Johnny Antonelli
Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1948-1961)
Johnny Antonelli was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1948 to 1961 for 5 teams, including the Boston Braves, a span of 14 seasons. Across 377 career appearances, he went 126-110 with a 3.34 ERA, 1,162 strikeouts, and 21 saves. He also batted .178 with 15 home runs. Johnny Antonelli was a 5-time All-Star. His career Pitcher PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of pitching impact — is 18568.2.
- W (Wins):
- Games credited to a pitcher whose team took a lead it never surrendered while he was the pitcher of record.
- ERA (Earned Run Average):
- Earned runs allowed per nine innings pitched: (ER × 9) ÷ IP. The primary measure of pitching effectiveness.
- SO (Strikeouts):
- For a batter, times retired on a third strike; for a pitcher, batters retired on a third strike.
- WHIP (Walks and Hits per Inning Pitched):
- Baserunners allowed per inning: (BB + H) ÷ IP. Under 1.00 is elite.
Data updated
- Position
- Pitcher
- Bats / Throws
- L / L
- Height / Weight
- 6'1" / 185 lb
- Died
- 2/28/2020 in Rochester, NY, USA
- MLB Debut
- 1948-07-04
- Last Game
- 1961-09-04
- Awards
- 5× All-Star
Full name: John August Antonelli
Season-by-Season Pitching
Click a stat to plot it across every season.
| Year | Team | Lg | W | L | G | GS | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA | Lg ERA | Pitcher PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1948 | BSN | NL | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4.0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2.25 | — | 0.0 |
| 1949 | BSN | NL | 3 | 7 | 22 | 10 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 96.0 | 99 | 38 | 42 | 48 | 3.56 | 4.12 (+13%) | 1027.5 |
| 1950 | BSN | NL | 2 | 3 | 20 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 57.2 | 81 | 38 | 22 | 33 | 5.93 | 4.36 (-36%) | 1628.6 |
| 1953 | ML1 | NL | 12 | 12 | 31 | 26 | 11 | 2 | 1 | 175.1 | 167 | 62 | 71 | 131 | 3.18 | 4.14 (+23%) | 3168.2 |
| 1954 | NY1 | NL | 21 | 7 | 39 | 37 | 18 | 6 | 2 | 258.2 | 209 | 66 | 94 | 152 | 2.30 | 3.90 (+41%) | 2872.3 |
| 1955 | NY1 | NL | 14 | 16 | 38 | 34 | 14 | 2 | 1 | 235.1 | 206 | 87 | 82 | 143 | 3.33 | 4.00 (+17%) | 2067.5 |
| 1956 | NY1 | NL | 20 | 13 | 41 | 36 | 15 | 5 | 1 | 258.1 | 225 | 82 | 75 | 145 | 2.86 | 3.96 (+28%) | 5492.9 |
| 1957 | NY1 | NL | 12 | 18 | 40 | 30 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 212.1 | 228 | 89 | 67 | 114 | 3.77 | 3.83 (+2%) | 1654.4 |
| 1958 | SFN | NL | 16 | 13 | 41 | 34 | 13 | 0 | 3 | 241.2 | 216 | 88 | 87 | 143 | 3.28 | 3.86 (+15%) | -1306.4 |
| 1959 | SFN | NL | 19 | 10 | 40 | 38 | 17 | 4 | 1 | 282.0 | 247 | 97 | 76 | 165 | 3.10 | 3.90 (+21%) | 2647.2 |
| 1960 | SFN | NL | 6 | 7 | 41 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 11 | 112.1 | 106 | 47 | 47 | 57 | 3.77 | 3.82 (+1%) | 535.9 |
| 1961 | CLE | AL | 0 | 4 | 11 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 48.0 | 68 | 35 | 18 | 23 | 6.56 | 4.03 (-63%) | -1132.1 |
| 1961 | ML1 | NL | 1 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10.2 | 16 | 9 | 3 | 8 | 7.59 | 4.03 (-89%) | -87.7 |
| Career · 13 seasons | 126 | 110 | 377 | 268 | 102 | 25 | 21 | 1,992.1 | 1,870 | 739 | 687 | 1,162 | 3.34 | — | 18,568 | ||
Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.
