Pete Appleton
Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1927-1945)
Pete Appleton was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1927 to 1945 for 7 teams, including the Cincinnati Reds, a span of 19 seasons. Across 341 career appearances, he went 57-66 with a 4.30 ERA, 420 strikeouts, and 26 saves. He also batted .233 with 0 home runs.
- 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
- R / R
- Height / Weight
- 5'11" / 180 lb
- Died
- 1/18/1974 in Trenton, NJ, USA
- MLB Debut
- 1927-09-14
- Last Game
- 1945-09-20
Full name: Peter William Appleton
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1927 | CIN | NL | 2 | 1 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 29.2 | 29 | 6 | 17 | 3 | 1.82 | 4.08 (+55%) | -389.0 |
| 1928 | CIN | NL | 3 | 4 | 31 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 82.2 | 101 | 43 | 22 | 20 | 4.68 | 4.13 (-13%) | -926.2 |
| 1930 | CLE | AL | 8 | 7 | 39 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 118.2 | 122 | 53 | 53 | 45 | 4.02 | 4.80 (+16%) | -1161.8 |
| 1931 | CLE | AL | 4 | 4 | 29 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 79.2 | 100 | 41 | 29 | 25 | 4.63 | 4.10 (-13%) | 268.2 |
| 1932 | CLE | AL | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5.0 | 11 | 9 | 3 | 1 | 16.20 | — | 0.0 |
| 1932 | BOS | AL | 0 | 3 | 11 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 46.0 | 49 | 21 | 26 | 15 | 4.11 | 4.13 (avg) | -850.4 |
| 1933 | NYA | AL | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.00 | — | 0.0 |
| 1936 | WS1 | AL | 14 | 9 | 38 | 20 | 12 | 1 | 3 | 201.2 | 199 | 79 | 77 | 77 | 3.53 | 4.59 (+23%) | 1849.1 |
| 1937 | WS1 | AL | 8 | 15 | 35 | 18 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 168.0 | 167 | 82 | 72 | 62 | 4.39 | 4.34 (-1%) | -3104.2 |
| 1938 | WS1 | AL | 7 | 9 | 43 | 10 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 164.1 | 175 | 84 | 61 | 62 | 4.60 | 4.35 (-6%) | -295.4 |
| 1939 | WS1 | AL | 5 | 10 | 40 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 102.2 | 104 | 52 | 48 | 50 | 4.56 | 4.28 (-6%) | -555.0 |
| 1940 | CHA | AL | 4 | 0 | 25 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 57.2 | 54 | 36 | 28 | 21 | 5.62 | 4.21 (-33%) | -1980.7 |
| 1941 | CHA | AL | 0 | 3 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 27.1 | 27 | 16 | 17 | 12 | 5.27 | 3.94 (-34%) | -1351.8 |
| 1942 | CHA | AL | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 3.86 | — | 0.0 |
| 1942 | SLA | AL | 1 | 1 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 27.1 | 25 | 9 | 11 | 12 | 2.96 | 3.57 (+17%) | 128.3 |
| 1945 | SLA | AL | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2.1 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 1 | 15.43 | — | 0.0 |
| 1945 | WS1 | AL | 1 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 21.1 | 16 | 8 | 11 | 12 | 3.38 | 3.67 (+8%) | -43.5 |
| Career · 17 seasons | 57 | 66 | 341 | 71 | 34 | 6 | 26 | 1,141.0 | 1,187 | 545 | 486 | 420 | 4.30 | — | -8,412 | ||
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 343 | 374 | 30 | 87 | 8 | 7 | 0 | 34 | 0 | 8 | 66 | .233 | .249 | .291 | .540 | -983 |
Career AVG .233 vs. league average .274 across their career seasons — 15.1% below league average.
Career OBP .249 vs. league average .339 across their career seasons — 26.6% below league average.
Career SLG .291 vs. league average .388 across their career seasons — 24.9% below league average.
Career OPS .540 vs. league average .727 across their career seasons — 25.7% 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1927 | CIN | NL | 6 | 11 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .545 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1928 | CIN | NL | 32 | 31 | 3 | 10 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4 | .323 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1930 | CLE | AL | 39 | 40 | 4 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 9 | .200 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1931 | CLE | AL | 30 | 24 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | .208 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1932 | CLE | AL | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1932 | BOS | AL | 11 | 17 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | .176 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1933 | NYA | AL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1936 | WS1 | AL | 38 | 76 | 7 | 19 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 15 | .250 | .283 (-12%) | .349 (-29%) | .404 (-28%) | .753 (-28%) | -369.8 |
| 1937 | WS1 | AL | 35 | 59 | 3 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 12 | .186 | .276 (-33%) | .342 (-46%) | .398 (-45%) | .740 (-45%) | -441.5 |
| 1938 | WS1 | AL | 43 | 59 | 4 | 15 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 8 | .254 | .272 (-7%) | .341 (-22%) | .392 (-9%) | .734 (-15%) | -171.3 |
| 1939 | WS1 | AL | 40 | 25 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | .160 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1940 | CHA | AL | 25 | 17 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | .176 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1941 | CHA | AL | 13 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .250 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1942 | CHA | AL | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1942 | SLA | AL | 14 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .167 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1945 | SLA | AL | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1945 | WS1 | AL | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .200 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| Career · 17 seasons | 343 | 374 | 30 | 87 | 8 | 7 | 0 | 34 | 0 | 8 | 66 | .233 | — | — | — | — | -983 | ||
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.
