What years did Ralph Birkofer play?

Ralph Birkofer played in Major League Baseball from 1933 to 1937.

Was Ralph Birkofer a pitcher?

Yes. Ralph Birkofer pitched in the major leagues, recording 31 wins and 224 strikeouts.

How many home runs did Ralph Birkofer hit?

Ralph Birkofer hit 0 career home runs with 50 hits.

What was Ralph Birkofer's career batting average?

Ralph Birkofer batted .242 over his career, with 50 hits in 207 at bats.

How many RBI did Ralph Birkofer have?

Ralph Birkofer drove in 22 runs in his career.

What was Ralph Birkofer's career ERA?

Ralph Birkofer finished with a 4.19 career ERA, going 31-28 with 224 strikeouts.

Ralph Birkofer

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1933-1937)

Ralph Birkofer was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1933 to 1937 for the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Brooklyn Dodgers, a span of 5 seasons. Across 132 career appearances, he went 31-28 with a 4.19 ERA and 224 strikeouts. He also batted .242 with 0 home runs. His career Pitcher PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of pitching impact — is 4339.5.

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 31–28

ERA 4.19

WHIP 1.46

SO 224

Pitcher PIV 4339.5

Position: Pitcher
Bats / Throws: L / L
Height / Weight: 5'11" / 213 lb
Born: 11/5/1908 in Cincinnati, OH, USA
Died: 3/16/1971 in Cincinnati, OH, USA
MLB Debut: 1933-04-25
Last Game: 1937-07-11

Full name: Ralph Joseph Birkofer

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Career Pitching Statistics

Ralph Birkofer — Career Pitching Statistics
W	L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	SO	ERA	Pitcher PIV
31	28	132	64	24	2	2	544.0	618	253	24	175	224	4.19	4339.5

Career ERA 4.19 vs. league average 4.28 across their career seasons — near league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Ralph Birkofer — Season-by-Season Pitching
Year	Team	Lg	W	L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA	Lg ERA	Pitcher PIV
1933	PIT	NL	4	2	9	8	3	1	0	50.2	43	13	17	20	2.31	3.86 (+40%)	527.6
1934	PIT	NL	11	12	41	24	11	0	1	204.0	227	93	66	71	4.10	4.29 (+4%)	116.3
1935	PIT	NL	9	7	37	18	8	1	1	150.1	173	68	42	80	4.07	4.35 (+6%)	3224.3
1936	PIT	NL	7	5	34	13	2	0	0	109.1	130	57	41	44	4.69	4.59 (-2%)	828.8
1937	BRO	NL	0	2	11	1	0	0	0	29.2	45	22	9	9	6.67	4.34 (-54%)	-357.6
Career · 5 seasons			31	28	132	64	24	2	2	544.0	618	253	175	224	4.19	—	4,339

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

Ralph Birkofer — Career Batting Statistics
G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	PIV
134	207	18	50	7	1	0	22	0	3	39	.242	.256	.285	.541	-609

Career AVG .242 vs. league average .278 across their career seasons — 13.0% below league average.

Career OBP .256 vs. league average .341 across their career seasons — 25.0% below league average.

Career SLG .285 vs. league average .395 across their career seasons — 27.8% below league average.

Career OPS .541 vs. league average .736 across their career seasons — 26.5% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Ralph Birkofer — Season-by-Season Batting
Year	Team	Lg	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	RBI	BB	SO	AVG	Lg AVG	Lg OBP	Lg SLG	Lg OPS	PIV
1933	PIT	NL	9	22	1	7	0	0	4	0	4	.318	—	—	—	—	0.0
1934	PIT	NL	41	75	6	17	3	0	11	1	14	.227	.278 (-18%)	.340 (-30%)	.392 (-32%)	.733 (-31%)	-388.1
1935	PIT	NL	38	58	5	14	3	1	4	0	8	.241	.279 (-14%)	.342 (-26%)	.399 (-18%)	.742 (-22%)	-220.9
1936	PIT	NL	34	41	5	9	1	0	3	1	9	.220	—	—	—	—	0.0
1937	BRO	NL	12	11	1	3	0	0	0	1	4	.273	—	—	—	—	0.0
Career · 5 seasons			134	207	18	50	7	1	22	3	39	.242	—	—	—	—	-609

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 (266 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Ralph Birkofer — Batting — Home / Away
Split	G	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	AVG
Home	63	94	9	27	0	14	.287
Away	71	113	9	24	0	7	.212