Career Batting Statistics
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 403 | 679 | 56 | 121 | 12 | 3 | 15 | 59 | 1 | 26 | 175 | .178 | .209 | .271 | .480 | -3,202 |
Career AVG .178 vs. league average .260 across their career seasons — 31.5% below league average.
Career OBP .209 vs. league average .332 across their career seasons — 37.2% below league average.
Career SLG .271 vs. league average .392 across their career seasons — 30.9% below league average.
Career OPS .480 vs. league average .725 across their career seasons — 33.8% below league average.
Season-by-Season Batting
Click a stat to plot it across every season.
| Year | Team | Lg | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | Lg AVG | Lg OBP | Lg SLG | Lg OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1948 | BSN | NL | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1949 | BSN | NL | 22 | 25 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 9 | .120 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1950 | BSN | NL | 20 | 16 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | .125 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1953 | ML1 | NL | 31 | 62 | 7 | 11 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 14 | .177 | .264 (-33%) | .335 (-36%) | .397 (-47%) | .733 (-42%) | -425.6 |
| 1954 | NY1 | NL | 39 | 98 | 6 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 0 | 4 | 25 | .163 | .261 (-37%) | .333 (-41%) | .390 (-42%) | .723 (-42%) | -658.5 |
| 1955 | NY1 | NL | 38 | 82 | 8 | 17 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 15 | 0 | 3 | 18 | .207 | .258 (-20%) | .332 (-31%) | .393 (-7%) | .726 (-18%) | -278.3 |
| 1956 | NY1 | NL | 49 | 89 | 7 | 14 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 26 | .157 | .258 (-39%) | .331 (-47%) | .397 (-26%) | .728 (-36%) | -536.2 |
| 1957 | NY1 | NL | 47 | 72 | 8 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 8 | 0 | 8 | 19 | .153 | .257 (-41%) | .323 (-28%) | .391 (-22%) | .715 (-24%) | -296.2 |
| 1958 | SFN | NL | 47 | 84 | 9 | 19 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 26 | .226 | .257 (-12%) | .324 (-25%) | .394 (-21%) | .719 (-23%) | -320.5 |
| 1959 | SFN | NL | 43 | 101 | 4 | 16 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 26 | .158 | .256 (-38%) | .323 (-46%) | .392 (-39%) | .715 (-42%) | -687.2 |
| 1960 | SFN | NL | 42 | 34 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | .235 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1961 | CLE | AL | 12 | 15 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | .267 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1961 | ML1 | NL | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| Career · 13 seasons | 403 | 679 | 56 | 121 | 12 | 3 | 15 | 59 | 1 | 26 | 175 | .178 | — | — | — | — | -3,202 | ||
Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.
Postseason Statistics
Playoff Career Batting
Playoff Batting by Year
| Year | Round | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1954 | WS | NY1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
Playoff Career Pitching
| W | L | G | GS | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 10.2 | 8 | 1 | 7 | 12 | 0.84 |
Playoff Pitching by Year
Game Log & Splits
View full game log (780 games) →Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).
