Ken Raffensberger, baseball player, 1939-1954

Ken Raffensberger

Born: 8/8/1917 in York, PA, USA

Died: 11/10/2002 in York, PA, USA

MLB Debut: 1939-04-25 | Final Game: 1954-06-02

Bats: R | Throws: L | Height: 6'2" | Weight: 185 lbs

Full name: Kenneth David Raffensberger

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Biography

Ken Raffensberger was a professional baseball pitcher whose career spanned from 1939 to 1954. Born in 1917, Raffensberger made his mark in Major League Baseball during an era that saw the transition from the deadball era to more power-oriented play. He played for several teams, most notably the Philadelphia Phillies and the Cincinnati Reds, and was recognized for his skill on the mound, earning one All-Star selection during his career. Raffensberger concluded his time in the majors with a record of 119 wins and 154 losses, an earned run average of 3.6, and a total of 806 strikeouts. His resilience and ability to perform under pressure were exemplified by his 16 career saves, highlighting his versatility as both a starter and a relief pitcher. Despite the challenges of competing in a league that was becoming increasingly geared towards offense, Raffensberger's contributions to his teams and the game as a whole solidified his place in baseball history.

Career Pitching Statistics

W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
119 154 396 282 133 31 16 2151.7 2257 860 192 449 806 3.60 0

Career ERA 3.60 vs. league average 3.93 across their career seasons — 8.5% 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
1939 STL NL 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1.0 2 0 0 1 0.00 — -
1940 CHC NL 7 9 43 10 3 0 3 114.7 120 43 29 55 3.38 4.21 (+20%) -
1941 CHC NL 0 1 10 1 0 0 0 18.0 17 9 7 5 4.50 3.94 (-14%) -
1943 PHI NL 0 1 1 1 1 0 0 8.0 7 1 2 3 1.12 — 0.0
1944 PHI NL 13 20 37 31 18 3 0 258.7 257 88 45 136 3.06 3.57 (+14%) 6491.0
1945 PHI NL 0 3 5 4 1 0 0 24.3 28 12 14 6 4.44 3.67 (-21%) -1153.3
1946 PHI NL 8 15 39 23 14 2 6 196.0 203 79 39 73 3.63 3.59 (-1%) 2420.7
1947 PHI NL 2 6 10 7 3 1 0 41.0 50 25 8 16 5.49 3.97 (-38%) 133.7
1947 CIN NL 6 5 19 15 7 0 1 106.7 132 49 29 38 4.13 3.97 (-4%) -458.8
1948 CIN NL 11 12 40 24 7 4 0 180.3 187 77 37 57 3.84 4.10 (+6%) 1163.4
1949 CIN NL 18 17 41 38 20 5 0 284.0 289 107 80 103 3.39 4.12 (+18%) 3114.4
1950 CIN NL 14 19 38 35 18 4 0 239.0 271 113 40 87 4.26 4.36 (+2%) 792.9
1951 CIN NL 16 17 42 33 14 5 5 248.7 232 95 38 81 3.44 4.04 (+15%) 739.4
1952 CIN NL 17 13 38 33 18 6 1 247.0 247 77 45 93 2.81 3.70 (+24%) 3557.3
1953 CIN NL 7 14 26 26 9 1 0 174.0 200 76 33 47 3.93 4.14 (+5%) -907.1
1954 CIN NL 0 2 6 1 0 0 0 10.3 15 9 3 5 7.84 3.90 (-101%) -238.2

Career Batting Statistics

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
397 688 38 97 16 0 4 31 0 20 280 0.141 0.166 0.182 0.348 -5195.9

Career AVG .141 vs. league average .262 across their career seasons — 46.2% below league average.

Career OBP .166 vs. league average .334 across their career seasons — 50.2% below league average.

Career SLG .182 vs. league average .376 across their career seasons — 51.7% below league average.

Career OPS 0.348 vs. league average 0.711 across their career seasons — 51.0% 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
1939 STL NL 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1940 CHC NL 43 30 2 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 18 0.167 — — — — 0.0
1941 CHC NL 10 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0.000 — — — — 0.0
1943 PHI NL 1 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0.000 — — — — 0.0
1944 PHI NL 38 80 1 11 0 0 0 3 0 3 38 0.138 .261 (-47%) .325 (-48%) .357 (-62%) .683 (-55%) -718.6
1945 PHI NL 5 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0.000 — — — — 0.0
1946 PHI NL 39 60 5 10 3 0 0 1 0 2 23 0.167 .256 (-35%) .328 (-41%) .358 (-40%) .687 (-40%) -412.6
1947 PHI NL 10 15 2 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 7 0.267 — — — — 0.0
1947 CIN NL 19 37 1 6 0 0 0 5 0 1 22 0.162 — — — — 0.0
1948 CIN NL 40 62 2 7 1 0 0 0 0 2 27 0.113 .263 (-57%) .340 (-59%) .379 (-66%) .719 (-63%) -672.6
1949 CIN NL 41 90 7 16 4 0 1 3 0 2 31 0.178 .262 (-32%) .343 (-41%) .384 (-33%) .727 (-37%) -602.6
1950 CIN NL 38 82 7 11 2 0 1 9 0 4 21 0.134 .265 (-50%) .346 (-50%) .401 (-51%) .747 (-51%) -751.8
1951 CIN NL 42 82 4 10 2 0 0 0 0 4 31 0.122 .260 (-53%) .336 (-52%) .385 (-62%) .721 (-57%) -820.4
1952 CIN NL 38 75 5 8 1 0 1 1 0 2 32 0.107 .252 (-58%) .326 (-60%) .369 (-57%) .696 (-58%) -740.3
1953 CIN NL 26 57 2 8 3 0 1 8 0 0 22 0.140 .264 (-47%) .335 (-58%) .397 (-38%) .733 (-47%) -477.0
1954 CIN NL 6 2 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0.500 — — — — 0.0

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position G GS PO A E DP
P 396 1 71 335 17 17

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1939 SLN P 1 0 0 0 0 0
1940 CHN P 43 0 6 18 0 2
1941 CHN P 10 0 2 7 0 1
1943 PHI P 1 0 0 2 1 0
1944 PHI P 37 0 10 33 2 1
1945 PHI P 5 0 1 6 1 0
1946 PHI P 39 0 7 26 0 1
1947 PHI P 10 0 5 10 1 2
1947 CIN P 19 0 2 18 1 2
1948 CIN P 40 0 4 28 3 0
1949 CIN P 41 0 6 41 1 2
1950 CIN P 38 0 7 36 1 0
1951 CIN P 42 0 5 31 3 1
1952 CIN P 38 0 9 38 1 2
1953 CIN P 26 0 7 41 2 3
1954 CIN P 6 1 0 0 0 0

Career Games by Position

Position Games
Pitcher 396

Award Voting History

Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
1952 Most Valuable Player NL 23th 8.0 336 0
1951 Most Valuable Player NL 18th 8.0 336 0
1949 Most Valuable Player NL 19th 8.0 336 0