Ralph Branca

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1944-1956)

W–L 88–68
ERA 3.79
WHIP 1.37
SO 829
Pitcher PIV -7111.2
Position
Pitcher
Bats / Throws
R / R
Height / Weight
6'3" / 220 lb
Born
1/6/1926 in Mount Vernon, NY, USA
Died
11/23/2016 in Rye, NY, USA
MLB Debut
1944-06-12
Last Game
1956-09-07
Awards
3× All-Star

Full name: Ralph Theodore Joseph Branca

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Career Pitching Statistics

W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
88 68 322 188 71 12 19 1484.0 1,372 625 149 663 829 3.79 -7111.2

Career ERA 3.79 vs. league average 3.92 across their career seasons — near 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
1944 BRO NL 0 2 21 1 0 0 1 44.7 46 35 32 16 7.05 3.57 (-97%) -1624.0
1945 BRO NL 5 6 16 15 7 0 1 109.7 73 37 79 69 3.04 3.67 (+17%) -1171.2
1946 BRO NL 3 1 24 10 2 2 3 67.3 62 29 41 42 3.88 3.59 (-8%) -584.0
1947 BRO NL 21 12 43 36 15 4 1 280.0 251 83 98 148 2.67 3.97 (+33%) 1462.8
1948 BRO NL 14 9 36 28 11 1 1 215.7 189 84 80 122 3.51 4.10 (+15%) -830.7
1949 BRO NL 13 5 34 27 9 2 1 186.7 181 91 91 109 4.39 4.12 (-7%) -851.1
1950 BRO NL 7 9 43 15 5 0 7 142.0 152 74 55 100 4.69 4.36 (-8%) -624.8
1951 BRO NL 13 12 42 27 13 3 3 204.0 180 74 85 118 3.26 4.04 (+19%) 1131.8
1952 BRO NL 4 2 16 7 2 0 0 61.0 52 26 21 26 3.84 3.70 (-4%) -1174.2
1953 BRO NL 0 0 7 0 0 0 0 11.0 15 12 5 5 9.82 4.14 (-137%) -1149.8
1953 DET AL 4 7 17 14 7 0 1 102.0 98 47 31 50 4.15 4.14 (avg) 1730.1
1954 DET AL 3 3 17 5 0 0 0 45.3 63 29 30 15 5.76 3.90 (-48%) -3200.9
1954 NYA AL 1 0 5 3 0 0 0 12.7 9 4 13 7 2.84 3.90 (+27%) -225.2
1956 BRO NL 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 2.0 1 0 2 2 0.00 — 0.0
Career · 14 seasons 88 68 322 188 71 12 19 1,484.0 1,372 625 663 829 3.79 — -7,111

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
322 464 35 66 6 1 2 31 0 36 160 .142 .204 .172 .376 -2,323

Career AVG .142 vs. league average .261 across their career seasons — 45.5% below league average.

Career OBP .204 vs. league average .334 across their career seasons — 39.0% below league average.

Career SLG .172 vs. league average .378 across their career seasons — 54.4% below league average.

Career OPS .376 vs. league average .713 across their career seasons — 47.2% 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
1944 BRO NL 21 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 .000 — — — — 0.0
1945 BRO NL 16 40 1 4 1 0 0 0 0 0 11 .100 — — — — 0.0
1946 BRO NL 24 18 3 2 0 0 0 0 0 5 8 .111 — — — — 0.0
1947 BRO NL 43 97 8 12 1 0 0 9 0 7 34 .124 .262 (-53%) .336 (-46%) .376 (-64%) .712 (-56%) -853.6
1948 BRO NL 36 74 3 15 1 0 0 2 0 5 16 .203 .263 (-23%) .340 (-26%) .379 (-43%) .719 (-35%) -407.3
1949 BRO NL 34 62 5 5 1 0 0 2 0 9 26 .081 .262 (-69%) .343 (-43%) .384 (-75%) .727 (-60%) -595.9
1950 BRO NL 43 34 3 4 0 0 2 7 0 4 10 .118 — — — — 0.0
1951 BRO NL 42 63 6 11 1 0 0 4 0 2 26 .175 .260 (-33%) .336 (-41%) .385 (-51%) .721 (-46%) -466.2
1952 BRO NL 16 19 0 3 0 0 0 2 0 0 9 .158 — — — — 0.0
1953 BRO NL 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1953 DET AL 17 34 3 4 0 1 0 4 0 2 14 .118 — — — — 0.0
1954 DET AL 17 13 2 4 1 0 0 1 0 2 3 .308 — — — — 0.0
1954 NYA AL 5 4 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .500 — — — — 0.0
1956 BRO NL 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
Career · 14 seasons 322 464 35 66 6 1 2 31 0 36 160 .142 — — — — -2,323

