Carl Mays

Born: 11/12/1891 in Liberty, KY, USA

Died: 4/4/1971 in El Cajon, CA, USA

MLB Debut: 1915-04-15 | Final Game: 1929-09-24

Bats: L | Throws: R | Height: 5'11" | Weight: 195 lbs

Full name: Carl William Mays

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Biography

Carl Mays was a prominent right-handed pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1915 to 1929. Born in 1891, Mays established himself as a formidable force on the mound during an era characterized by the transition from the deadball era to a more offense-driven game. Throughout his career, he compiled an impressive record of 207 wins and 126 losses, with a career earned run average (ERA) of 2.92. Mays demonstrated his effectiveness not only as a starter but also as a reliable reliever, finishing his career with 31 saves and a total of 862 strikeouts. Mays was known for his unique pitching style, which included a distinctive submarine delivery that often baffled batters. He played for several teams, most notably the New York Yankees, where he was a key contributor to their pitching staff during the late 1920s. His contributions on the mound were significant, as he consistently delivered strong performances that helped shape his teams' successes. Mays' legacy in baseball is marked by his competitiveness and skill, solidifying his place in the annals of the sport's history.

Career Pitching Statistics

W	L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	SO	ERA	Pitcher PIV
207	126	490	325	231	29	31	3021.3	2912	979	73	734	862	2.92	0

Career ERA 2.92 vs. league average 3.75 across their career seasons — 22.2% 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
1915	BOS	AL	6	5	38	6	2	0	7	131.7	119	38	21	65	2.60	2.90 (+10%)	2967.7
1916	BOS	AL	18	13	44	24	14	2	3	245.0	208	65	74	76	2.39	2.78 (+14%)	-970.8
1917	BOS	AL	22	9	35	33	27	2	0	289.0	230	56	74	91	1.74	2.69 (+35%)	618.5
1918	BOS	AL	21	13	35	33	30	8	0	293.3	230	72	81	114	2.21	2.83 (+22%)	2226.5
1919	BOS	AL	5	11	21	16	14	2	2	146.0	131	40	40	53	2.47	3.09 (+20%)	429.0
1919	NYY	AL	9	3	13	13	12	1	0	120.0	96	22	37	54	1.65	3.09 (+47%)	-
1920	NYY	AL	26	11	45	37	26	6	2	312.0	310	106	84	92	3.06	3.45 (+11%)	-
1921	NYY	AL	27	9	49	38	30	1	7	336.7	332	114	76	70	3.05	4.02 (+24%)	-
1922	NYY	AL	12	14	34	29	21	1	2	240.0	257	96	50	41	3.60	4.18 (+14%)	-
1923	NYY	AL	5	2	23	7	2	0	0	81.3	119	56	32	16	6.20	4.03 (-54%)	-
1924	CIN	NL	20	9	37	27	15	2	0	226.0	238	79	36	63	3.15	4.13 (+24%)	4592.9
1925	CIN	NL	3	5	12	5	3	0	2	51.7	60	19	13	10	3.31	4.55 (+27%)	608.5
1926	CIN	NL	19	12	39	33	24	3	1	281.0	286	98	53	58	3.14	4.11 (+24%)	5239.9
1927	CIN	NL	3	7	14	9	6	0	0	82.0	89	32	10	17	3.51	4.08 (+14%)	1765.1
1928	CIN	NL	4	1	14	7	4	1	1	62.7	67	27	22	10	3.88	4.13 (+6%)	-502.8
1929	NY1	NL	7	2	37	8	1	0	4	123.0	140	59	31	32	4.32	4.60 (+6%)	397.9

Career Batting Statistics

G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	PIV
502	1085	113	291	32	21	5	110	1	66	116	0.268	0.313	0.350	0.663	-1048.9

Career AVG .268 vs. league average .274 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career OBP .313 vs. league average .337 across their career seasons — 7.2% below league average.

Career SLG .350 vs. league average .376 across their career seasons — 6.8% below league average.

