Max Butcher

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1936-1945)

Max Butcher was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1936 to 1945 for the Brooklyn Dodgers, the Philadelphia Phillies, and the Pittsburgh Pirates, a span of 10 seasons. Across 334 career appearances, he went 95-106 with a 3.73 ERA and 485 strikeouts. He also batted .184 with 1 home runs.

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

W–L 95–106
ERA 3.73
WHIP 1.41
SO 485
Pitcher PIV -5117.6
Position
Pitcher
Bats / Throws
R / R
Height / Weight
6'2" / 220 lb
Born
9/21/1910 in Holden, WV, USA
Died
9/15/1957 in Logan, WV, USA
MLB Debut
1936-04-20
Last Game
1945-09-11

Full name: Albert Maxwell Butcher

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Career Pitching Statistics

Max Butcher — Career Pitching Statistics
W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
95 106 334 229 104 14 9 1786.1 1,935 741 100 583 485 3.73 -5117.6

Career ERA 3.73 vs. league average 4.00 across their career seasons — 6.6% better than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Max Butcher Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year Team Lg W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER BB SO ERA Lg ERA Pitcher PIV
1936 BRO NL 6 6 38 15 5 0 2 147.2 154 65 59 55 3.96 4.59 (+14%) -787.5
1937 BRO NL 11 15 39 24 8 1 0 191.2 203 91 75 57 4.27 4.34 (+1%) -1607.2
1938 BRO NL 5 4 24 8 3 0 2 72.2 104 53 39 21 6.56 4.35 (-51%) -2595.7
1938 PHI NL 4 8 12 12 11 0 0 98.1 94 32 31 29 2.93 4.35 (+33%) 111.7
1939 PHI NL 2 13 19 16 3 0 0 104.1 131 65 51 27 5.61 4.28 (-31%) -2629.3
1939 PIT NL 4 4 14 12 5 2 0 86.2 104 33 23 21 3.43 4.28 (+20%) 1333.3
1940 PIT NL 8 9 35 24 6 2 2 136.1 161 91 46 40 6.01 4.21 (-43%) -1626.2
1941 PIT NL 17 12 33 32 19 0 0 236.0 249 80 66 61 3.05 3.94 (+22%) 1183.0
1942 PIT NL 5 8 24 18 9 0 1 150.2 144 49 44 49 2.93 3.57 (+18%) 474.6
1943 PIT NL 10 8 33 21 10 2 1 193.2 191 56 57 45 2.60 3.50 (+26%) 674.6
1944 PIT NL 13 11 35 27 13 5 1 199.0 216 69 46 43 3.12 3.57 (+13%) 505.6
1945 PIT NL 10 8 28 20 12 2 0 169.1 184 57 46 37 3.03 3.67 (+17%) -154.5
Career · 12 seasons 95 106 334 229 104 14 9 1,786.1 1,935 741 583 485 3.73 — -5,118

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

Max Butcher — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
342 598 43 110 14 0 1 37 0 16 92 .184 .205 .212 .418 -2,563

Career AVG .184 vs. league average .267 across their career seasons — 31.1% below league average.

Career OBP .205 vs. league average .335 across their career seasons — 38.7% below league average.

Career SLG .212 vs. league average .376 across their career seasons — 43.5% below league average.

Career OPS .418 vs. league average .710 across their career seasons — 41.2% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Max Butcher Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year Team Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG Lg AVG Lg OBP Lg SLG Lg OPS PIV
1936 BRO NL 42 48 6 6 1 0 0 1 0 2 16 .125 — — — — -476.5
1937 BRO NL 40 62 3 10 3 0 0 3 0 2 17 .161 .276 (-42%) .342 (-45%) .398 (-47%) .740 (-46%) -477.8
1938 BRO NL 25 25 3 4 1 0 1 3 0 0 5 .160 — — — — 0.0
1938 PHI NL 12 35 2 9 0 0 0 1 0 1 8 .257 — — — — 0.0
1939 PHI NL 19 38 1 7 0 0 0 3 0 0 6 .184 — — — — 0.0
1939 PIT NL 14 31 4 3 1 0 0 0 0 1 4 .097 — — — — 0.0
1940 PIT NL 36 50 6 15 3 0 0 10 0 2 7 .300 .267 (+12%) .335 (-2%) .387 (-7%) .722 (-5%) -44.7
1941 PIT NL 33 82 4 15 0 0 0 3 0 3 9 .183 .262 (-30%) .332 (-36%) .373 (-51%) .705 (-44%) -562.5
1942 PIT NL 24 49 3 7 0 0 0 2 0 0 5 .143 — — — — 0.0
1943 PIT NL 33 61 1 10 2 0 0 4 0 2 5 .164 .255 (-36%) .324 (-41%) .346 (-43%) .671 (-42%) -395.9
1944 PIT NL 36 63 4 12 2 0 0 5 0 2 8 .190 .261 (-27%) .325 (-34%) .357 (-38%) .683 (-36%) -351.0
1945 PIT NL 28 54 6 12 1 0 0 2 0 1 2 .222 .260 (-15%) .328 (-28%) .354 (-32%) .683 (-30%) -254.3
Career · 12 seasons 342 598 43 110 14 0 1 37 0 16 92 .184 — — — — -2,563

