Tommy Byrne

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1943-1957)

Tommy Byrne was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1943 to 1957 for 4 teams, including the New York Yankees, a span of 15 seasons. Across 281 career appearances, he went 85-69 with a 4.11 ERA and 766 strikeouts. He also batted .238 with 14 home runs. Tommy Byrne was an All-Star.

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 85–69
ERA 4.11
WHIP 1.60
SO 766
Pitcher PIV -25317.4
Position
Pitcher
Bats / Throws
L / L
Height / Weight
6'1" / 182 lb
Born
12/31/1919 in Baltimore, MD, USA
Died
12/20/2007 in Wake Forest, NC, USA
MLB Debut
1943-04-27
Last Game
1957-09-21
Awards
All-Star

Full name: Thomas Joseph Byrne

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Career Pitching Statistics

Tommy Byrne — Career Pitching Statistics
W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
85 69 281 170 65 12 12 1362.0 1,138 622 98 1,037 766 4.11 -25317.4

Career ERA 4.11 vs. league average 3.93 across their career seasons — near league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Tommy Byrne Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year Team Lg W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER BB SO ERA Lg ERA Pitcher PIV
1943 NYA AL 2 1 11 2 0 0 0 31.2 28 23 35 22 6.54 3.50 (-87%) -1400.9
1946 NYA AL 0 1 4 1 0 0 0 9.1 7 6 8 5 5.79 3.59 (-61%) 0.0
1947 NYA AL 0 0 4 1 0 0 0 4.1 5 2 6 2 4.15 — 0.0
1948 NYA AL 8 5 31 11 5 1 2 133.2 79 49 101 93 3.30 4.10 (+20%) -1756.6
1949 NYA AL 15 7 32 30 12 3 0 196.0 125 81 179 129 3.72 4.12 (+10%) -3651.2
1950 NYA AL 15 9 31 31 10 2 0 203.1 188 107 160 118 4.74 4.36 (-9%) -5828.6
1951 NYA AL 2 1 9 3 0 0 0 21.0 16 16 36 14 6.86 4.04 (-70%) -1405.7
1951 SLA AL 4 10 19 17 7 2 0 122.2 104 52 114 57 3.82 4.04 (+6%) -3439.2
1952 SLA AL 7 14 29 24 14 0 0 196.0 182 102 112 91 4.68 3.70 (-26%) -3371.0
1953 CHA AL 2 0 6 6 0 0 0 16.0 18 18 26 4 10.12 4.14 (-145%) -1131.5
1953 WS1 AL 0 5 6 5 2 0 0 33.2 35 16 22 22 4.28 4.14 (-3%) -298.6
1954 NYA AL 3 2 5 5 4 1 0 40.0 36 12 19 24 2.70 3.90 (+31%) 957.5
1955 NYA AL 16 5 27 22 9 3 2 160.0 137 56 87 76 3.15 4.00 (+21%) -628.4
1956 NYA AL 7 3 37 8 1 0 6 109.2 108 41 72 52 3.36 3.96 (+15%) -1501.6
1957 NYA AL 4 6 30 4 1 0 2 84.2 70 41 60 57 4.36 3.83 (-14%) -1861.5
Career · 15 seasons 85 69 281 170 65 12 12 1,362.0 1,138 622 1,037 766 4.11 — -25,317

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

Tommy Byrne — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
377 601 73 143 26 8 14 98 1 38 126 .238 .286 .378 .663 -870

Career AVG .238 vs. league average .260 across their career seasons — 8.5% below league average.

Career OBP .286 vs. league average .334 across their career seasons — 14.4% below league average.

