What years did Gene Bearden play?

Gene Bearden played in Major League Baseball from 1947 to 1953.

Was Gene Bearden a pitcher?

Yes. Gene Bearden pitched in the major leagues, recording 45 wins and 259 strikeouts.

How many home runs did Gene Bearden hit?

Gene Bearden hit 4 career home runs with 68 hits.

What was Gene Bearden's career batting average?

Gene Bearden batted .236 over his career, with 68 hits in 288 at bats.

How many RBI did Gene Bearden have?

Gene Bearden drove in 32 runs in his career.

What was Gene Bearden's career ERA?

Gene Bearden finished with a 3.96 career ERA, going 45-38 with 259 strikeouts.

Gene Bearden

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1947-1953)

Gene Bearden was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1947 to 1953 for 5 teams, including the Cleveland Guardians, a span of 7 seasons. Across 193 career appearances, he went 45-38 with a 3.96 ERA and 259 strikeouts. He also batted .236 with 4 home runs. His totals include Negro Leagues seasons, which MLB recognized as major league in 2020.

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 October 12, 2026

W–L 45–38

ERA 3.96

WHIP 1.56

SO 259

Pitcher PIV -6620.3

Position: Pitcher
Bats / Throws: L / L
Height / Weight: 6'3" / 198 lb
Born: 9/5/1920 in Lexa, AR, USA
Died: 3/18/2004 in Alexander City, AL, USA
MLB Debut: 1947-05-10
Last Game: 1953-09-05

Full name: Henry Eugene Bearden

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Negro Leagues Career Statistics

Batting

Gene Bearden — Batting
PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
6.0	6.0	0	1.0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.167	.167	.167	.334

Pitching

Gene Bearden — Pitching
W	L	GS	CG	GF	SV	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	SO	ERA	WHIP
0	2	2	0	1	0	15.0	23	16	14	2	7	5	8.40	2.00

Career Pitching Statistics

Gene Bearden — Career Pitching Statistics
W	L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	SO	ERA	Pitcher PIV
45	38	193	84	29	7	1	788.1	791	347	48	435	259	3.96	-6620.3

Career ERA 3.96 vs. league average 4.06 across their career seasons — near league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Gene Bearden Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year	Team	Lg	W	L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA	Lg ERA	Pitcher PIV
1947	CLE	AL	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0.1	2	3	1	0	81.00	—	0.0
1948	CLE	AL	20	7	37	29	15	6	1	229.2	187	62	106	80	2.43	4.10 (+41%)	561.3
1949	CLE	AL	8	8	32	19	5	0	0	127.0	140	72	92	41	5.10	4.12 (-24%)	-1848.1
1950	CLE	AL	1	3	14	3	0	0	0	45.1	57	31	32	10	6.15	4.36 (-41%)	-1513.7
1950	WS1	AL	3	5	12	9	4	0	0	68.1	81	32	33	20	4.21	4.36 (+3%)	1097.8
1951	WS1	AL	0	0	1	1	0	0	0	2.2	6	5	2	1	16.88	—	0.0
1951	DET	AL	3	4	37	4	2	1	0	106.0	112	51	58	38	4.33	4.04 (-7%)	-339.4
1952	SLA	AL	7	8	34	16	3	0	0	150.2	158	72	78	45	4.30	3.70 (-16%)	-2958.0
1953	CHA	AL	3	3	25	3	0	0	0	58.1	48	19	33	24	2.93	4.14 (+29%)	-1620.2
Career · 9 seasons			45	38	193	84	29	7	1	788.1	791	347	435	259	3.96	—	-6,620

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

Gene Bearden — Career Batting Statistics
G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	PIV
212	288	35	68	10	1	4	32	0	14	42	.236	.272	.319	.591	-44

Career AVG .236 vs. league average .262 across their career seasons — 9.8% below league average.

Career OBP .272 vs. league average .338 across their career seasons — 19.7% below league average.

Career SLG .319 vs. league average .384 across their career seasons — 16.9% below league average.

Career OPS .591 vs. league average .722 across their career seasons — 18.2% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Gene Bearden Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year	Team	Lg	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	AVG	Lg AVG	Lg OBP	Lg SLG	Lg OPS	PIV
1947	CLE	AL	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1948	CLE	AL	37	90	14	23	3	0	2	14	5	9	.256	.263 (-3%)	.340 (-13%)	.379 (-6%)	.719 (-10%)	-154.0
1949	CLE	AL	32	45	3	5	0	0	0	1	2	11	.111	—	—	—	—	0.0
1950	CLE	AL	14	13	2	2	1	1	0	0	2	2	.154	—	—	—	—	0.0
1950	WS1	AL	14	22	1	5	1	0	0	0	3	2	.227	—	—	—	—	0.0
1951	WS1	AL	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1951	DET	AL	37	32	7	6	2	0	2	6	0	4	.188	—	—	—	—	0.0
1952	SLA	AL	45	65	6	23	3	0	0	8	2	10	.354	.252 (+40%)	.326 (+14%)	.369 (+8%)	.696 (+11%)	109.9
1953	CHA	AL	31	21	2	4	0	0	0	3	0	4	.190	—	—	—	—	0.0
Career · 9 seasons			212	288	35	68	10	1	4	32	14	42	.236	—	—	—	—	-44

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

Gene Bearden — Playoff Career Batting
G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	AVG
2	4	1	2	1	0	0	0	0	1	.500

Playoff Batting by Year

Gene Bearden — Playoff Batting by Year
Year	Round	Team	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	AVG
1948	WS	CLE	2	4	1	2	1	0	0	0	0	1	.500

Playoff Career Pitching

Gene Bearden — Playoff Career Pitching
W	L	G	GS	SV	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
1	0	2	1	1	10.2	6	0	1	4	0.00

Playoff Pitching by Year

Gene Bearden — Playoff Pitching by Year
Year	Round	Team	W	L	G	GS	SV	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
1948	WS	CLE	1	0	2	1	1	10.2	6	0	1	4	0.00

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (403 games) →

Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).

