Johnny Podres

Born: 9/30/1932 in Witherbee, NY, USA

Died: 1/13/2008 in Glens Falls, NY, USA

MLB Debut: 1953-04-17 | Final Game: 1969-06-21

Bats: L | Throws: L | Height: 5'11" | Weight: 170 lbs

Full name: John Joseph Podres

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Biography

Johnny Podres was a prominent left-handed pitcher who made his mark in Major League Baseball from 1953 to 1969. Born in 1932, Podres played the majority of his career with the Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers, where he became a key figure during a transformative era in baseball history. Known for his exceptional control and ability to perform in high-pressure situations, he finished his career with a record of 148 wins and 116 losses, an earned run average (ERA) of 3.68, and a total of 1,435 strikeouts. His contributions on the mound were further highlighted by his 11 saves, showcasing his versatility as both a starter and a reliever. Podres's greatest achievement came in the 1955 World Series, where he was named the World Series MVP for his outstanding performances, helping the Dodgers secure their first championship in franchise history. He was selected as an All-Star four times during his career, underscoring his status as one of the leading pitchers of his era. Podres's legacy is particularly significant as he played during the transition from the deadball era to the more modern approaches of the game, leaving an indelible mark on the Dodgers' storied history and the sport as a whole.

Career Pitching Statistics

W	L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	SO	ERA	Pitcher PIV
148	116	440	340	77	24	11	2265.0	2239	925	242	743	1435	3.68	0

Career ERA 3.68 vs. league average 3.74 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	BRO	NL	9	4	33	18	3	1	0	115.0	126	54	64	82	4.23	4.14 (-2%)	-235.5
1954	BRO	NL	11	7	29	21	6	2	0	151.7	147	72	53	79	4.27	3.90 (-10%)	1404.2
1955	BRO	NL	9	10	27	24	5	2	0	159.3	160	70	57	114	3.95	4.00 (+1%)	2839.1
1957	BRO	NL	12	9	31	27	10	6	3	196.0	168	58	44	109	2.66	3.83 (+31%)	4112.0
1958	LAD	NL	13	15	39	31	10	2	1	210.3	208	87	78	143	3.72	3.86 (+4%)	-
1959	LAD	NL	14	9	34	29	6	2	0	195.0	192	89	74	145	4.11	3.90 (-5%)	-
1960	LAD	NL	14	12	34	33	8	1	0	227.7	217	78	71	159	3.08	3.82 (+19%)	-
1961	LAD	NL	18	5	32	29	6	1	0	182.7	192	76	51	124	3.74	4.03 (+7%)	-
1962	LAD	NL	15	13	40	40	8	0	0	255.0	270	108	71	178	3.81	3.96 (+4%)	-
1963	LAD	NL	14	12	37	34	10	5	1	198.3	196	78	64	134	3.54	3.46 (-2%)	-
1964	LAD	NL	0	2	2	2	0	0	0	2.7	5	5	3	0	16.88	—	-
1965	LAD	NL	7	6	27	22	2	1	1	134.0	126	51	39	63	3.43	3.50 (+2%)	-
1966	LAD	NL	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	1.7	2	0	1	1	0.00	—	-
1966	DET	AL	4	5	36	13	2	1	4	107.7	106	41	34	53	3.43	3.52 (+3%)	-1303.1
1967	DET	AL	3	1	21	8	0	0	1	63.3	58	27	11	34	3.84	3.30 (-16%)	-1914.3
1969	SDP	NL	5	6	17	9	1	0	0	64.7	66	31	28	17	4.31	3.61 (-19%)	-

Career Batting Statistics

G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	PIV
462	762	61	145	19	1	2	50	1	32	108	0.190	0.224	0.226	0.449	-3941.2

Career AVG .190 vs. league average .253 across their career seasons — 24.8% below league average.

Career OBP .224 vs. league average .321 across their career seasons — 30.2% below league average.

Career SLG .226 vs. league average .383 across their career seasons — 41.1% below league average.

