Earl Caldwell
Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1928-1948)
Earl Caldwell was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1928 to 1948 for 4 teams, including the Philadelphia Phillies, a span of 21 seasons. Across 200 career appearances, he went 33-43 with a 4.69 ERA, 202 strikeouts, and 25 saves.
- 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
- Position
- Pitcher
- Bats / Throws
- R / R
- Height / Weight
- 6'1" / 178 lb
- Died
- 9/15/1981 in Mission, TX, USA
- MLB Debut
- 1928-09-08
- Last Game
- 1948-09-15
Full name: Earl Welton Caldwell
Season-by-Season Pitching
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1928 | PHI | NL | 1 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 34.2 | 46 | 22 | 17 | 6 | 5.71 | 4.13 (-38%) | -1698.9 |
| 1935 | SLA | AL | 3 | 2 | 6 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 36.2 | 34 | 15 | 17 | 5 | 3.68 | 4.35 (+15%) | -614.6 |
| 1936 | SLA | AL | 7 | 16 | 41 | 25 | 10 | 2 | 2 | 189.0 | 252 | 126 | 83 | 59 | 6.00 | 4.59 (-31%) | -3467.4 |
| 1937 | SLA | AL | 0 | 0 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 29.0 | 39 | 22 | 13 | 8 | 6.83 | 4.34 (-57%) | -876.5 |
| 1945 | CHA | AL | 6 | 7 | 27 | 11 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 105.1 | 108 | 42 | 37 | 45 | 3.59 | 3.67 (+2%) | -849.0 |
| 1946 | CHA | AL | 13 | 4 | 39 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 90.2 | 60 | 21 | 29 | 42 | 2.08 | 3.59 (+42%) | 1505.9 |
| 1947 | CHA | AL | 1 | 4 | 40 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 54.1 | 53 | 22 | 30 | 22 | 3.64 | 3.97 (+8%) | -792.3 |
| 1948 | CHA | AL | 1 | 5 | 25 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 39.0 | 53 | 23 | 22 | 10 | 5.31 | 4.10 (-29%) | -978.5 |
| 1948 | BOS | AL | 1 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9.0 | 11 | 13 | 11 | 5 | 13.00 | 4.10 (-217%) | 0.0 |
| Career · 9 seasons | 33 | 43 | 200 | 49 | 18 | 5 | 25 | 587.2 | 656 | 306 | 259 | 202 | 4.69 | — | -7,771 | ||
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 200 | 157 | 14 | 28 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 16 | 0 | 8 | 43 | .178 | .218 | .223 | .441 | -398 |
Career AVG .178 vs. league average .271 across their career seasons — 34.1% below league average.
Career OBP .218 vs. league average .339 across their career seasons — 35.6% below league average.
Career SLG .223 vs. league average .383 across their career seasons — 41.9% below league average.
Career OPS .441 vs. league average .723 across their career seasons — 38.9% below league average.
Season-by-Season Batting
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1928 | PHI | NL | 5 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .111 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1935 | SLA | AL | 6 | 11 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | .182 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1936 | SLA | AL | 41 | 58 | 5 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 16 | .190 | .283 (-33%) | .349 (-46%) | .404 (-36%) | .753 (-41%) | -397.9 |
| 1937 | SLA | AL | 9 | 9 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | .222 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1945 | CHA | AL | 27 | 37 | 4 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 8 | .216 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1946 | CHA | AL | 39 | 18 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 4 | .167 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1947 | CHA | AL | 40 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1948 | CHA | AL | 25 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1948 | BOS | AL | 8 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .333 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| Career · 9 seasons | 200 | 157 | 14 | 28 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 16 | 0 | 8 | 43 | .178 | — | — | — | — | -398 | ||
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 (400 games) →Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).
