Don Larsen, baseball player, 1953-1967

Don Larsen

Born: 8/7/1929 in Michigan City, IN, USA

Died: 1/1/2020 in Coeur d'Alene, ID, USA

MLB Debut: 1953-04-18 | Final Game: 1967-07-07

Bats: R | Throws: R | Height: 6'4" | Weight: 215 lbs

Full name: Don James Larsen

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Biography

Don Larsen, born in 1929, was a notable pitcher in Major League Baseball who played from 1953 until 1967. Renowned for his unique ability to perform under pressure, Larsen is best remembered for his remarkable performance in the 1956 World Series, where he pitched a perfect game for the New York Yankees against the Brooklyn Dodgers. This achievement remains one of the most iconic moments in baseball history and earned him the distinction of World Series MVP, a rare honor for a pitcher. Over the course of his career, Larsen compiled a record of 81-91 with an earned run average (ERA) of 3.78. He struck out a total of 849 batters and recorded 26 saves. His playing style was characterized by a combination of finesse and determination, allowing him to thrive in high-stakes situations. Larsen's contributions to the game during the 1950s and 1960s, amidst the competitive landscape of the sport, solidified his place in baseball lore, making him a memorable figure in the annals of the game.

Career Pitching Statistics

W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
81 91 412 171 44 11 26 1548.0 1442 650 130 725 849 3.78 0

Career ERA 3.78 vs. league average 3.78 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
1953 SLA AL 7 12 38 22 7 2 2 192.7 201 89 64 96 4.16 4.14 (avg) 3721.3
1954 BAL AL 3 21 29 28 12 1 0 201.7 213 98 89 80 4.37 3.90 (-12%) -1086.8
1955 NYY AL 9 2 19 13 5 1 2 97.0 81 33 51 44 3.06 4.00 (+23%) -
1956 NYY AL 11 5 38 20 6 1 1 179.7 133 65 96 107 3.26 3.96 (+18%) -
1957 NYY AL 10 4 27 20 4 1 0 139.7 113 58 87 81 3.74 3.83 (+2%) -
1958 NYY AL 9 6 19 19 5 3 0 114.3 100 39 52 55 3.07 3.86 (+20%) -
1959 NYY AL 6 7 25 18 3 1 3 124.7 122 60 76 69 4.33 3.90 (-11%) -
1960 KC1 AL 1 10 22 15 0 0 0 83.7 97 50 42 43 5.38 3.82 (-41%) -1910.4
1961 KC1 AL 1 0 8 1 0 0 0 15.0 21 7 11 13 4.20 4.03 (-4%) -356.4
1961 CHW AL 7 2 25 3 0 0 2 74.3 64 34 29 53 4.12 4.03 (-2%) -
1962 SFG NL 5 4 49 0 0 0 11 86.3 83 42 47 58 4.38 3.96 (-11%) -
1963 SFG NL 7 7 46 0 0 0 3 62.0 46 21 30 44 3.05 3.46 (+12%) -
1964 SFG NL 0 1 6 0 0 0 0 10.3 10 5 6 6 4.35 3.58 (-22%) -
1964 HOU NL 4 8 30 10 2 1 1 103.3 92 26 20 58 2.26 3.58 (+37%) 2599.4
1965 HOU NL 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 5.3 8 3 3 1 5.06 — 0.0
1965 BAL AL 1 2 27 1 0 0 1 54.0 53 16 20 40 2.67 3.50 (+24%) 455.2
1967 CHC NL 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 4.0 5 4 2 1 9.00 — -

Career Batting Statistics

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
480 596 65 144 25 5 14 72 0 43 138 0.242 0.291 0.371 0.662 -62.6

Career AVG .242 vs. league average .254 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career OBP .291 vs. league average .322 across their career seasons — 9.6% below league average.

