Cal McVey

Born: 8/30/1849 in Montrose, IA, USA

Died: 8/20/1926 in San Francisco, CA, USA

MLB Debut: 1871-05-05 | Final Game: 1879-09-30

Bats: R | Throws: R | Height: 5'9" | Weight: 170 lbs

Full name: Calvin Alexander McVey

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Biography

Cal McVey was a pioneering pitcher in the early days of professional baseball, whose career spanned from 1871 to 1879. Born in 1849, he played during a transformative era for the sport, as baseball was evolving from its amateur roots into a more organized and commercially viable endeavor. McVey's contributions to the game were significant, as he was among the first players to hone the skills necessary for pitching in a time when the role was still being defined. Over the course of his career, McVey compiled a record of 10-12 with an earned run average (ERA) of 3.83, showcasing his ability to compete on the mound in an era where offensive production was often favored. He recorded 37 strikeouts and notched 5 saves, highlighting his versatility and importance to his team’s pitching staff. Although his statistics may not reflect the dominance seen in later generations, McVey's place in baseball history is marked by his early contributions to the profession, helping to lay the groundwork for future generations of pitchers.

Career Pitching Statistics

W	L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	SO	ERA	Pitcher PIV
10	12	34	19	12	0	5	176.3	235	75	3	16	37	3.83	0

Career ERA 3.83 vs. league average 2.42 across their career seasons — 58.3% worse than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Year	Team	Lg	W	L	G	GS	CG	SV	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA	Lg ERA	Pitcher PIV
1875	BS1		1	0	3	2	0	1	11.0	15	6	1	1	4.91	2.23 (-121%)	-28.8
1876	CHC	NL	5	2	11	6	5	2	59.3	57	10	2	9	1.52	2.31 (+34%)	-
1877	CHC	NL	4	8	17	10	6	2	92.0	129	46	11	20	4.50	2.81 (-60%)	-
1879	CN1	NL	0	2	3	1	1	0	14.0	34	13	2	7	8.36	2.50 (-235%)	-210.7

Career Batting Statistics

G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	PIV
530	2513	555	869	133	44	11	449	26	30	51	0.346	0.354	0.447	0.800	11205.8

Career AVG .346 vs. league average .269 across their career seasons — +28.6% above league average.

Career OBP .354 vs. league average .282 across their career seasons — +25.2% above league average.

Career SLG .447 vs. league average .334 across their career seasons — +33.9% above league average.

Career OPS 0.800 vs. league average 0.616 across their career seasons — +29.9% above 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
1871	BS1		29	153	43	66	9	5	0	43	6	1	2	0.431	.286 (+51%)	.311 (+40%)	.383 (+45%)	.695 (+42%)	1012.4
1872	BS1		46	237	56	76	10	2	0	41	6	1	1	0.321	.285 (+12%)	.296 (+9%)	.347 (+9%)	.644 (+9%)	319.6
1873	BL1		38	192	49	73	5	5	2	35	2	3	2	0.380	.290 (+31%)	.304 (+28%)	.357 (+37%)	.661 (+33%)	965.6
1874	BS1		70	343	91	123	21	6	3	71	5	1	3	0.359	.273 (+31%)	.282 (+28%)	.333 (+44%)	.615 (+37%)	1853.2
1875	BS1		82	389	89	138	36	9	3	87	7	1	5	0.355	.253 (+40%)	.260 (+37%)	.309 (+67%)	.570 (+53%)	2839.1
1876	CHC	NL	63	308	62	107	15	0	1	53	0	2	4	0.347	.265 (+31%)	.277 (+27%)	.320 (+27%)	.598 (+27%)	1214.3
1877	CHC	NL	60	266	58	98	9	7	0	36	0	8	11	0.368	.271 (+36%)	.289 (+34%)	.337 (+35%)	.626 (+34%)	1412.9
1878	CN1	NL	61	271	43	83	10	4	2	28	0	5	10	0.306	.259 (+18%)	.278 (+14%)	.319 (+24%)	.597 (+19%)	744.9
1879	CN1	NL	81	354	64	105	18	6	0	55	0	8	13	0.297	.255 (+16%)	.270 (+15%)	.328 (+16%)	.599 (+16%)	843.8

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
1B	186	0	1783	28	95	84
2B	5	0	13	9	6	1
3B	84	0	104	132	55	6
C	182	82	641	123	110	7
OF	110	63	130	9	40	0
P	34	0	8	32	10	0
SS	5	0	11	18	4	0

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year	Team	Pos	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
1871	BS1	3B	1	0	0	0	0	0
1871	BS1	C	29	27	105	12	17	1
1871	BS1	OF	5	2	2	0	1	0
1872	BS1	3B	1	0	0	2	0	0
1872	BS1	C	39	40	149	30	27	2
1872	BS1	OF	11	6	8	0	1	0
1873	BL1	1B	3	0	13	0	2	2
1873	BL1	2B	4	0	12	5	6	0
1873	BL1	3B	2	0	4	1	5	0
1873	BL1	C	25	0	82	15	10	0
1873	BL1	OF	6	0	13	0	2	0
1873	BL1	SS	5	0	11	18	4	0
1874	BS1	C	23	15	66	9	12	0
1874	BS1	OF	57	55	64	7	29	0
1875	BS1	1B	55	0	532	13	29	28
1875	BS1	C	16	0	74	21	14	1
1875	BS1	OF	23	0	29	2	5	0
1875	BS1	P	3	0	1	2	1	0
1876	CHN	1B	55	0	485	10	21	21
1876	CHN	3B	1	0	2	0	0	0
1876	CHN	C	6	0	23	1	2	0
1876	CHN	OF	1	0	0	0	0	0
1876	CHN	P	11	0	1	13	4	0
1877	CHN	1B	1	0	17	0	1	0
1877	CHN	2B	1	0	1	4	0	1
1877	CHN	3B	17	0	18	23	8	0
1877	CHN	C	40	0	137	34	28	3
1877	CHN	P	17	0	6	14	5	0
1878	CN1	3B	61	0	78	106	42	6
1878	CN1	C	3	0	5	1	0	0
1879	CN1	1B	72	0	736	5	42	33
1879	CN1	3B	1	0	2	0	0	0
1879	CN1	C	1	0	0	0	0	0
1879	CN1	OF	7	0	14	0	2	0
1879	CN1	P	3	0	0	3	0	0