Elam Vangilder, baseball player, 1919-1929

Elam Vangilder

Born: 4/23/1896 in Cape Girardeau, MO, USA

Died: 4/30/1977 in Cape Girardeau, MO, USA

MLB Debut: 1919-09-18 | Final Game: 1929-05-27

Bats: R | Throws: R | Height: 6'1" | Weight: 192 lbs

Full name: Elam Russell Vangilder

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Biography

Elam Vangilder was a professional baseball pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1919 to 1929. Born in 1896, Vangilder's career unfolded during the transition from the deadball era to a more offense-driven game, marking a significant period in baseball history. He posted a career record of 99 wins and 102 losses, with an earned run average (ERA) of 4.28 over his ten seasons in the majors. Vangilder was known for his durability on the mound, accumulating 474 strikeouts and securing 19 saves throughout his career. Vangilder's playing style was characterized by a competitive spirit and a commitment to his craft, which made him a valuable asset to the teams he represented. He was active during an era in which pitchers were often called upon to throw complete games, and his ability to take the ball regularly underscored his importance in the rotation. While he may not have reached the accolades of some of his contemporaries, Vangilder's contributions to the game during the late 1910s and 1920s helped lay the groundwork for the evolving role of the pitcher in modern baseball. His legacy is remembered as part of a generation that navigated the changing landscape of the sport.

Career Pitching Statistics

W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
99 102 367 187 90 13 19 1715.7 1894 815 92 699 474 4.28 0

Career ERA 4.28 vs. league average 4.06 across their career seasons — 5.2% 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
1919 SLA AL 1 0 3 1 1 0 0 13.0 15 3 3 6 2.08 3.09 (+33%) 264.1
1920 SLA AL 3 8 24 13 4 0 0 104.7 131 64 40 25 5.50 3.45 (-60%) -2602.0
1921 SLA AL 11 12 31 21 10 1 0 180.3 196 79 67 48 3.94 4.02 (+2%) -2258.1
1922 SLA AL 19 13 43 30 19 3 4 245.0 248 93 48 63 3.42 4.18 (+18%) 952.3
1923 SLA AL 16 17 41 35 20 4 1 282.3 276 96 120 74 3.06 4.03 (+24%) -2413.5
1924 SLA AL 5 10 43 18 5 0 1 145.3 183 91 55 49 5.64 4.13 (-37%) -2324.6
1925 SLA AL 14 8 52 16 4 1 6 193.3 225 101 92 61 4.70 4.55 (-3%) -3422.1
1926 SLA AL 9 11 42 19 8 1 1 181.0 196 104 98 40 5.17 4.11 (-26%) -4888.9
1927 SLA AL 10 12 44 23 12 3 1 203.0 245 108 102 62 4.79 4.08 (-17%) -4294.5
1928 DET AL 11 10 38 11 7 0 5 156.3 163 68 67 43 3.91 4.13 (+5%) -347.7
1929 DET AL 0 1 6 0 0 0 0 11.3 16 8 7 3 6.35 4.60 (-38%) -344.9

Career Batting Statistics

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
373 601 61 146 30 4 8 53 0 21 98 0.243 0.274 0.346 0.620 -1647.6

Career AVG .243 vs. league average .282 across their career seasons — 13.8% below league average.

Career OBP .274 vs. league average .344 across their career seasons — 20.1% below league average.

Career SLG .346 vs. league average .391 across their career seasons — 11.5% below league average.

Career OPS 0.620 vs. league average 0.734 across their career seasons — 15.5% 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
1919 SLA AL 3 3 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.667 — — — — 0.0
1920 SLA AL 24 30 3 4 0 0 0 1 0 2 3 0.133 — — — — 0.0
1921 SLA AL 31 65 5 13 0 1 1 4 0 1 9 0.200 .286 (-30%) .344 (-38%) .395 (-30%) .739 (-34%) -392.5
1922 SLA AL 45 93 16 32 10 2 2 11 0 5 11 0.344 .285 (+21%) .345 (+14%) .397 (+41%) .743 (+29%) 444.9
1923 SLA AL 45 110 9 24 5 0 1 8 0 3 21 0.218 .282 (-23%) .344 (-31%) .390 (-25%) .734 (-28%) -561.5
1924 SLA AL 43 44 7 13 5 0 1 9 0 3 7 0.295 — — — — 0.0
1925 SLA AL 52 71 6 13 3 0 0 2 0 2 16 0.183 .288 (-36%) .349 (-38%) .407 (-45%) .756 (-42%) -546.0
1926 SLA AL 42 58 5 11 3 1 0 4 0 5 9 0.190 .279 (-32%) .345 (-27%) .390 (-29%) .735 (-28%) -298.2
1927 SLA AL 44 68 5 19 4 0 1 8 0 0 11 0.279 .282 (-1%) .344 (-16%) .392 (-3%) .736 (-9%) -123.1
1928 DET AL 38 58 4 15 0 0 2 6 0 0 11 0.259 .280 (-8%) .342 (-24%) .395 (-8%) .737 (-16%) -171.1
1929 DET AL 6 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.000 — — — — 0.0

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position G GS PO A E DP
P 367 0 67 384 18 24

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1919 SLA P 3 0 1 6 0 0
1920 SLA P 24 0 1 28 2 2
1921 SLA P 31 0 3 47 0 2
1922 SLA P 43 0 14 47 1 3
1923 SLA P 41 0 4 61 1 4
1924 SLA P 43 0 8 38 3 6
1925 SLA P 52 0 11 44 2 3
1926 SLA P 42 0 5 38 3 1
1927 SLA P 44 0 9 32 2 0
1928 DET P 38 0 8 37 4 3
1929 DET P 6 0 3 6 0 0

Career Games by Position

Position Games
Pitcher 367