Career SLG .378 vs. league average .381 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career OPS .663 vs. league average .715 across their career seasons — 7.2% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Tommy Byrne 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
1943 NYA AL 13 11 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 3 .091 — — — — 0.0
1946 NYA AL 14 9 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 .222 — — — — 0.0
1947 NYA AL 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1948 NYA AL 31 46 8 15 3 1 1 7 0 1 7 .326 — — — — 0.0
1949 NYA AL 35 83 8 16 4 2 0 13 0 2 20 .193 .262 (-27%) .343 (-38%) .384 (-25%) .727 (-31%) -457.1
1950 NYA AL 34 81 14 22 3 1 2 16 1 4 15 .272 .265 (+2%) .346 (-7%) .401 (+1%) .747 (-2%) -48.5
1951 NYA AL 9 9 2 2 0 0 1 3 0 0 2 .222 — — — — 0.0
1951 SLA AL 34 57 7 16 3 0 1 12 0 4 8 .281 .260 (+8%) .336 (-3%) .385 (avg) .721 (-1%) 0.0
1952 SLA AL 40 84 9 21 5 1 1 12 0 5 18 .250 .252 (-1%) .326 (-11%) .369 (avg) .696 (-5%) -93.0
1953 CHA AL 18 18 2 3 0 0 1 5 0 2 6 .167 — — — — 0.0
1953 WS1 AL 14 17 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 3 7 .059 — — — — 0.0
1954 NYA AL 7 19 2 7 4 1 0 6 0 0 3 .368 — — — — 0.0
1955 NYA AL 45 78 6 16 1 1 1 6 0 8 15 .205 .258 (-21%) .332 (-18%) .393 (-28%) .726 (-24%) -311.7
1956 NYA AL 44 52 8 14 1 1 3 10 0 2 11 .269 .258 (+4%) .331 (-11%) .397 (+26%) .728 (+9%) 58.0
1957 NYA AL 35 37 5 7 2 0 3 8 0 3 11 .189 — — — — 0.0
Career · 15 seasons 377 601 73 143 26 8 14 98 1 38 126 .238 — — — — -852

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

Tommy Byrne — Playoff Career Batting
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
8 10 0 3 0 0 0 2 0 3 .300

Playoff Batting by Year

Tommy Byrne — Playoff Batting by Year
Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1957 WS NYA 2 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .500
1956 WS NYA 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1955 WS NYA 3 6 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 2 .167
1949 WS NYA 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.000

Playoff Career Pitching

Tommy Byrne — Playoff Career Pitching
W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
1 1 6 3 0 21.1 12 6 12 11 2.53

Playoff Pitching by Year

Tommy Byrne — Playoff Pitching by Year
Year Round Team W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
1957 WS NYA 0 0 2 0 0 3.1 1 2 2 1 5.40
1956 WS NYA 0 0 1 0 0 0.1 1 0 0 1 0.00
1955 WS NYA 1 1 2 2 0 14.1 8 3 8 8 1.88
1949 WS NYA 0 0 1 1 0 3.1 2 1 2 1 2.70

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (658 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Tommy Byrne — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home1813073771541.231
Away1962943672957.245

Pitching — Home / Away

Tommy Byrne — Pitching — Home / Away
SplitGIPHERBBSOERA
Home130723.15863155114183.92
Away151638.25523105263504.37

Last 10 Games — Batting

Tommy Byrne — Last 10 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1957-09-21 NYYBOSL 300000001
1957-09-15 NYYKC1W 111001300
1957-09-04 NYYBOSL 100000001
1957-08-31 NYYMINL 100000000
1957-08-26 NYYDETL 000000000
1957-08-23 NYYCLEL 000000010
1957-08-16 NYYBALL 000000000
1957-08-10 NYYBALW 000000000
1957-08-09 NYYBALL 101000000
1957-08-07 NYYMINL 100000000

Last 10 Games — Pitching

Tommy Byrne — Last 10 Games — Pitching
DateTmOppDecIPHRERBBSOHR
1957-09-21 NYYBOS — 5.0311750
1957-09-04 NYYBOS L 2.0222011
1957-08-31 NYYMIN — 1.0200010
1957-08-26 NYYDET L 0.1133201
1957-08-23 NYYCLE — 0.2200010
1957-08-16 NYYBAL — 2.2000330
1957-08-10 NYYBAL SV 0.1000100
1957-08-04 NYYCLE — 5.0644650
1957-07-28 NYYDET — 7.0922051
1957-07-26 NYYDET — 1.0000120

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Tommy Byrne — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
P 281 39 59 173 14 19

