Harry Byrd

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1950-1957)

Harry Byrd was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1950 to 1957 for 5 teams, including the Philadelphia Athletics, a span of 8 seasons. Across 187 career appearances, he went 46-54 with a 4.35 ERA and 381 strikeouts. He also batted .160 with 0 home runs. Harry Byrd was a Rookie of the Year.

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 46–54
ERA 4.35
WHIP 1.50
SO 381
Pitcher PIV -2855.7
Position
Pitcher
Bats / Throws
R / R
Height / Weight
6'1" / 188 lb
Born
2/3/1925 in Darlington, SC, USA
Died
5/14/1985 in Darlington, SC, USA
MLB Debut
1950-04-21
Last Game
1957-09-27
Awards
Rookie of the Year

Full name: Harry Gladwin Byrd

📊 Compare This Player 📈 View Career Timeline

Career Pitching Statistics

Harry Byrd — Career Pitching Statistics
W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
46 54 187 108 33 8 9 827.2 890 400 71 355 381 4.35 -2855.7

Career ERA 4.35 vs. league average 3.98 across their career seasons — 9.2% worse than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Harry Byrd Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year Team Lg W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER BB SO ERA Lg ERA Pitcher PIV
1950 PHA AL 0 0 6 0 0 0 0 10.2 25 20 9 2 16.88 4.36 (-287%) -1226.8
1952 PHA AL 15 15 37 28 15 3 2 228.1 244 84 98 116 3.31 3.70 (+11%) 1589.4
1953 PHA AL 11 20 40 37 11 2 0 236.2 279 145 115 122 5.51 4.14 (-33%) -1901.9
1954 NYA AL 9 7 25 21 5 1 0 132.1 131 44 43 52 2.99 3.90 (+23%) 576.0
1955 BAL AL 3 2 14 8 1 1 1 65.1 64 33 28 25 4.55 4.00 (-14%) -987.0
1955 CHA AL 4 6 25 12 1 1 1 91.0 85 47 30 44 4.65 4.00 (-16%) 264.3
1956 CHA AL 0 1 3 1 0 0 0 4.1 9 5 4 0 10.38 — 0.0
1957 DET AL 4 3 37 1 0 0 5 59.0 53 22 28 20 3.36 3.83 (+12%) -1169.7
Career · 8 seasons 46 54 187 108 33 8 9 827.2 890 400 355 381 4.35 — -2,856

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

Harry Byrd — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
187 262 16 42 2 0 0 14 1 9 60 .160 .188 .168 .356 -1,382

Career AVG .160 vs. league average .260 across their career seasons — 38.3% below league average.

Career OBP .188 vs. league average .333 across their career seasons — 43.4% below league average.

Career SLG .168 vs. league average .392 across their career seasons — 57.1% below league average.

Career OPS .356 vs. league average .724 across their career seasons — 50.8% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Harry Byrd — Season-by-Season Batting
Year Team Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG Lg AVG Lg OBP Lg SLG Lg OPS PIV
1950 PHA AL 6 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000 — — — — 0.0
1952 PHA AL 37 75 4 10 2 0 0 2 0 3 21 .133 .252 (-47%) .326 (-49%) .369 (-57%) .696 (-53%) -624.2
1953 PHA AL 40 81 9 18 0 0 0 6 0 1 13 .222 .264 (-16%) .335 (-31%) .397 (-44%) .733 (-38%) -497.0
1954 NYA AL 25 46 1 9 0 0 0 5 0 4 10 .196 — — — — -260.4
1955 BAL AL 14 19 0 3 0 0 0 1 1 1 6 .158 — — — — 0.0
1955 CHA AL 25 30 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 7 .067 — — — — 0.0
1956 CHA AL 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1957 DET AL 37 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 .000 — — — — 0.0
Career · 8 seasons 187 262 16 42 2 0 0 14 1 9 60 .160 — — — — -1,382

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 (374 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Harry Byrd — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home8310681604.151
Away104156826010.167

Pitching — Home / Away

Harry Byrd — Pitching — Home / Away
SplitGIPHERBBSOERA
Home83368.24001971571774.81
Away104459.04902031982043.98