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
4 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 .000

Playoff Batting by Year

Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1949 WS BRO 1 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 .000
1947 WS BRO 3 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000

Playoff Career Pitching

W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
1 2 4 2 0 17.0 16 12 9 14 6.35

Playoff Pitching by Year

Year Round Team W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
1949 WS BRO 0 1 1 1 0 8.7 4 4 4 6 4.15
1947 WS BRO 1 1 3 1 0 8.3 12 8 5 8 8.64

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (638 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home1582031528019.138
Away1612582038212.147

Pitching — Home / Away

SplitGIPHERBBSOERA
Home158730.16452993134493.68
Away161742.27153283443723.97

Last 10 Games — Batting

DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1956-09-07 BRONY1L 000000000
1954-09-05 NYYMINL 000000000
1954-08-21 NYYBOSL 000000000
1954-08-14 NYYBOSW 211000000
1954-08-01 NYYBALW 201000000
1954-07-27 NYYCHWL 000000000
1954-07-05 DETCLEL 000000000
1954-07-03 DETBALL 000000000
1954-06-29 DETCHWL 000000000
1954-06-27 DETMINL 000000000

Last 10 Games — Pitching

DateTmOppDecIPHRERBBSOHR
1956-09-07 BRONY1 — 2.0100220
1954-09-05 NYYMIN — 0.2332110
1954-08-21 NYYBOS — 1.0011200
1954-08-14 NYYBOS W 6.0400350
1954-08-01 NYYBAL — 4.0211610
1954-07-27 NYYCHW — 1.0000100
1954-07-05 DETCLE — 0.2322111
1954-07-03 DETBAL — 1.0100110
1954-06-29 DETCHW — 3.0422310
1954-06-27 DETMIN — 1.0100100

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position G GS PO A E DP
P 322 8 72 169 12 7

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1944 BRO P 21 0 2 8 0 0
1945 BRO P 16 0 7 20 2 1
1946 BRO P 24 0 3 6 1 1
1947 BRO P 43 0 9 35 3 0
1948 BRO P 36 0 10 18 1 0
1949 BRO P 34 0 6 15 2 0
1950 BRO P 43 0 8 19 0 0
1951 BRO P 42 0 12 19 0 2
1952 BRO P 16 0 5 7 1 1
1953 BRO P 7 0 0 2 0 1
1953 DET P 17 0 7 10 1 0
1954 DET P 17 5 2 6 0 1
1954 NYA P 5 3 1 3 1 0
1956 BRO P 1 0 0 1 0 0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Position Games
Pitcher 322

Awards & Honors

Year Award Notes
1947 Baseball Magazine All-Star P2
1947 TSN All-Star P

College History

School Name City State Years Attended
New York University New York NY 1944

Award Voting History

Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
1948 Most Valuable Player NL 21th 8.0 336 0
1947 Most Valuable Player NL 11th 40.0 336 0

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

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

  1. 98
    Tom Underwood
    86-87, 3.89 ERA
  2. 83
    Don Larsen
    81-91, 3.78 ERA
  3. 73
    Lew Krausse
    68-91, 4.00 ERA
  4. 71
    Pete Vuckovich
    93-69, 3.66 ERA
  5. 70
    Ken Brett
    83-85, 3.93 ERA
  6. 69
    George Pipgras
    102-73, 4.09 ERA

Frequently Asked Questions about Ralph Branca

What years did Ralph Branca play?
Ralph Branca played in Major League Baseball from 1944 to 1956.
Was Ralph Branca a pitcher?
Yes. Ralph Branca pitched in the major leagues, recording 88 wins and 829 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Ralph Branca hit?
Ralph Branca hit 2 career home runs with 66 hits.