Herb Pennock, baseball player, 1912-1934

Herb Pennock

⭐ Hall of Fame 1948

Born: 2/10/1894 in Kennett Square, PA, USA

Died: 1/30/1948 in New York, NY, USA

MLB Debut: 1912-05-14 | Final Game: 1934-08-27

Bats: B | Throws: L | Height: 6'0" | Weight: 160 lbs

Full name: Herbert Jefferis Pennock

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Biography

Herb Pennock was a prominent left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball, whose career spanned from 1912 to 1934. Born in 1894, Pennock made a significant impact on the game during the early 20th century, a period marked by the transition from the deadball era to a more offense-driven style of play. Over his career, he achieved a record of 240 wins and 162 losses, showcasing his durability and skill on the mound. Pennock finished his career with an earned run average (ERA) of 3.6 and accumulated 1,227 strikeouts, alongside 32 saves. Pennock was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1948, a testament to his lasting legacy in the sport. Known for his effective pitching and competitive spirit, he was a key figure for teams such as the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees, contributing to multiple pennant-winning seasons. His ability to excel in high-pressure situations helped establish him as one of the top pitchers of his era, and his influence on the game has been recognized by generations of baseball enthusiasts.

Career Pitching Statistics

W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
240 162 617 420 247 35 32 3571.7 3900 1428 128 916 1227 3.60 0

Career ERA 3.60 vs. league average 3.80 across their career seasons — 5.3% 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
1912 PHA AL 1 2 17 2 1 0 2 50.0 48 25 30 38 4.50 3.36 (-34%) -285.4
1913 PHA AL 2 1 14 3 1 0 0 33.3 30 19 22 17 5.13 3.07 (-67%) -1717.2
1914 PHA AL 11 4 28 14 8 3 3 151.7 136 47 65 90 2.79 2.93 (+5%) 950.9
1915 PHA AL 3 6 11 8 3 1 1 44.0 46 26 29 24 5.32 2.90 (-84%) -1260.9
1915 BOS AL 0 0 5 1 0 0 0 14.0 23 15 10 7 9.64 2.90 (-233%) -233.0
1916 BOS AL 0 2 9 2 0 0 1 26.7 23 9 8 12 3.04 2.78 (-9%) 196.5
1917 BOS AL 5 5 24 5 4 1 1 100.7 90 37 23 35 3.31 2.69 (-23%) 183.2
1919 BOS AL 16 8 32 26 16 5 0 219.0 223 66 48 70 2.71 3.09 (+12%) 2311.4
1920 BOS AL 16 13 37 31 19 4 2 242.3 244 99 61 68 3.68 3.45 (-7%) -474.6
1921 BOS AL 12 14 32 32 15 1 0 222.7 268 100 59 91 4.04 4.02 (-1%) 2574.3
1922 BOS AL 10 17 32 26 15 1 1 202.0 230 97 74 59 4.32 4.18 (-3%) 22.1
1923 NYY AL 19 6 35 27 21 1 3 238.3 235 83 68 93 3.13 4.03 (+22%) -
1924 NYY AL 21 9 40 34 25 4 3 286.3 302 90 64 101 2.83 4.13 (+31%) -
1925 NYY AL 16 17 47 31 21 2 2 277.0 267 91 71 88 2.96 4.55 (+35%) -
1926 NYY AL 23 11 40 33 19 1 2 266.3 294 107 43 78 3.62 4.11 (+12%) -
1927 NYY AL 19 8 34 26 18 1 2 209.7 225 70 48 51 3.00 4.08 (+26%) -
1928 NYY AL 17 6 28 24 18 5 3 211.0 215 60 40 53 2.56 4.13 (+38%) -
1929 NYY AL 9 11 27 23 8 1 1 157.3 205 86 28 49 4.92 4.60 (-7%) -
1930 NYY AL 11 7 25 19 11 1 0 156.3 194 75 20 46 4.32 4.80 (+10%) -
1931 NYY AL 11 6 25 25 12 1 0 189.3 247 90 30 65 4.28 4.10 (-4%) -
1932 NYY AL 9 5 22 21 9 1 0 146.7 191 75 38 54 4.60 4.13 (-12%) -
1933 NYY AL 7 4 23 5 2 1 4 65.0 96 40 21 22 5.54 3.86 (-44%) -
1934 BOS AL 2 0 30 2 1 0 1 62.0 68 21 16 16 3.05 4.29 (+29%) 618.0

Career Batting Statistics

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
620 1214 108 232 33 4 4 103 1 94 178 0.191 0.253 0.235 0.488 -6175.7

Career AVG .191 vs. league average .274 across their career seasons — 30.3% below league average.

Career OBP .253 vs. league average .337 across their career seasons — 24.8% below league average.

Career SLG .235 vs. league average .378 across their career seasons — 37.9% below league average.

