Lew Burdette
Born: 11/22/1926 in Nitro, WV, USA
Died: 2/6/2007 in Winter Garden, FL, USA
MLB Debut: 1950-09-26 | Final Game: 1967-07-16
Bats: R | Throws: R | Height: 6'2" | Weight: 180 lbs
Full name: Selva Lewis Burdette
Biography
Lew Burdette was a prominent pitcher in Major League Baseball who made his mark from 1950 to 1967. Born in 1926, Burdette played the majority of his career with the Milwaukee Braves, where he became known for his durability and competitive spirit on the mound. With a career record of 203 wins and 144 losses, Burdette finished with an earned run average (ERA) of 3.66 and recorded 1,074 strikeouts. His ability to keep runs off the board contributed significantly to his team's success during the 1950s and 1960s, an era characterized by strong pitching and fierce competition.
Burdette earned three All-Star selections during his career, highlighting his status as one of the top pitchers of his time. He was particularly noted for his performance in the 1957 World Series, where he helped lead the Braves to victory over the New York Yankees, further solidifying his legacy in baseball history. Throughout his career, Burdette's work ethic and strategic pitching style earned him respect among players and fans alike, making him a significant figure in the game during a transformative period in baseball.
Career Pitching Statistics
| W | L | G | GS | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | ER | HR | BB | SO | ERA | Pitcher PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 203 | 144 | 626 | 373 | 158 | 33 | 31 | 3067.3 | 3186 | 1246 | 289 | 628 | 1074 | 3.66 | 0 |
Season-by-Season Pitching
| Year | Team | Lg | W | L | G | GS | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA | Pitcher PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950 | NYY | AL | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6.75 | - |
| 1951 | BSN | NL | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.3 | 6 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 6.23 | 0.0 |
| 1952 | BSN | NL | 6 | 11 | 45 | 9 | 5 | 0 | 7 | 137.0 | 138 | 55 | 47 | 47 | 3.61 | 585.6 |
| 1953 | ATL | NL | 15 | 5 | 46 | 13 | 6 | 1 | 8 | 175.0 | 177 | 63 | 56 | 58 | 3.24 | - |
| 1954 | ATL | NL | 15 | 14 | 38 | 32 | 13 | 4 | 0 | 238.0 | 224 | 73 | 62 | 79 | 2.76 | - |
| 1955 | ATL | NL | 13 | 8 | 42 | 33 | 11 | 2 | 0 | 230.0 | 253 | 103 | 73 | 70 | 4.03 | - |
| 1956 | ATL | NL | 19 | 10 | 39 | 35 | 16 | 6 | 1 | 256.3 | 234 | 77 | 52 | 110 | 2.70 | - |
| 1957 | ATL | NL | 17 | 9 | 37 | 33 | 14 | 1 | 0 | 256.7 | 260 | 106 | 59 | 78 | 3.72 | - |
| 1958 | ATL | NL | 20 | 10 | 40 | 36 | 19 | 3 | 0 | 275.3 | 279 | 89 | 50 | 113 | 2.91 | - |
| 1959 | ATL | NL | 21 | 15 | 41 | 39 | 20 | 4 | 1 | 289.7 | 312 | 131 | 38 | 105 | 4.07 | - |
| 1960 | ATL | NL | 19 | 13 | 45 | 32 | 18 | 4 | 4 | 275.7 | 277 | 103 | 35 | 83 | 3.36 | - |
| 1961 | ATL | NL | 18 | 11 | 40 | 36 | 14 | 3 | 0 | 272.3 | 295 | 121 | 33 | 92 | 4.00 | - |
| 1962 | ATL | NL | 10 | 9 | 37 | 19 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 143.7 | 172 | 78 | 23 | 59 | 4.89 | - |
| 1963 | ATL | NL | 6 | 5 | 15 | 13 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 84.0 | 71 | 34 | 24 | 28 | 3.64 | - |
| 1963 | STL | NL | 3 | 8 | 21 | 14 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 98.0 | 106 | 41 | 16 | 45 | 3.77 | - |
| 1964 | CHC | NL | 9 | 9 | 28 | 17 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 131.0 | 152 | 71 | 19 | 40 | 4.88 | - |
| 1964 | STL | NL | 1 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10.0 | 10 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 1.80 | - |
| 1965 | CHC | NL | 0 | 2 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20.3 | 26 | 12 | 4 | 5 | 5.31 | - |
| 1965 | PHI | NL | 3 | 3 | 19 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 70.7 | 95 | 43 | 17 | 23 | 5.48 | -396.5 |
| 1966 | LAA | AL | 7 | 2 | 54 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 79.7 | 80 | 30 | 12 | 27 | 3.39 | - |
| 1967 | LAA | AL | 1 | 0 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 18.3 | 16 | 10 | 0 | 8 | 4.91 | - |
Career Batting Statistics
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 666 | 1011 | 101 | 185 | 27 | 4 | 12 | 75 | 2 | 32 | 271 | 0.183 | 0.216 | 0.253 | 0.469 | -5186.5 |
Season-by-Season Batting
| Year | Team | Lg | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950 | NYY | AL | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0.0 |
| 1951 | BSN | NL | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.000 | 0.0 |
| 1952 | BSN | NL | 45 | 35 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 8 | 0.114 | 0.0 |
| 1953 | ATL | NL | 46 | 53 | 4 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 0.170 | -500.6 |
| 1954 | ATL | NL | 39 | 79 | 3 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 14 | 0.089 | -970.6 |