Career SLG .371 vs. league average .386 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career OPS 0.662 vs. league average 0.708 across their career seasons — 6.5% 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
1953 SLA AL 50 81 11 23 3 1 3 10 0 4 14 0.284 .264 (+7%) .335 (-5%) .397 (+15%) .733 (+6%) 50.6
1954 BAL AL 44 88 6 22 5 3 1 4 0 5 15 0.250 .261 (-4%) .333 (-13%) .390 (+5%) .723 (-3%) -92.3
1955 NYY AL 21 41 4 6 1 0 2 7 0 4 13 0.146 — — — — 0.0
1956 NYY AL 45 79 10 19 5 0 2 12 0 6 17 0.241 .258 (-7%) .331 (-11%) .397 (-4%) .728 (-8%) -115.6
1957 NYY AL 31 56 6 14 5 0 0 5 0 6 11 0.250 .257 (-3%) .323 (-2%) .391 (-13%) .715 (-8%) -79.5
1958 NYY AL 28 49 9 15 1 0 4 13 0 5 9 0.306 — — — — 235.8
1959 NYY AL 29 47 8 12 2 0 0 8 0 7 15 0.255 — — — — -61.6
1960 KC1 AL 23 29 3 6 1 0 0 3 0 0 11 0.207 — — — — 0.0
1961 KC1 AL 18 20 2 6 0 0 1 4 0 1 5 0.300 — — — — 0.0
1961 CHW AL 25 25 2 8 0 0 1 4 0 0 5 0.320 — — — — 0.0
1962 SFG NL 52 25 3 5 0 1 0 1 0 0 7 0.200 — — — — 0.0
1963 SFG NL 46 11 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0.182 — — — — 0.0
1964 SFG NL 6 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.000 — — — — 0.0
1964 HOU NL 31 31 0 3 1 0 0 0 0 4 10 0.097 — — — — 0.0
1965 HOU NL 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0.000 — — — — 0.0
1965 BAL AL 27 11 0 3 1 0 0 1 0 0 4 0.273 — — — — 0.0
1967 CHC 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
10 9 2 1 0 0 0 1 3 2 0.111

Playoff Batting by Year

Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1962 WS SFN 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1958 WS NYA 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0.000
1957 WS NYA 2 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 0.000
1956 WS NYA 2 3 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 0.333
1955 WS NYA 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.000

Playoff Career Pitching

W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
4 2 10 6 0 36.0 24 11 19 24 2.75

Playoff Pitching by Year

Year Round Team W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
1962 WS SFN 1 0 3 0 0 2.3 1 1 2 0 3.86
1958 WS NYA 1 0 2 2 0 9.3 9 1 6 9 0.96
1957 WS NYA 1 1 2 1 0 9.7 8 4 5 6 3.72
1956 WS NYA 1 0 2 2 0 10.7 1 0 4 7 0.00
1955 WS NYA 0 1 1 1 0 4.0 5 5 2 2 11.25

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position G GS PO A E DP
OF 2 1 3 0 0 0
P 412 149 92 244 17 22

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1953 SLA OF 1 0 0 0 0 0
1953 SLA P 38 0 8 29 2 1
1954 BAL P 29 28 14 34 1 3
1955 NYA P 19 13 5 13 1 3
1956 NYA P 38 20 13 23 3 3
1957 NYA P 27 20 10 20 2 2
1958 NYA P 19 19 5 14 2 2
1959 NYA P 25 18 5 22 2 1
1960 KC1 P 22 15 4 8 1 1
1961 KC1 OF 1 1 3 0 0 0
1961 KC1 P 8 1 1 4 0 0
1961 CHA P 25 3 4 13 0 0
1962 SFN P 49 0 4 15 0 3
1963 SFN P 46 0 4 12 1 0
1964 SFN P 6 0 2 0 0 0
1964 HOU P 30 10 7 19 1 1
1965 HOU P 1 1 1 3 0 0
1965 BAL P 27 1 5 13 1 1
1967 CHN P 3 0 0 2 0 1

Career Games by Position

Position Games
Pitcher 412
Left Field 2

Awards & Honors

Year Award Notes
1956 Babe Ruth Award P
1956 World Series MVP