Last 10 Games — Batting

Harry Byrd — Last 10 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1957-09-27 DETKC1L 100000000
1957-09-22 DETKC1L 000000000
1957-09-21 DETKC1L 000000000
1957-09-18 DETNYYL 000000000
1957-09-14 DETBALW 000000000
1957-09-14 DETBALL 000000000
1957-09-12 DETMINW 000000000
1957-09-02 DETCHWL 100000000
1957-08-31 DETCLEW 100000001
1957-08-29 DETBOSL 000000000

Last 10 Games — Pitching

Harry Byrd — Last 10 Games — Pitching
DateTmOppDecIPHRERBBSOHR
1957-09-27 DETKC1 L 3.2310200
1957-09-22 DETKC1 L 1.0311100
1957-09-21 DETKC1 — 1.0100010
1957-09-18 DETNYY — 1.0000100
1957-09-14 DETBAL — 1.0000000
1957-09-14 DETBAL — 1.0000000
1957-09-12 DETMIN SV 2.0000010
1957-09-02 DETCHW — 3.0211311
1957-08-31 DETCLE — 2.1200210
1957-08-29 DETBOS — 0.1122100

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Harry Byrd — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
P 187 43 46 126 9 8

Season-by-Season Fielding

Harry Byrd — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1950 PHA P 6 0 0 2 0 0
1952 PHA P 37 0 26 32 4 5
1953 PHA P 40 0 6 35 2 1
1954 NYA P 25 21 5 21 2 2
1955 BAL P 14 8 4 8 0 0
1955 CHA P 25 12 5 16 1 0
1956 CHA P 3 1 0 2 0 0
1957 DET P 37 1 0 10 0 0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Harry Byrd — Career Games by Position
Position Games
Pitcher 187

Awards & Honors

Harry Byrd — Awards & Honors
Year Award Notes
1952 Rookie of the Year

Award Voting History

Harry Byrd — Award Voting History
Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
1952 Rookie of the Year AL 1st 9.0 24 9

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Harry Byrd (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Harry Perkowski
    33-40, 4.37 ERA
  2. 97
    Carl Fischer
    46-50, 4.63 ERA
  3. 95
    Doug McWeeny
    37-57, 4.17 ERA
  4. 94
    Ed Morris
    42-45, 4.19 ERA
  5. 93
    Bob McClure
    56-48, 4.35 ERA
  6. 90
    Jerry Walker
    37-44, 4.36 ERA

Harry Byrd: the record in brief

Between the debut on April 21, 1950 and the final game on September 27, 1957, Harry Byrd built the record summarized on this page. Byrd played for the Philadelphia Athletics (1950 to 1953), the New York Yankees (1954), the Baltimore Orioles (1955), the Chicago White Sox (1955 through 1956), and the Detroit Tigers (1957). Born on February 3, 1925, in Darlington, SC, USA, Byrd is listed as a pitcher and both batted and threw right-handed. The bio gives 6 feet, 1 inch and 188 pounds. Byrd's death is recorded on May 14, 1985, in Darlington, SC, USA. Byrd's full given name, per the bio, is Harry Gladwin Byrd.

The pitching table credits Byrd with a 46-54 record and a 4.35 ERA in 187 games. Byrd had 381 strikeouts, 33 complete games, and 8 shutouts. Against a 3.98 league ERA for the same seasons, the 4.35 mark was 9.2% worse. The best win total was 15, in 1952. Byrd struck out 122 batters in 1953, a career high.

Frequently Asked Questions about Harry Byrd

What years did Harry Byrd play?
Harry Byrd played in Major League Baseball from 1950 to 1957.
Was Harry Byrd a pitcher?
Yes. Harry Byrd pitched in the major leagues, recording 46 wins and 381 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Harry Byrd hit?
Harry Byrd hit 0 career home runs with 42 hits.
What was Harry Byrd's career batting average?
Harry Byrd batted .160 over his career, with 42 hits in 262 at bats.
How many RBI did Harry Byrd have?
Harry Byrd drove in 14 runs in his career.
What was Harry Byrd's career ERA?
Harry Byrd finished with a 4.35 career ERA, going 46-54 with 381 strikeouts.