Game Log & Splits
View full game log (684 games) →Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).
Batting — Home / Away
| Split | G | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 189 | 194 | 16 | 50 | 0 | 17 | .258 |
| Away | 154 | 181 | 14 | 37 | 0 | 17 | .204 |
Pitching — Home / Away
| Split | G | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 189 | 620.1 | 621 | 283 | 230 | 223 | 4.11 |
| Away | 152 | 522.0 | 566 | 262 | 254 | 202 | 4.52 |
Last 10 Games — Batting
| Date | Tm | Opp | Res | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1945-09-20 | MIN | NYY | L | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1945-09-16 | MIN | DET | L | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1945-09-14 | MIN | CLE | W | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1945-09-08 | MIN | SLA | W | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1945-09-03 | MIN | BOS | W | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1945-09-02 | MIN | NYY | L | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1945-07-24 | SLA | BOS | L | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1945-07-12 | SLA | PHA | L | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1942-09-12 | SLA | MIN | L | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1942-09-07 | SLA | DET | L | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Last 10 Games — Pitching
| Date | Tm | Opp | Dec | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1945-09-20 | MIN | NYY | — | 1.1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 1945-09-16 | MIN | DET | — | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1945-09-14 | MIN | CLE | — | 3.0 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| 1945-09-08 | MIN | SLA | W | 9.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 0 |
| 1945-09-03 | MIN | BOS | SV | 4.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 0 |
| 1945-09-02 | MIN | NYY | — | 2.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 1945-07-24 | SLA | BOS | — | 1.1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 1945-07-12 | SLA | PHA | — | 1.0 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| 1942-09-12 | SLA | MIN | L | 2.2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| 1942-09-07 | SLA | DET | — | 2.0 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Fielding Statistics
Career Fielding Totals by Position
| Position | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OF | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| P | 341 | 0 | 58 | 266 | 12 | 25 |
Season-by-Season Fielding
| Year | Team | Pos | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1927 | CIN | P | 6 | 0 | 4 | 8 | 0 | 2 |
| 1928 | CIN | OF | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1928 | CIN | P | 31 | 0 | 3 | 28 | 0 | 3 |
| 1930 | CLE | P | 39 | 0 | 6 | 30 | 2 | 4 |
| 1931 | CLE | P | 29 | 0 | 4 | 16 | 2 | 1 |
| 1932 | CLE | P | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1932 | BOS | P | 11 | 0 | 5 | 19 | 0 | 0 |
| 1933 | NYA | P | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 1936 | WS1 | P | 38 | 0 | 9 | 42 | 1 | 1 |
| 1937 | WS1 | P | 35 | 0 | 8 | 43 | 1 | 4 |
| 1938 | WS1 | P | 43 | 0 | 9 | 29 | 4 | 4 |
| 1939 | WS1 | P | 40 | 0 | 4 | 17 | 1 | 2 |
| 1940 | CHA | P | 25 | 0 | 4 | 8 | 1 | 1 |
| 1941 | CHA | P | 13 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| 1942 | CHA | P | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 1942 | SLA | P | 14 | 0 | 1 | 11 | 0 | 1 |
| 1945 | SLA | P | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 1945 | WS1 | P | 6 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 |
Career Games by Position
Circle size = games played at each position.
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| Pitcher | 341 |
| Right Field | 1 |
College History
| School Name | City | State | Years Attended |
|---|---|---|---|
| University of Michigan | Ann Arbor | MI | 1924, 1925, 1926 |
Most Similar Players
Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.
Pete Appleton (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.
Pete Appleton: the record in brief
Pete Appleton's major league career runs from a debut on September 14, 1927 to a final game on September 20, 1945. By club, Appleton's seasons break down as the Cincinnati Reds (1927 through 1928), the Cleveland Indians (1930 to 1932), the Boston Red Sox (1932), the New York Yankees (1933), the Washington Senators (1936 through 1945), the Chicago White Sox (1940 to 1942), and the St. Louis Browns (1942 to 1945). Appleton played primarily as a pitcher and threw and hit right-handed. The bio adds a birth date on May 20, 1904, in Terryville, CT, USA and a listed size of 5'11" and 180 pounds. Appleton died on January 18, 1974, in Trenton, NJ, USA. The given name on file is Peter William Appleton.
Appleton's career pitching line is 57 wins, 66 losses and a 4.30 ERA over 341 appearances. Also on Appleton's record: 420 strikeouts, 34 complete games, 6 shutouts, and 26 saves. Appleton's 4.30 ERA was close to the 4.15 league figure for those seasons.
Frequently Asked Questions about Pete Appleton
- What years did Pete Appleton play?
- Pete Appleton played in Major League Baseball from 1927 to 1945.
- Was Pete Appleton a pitcher?
- Yes. Pete Appleton pitched in the major leagues, recording 57 wins and 420 strikeouts.
- How many home runs did Pete Appleton hit?
- Pete Appleton hit 0 career home runs with 87 hits.
- What was Pete Appleton's career batting average?
- Pete Appleton batted .233 over his career, with 87 hits in 374 at bats.
- How many RBI did Pete Appleton have?
- Pete Appleton drove in 34 runs in his career.
- What was Pete Appleton's career ERA?
- Pete Appleton finished with a 4.30 career ERA, going 57-66 with 420 strikeouts.