Career OPS 0.449 vs. league average 0.703 across their career seasons — 36.1% 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
1953	BRO	NL	34	36	5	11	0	0	0	1	1	0	1	0.306	—	—	—	—	0.0
1954	BRO	NL	38	60	7	17	3	1	0	4	0	5	5	0.283	.261 (+9%)	.333 (-1%)	.390 (-6%)	.723 (-4%)	-60.1
1955	BRO	NL	32	60	9	11	2	0	0	5	0	4	5	0.183	.258 (-29%)	.332 (-29%)	.393 (-45%)	.726 (-38%)	-385.5
1957	BRO	NL	35	72	6	15	4	0	0	4	0	2	5	0.208	.257 (-19%)	.323 (-29%)	.391 (-33%)	.715 (-31%)	-383.9
1958	LAD	NL	42	71	5	9	0	0	0	4	0	2	17	0.127	.257 (-51%)	.324 (-55%)	.394 (-68%)	.719 (-62%)	-775.8
1959	LAD	NL	34	65	4	16	1	0	0	4	0	6	13	0.246	.256 (-4%)	.323 (-6%)	.392 (-33%)	.715 (-21%)	-215.2
1960	LAD	NL	34	66	3	9	0	0	0	3	0	5	15	0.136	.255 (-47%)	.323 (-37%)	.387 (-65%)	.711 (-52%)	-571.4
1961	LAD	NL	32	69	3	16	2	0	0	7	0	2	8	0.232	.258 (-10%)	.328 (-24%)	.399 (-35%)	.727 (-30%)	-358.9
1962	LAD	NL	40	88	6	14	2	0	1	5	0	2	8	0.159	.257 (-38%)	.326 (-43%)	.393 (-45%)	.719 (-44%)	-665.4
1963	LAD	NL	37	64	6	9	2	0	1	8	0	1	11	0.141	.246 (-43%)	.308 (-52%)	.371 (-41%)	.680 (-46%)	-525.0
1964	LAD	NL	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1965	LAD	NL	27	45	1	8	0	0	0	2	0	1	8	0.178	—	—	—	—	0.0
1966	LAD	NL	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1966	DET	AL	36	30	5	7	3	0	0	2	0	2	5	0.233	—	—	—	—	0.0
1967	DET	AL	21	20	1	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	0.100	—	—	—	—	0.0
1969	SDP	NL	17	16	0	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	3	0.062	—	—	—	—	0.0

Postseason Statistics

Playoff Career Batting

G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	AVG
7	16	2	5	1	0	0	1	0	1	0.312

Playoff Batting by Year

Year	Round	Team	G	AB	R	H	2B	RBI	SO	AVG
1963	WS	LAN	1	4	0	1	0	0	0	0.250
1959	WS	LAN	3	4	1	2	1	1	0	0.500
1955	WS	BRO	2	7	1	1	0	0	1	0.143
1953	WS	BRO	1	1	0	1	0	0	0	1.000

Playoff Career Pitching

W	L	G	GS	SV	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
4	1	6	6	0	38.3	29	9	13	18	2.11

Playoff Pitching by Year

Year	Round	Team	W	L	G	GS	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
1963	WS	LAN	1	0	1	1	8.3	6	1	1	4	1.08
1959	WS	LAN	1	0	2	2	9.3	7	5	6	4	4.82
1955	WS	BRO	2	0	2	2	18.0	15	2	4	10	1.00
1953	WS	BRO	0	1	1	1	2.7	1	1	2	0	3.38

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
P	440	322	80	313	18	24

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year	Team	Pos	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
1953	BRO	P	33	0	6	17	1	0
1954	BRO	P	29	21	11	15	1	0
1955	BRO	P	27	24	7	21	1	2
1957	BRO	P	31	27	9	32	1	3
1958	LAN	P	39	31	7	25	2	3
1959	LAN	P	34	29	6	37	2	5
1960	LAN	P	34	33	8	30	1	4
1961	LAN	P	32	29	6	26	1	2
1962	LAN	P	40	40	4	31	6	1
1963	LAN	P	37	34	2	33	0	1
1964	LAN	P	2	2	0	0	0	0
1965	LAN	P	27	22	3	15	1	1
1966	LAN	P	1	0	0	1	0	0
1966	DET	P	36	13	7	14	1	1
1967	DET	P	21	8	3	7	0	1
1969	SDN	P	17	9	1	9	0	0