Pitching — Home / Away

Ralph Birkofer — Pitching — Home / Away
Split	G	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
Home	63	257.0	298	120	69	102	4.20
Away	69	287.0	319	133	107	121	4.17

Last 10 Games — Batting

Ralph Birkofer — Last 10 Games — Batting
Date	Tm	Opp	Res	AB	R	H	BB	SO
1937-07-11	BRO	NY1	L	0	0	0	0	0
1937-07-05	BRO	PHI	L	0	0	0	0	0
1937-06-25	BRO	CHC	L	1	0	0	1	1
1937-06-23	BRO	STL	L	1	0	0	0	1
1937-06-09	BRO	CHC	L	1	0	0	1	1
1937-05-30	BRO	BSN	L	0	0	0	0	0
1937-05-23	BRO	CIN	L	0	0	0	0	0
1937-05-09	BRO	STL	L	0	0	0	0	0
1937-05-03	BRO	PHI	L	4	1	2	0	1
1937-04-30	BRO	NY1	L	1	0	0	0	0

Last 10 Games — Pitching

Ralph Birkofer — Last 10 Games — Pitching
Date	Tm	Opp	Dec	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR
1937-07-11	BRO	NY1	—	1.0	3	3	2	1	0	0
1937-07-05	BRO	PHI	—	1.0	1	0	0	0	0	0
1937-06-25	BRO	CHC	—	4.2	4	3	3	2	0	1
1937-06-09	BRO	CHC	—	4.2	4	2	1	2	2	0
1937-05-30	BRO	BSN	—	0.1	5	3	3	0	0	0
1937-05-23	BRO	CIN	—	1.0	0	0	0	0	0	0
1937-05-09	BRO	STL	—	0.2	2	2	1	0	0	0
1937-05-03	BRO	PHI	L	6.1	12	6	5	1	3	0
1937-04-30	BRO	NY1	L	2.1	5	5	4	1	0	2
1937-04-26	BRO	BSN	—	7.1	9	4	2	2	3	0

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Ralph Birkofer — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
P	132	0	7	86	14	2

Season-by-Season Fielding

Ralph Birkofer — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year	Team	Pos	G	PO	A	E	DP
1933	PIT	P	9	1	10	0	0
1934	PIT	P	41	2	39	3	1
1935	PIT	P	37	3	18	4	1
1936	PIT	P	34	1	14	7	0
1937	BRO	P	11	0	5	0	0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Ralph Birkofer — Career Games by Position
Position	Games
Pitcher	132

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Ralph Birkofer (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

Ralph Birkofer: the record in brief

The profile opens with Ralph Birkofer's first major league game on April 25, 1933; the last one listed came on July 11, 1937. The team column moves through the Pittsburgh Pirates (1933 through 1936) and the Brooklyn Dodgers (1937). Birkofer played primarily as a pitcher and batted and threw left-handed. The bio adds a birth date on November 5, 1908, in Cincinnati, OH, USA and a listed size of 5-foot-11 and 213 pounds. Birkofer's death is recorded on March 16, 1971, in Cincinnati, OH, USA. The bio lists the given name Ralph Joseph.

Across 132 games (64 starts), Birkofer recorded 31 wins against 28 losses with a 4.19 ERA. Also on Birkofer's record: 224 strikeouts and 24 complete games. Birkofer's 4.19 ERA was close to the 4.28 league figure for those seasons. The best win total was 11, in 1934. Birkofer struck out 80 batters in 1935, a career high. 1935 was Birkofer's sharpest full season, a 4.07 ERA against the league's 4.35.

Frequently Asked Questions about Ralph Birkofer

What years did Ralph Birkofer play?: Ralph Birkofer played in Major League Baseball from 1933 to 1937.
Was Ralph Birkofer a pitcher?: Yes. Ralph Birkofer pitched in the major leagues, recording 31 wins and 224 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Ralph Birkofer hit?: Ralph Birkofer hit 0 career home runs with 50 hits.
What was Ralph Birkofer's career batting average?: Ralph Birkofer batted .242 over his career, with 50 hits in 207 at bats.
How many RBI did Ralph Birkofer have?: Ralph Birkofer drove in 22 runs in his career.
What was Ralph Birkofer's career ERA?: Ralph Birkofer finished with a 4.19 career ERA, going 31-28 with 224 strikeouts.