Buster Narum, baseball player, 1963-1967

Buster Narum

Born: 11/16/1940 in Philadelphia, PA, USA

Died: 5/17/2004 in Clearwater, FL, USA

MLB Debut: 1963-04-14 | Final Game: 1967-09-26

Bats: R | Throws: R | Height: 6'1" | Weight: 194 lbs

Full name: Leslie Ferdinand Narum

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Biography

Buster Narum was a professional baseball pitcher born in 1940, who played in Major League Baseball from 1963 until 1967. He made his debut with the Washington Senators and later played for the team during its transition to the Minnesota Twins. Over the course of his career, Narum compiled a win-loss record of 14-27 and maintained an earned run average (ERA) of 4.45. He struck out a total of 220 batters, showcasing his ability to miss bats despite a challenging win-loss record. Narum's playing style was characterized by his competitive spirit on the mound, which was emblematic of the era in which he played—a time when pitchers often faced significant challenges from hitters as the game evolved. Although he did not secure any saves in his career, Narum contributed to his teams through his innings pitched and strikeouts, demonstrating the potential that had drawn attention to him as a young player. His time in the majors coincided with a transformative period in baseball, as teams began to embrace new strategies and player development techniques, setting the stage for future generations of pitchers. Narum remains a part of baseball history, representing the hard-working pitchers of the 1960s.

Career Pitching Statistics

W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
14 27 96 58 9 2 0 396.7 398 196 50 177 220 4.45 0

Career ERA 4.45 vs. league average 3.47 across their career seasons — 28.1% worse 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
1963 BAL AL 0 0 7 0 0 0 0 9.0 8 3 5 5 3.00 3.46 (+13%) 0.0
1964 WS2 AL 9 15 38 32 7 2 0 199.0 195 95 73 121 4.30 3.58 (-20%) -5227.1
1965 WS2 AL 4 12 46 24 2 0 0 173.7 176 86 91 86 4.46 3.50 (-27%) -4130.6
1966 WS2 AL 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 3.3 11 8 4 0 21.60 — 0.0
1967 WS2 AL 1 0 2 2 0 0 0 11.7 8 4 4 8 3.09 3.30 (+7%) -2.0

Career Batting Statistics

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
96 118 3 7 0 0 3 5 0 0 70 0.059 0.075 0.136 0.211 -818.7

Career AVG .059 vs. league average .247 across their career seasons — 75.9% below league average.

Career OBP .075 vs. league average .310 across their career seasons — 75.8% below league average.

Career SLG .136 vs. league average .371 across their career seasons — 63.5% below league average.

Career OPS 0.211 vs. league average 0.681 across their career seasons — 69.1% 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
1963 BAL AL 7 1 1 1 0 0 1 2 0 0 0 1.000 — — — — 0.0
1964 WS2 AL 38 66 1 4 0 0 1 1 0 0 40 0.061 .250 (-76%) .312 (-81%) .377 (-72%) .690 (-76%) -818.7
1965 WS2 AL 46 46 1 2 0 0 1 2 0 0 27 0.043 — — — — 0.0
1966 WS2 AL 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1967 WS2 AL 2 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0.000 — — — — 0.0

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position G GS PO A E DP
P 96 58 28 58 4 4

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1963 BAL P 7 0 1 2 0 0
1964 WS2 P 38 32 9 16 1 2
1965 WS2 P 46 24 17 39 3 2
1966 WS2 P 3 0 0 0 0 0
1967 WS2 P 2 2 1 1 0 0

Career Games by Position

Position Games
Pitcher 96