Al Benton

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1934-1952)

W–L 98–88
ERA 3.66
WHIP 1.42
SO 697
Pitcher PIV -5782.4
Position
Pitcher
Bats / Throws
R / R
Height / Weight
6'4" / 215 lb
Born
3/18/1911 in Noble, OK, USA
Died
4/14/1968 in Lynwood, CA, USA
MLB Debut
1934-04-18
Last Game
1952-09-21
Awards
2× All-Star

Full name: John Alton Benton

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Career Pitching Statistics

W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
98 88 455 167 58 10 66 1688.3 1,672 686 106 733 697 3.66 -5782.4

Career ERA 3.66 vs. league average 4.03 across their career seasons — 9.3% better than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

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
1934 PHA AL 7 9 32 21 7 0 1 155.0 145 84 88 58 4.88 4.29 (-14%) -1975.4
1935 PHA AL 3 4 27 9 0 0 0 78.3 110 67 47 42 7.70 4.35 (-77%) -1509.6
1938 DET AL 5 3 19 10 6 0 0 95.3 93 35 39 33 3.30 4.35 (+24%) -1609.7
1939 DET AL 6 8 37 16 3 0 5 150.0 182 76 58 67 4.56 4.28 (-6%) -91.6
1940 DET AL 6 10 42 0 0 0 17 79.3 93 39 36 50 4.42 4.21 (-5%) 584.5
1941 DET AL 15 6 38 14 7 1 7 157.7 130 52 65 63 2.97 3.94 (+25%) -1065.2
1942 DET AL 7 13 35 30 9 1 2 226.7 210 73 84 110 2.90 3.57 (+19%) 1986.4
1945 DET AL 13 8 31 27 12 5 3 191.7 175 43 63 76 2.02 3.67 (+45%) 1250.6
1946 DET AL 11 7 28 15 6 1 1 140.7 132 57 58 60 3.65 3.59 (-2%) -817.4
1947 DET AL 6 7 36 14 4 0 7 133.0 147 65 61 33 4.40 3.97 (-11%) -2333.6
1948 DET AL 2 2 30 0 0 0 3 44.3 45 28 36 18 5.68 4.10 (-39%) -1701.2
1949 CLE AL 9 6 40 11 4 2 10 135.7 116 32 51 41 2.12 4.12 (+48%) 1364.0
1950 CLE AL 4 2 36 0 0 0 4 63.0 57 25 30 26 3.57 4.36 (+18%) -504.8
1952 BOS AL 4 3 24 0 0 0 6 37.7 37 10 17 20 2.39 3.70 (+35%) 640.7
Career · 14 seasons 98 88 455 167 58 10 66 1,688.1 1,672 686 733 697 3.66 — -5,782

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
455 512 22 50 7 0 0 14 0 7 200 .098 .112 .111 .223 -2,722

Career AVG .098 vs. league average .265 across their career seasons — 63.2% below league average.

Career OBP .112 vs. league average .336 across their career seasons — 66.8% below league average.

Career SLG .111 vs. league average .379 across their career seasons — 70.6% below league average.

Career OPS .223 vs. league average .716 across their career seasons — 68.9% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

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
1934 PHA AL 32 55 1 6 0 0 0 2 0 0 22 .109 .278 (-61%) .340 (-68%) .392 (-72%) .733 (-70%) -622.2
1935 PHA AL 27 25 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 11 .040 — — — — 0.0
1938 DET AL 19 33 1 4 0 0 0 1 0 0 13 .121 — — — — 0.0
1939 DET AL 37 44 5 4 0 0 0 1 0 0 15 .091 — — — — 0.0
1940 DET AL 42 17 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 8 .000 — — — — 0.0
1941 DET AL 38 50 2 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 20 .060 .262 (-77%) .332 (-82%) .373 (-79%) .705 (-80%) -630.0
1942 DET AL 35 67 3 5 1 0 0 0 0 0 32 .075 .253 (-71%) .323 (-77%) .349 (-74%) .672 (-76%) -764.3
1945 DET AL 31 63 2 4 2 0 0 3 0 2 21 .063 .260 (-76%) .328 (-72%) .354 (-73%) .683 (-73%) -705.6
1946 DET AL 28 49 3 9 1 0 0 3 0 0 17 .184 — — — — 0.0
1947 DET AL 36 39 1 6 1 0 0 2 0 0 10 .154 — — — — 0.0
1948 DET AL 30 11 1 2 1 0 0 1 0 0 6 .182 — — — — 0.0
1949 CLE AL 40 38 1 5 0 0 0 1 0 1 11 .132 — — — — 0.0
1950 CLE AL 36 12 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 9 .083 — — — — 0.0
1952 BOS AL 24 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 .000 — — — — 0.0
Career · 14 seasons 455 512 22 50 7 0 0 14 0 7 200 .098 — — — — -2,722