Career OPS 0.663 vs. league average 0.713 across their career seasons — 7.0% 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
1915	BOS	AL	38	38	3	9	1	0	0	0	0	3	7	0.237	—	—	—	—	0.0
1916	BOS	AL	48	77	8	18	1	2	0	8	0	16	19	0.234	.248 (-6%)	.314 (+16%)	.326 (-9%)	.640 (+4%)	112.0
1917	BOS	AL	35	107	9	27	3	3	0	14	0	6	11	0.252	.248 (+1%)	.312 (-7%)	.323 (+4%)	.635 (-1%)	-55.0
1918	BOS	AL	38	104	10	30	3	3	0	5	1	9	15	0.288	.255 (+13%)	.318 (+12%)	.326 (+15%)	.645 (+13%)	219.7
1919	BOS	AL	22	53	3	8	0	0	0	2	0	4	2	0.151	.262 (-42%)	.322 (-35%)	.347 (-57%)	.670 (-46%)	-373.6
1919	NYY	AL	13	45	6	14	3	0	0	4	0	0	3	0.311	—	—	—	—	-373.6
1920	NYY	AL	45	109	10	26	4	2	0	13	0	5	12	0.239	.271 (-12%)	.331 (-18%)	.363 (-14%)	.694 (-16%)	-318.6
1921	NYY	AL	51	143	18	49	5	1	2	22	0	4	7	0.343	.286 (+20%)	.344 (+6%)	.395 (+10%)	.739 (+8%)	190.3
1922	NYY	AL	35	92	7	23	1	1	0	7	0	2	10	0.250	.285 (-12%)	.345 (-23%)	.397 (-29%)	.743 (-26%)	-427.6
1923	NYY	AL	23	27	2	4	0	1	1	3	0	3	4	0.148	—	—	—	—	0.0
1924	CIN	NL	38	83	9	24	6	2	1	12	0	4	12	0.289	.283 (+2%)	.345 (-7%)	.389 (+14%)	.734 (+4%)	25.7
1925	CIN	NL	12	16	3	4	0	1	0	3	0	2	1	0.250	—	—	—	—	0.0
1926	CIN	NL	39	98	12	22	2	4	0	8	0	3	7	0.224	.279 (-20%)	.345 (-28%)	.390 (-16%)	.735 (-22%)	-421.8
1927	CIN	NL	14	32	5	13	1	1	1	1	0	0	2	0.406	—	—	—	—	0.0
1928	CIN	NL	14	27	5	8	1	0	0	3	0	0	2	0.296	—	—	—	—	0.0
1929	NY1	NL	37	34	3	12	1	0	0	5	0	5	2	0.353	—	—	—	—	0.0

Postseason Statistics

Playoff Career Batting

G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	AVG
8	17	1	2	0	0	0	0	1	2	0.118

Playoff Batting by Year

Year	Round	Team	G	AB	R	H	BB	SO	AVG
1922	WS	NYA	1	2	0	0	0	0	0.000
1921	WS	NYA	3	9	0	1	0	1	0.111
1918	WS	BOS	2	5	1	1	1	0	0.200
1916	WS	BOS	2	1	0	0	0	1	0.000

Playoff Career Pitching

W	L	G	GS	SV	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
3	4	8	7	1	57.3	47	15	8	17	2.35

Playoff Pitching by Year

Year	Round	Team	W	L	G	GS	SV	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
1922	WS	NYA	0	1	1	1	0	8.0	9	4	2	1	4.50
1921	WS	NYA	1	2	3	3	0	26.0	20	5	0	9	1.73
1918	WS	BOS	2	0	2	2	0	18.0	10	2	3	5	1.00
1916	WS	BOS	0	1	2	1	1	5.3	8	4	3	2	6.75

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
P	490	0	174	1138	44	56

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year	Team	Pos	G	PO	A	E	DP
1915	BOS	P	38	9	44	2	0
1916	BOS	P	44	13	117	6	5
1917	BOS	P	35	22	118	1	5
1918	BOS	P	35	16	122	8	3
1919	BOS	P	21	9	49	2	5
1919	NYA	P	13	10	37	3	1
1920	NYA	P	45	19	106	1	5
1921	NYA	P	49	8	104	2	4
1922	NYA	P	34	8	94	5	4
1923	NYA	P	23	8	32	1	2
1924	CIN	P	37	13	94	5	5
1925	CIN	P	12	3	15	2	3
1926	CIN	P	39	16	117	4	10
1927	CIN	P	14	5	38	0	1
1928	CIN	P	14	3	17	1	0
1929	NY1	P	37	12	34	1	3