Tom Sturdivant, baseball player, 1955-1964

Tom Sturdivant

Born: 4/28/1930 in Gordon, KS, USA

Died: 2/28/2009 in Oklahoma City, OK, USA

MLB Debut: 1955-04-14 | Final Game: 1964-06-21

Bats: L | Throws: R | Height: 6'0" | Weight: 170 lbs

Full name: Thomas Virgil Sturdivant

📊 Compare This Player 📈 View Career Timeline

Biography

Tom Sturdivant was a skilled pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1955 until 1964. Born in 1930, he made his debut in an era characterized by competitive pitching and the emergence of powerful hitters. Over his career, he compiled a record of 59-51, showcasing his ability to both start and relieve games effectively. Sturdivant finished his career with a 3.74 earned run average, a testament to his consistency on the mound and his capability to navigate tough lineups. Known for his striking ability, Sturdivant recorded 704 strikeouts throughout his time in the league, further solidifying his reputation as a formidable opponent for batters. He also contributed significantly out of the bullpen, recording 17 saves. His playing style reflected the evolving nature of baseball during the 1950s and early 1960s, where pitchers began to adapt to the increasing power of hitters. Sturdivant's contributions to his teams left a lasting impact, and he remains a notable figure in the history of baseball pitching.

Career Pitching Statistics

W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
59 51 335 101 22 7 17 1137.0 1029 473 107 449 704 3.74 0

Career ERA 3.74 vs. league average 3.83 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
1955 NYY AL 1 3 33 1 0 0 0 68.3 48 24 42 48 3.16 4.00 (+21%) -
1956 NYY AL 16 8 32 17 6 2 5 158.3 134 58 52 110 3.30 3.96 (+17%) -
1957 NYY AL 16 6 28 28 7 2 0 201.7 170 57 80 118 2.54 3.83 (+34%) -
1958 NYY AL 3 6 15 10 0 0 0 70.7 77 33 38 41 4.20 3.86 (-9%) -
1959 NYY AL 0 2 7 3 0 0 0 25.3 20 14 9 16 4.97 3.90 (-27%) -
1959 KC1 AL 2 6 36 3 0 0 5 71.7 70 37 34 57 4.65 3.90 (-19%) -646.5
1960 BOS AL 3 3 40 3 0 0 1 101.3 106 56 45 67 4.97 3.82 (-30%) -2152.8
1961 WS2 AL 2 6 15 10 1 1 0 80.0 67 41 40 39 4.61 4.03 (-15%) -325.5
1961 PIT NL 5 2 13 11 6 1 1 85.7 81 27 17 45 2.84 4.03 (+30%) 2096.8
1962 PIT NL 9 5 49 12 2 1 2 125.3 120 52 39 76 3.73 3.96 (+6%) 967.0
1963 PIT NL 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 8.3 8 6 4 6 6.48 — 0.0
1963 DET AL 1 2 28 0 0 0 2 55.0 43 23 24 36 3.76 3.46 (-9%) -1014.0
1963 KC1 AL 1 2 17 3 0 0 0 53.0 47 22 17 26 3.74 3.46 (-8%) 276.4
1964 KC1 AL 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 3.7 4 4 1 1 9.82 — 0.0
1964 NYN NL 0 0 16 0 0 0 1 28.7 34 19 7 18 5.97 3.58 (-67%) 275.8

Career Batting Statistics

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
336 328 17 60 2 1 0 10 0 11 54 0.183 0.208 0.195 0.403 -566.0

Career AVG .183 vs. league average .255 across their career seasons — 28.4% below league average.

Career OBP .208 vs. league average .323 across their career seasons — 35.7% below league average.

Career SLG .195 vs. league average .389 across their career seasons — 49.9% below league average.

Career OPS 0.403 vs. league average 0.712 across their career seasons — 43.5% 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
1955 NYY AL 33 12 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0.083 — — — — 0.0
1956 NYY AL 32 64 5 20 1 1 0 5 0 0 7 0.312 .258 (+21%) .331 (-7%) .397 (-10%) .728 (-8%) -114.1
1957 NYY AL 28 71 4 13 0 0 0 0 0 6 10 0.183 .257 (-29%) .323 (-24%) .391 (-53%) .715 (-40%) -451.9
1958 NYY AL 15 21 1 4 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0.190 — — — — 0.0
1959 NYY AL 7 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0.000 — — — — 0.0
1959 KC1 AL 37 17 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 7 0.059 — — — — 0.0
1960 BOS AL 40 22 1 4 0 0 0 1 0 0 5 0.182 — — — — 0.0
1961 WS2 AL 15 26 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 5 0.077 — — — — 0.0
1961 PIT NL 13 32 2 8 0 0 0 1 0 0 8 0.250 — — — — 0.0
1962 PIT NL 49 33 2 6 1 0 0 3 0 0 3 0.182 — — — — 0.0
1963 PIT NL 3 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.000 — — — — 0.0
1963 DET AL 28 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0.000 — — — — 0.0
1963 KC1 AL 17 11 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0.000 — — — — 0.0
1964 KC1 AL 3 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.000 — — — — 0.0
1964 NYN NL 16 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.000 — — — — 0.0

Postseason Statistics

Playoff Career Batting

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
6 4 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0.250

Playoff Batting by Year

Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1957 WS NYA 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.000
1956 WS NYA 2 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0.333
1955 WS NYA 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000

Playoff Career Pitching

W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
1 0 6 2 0 18.7 19 9 11 11 4.34

Playoff Pitching by Year

Year Round Team W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
1957 WS NYA 0 0 2 1 0 6.0 6 4 1 2 6.00
1956 WS NYA 1 0 2 1 0 9.7 8 3 8 9 2.79
1955 WS NYA 0 0 2 0 0 3.0 5 2 2 0 6.00

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position G GS PO A E DP
P 335 101 72 163 13 11

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1955 NYA P 33 1 4 8 0 2
1956 NYA P 32 17 11 13 2 1
1957 NYA P 28 28 8 26 2 4
1958 NYA P 15 10 3 4 1 1
1959 NYA P 7 3 3 4 0 1
1959 KC1 P 36 3 6 17 3 1
1960 BOS P 40 3 7 14 1 0
1961 WS2 P 15 10 2 18 0 0
1961 PIT P 13 11 9 11 0 0
1962 PIT P 49 12 10 23 3 0
1963 PIT P 3 0 1 2 0 0
1963 DET P 28 0 3 11 0 0
1963 KC1 P 17 3 4 8 0 1
1964 KC1 P 3 0 0 0 0 0
1964 NYN P 16 0 1 4 1 0

Career Games by Position

Position Games
Pitcher 335