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

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000

Playoff Batting by Year

Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1945 WS DET 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000

Playoff Career Pitching

W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
0 0 3 0 0 4.7 6 1 0 5 1.93

Playoff Pitching by Year

Year Round Team W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
1945 WS DET 0 0 3 0 0 4.7 6 1 0 5 1.93

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (910 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home219260123109.119
Away236251101905.076

Pitching — Home / Away

SplitGIPHERBBSOERA
Home219879.18783483403853.56
Away236809.07953393913113.77

Last 10 Games — Batting

DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1952-09-21 BOSMINW 000000000
1952-09-12 BOSCLEL 000000000
1952-09-11 BOSDETL 000000000
1952-08-29 BOSPHAL 000000000
1952-08-28 BOSPHAL 100000000
1952-08-24 BOSSLAW 100000000
1952-08-20 BOSCLEL 000000000
1952-08-19 BOSCLEW 000000000
1952-08-18 BOSNYYL 000000000
1952-08-15 BOSNYYW 000000000

Last 10 Games — Pitching

DateTmOppDecIPHRERBBSOHR
1952-09-21 BOSMIN SV 1.0100000
1952-09-12 BOSCLE — 0.2322100
1952-09-11 BOSDET L 1.0322111
1952-08-29 BOSPHA — 0.2100000
1952-08-28 BOSPHA L 3.1322210
1952-08-24 BOSSLA W 2.0100020
1952-08-20 BOSCLE — 1.0100000
1952-08-19 BOSCLE W 2.0100010
1952-08-18 BOSNYY — 1.0100000
1952-08-15 BOSNYY SV 1.0200010

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position G GS PO A E DP
P 455 0 97 301 26 18

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1934 PHA P 32 0 11 28 1 3
1935 PHA P 27 0 2 12 1 0
1938 DET P 19 0 3 25 1 0
1939 DET P 37 0 6 27 2 0
1940 DET P 42 0 5 11 3 1
1941 DET P 38 0 9 27 3 4
1942 DET P 35 0 18 39 5 0
1945 DET P 31 0 11 44 2 4
1946 DET P 28 0 16 26 2 0
1947 DET P 36 0 6 24 4 1
1948 DET P 30 0 2 8 1 1
1949 CLE P 40 0 4 17 0 2
1950 CLE P 36 0 1 8 0 2
1952 BOS P 24 0 3 5 1 0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Position Games
Pitcher 455

Award Voting History

Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
1945 Most Valuable Player AL 23th 6.0 336 0
1941 Most Valuable Player AL 19th 8.0 336 0

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Al Benton (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Jakie May
    72-95, 3.88 ERA
  2. 96
    Allen Russell
    71-76, 3.52 ERA
  3. 90
    Joe Haynes
    76-82, 4.01 ERA
  4. 90
    Ed Stein
    109-78, 3.97 ERA
  5. 89
    Frank Foreman
    96-93, 3.97 ERA
  6. 87
    Bob Shirley
    67-94, 3.82 ERA

Frequently Asked Questions about Al Benton

What years did Al Benton play?
Al Benton played in Major League Baseball from 1934 to 1952.
Was Al Benton a pitcher?
Yes. Al Benton pitched in the major leagues, recording 98 wins and 697 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Al Benton hit?
Al Benton hit 0 career home runs with 50 hits.