Career OPS 0.488 vs. league average 0.715 across their career seasons — 31.8% 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
1912 PHA AL 17 15 1 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 6 0.133 — — — — 0.0
1913 PHA AL 14 9 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 0.111 — — — — 0.0
1914 PHA AL 28 56 7 12 0 2 0 9 0 2 11 0.214 .255 (-16%) .322 (-25%) .339 (-16%) .661 (-20%) -200.0
1915 PHA AL 11 18 1 5 1 0 0 3 0 0 5 0.278 — — — — 0.0
1915 BOS AL 5 6 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 0.167 — — — — 0.0
1916 BOS AL 11 8 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0.125 — — — — 0.0
1917 BOS AL 24 24 2 4 0 0 0 2 0 7 5 0.167 — — — — 0.0
1919 BOS AL 32 75 7 13 4 0 0 7 0 6 12 0.173 .262 (-34%) .322 (-22%) .347 (-35%) .670 (-28%) -331.3
1920 BOS AL 38 77 7 20 3 0 0 6 0 9 18 0.260 .271 (-4%) .331 (+4%) .363 (-18%) .694 (-7%) -58.6
1921 BOS AL 32 85 9 18 8 0 1 11 0 6 10 0.212 .286 (-26%) .344 (-21%) .395 (-14%) .739 (-17%) -269.3
1922 BOS AL 32 65 5 9 1 1 0 2 0 4 9 0.138 .285 (-52%) .345 (-46%) .397 (-54%) .743 (-50%) -573.1
1923 NYY AL 35 83 11 16 3 0 0 7 0 9 8 0.193 .282 (-32%) .344 (-21%) .390 (-41%) .734 (-32%) -446.4
1924 NYY AL 40 101 13 16 2 0 2 9 1 7 13 0.158 .283 (-44%) .345 (-36%) .389 (-39%) .734 (-38%) -672.8
1925 NYY AL 47 99 6 20 1 1 0 7 0 2 7 0.202 .288 (-30%) .349 (-38%) .407 (-43%) .756 (-41%) -735.1
1926 NYY AL 40 85 8 18 2 0 0 6 0 10 8 0.212 .279 (-24%) .345 (-13%) .390 (-40%) .735 (-27%) -372.5
1927 NYY AL 34 69 6 15 2 0 0 6 0 3 10 0.217 .282 (-23%) .344 (-27%) .392 (-37%) .736 (-33%) -390.8
1928 NYY AL 28 74 1 15 0 0 0 9 0 3 7 0.203 .280 (-28%) .342 (-32%) .395 (-49%) .737 (-41%) -509.9
1929 NYY AL 27 51 4 9 0 0 0 1 0 4 6 0.176 .289 (-39%) .353 (-33%) .415 (-58%) .769 (-46%) -412.4
1930 NYY AL 25 60 5 11 0 0 0 4 0 4 12 0.183 .293 (-38%) .354 (-34%) .429 (-57%) .784 (-47%) -494.6
1931 NYY AL 25 66 8 10 2 0 1 6 0 9 12 0.152 .276 (-45%) .338 (-25%) .388 (-41%) .726 (-34%) -367.8
1932 NYY AL 22 53 4 8 2 0 0 6 0 7 5 0.151 .275 (-45%) .335 (-25%) .391 (-52%) .726 (-40%) -341.2
1933 NYY AL 23 21 0 5 0 0 0 1 0 0 5 0.238 — — — — 0.0
1934 BOS AL 30 14 2 3 0 0 0 1 0 0 4 0.214 — — — — 0.0

Postseason Statistics

Playoff Career Batting

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
10 19 2 1 1 0 0 1 0 3 0.053

Playoff Batting by Year

Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1932 WS NYA 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.000
1927 WS NYA 1 4 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0.000
1926 WS NYA 3 7 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0.143
1923 WS NYA 3 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0.000
1914 WS PHA 1 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
5 0 10 5 3 55.3 39 12 8 24 1.95

Playoff Pitching by Year

Year Round Team W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
1932 WS NYA 0 0 2 0 2 4.0 2 1 1 4 2.25
1927 WS NYA 1 0 1 1 0 9.0 3 1 0 1 1.00
1926 WS NYA 2 0 3 2 0 22.0 13 3 4 8 1.23
1923 WS NYA 2 0 3 2 1 17.3 19 7 1 8 3.63
1914 WS PHA 0 0 1 0 0 3.0 2 0 2 3 0.00

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position G GS PO A E DP
P 617 0 101 824 26 45

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1912 PHA P 17 0 2 15 1 0
1913 PHA P 14 0 0 9 0 0
1914 PHA P 28 0 9 37 3 1
1915 PHA P 11 0 1 15 1 1
1915 BOS P 5 0 1 0 1 0
1916 BOS P 9 0 3 4 0 0
1917 BOS P 24 0 1 30 2 2
1919 BOS P 32 0 13 45 2 5
1920 BOS P 37 0 6 53 1 0
1921 BOS P 32 0 11 59 2 3
1922 BOS P 32 0 8 56 1 1
1923 NYA P 35 0 4 66 1 4
1924 NYA P 40 0 10 61 0 5
1925 NYA P 47 0 7 54 4 3
1926 NYA P 40 0 2 73 1 6
1927 NYA P 34 0 4 45 1 2
1928 NYA P 28 0 5 59 1 3
1929 NYA P 27 0 4 31 0 2
1930 NYA P 25 0 3 26 1 1
1931 NYA P 25 0 1 37 1 4
1932 NYA P 22 0 4 29 1 1
1933 NYA P 23 0 2 12 1 1
1934 BOS P 30 0 0 8 0 0

Career Games by Position

Position Games
Pitcher 617

Awards & Honors

Year Award Notes
1926 Baseball Magazine All-Star P2
1926 Baseball Magazine All-Star P3
1926 TSN All-Star P
1925 Baseball Magazine All-Star P4
1924 Baseball Magazine All-Star P3

Award Voting History

Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
1926 Most Valuable Player AL 3rd 32.0 64 0
1925 Most Valuable Player AL 21th 4.0 64 0
1924 Most Valuable Player AL 4th 24.0 64 0