: 210 lbs

Full name: Kenneth Travis Johnson

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Biography

Ken Johnson was a professional baseball pitcher whose career spanned from 1958 to 1970. Born in 1933, Johnson made his mark in Major League Baseball as a reliable starting pitcher, known for his durability and competitive spirit on the mound. Over the course of his career, he compiled a record of 91 wins and 106 losses, with a respectable earned run average (ERA) of 3.46. Johnson was also a strikeout artist, finishing his career with 1,042 strikeouts, alongside 9 saves, showcasing his ability to close out games effectively when called upon. Johnson played during a transformative era in baseball, marked by the transition from the deadball period to a more offensive-minded approach in the game. His contributions were particularly significant in an era that saw the emergence of new pitching techniques and strategies. While he may not have achieved superstar status, Johnson's consistent performance and skill set made him a valuable asset to the teams he played for, leaving a lasting impact on the franchises he represented. He remains a notable figure in baseball history, remembered for his contributions on the mound and the competitive spirit he brought to the game.

Career Pitching Statistics

W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
91 106 334 231 50 7 9 1737.3 1670 668 157 413 1042 3.46 0

Career ERA 3.46 vs. league average 3.63 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
1958 KC1 AL 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 2.3 6 7 3 1 27.00 — 0.0
1959 KC1 AL 1 1 2 2 0 0 0 11.0 11 5 5 8 4.09 3.90 (-5%) -251.3
1960 KC1 AL 5 10 42 6 2 0 3 120.3 120 57 45 83 4.26 3.82 (-12%) -1096.6
1961 KC1 AL 0 4 6 1 0 0 0 9.3 11 11 7 4 10.61 4.03 (-163%) 0.0
1961 CIN NL 6 2 15 11 3 1 1 83.0 71 30 22 42 3.25 4.03 (+19%) -265.8
1962 HOU NL 7 16 33 31 5 1 0 197.0 195 84 46 178 3.84 3.96 (+3%) 5894.7
1963 HOU NL 11 17 37 32 6 1 1 224.0 204 66 50 148 2.65 3.46 (+23%) 4851.3
1964 HOU NL 11 16 35 35 7 1 0 218.0 209 88 44 117 3.63 3.58 (-1%) 2577.6
1965 HOU NL 3 2 8 8 1 0 0 51.7 52 24 11 28 4.18 3.50 (-19%) 245.5
1965 ATL NL 13 8 29 26 8 1 2 179.7 165 64 37 123 3.21 3.50 (+8%) -
1966 ATL NL 14 8 32 31 11 2 0 215.7 213 79 46 105 3.30 3.52 (+6%) -826.9
1967 ATL NL 13 9 29 29 6 0 0 210.3 191 64 38 85 2.74 3.30 (+17%) -1335.9
1968 ATL NL 5 8 31 16 1 0 0 135.0 145 52 25 57 3.47 2.98 (-16%) -961.3
1969 ATL NL 0 1 9 2 0 0 1 29.0 32 16 9 20 4.97 3.61 (-37%) -175.5
1969 NYY AL 1 2 12 0 0 0 0 26.0 19 10 11 21 3.46 3.61 (+4%) -
1969 CHC NL 1 2 9 1 0 0 1 19.0 17 6 13 18 2.84 3.61 (+21%) -
1970 WSN NL 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 6.0 9 5 1 4 7.50 — -

Career Batting Statistics

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
335 534 24 61 9 1 2 23 0 12 250 0.114 0.137 0.146 0.283 -4020.9

Career AVG .114 vs. league average .250 across their career seasons — 54.3% below league average.

Career OBP .137 vs. league average .317 across their career seasons — 56.9% below league average.

Career SLG .146 vs. league average .377 across their career seasons — 61.3% below league average.

Career OPS 0.283 vs. league average 0.694 across their career seasons — 59.3% 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
1958 KC1 AL 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1959 KC1 AL 2 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0.000 — — — — 0.0
1960 KC1 AL 42 30 2 5 1 0 0 3 0 0 11 0.167 — — — — 0.0
1961 KC1 AL 6 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0.000 — — — — 0.0
1961 CIN NL 15 25 1 6 1 0 0 5 0 0 11 0.240 — — — — 0.0
1962 HOU NL 33 52 1 4 1 0 0 3 0 1 24 0.077 .257 (-70%) .326 (-71%) .393 (-76%) .719 (-74%) -645.3
1963 HOU NL 38 74 3 5 0 0 0 0 0 1 34 0.068 .246 (-73%) .308 (-70%) .371 (-82%) .680 (-77%) -906.6
1964 HOU NL 35 76 4 6 1 0 1 1 0 2 49 0.079 .250 (-68%) .312 (-64%) .377 (-65%) .690 (-64%) -799.7
1965 HOU NL 8 18 0 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 7 0.111 — — — — 0.0
1965 ATL NL 29 61 3 7 1 0 0 5 0 0 27 0.115 .245 (-53%) .310 (-63%) .371 (-65%) .682 (-64%) 0.0
1966 ATL NL 32 70 3 10 2 1 1 2 0 1 28 0.143 .248 (-43%) .309 (-50%) .376 (-35%) .685 (-42%) -492.1
1967 ATL NL 29 71 5 9 1 0 0 1 0 5 27 0.127 .242 (-48%) .306 (-40%) .357 (-61%) .663 (-51%) -555.2
1968 ATL NL 31 40 1 7 0 0 0 2 0 0 19 0.175 — — — — 0.0
1969 ATL NL 9 6 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 3 0.000 — — — — 0.0
1969 NYY AL 12 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 2 0.000 — — — — 0.0
1969 CHC NL 9 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0.000 — — — — 0.0
1970 WSN NL 3 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
1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000

Playoff Batting by Year

Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1961 WS CIN 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000

Playoff Career Pitching

W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
0 0 1 0 0 0.7 0 0 0 0 0.00

Playoff Pitching by Year

Year Round Team W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
1961 WS CIN 0 0 1 0 0 0.7 0 0 0 0 0.00

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position G GS PO A E DP
P 334 231 93 322 16 19

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1958 KC1 P 2 0 1 1 0 0
1959 KC1 P 2 2 0 3 0 0
1960 KC1 P 42 6 6 27 0 0
1961 KC1 P 6 1 1 4 0 0
1961 CIN P 15 11 9 19 0 1
1962 HOU P 33 31 9 37 4 1
1963 HOU P 37 32 8 51 1 4
1964 HOU P 35 35 9 50 6 4
1965 HOU P 8 8 6 13 0 1
1965 ML1 P 29 26 10 17 2 0
1966 ATL P 32 31 14 35 1 4
1967 ATL P 29 29 9 33 1 0
1968 ATL P 31 16 7 18 1 3
1969 ATL P 9 2 0 5 0 1
1969 NYA P 12 0 2 7 0 0
1969 CHN P 9 1 1 1 0 0
1970 MON P 3 0 1 1 0 0

Career Games by Position

Position Games
Pitcher 334