Batting — Home / Away
| Split | G | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 191 | 351 | 29 | 69 | 9 | 32 | .197 |
| Away | 212 | 329 | 27 | 52 | 6 | 27 | .158 |
Pitching — Home / Away
| Split | G | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 179 | 1065.2 | 953 | 365 | 357 | 607 | 3.08 |
| Away | 198 | 925.1 | 916 | 378 | 330 | 556 | 3.68 |
Last 10 Games — Batting
| Date | Tm | Opp | Res | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1961-09-04 | ATL | CHC | L | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1961-08-25 | ATL | PHI | L | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1961-08-20 | ATL | PHI | L | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1961-08-02 | ATL | CHC | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1961-07-30 | ATL | STL | L | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1961-07-24 | ATL | CIN | L | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1961-07-15 | ATL | STL | L | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1961-07-08 | ATL | PIT | L | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1961-07-06 | ATL | PHI | W | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1961-06-21 | CLE | CHW | L | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Last 10 Games — Pitching
| Date | Tm | Opp | Dec | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1961-09-04 | ATL | CHC | — | 2.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 1961-08-25 | ATL | PHI | — | 1.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1961-08-20 | ATL | PHI | — | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1961-08-02 | ATL | CHC | — | 2.0 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 1961-07-30 | ATL | STL | — | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1961-07-24 | ATL | CIN | — | 0.2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 1961-07-15 | ATL | STL | — | 0.2 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 1961-07-08 | ATL | PIT | — | 2.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 1961-07-06 | ATL | PHI | W | 0.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1961-06-21 | CLE | CHW | — | 2.2 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
Fielding Statistics
Career Fielding Totals by Position
| Position | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | 377 | 226 | 72 | 342 | 21 | 24 |
Season-by-Season Fielding
| Year | Team | Pos | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1948 | BSN | P | 4 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 1949 | BSN | P | 22 | 0 | 5 | 14 | 4 | 0 |
| 1950 | BSN | P | 20 | 0 | 2 | 13 | 1 | 0 |
| 1953 | ML1 | P | 31 | 0 | 6 | 34 | 1 | 3 |
| 1954 | NY1 | P | 39 | 37 | 10 | 54 | 2 | 3 |
| 1955 | NY1 | P | 38 | 34 | 7 | 46 | 2 | 2 |
| 1956 | NY1 | P | 41 | 36 | 11 | 49 | 1 | 5 |
| 1957 | NY1 | P | 40 | 30 | 9 | 27 | 3 | 3 |
| 1958 | SFN | P | 41 | 34 | 10 | 27 | 4 | 3 |
| 1959 | SFN | P | 40 | 38 | 8 | 44 | 2 | 3 |
| 1960 | SFN | P | 41 | 10 | 2 | 19 | 0 | 0 |
| 1961 | CLE | P | 11 | 7 | 1 | 11 | 1 | 2 |
| 1961 | ML1 | P | 9 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Career Games by Position
Circle size = games played at each position.
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| Pitcher | 377 |
Awards & Honors
| Year | Award | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1959 | TSN All-Star | P |
| 1954 | TSN All-Star | P |
| 1954 | TSN Pitcher of the Year |
Award Voting History
| Year | Award | League | Finish | Points Won | Points Max | Votes First |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1956 | Most Valuable Player | NL | 14th | 18.0 | 336 | 0 |
| 1954 | Most Valuable Player | NL | 3rd | 154.0 | 336 | 0 |
Most Similar Players
Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.
Johnny Antonelli (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.
Compare Johnny Antonelli
Johnny Antonelli: the record in brief
According to the bio, Johnny Antonelli debuted on July 4, 1948 and played a final game on September 4, 1961. Club by club, the record runs the Boston Braves (1948 through 1950), the Milwaukee Braves (1953 to 1961), the New York Giants (1954 through 1957), the San Francisco Giants (1958 through 1960), and the Cleveland Indians (1961). Born on April 12, 1930, in Rochester, NY, USA, Antonelli is listed as a pitcher and batted and threw left-handed. Size on record: 185 pounds on a 6-foot-1 frame. Antonelli's death is recorded on February 28, 2020, in Rochester, NY, USA. The bio lists the given name John August.
Antonelli's career pitching line is 126 wins, 110 losses and a 3.34 ERA over 377 appearances. The totals include 1,162 strikeouts, 102 complete games, 25 shutouts, and 21 saves. Against a 4.00 league ERA for the same years, Antonelli was 16.6% better. 1954 brought Antonelli a season-high 21 wins. Antonelli struck out 165 batters in 1959, a career high.
Frequently Asked Questions about Johnny Antonelli
- What years did Johnny Antonelli play?
- Johnny Antonelli played in Major League Baseball from 1948 to 1961.
- Was Johnny Antonelli a pitcher?
- Yes. Johnny Antonelli pitched in the major leagues, recording 126 wins and 1162 strikeouts.
- How many home runs did Johnny Antonelli hit?
- Johnny Antonelli hit 15 career home runs with 121 hits.
- What was Johnny Antonelli's career batting average?
- Johnny Antonelli batted .178 over his career, with 121 hits in 679 at bats.
- How many RBI did Johnny Antonelli have?
- Johnny Antonelli drove in 59 runs in his career.
- What was Johnny Antonelli's career ERA?
- Johnny Antonelli finished with a 3.34 career ERA, going 126-110 with 1,162 strikeouts.