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 (678 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Max Butcher — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home1832762855116.199
Away1603221555021.171

Pitching — Home / Away

Max Butcher — Pitching — Home / Away
SplitGIPHERBBSOERA
Home178886.29673792782443.85
Away157898.19683663052393.67

Last 10 Games — Batting

Max Butcher — Last 10 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1945-09-11 PITPHIW 000000000
1945-08-15 PITNY1W 201000000
1945-08-05 PITSTLL 000000000
1945-08-01 PITCHCW 200000000
1945-07-24 PITBSNW 200000000
1945-07-18 PITNY1L 301000000
1945-07-13 PITPHIW 401000000
1945-07-08 PITBSNL 100000000
1945-07-04 PITPHIW 322000100
1945-06-29 PITNY1L 401000100

Last 10 Games — Pitching

Max Butcher — Last 10 Games — Pitching
DateTmOppDecIPHRERBBSOHR
1945-09-11 PITPHI W 1.0100010
1945-08-15 PITNY1 — 5.11266012
1945-08-05 PITSTL L 2.0855100
1945-08-01 PITCHC W 9.0400130
1945-07-24 PITBSN — 7.0733410
1945-07-18 PITNY1 L 8.01443430
1945-07-13 PITPHI W 10.01021420
1945-07-08 PITBSN L 3.2981101
1945-07-04 PITPHI W 9.0600220
1945-06-29 PITNY1 L 8.2833200

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Max Butcher — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
P 334 0 98 402 13 25

Season-by-Season Fielding

Max Butcher — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1936 BRO P 38 0 5 25 2 1
1937 BRO P 39 0 17 53 1 4
1938 BRO P 24 0 4 21 1 2
1938 PHI P 12 0 5 19 1 3
1939 PHI P 19 0 2 13 0 0
1939 PIT P 14 0 1 28 0 2
1940 PIT P 35 0 5 34 2 2
1941 PIT P 33 0 17 48 0 2
1942 PIT P 24 0 11 33 1 0
1943 PIT P 33 0 11 40 2 4
1944 PIT P 35 0 12 51 2 3
1945 PIT P 28 0 8 37 1 2

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Max Butcher Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position Games
Pitcher 335

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Max Butcher (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Joe Oeschger
    82-116, 3.81 ERA
  2. 85
    Jim Bagby
    97-96, 3.96 ERA
  3. 82
    Hugh McQuillan
    88-94, 3.83 ERA
  4. 81
    Bob Porterfield
    87-97, 3.79 ERA
  5. 78
    Vic Aldridge
    97-80, 3.76 ERA
  6. 76
    Al Smith
    99-101, 3.72 ERA

Max Butcher: the record in brief

April 20, 1936 and September 11, 1945 bracket Max Butcher's time in the majors: the debut and the last game on record. Club by club, the record runs the Brooklyn Dodgers (1936 to 1938), the Philadelphia Phillies (1938 to 1939), and the Pittsburgh Pirates (1939 to 1945). Born on September 21, 1910, in Holden, WV, USA, Butcher is listed as a pitcher and threw and hit right-handed. Size on record: 6'2" and 220 pounds. The bio records the death on September 15, 1957, in Logan, WV, USA. Max Butcher was the playing name; the full given name is Albert Maxwell.

Butcher pitched in 334 games, starting 229, and finished with a 95-106 record and 3.73 ERA. Butcher had 485 strikeouts, 104 complete games, and 14 shutouts. Against a 4.00 league ERA for the same years, Butcher was 6.6% better. Butcher won 17 games in 1941, the most of any season listed. Among the heaviest workloads, the lowest ERA was 2.60 in 1943, when the league's was 3.50.

Frequently Asked Questions about Max Butcher

What years did Max Butcher play?
Max Butcher played in Major League Baseball from 1936 to 1945.
Was Max Butcher a pitcher?
Yes. Max Butcher pitched in the major leagues, recording 95 wins and 485 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Max Butcher hit?
Max Butcher hit 1 career home run with 110 hits.
What teams did Max Butcher play for?
Max Butcher played for 3 teams: the Brooklyn Dodgers (1936–1938), the Philadelphia Phillies (1938–1939), and the Pittsburgh Pirates (1939–1945).
What were Max Butcher's career stats?
In 334 games, Max Butcher went 95-106 with a 3.73 ERA, 485 strikeouts, 1,786.1 innings pitched, and 9 saves. At the plate he had 110 hits and 1 home runs.
What position did Max Butcher play?
Max Butcher played primarily as a pitcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.
How tall was Max Butcher and how much did he weigh?
Max Butcher was listed at 6 feet 2 inches and 220 pounds.
What was Max Butcher's career ERA?
Max Butcher finished with a 3.73 career ERA, going 95-106 with 485 strikeouts.
How many strikeouts did Max Butcher have?
Max Butcher recorded 485 career strikeouts.
Is Max Butcher in the Hall of Fame?
No. Max Butcher has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.