Batting — Home / Away
| Split | G | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 100 | 75 | 7 | 13 | 0 | 9 | .173 |
| Away | 100 | 82 | 7 | 15 | 1 | 6 | .183 |
Pitching — Home / Away
| Split | G | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 100 | 315.0 | 346 | 148 | 127 | 107 | 4.23 |
| Away | 100 | 272.1 | 308 | 155 | 132 | 90 | 5.12 |
Last 10 Games — Batting
| Date | Tm | Opp | Res | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1948-09-15 | BOS | CHW | L | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1948-09-10 | BOS | NYY | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1948-08-29 | BOS | SLA | L | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1948-08-24 | BOS | CLE | W | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1948-08-21 | BOS | MIN | W | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1948-08-19 | BOS | PHA | L | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1948-08-07 | BOS | CHW | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1948-07-31 | BOS | CLE | L | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1948-07-24 | CHW | NYY | W | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1948-07-24 | CHW | NYY | L | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Last 10 Games — Pitching
| Date | Tm | Opp | Dec | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1948-09-15 | BOS | CHW | — | 0.2 | 3 | 6 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 1 |
| 1948-09-10 | BOS | NYY | L | 1.2 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| 1948-08-29 | BOS | SLA | — | 2.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| 1948-08-24 | BOS | CLE | W | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1948-08-21 | BOS | MIN | — | 0.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1948-08-19 | BOS | PHA | — | 0.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1948-08-07 | BOS | CHW | — | 2.1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| 1948-07-31 | BOS | CLE | — | 0.2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1948-07-24 | CHW | NYY | SV | 1.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1948-07-24 | CHW | NYY | — | 3.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Fielding Statistics
Career Fielding Totals by Position
Season-by-Season Fielding
Career Games by Position
Circle size = games played at each position.
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| Pitcher | 200 |
Award Voting History
| Year | Award | League | Finish | Points Won | Points Max | Votes First |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1946 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 14th | 18.0 | 336 | 0 |
Most Similar Players
Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.
Earl Caldwell (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.
Earl Caldwell: the record in brief
Between the debut on September 8, 1928 and the final game on September 15, 1948, Earl Caldwell built the record summarized on this page. Club by club, the record runs the Philadelphia Phillies (1928), the St. Louis Browns (1935 to 1937), the Chicago White Sox (1945 through 1948), and the Boston Red Sox (1948). Caldwell, born on April 9, 1905, in Sparks, TX, USA, is listed as a pitcher and threw and hit right-handed. The bio gives 6 feet, 1 inch and 178 pounds. The bio records the death on September 15, 1981, in Mission, TX, USA. The given name on file is Earl Welton Caldwell.
Caldwell pitched in 200 games, starting 49, and finished with a 33-43 record and 4.69 ERA. Caldwell had 202 strikeouts, 18 complete games, 5 shutouts, and 25 saves. Against a 4.09 league ERA for the same seasons, the 4.69 mark was 14.6% worse. 1946 brought Caldwell a season-high 13 wins. The strikeout high was 59 in 1936.
Frequently Asked Questions about Earl Caldwell
- What years did Earl Caldwell play?
- Earl Caldwell played in Major League Baseball from 1928 to 1948.
- Was Earl Caldwell a pitcher?
- Yes. Earl Caldwell pitched in the major leagues, recording 33 wins and 202 strikeouts.
- How many home runs did Earl Caldwell hit?
- Earl Caldwell hit 1 career home run with 28 hits.
- What teams did Earl Caldwell play for?
- Earl Caldwell played for 4 teams: the Philadelphia Phillies (1928), the St. Louis Browns (1935–1937), the Chicago White Sox (1945–1948), and the Boston Red Sox (1948).
- What were Earl Caldwell's career stats?
- In 200 games, Earl Caldwell went 33-43 with a 4.69 ERA, 202 strikeouts, 587.2 innings pitched, and 25 saves.
- What position did Earl Caldwell play?
- Earl Caldwell played primarily as a pitcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.
- How tall was Earl Caldwell and how much did he weigh?
- Earl Caldwell was listed at 6 feet 1 inch and 178 pounds.
- What was Earl Caldwell's career ERA?
- Earl Caldwell finished with a 4.69 career ERA, going 33-43 with 202 strikeouts.
- How many strikeouts did Earl Caldwell have?
- Earl Caldwell recorded 202 career strikeouts.
- Is Earl Caldwell in the Hall of Fame?
- No. Earl Caldwell has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.