| 1955 | ATL | NL | 45 | 86 | 10 | 20 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 20 | 0.233 | -376.5 |
| 1956 | ATL | NL | 45 | 86 | 9 | 16 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 16 | 0.186 | -683.3 |
| 1957 | ATL | NL | 41 | 88 | 11 | 13 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 0 | 3 | 22 | 0.148 | -638.1 |
| 1958 | ATL | NL | 47 | 99 | 11 | 24 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 15 | 0 | 3 | 24 | 0.242 | -213.9 |
| 1959 | ATL | NL | 52 | 104 | 14 | 21 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 3 | 36 | 0.202 | -520.6 |
| 1960 | ATL | NL | 46 | 91 | 11 | 16 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 7 | 22 | 0.176 | -443.2 |
| 1961 | ATL | NL | 42 | 103 | 10 | 21 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 11 | 0 | 2 | 39 | 0.204 | -442.9 |
| 1962 | ATL | NL | 39 | 51 | 6 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 17 | 0.176 | -396.9 |
| 1963 | ATL | NL | 17 | 26 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 11 | 0.038 | 0.0 |
| 1963 | STL | NL | 21 | 31 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0.097 | 0.0 |
| 1964 | CHC | NL | 28 | 43 | 6 | 12 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 12 | 0.279 | 0.0 |
| 1964 | STL | NL | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.000 | 0.0 |
| 1965 | CHC | NL | 8 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0.333 | 0.0 |
| 1965 | PHI | NL | 19 | 20 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0.300 | 0.0 |
| 1966 | LAA | AL | 54 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0.125 | 0.0 |
| 1967 | LAA | AL | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0.0 |
Postseason Statistics
Playoff Career Batting
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | 17 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 0.059 |
Playoff Batting by Year
| Year | Round | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1958 | WS | ML1 | 3 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0.111 |
| 1957 | WS | ML1 | 3 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0.000 |
Playoff Career Pitching
| W | L | G | GS | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 2 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 49.3 | 43 | 16 | 8 | 25 | 2.92 |
Playoff Pitching by Year
| Year | Round | Team | W | L | G | GS | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1958 | WS | ML1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 22.3 | 22 | 14 | 4 | 12 | 5.64 |
| 1957 | WS | ML1 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 27.0 | 21 | 2 | 4 | 13 | 0.67 |
Fielding Statistics
Career Fielding Totals by Position
| Position | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | 626 | 351 | 245 | 622 | 27 | 55 |
Season-by-Season Fielding
| Year | Team | Pos | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950 | NYA | P | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 1951 | BSN | P | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1952 | BSN | P | 45 | 0 | 9 | 29 | 1 | 3 |
| 1953 | ML1 | P | 46 | 0 | 11 | 37 | 1 | 6 |
| 1954 | ML1 | P | 38 | 32 | 17 | 49 | 4 | 4 |
| 1955 | ML1 | P | 42 | 33 | 18 | 47 | 2 | 6 |
| 1956 | ML1 | P | 39 | 35 | 19 | 48 | 1 | 4 |
| 1957 | ML1 | P | 37 | 33 | 22 | 53 | 4 | 3 |
| 1958 | ML1 | P | 40 | 36 | 27 | 53 | 1 | 4 |
| 1959 | ML1 | P | 41 | 39 | 21 | 47 | 1 | 6 |
| 1960 | ML1 | P | 45 | 32 | 31 | 68 | 2 | 6 |
| 1961 | ML1 | P | 40 | 36 | 27 | 60 | 1 | 2 |
| 1962 | ML1 | P | 37 | 19 | 8 | 33 | 2 | 1 |
| 1963 | ML1 | P | 15 | 13 | 7 | 15 | 3 | 2 |
| 1963 | SLN | P | 21 | 14 | 4 | 12 | 2 | 1 |
| 1964 | CHN | P | 28 | 17 | 10 | 34 | 0 | 3 |
| 1964 | SLN | P | 8 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 1965 | CHN | P | 7 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 1965 | PHI | P | 19 | 9 | 4 | 14 | 0 | 3 |
| 1966 | CAL | P | 54 | 0 | 8 | 11 | 2 | 0 |
| 1967 | CAL | P | 19 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
Career Games by Position
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| Pitcher | 626 |
Awards & Honors
| Year | Award | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1957 | Babe Ruth Award | P |
| 1957 | World Series MVP |
College History
| School Name | City | State | Years Attended |
|---|---|---|---|
| University of Richmond | Richmond | VA | 1946 |
Award Voting History
| Year | Award | League | Finish | Points Won | Points Max | Votes First |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1959 | Most Valuable Player | NL | 12th | 14.0 | 336 | 0 |
| 1958 | Cy Young Award | ML | 3rd | 3.0 | 16 | 3 |
| 1958 | Most Valuable Player | NL | 11th | 47.0 | 336 | 0 |
| 1957 | Most Valuable Player | NL | 24th | 2.0 | 336 | 0 |
| 1956 | Most Valuable Player | NL | 22th | 8.0 | 336 | 0 |