Batting — Home / Away

Gene Bearden — Batting — Home / Away
Split	G	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	AVG
Home	109	159	20	38	3	21	.239
Away	102	127	15	29	1	11	.228

Pitching — Home / Away

Gene Bearden — Pitching — Home / Away
Split	G	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
Home	97	446.2	450	192	228	149	3.87
Away	95	332.1	336	155	201	104	4.20

Last 10 Games — Batting

Gene Bearden — Last 10 Games — Batting
Date	Tm	Opp	Res	AB	SO
1953-09-05	CHW	CLE	L	0	0
1953-08-30	CHW	NYY	L	0	0
1953-08-26	CHW	PHA	L	0	0
1953-08-12	CHW	CLE	L	0	0
1953-08-11	CHW	CLE	W	0	0
1953-08-07	CHW	NYY	L	1	1
1953-08-06	CHW	PHA	W	1	0
1953-07-31	CHW	MIN	L	0	0
1953-07-23	CHW	BOS	L	1	1
1953-07-10	CHW	CLE	W	1	0

Last 10 Games — Pitching

Gene Bearden — Last 10 Games — Pitching
Date	Tm	Opp	Dec	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR
1953-09-05	CHW	CLE	—	3.0	1	0	0	1	1	0
1953-08-30	CHW	NYY	—	0.1	2	2	2	1	0	0
1953-08-26	CHW	PHA	—	2.0	3	2	2	0	0	2
1953-08-12	CHW	CLE	—	1.2	1	1	1	3	2	0
1953-08-11	CHW	CLE	—	0.0	0	0	0	1	0	0
1953-08-07	CHW	NYY	—	2.0	1	0	0	5	1	0
1953-08-06	CHW	PHA	W	2.1	1	0	0	0	3	0
1953-07-31	CHW	MIN	—	1.0	0	0	0	0	2	0
1953-07-10	CHW	CLE	—	3.0	7	4	3	0	2	1
1953-07-05	CHW	CLE	—	3.2	4	1	1	0	1	0

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Gene Bearden — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
1B	1	0	2	0	0	1
P	193	0	47	180	15	13

Season-by-Season Fielding

Gene Bearden — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year	Team	Pos	G	PO	A	E	DP
1947	CLE	P	1	0	0	0	0
1948	CLE	P	37	15	52	1	11
1949	CLE	P	32	9	42	1	2
1950	CLE	P	14	2	8	6	0
1950	WS1	1B	1	2	0	0	1
1950	WS1	P	12	4	14	1	0
1951	WS1	P	1	0	0	0	0
1951	DET	P	37	3	21	1	0
1952	SLA	P	34	12	32	2	0
1953	CHA	P	25	2	11	3	0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Gene Bearden Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position	Games
Pitcher	193
First Base	1

Award Voting History

Gene Bearden — Award Voting History
Year	Award	League	Finish	Points Won	Points Max	Votes First
1948	Most Valuable Player	AL	8th	52.0	336	0
1948	Rookie of the Year	ML	2nd	8.0	48	8

Most Similar Players

Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.

Career Spans

Gene Bearden (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

Gene Bearden: the record in brief

Between the debut on May 10, 1947 and the final game on September 5, 1953, Gene Bearden built the record summarized on this page. By club, Bearden's seasons break down as the Cleveland Indians (1947 to 1950), the Washington Senators (1950 to 1951), the Detroit Tigers (1951), the St. Louis Browns (1952), and the Chicago White Sox (1953). Bearden, a pitcher by primary position, threw and hit left-handed. Bearden is listed at 6-foot-3 and 198 pounds. The birth record reads September 5, 1920, in Lexa, AR, USA. The bio records the death on March 18, 2004, in Alexander City, AL, USA. The bio lists the given name Henry Eugene.

The pitching table credits Bearden with a 45-38 record and a 3.96 ERA in 193 games. The totals include 259 strikeouts, 29 complete games, and 7 shutouts. Bearden's 3.96 ERA was close to the 4.06 league figure for those seasons. No season topped the 20 wins of 1948.

Frequently Asked Questions about Gene Bearden

What years did Gene Bearden play?: Gene Bearden played in Major League Baseball from 1947 to 1953.
Was Gene Bearden a pitcher?: Yes. Gene Bearden pitched in the major leagues, recording 45 wins and 259 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Gene Bearden hit?: Gene Bearden hit 4 career home runs with 68 hits.
What was Gene Bearden's career batting average?: Gene Bearden batted .236 over his career, with 68 hits in 288 at bats.
How many RBI did Gene Bearden have?: Gene Bearden drove in 32 runs in his career.
What was Gene Bearden's career ERA?: Gene Bearden finished with a 3.96 career ERA, going 45-38 with 259 strikeouts.