Season-by-Season Fielding

Tommy Byrne — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1943 NYA P 11 0 2 8 1 0
1946 NYA P 4 0 1 2 0 0
1947 NYA P 4 0 0 1 0 0
1948 NYA P 31 0 2 17 0 2
1949 NYA P 32 0 7 19 3 4
1950 NYA P 31 0 9 23 0 2
1951 NYA P 9 0 1 2 0 0
1951 SLA P 19 0 5 18 1 2
1952 SLA P 29 0 10 15 2 1
1953 CHA P 6 0 3 3 0 0
1953 WS1 P 6 0 1 8 2 0
1954 NYA P 5 5 0 8 1 1
1955 NYA P 27 22 4 22 2 3
1956 NYA P 37 8 8 18 1 4
1957 NYA P 30 4 6 9 1 0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Tommy Byrne Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position Games
Pitcher 281

College History

Tommy Byrne — College History
School Name City State Years Attended
Wake Forest University Winston-Salem NC 1938, 1939, 1940

Award Voting History

Tommy Byrne — Award Voting History
Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
1955 Most Valuable Player AL 14th 24.0 336 0

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Tommy Byrne (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Mickey McDermott
    69-69, 3.91 ERA
  2. 83
    Ken Chase
    53-84, 4.27 ERA
  3. 75
    Walt Masterson
    78-100, 4.15 ERA
  4. 75
    Bob Turley
    101-85, 3.64 ERA
  5. 73
    Lou Kretlow
    27-47, 4.87 ERA
  6. 71
    Jack Wilson
    68-72, 4.59 ERA

Tommy Byrne: the record in brief

Tommy Byrne's major league career runs from a debut on April 27, 1943 to a final game on September 21, 1957. The season rows list, in order, the New York Yankees (1943 to 1957), the St. Louis Browns (1951 to 1952), the Chicago White Sox (1953), and the Washington Senators (1953). Byrne is listed as a pitcher at 6 feet, 1 inch and 182 pounds. Byrne threw and hit left-handed, per the bio block. Byrne was born on December 31, 1919, in Baltimore, MD, USA. Byrne's death is recorded on December 20, 2007, in Wake Forest, NC, USA. The bio lists the given name Thomas Joseph.

The pitching table credits Byrne with a 85-69 record and a 4.11 ERA in 281 games. The same table counts 766 strikeouts, 65 complete games, 12 shutouts, and 12 saves. Byrne's 4.11 ERA was close to the 3.93 league figure for those seasons. 1955 brought Byrne a season-high 16 wins. Byrne struck out 129 batters in 1949, a career high.

Frequently Asked Questions about Tommy Byrne

What years did Tommy Byrne play?
Tommy Byrne played in Major League Baseball from 1943 to 1957.
Was Tommy Byrne a pitcher?
Yes. Tommy Byrne pitched in the major leagues, recording 85 wins and 766 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Tommy Byrne hit?
Tommy Byrne hit 14 career home runs with 143 hits.
What teams did Tommy Byrne play for?
Tommy Byrne played for 4 teams: the New York Yankees (1943, 1946–1951, 1954–1957), the St. Louis Browns (1951–1952), the Chicago White Sox (1953), and the Washington Senators (1953).
Did Tommy Byrne win a Cy Young Award?
No. Tommy Byrne did not win the Cy Young Award.
What awards did Tommy Byrne win?
Tommy Byrne was selected to 1 All-Star Game.
What were Tommy Byrne's career stats?
In 281 games, Tommy Byrne went 85-69 with a 4.11 ERA, 766 strikeouts, 1,362.0 innings pitched, and 12 saves. At the plate he had 143 hits and 14 home runs.
What position did Tommy Byrne play?
Tommy Byrne played primarily as a pitcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.
How tall was Tommy Byrne and how much did he weigh?
Tommy Byrne was listed at 6 feet 1 inch and 182 pounds.
What was Tommy Byrne's career ERA?
Tommy Byrne finished with a 4.11 career ERA, going 85-69 with 766 strikeouts.
How many strikeouts did Tommy Byrne have?
Tommy Byrne recorded 766 career strikeouts.
Is Tommy Byrne in the Hall of Fame?
No. Tommy Byrne has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
How many All-Star Games did Tommy Byrne make?
Tommy Byrne was selected to 1 All-Star Game.