What years did Don Carlsen play?

Don Carlsen played in Major League Baseball from 1948 to 1952.

Was Don Carlsen a pitcher?

Yes. Don Carlsen pitched in the major leagues, recording 2 wins and 23 strikeouts.

How many home runs did Don Carlsen hit?

Don Carlsen hit 0 career home runs with 5 hits.

What teams did Don Carlsen play for?

Don Carlsen played for 2 teams: the Chicago Cubs (1948) and the Pittsburgh Pirates (1951–1952).

What were Don Carlsen's career stats?

In 13 games, Don Carlsen went 2-4 with a 6.00 ERA, 23 strikeouts, and 54.0 innings pitched.

What position did Don Carlsen play?

Don Carlsen played primarily as a pitcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.

How tall was Don Carlsen and how much did he weigh?

Don Carlsen was listed at 6 feet 1 inch and 175 pounds.

What was Don Carlsen's career ERA?

Don Carlsen finished with a 6.00 career ERA, going 2-4 with 23 strikeouts.

How many strikeouts did Don Carlsen have?

Don Carlsen recorded 23 career strikeouts.

Is Don Carlsen in the Hall of Fame?

No. Don Carlsen has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

Don Carlsen

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1948-1952)

Don Carlsen was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1948 to 1952 for the Chicago Cubs and the Pittsburgh Pirates, a span of 5 seasons. Across 13 career appearances, he went 2-4 with a 6.00 ERA and 23 strikeouts.

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 October 15, 2026

W–L 2–4

ERA 6.00

WHIP 1.78

SO 23

Pitcher PIV -17.0

Position: Pitcher
Bats / Throws: R / R
Height / Weight: 6'1" / 175 lb
Born: 10/15/1926 in Chicago, IL, USA
Died: 9/22/2002 in Denver, CO, USA
MLB Debut: 1948-04-28
Last Game: 1952-05-24

Full name: Donald Herbert Carlsen

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Career Pitching Statistics

Don Carlsen — Career Pitching Statistics
W	L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	SO	ERA	Pitcher PIV
2	4	13	7	2	0	0	54.0	75	36	5	21	23	6.00	-17.0

Career ERA 6.00 vs. league average 3.96 across their career seasons — 51.7% worse than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Don Carlsen — Season-by-Season Pitching
Year	Team	Lg	W	L	G	GS	CG	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA	Lg ERA	Pitcher PIV
1948	CHN	NL	0	0	1	0	0	1.0	5	4	2	1	36.00	—	0.0
1951	PIT	NL	2	3	7	6	2	43.0	50	20	14	20	4.19	4.04 (-4%)	255.0
1952	PIT	NL	0	1	5	1	0	10.0	20	12	5	2	10.80	3.70 (-192%)	-272.0
Career · 3 seasons			2	4	13	7	2	54.0	75	36	21	23	6.00	—	-17

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

Don Carlsen — Career Batting Statistics
G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	PIV
13	19	1	5	0	0	0	1	0	0	1	.263	.263	.263	.526	0

Career AVG .263 vs. league average .259 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career OBP .263 vs. league average .335 across their career seasons — 21.4% below league average.

Career SLG .263 vs. league average .378 across their career seasons — 30.4% below league average.

Career OPS .526 vs. league average .713 across their career seasons — 26.2% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Don Carlsen — Season-by-Season Batting
Year	Team	Lg	G	AB	R	H	RBI	SO	AVG	Lg AVG	Lg OBP	Lg SLG	Lg OPS	PIV
1948	CHN	NL	1	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1951	PIT	NL	7	16	1	4	1	1	.250	—	—	—	—	0.0
1952	PIT	NL	5	3	0	1	0	0	.333	—	—	—	—	0.0
Career · 3 seasons			13	19	1	5	1	1	.263	—	—	—	—	0

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 (26 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Don Carlsen — Batting — Home / Away
Split	G	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	AVG
Home	8	9	0	2	0	0	.222
Away	5	9	1	3	0	1	.333

Pitching — Home / Away

Don Carlsen — Pitching — Home / Away
Split	G	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
Home	8	32.0	45	25	13	14	7.03
Away	5	22.0	30	11	8	9	4.50

Last 10 Games — Batting

Don Carlsen — Last 10 Games — Batting
Date	Tm	Opp	Res	AB	H	RBI
1952-05-24	PIT	CHC	L	1	1	0
1952-05-17	PIT	BRO	L	1	0	0
1952-05-06	PIT	PHI	L	1	0	0
1952-04-22	PIT	CHC	L	0	0	0
1952-04-20	PIT	CIN	L	0	0	0
1951-09-16	PIT	NY1	L	1	0	0
1951-09-11	PIT	PHI	L	3	0	0
1951-09-07	PIT	STL	L	0	0	0
1951-09-03	PIT	CHC	L	0	0	0
1951-09-01	PIT	STL	L	3	1	1

Last 10 Games — Pitching

Don Carlsen — Last 10 Games — Pitching
Date	Tm	Opp	Dec	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR
1952-05-24	PIT	CHC	—	1.0	4	3	3	0	0	0
1952-05-17	PIT	BRO	—	2.0	2	0	0	0	0	0
1952-05-06	PIT	PHI	L	5.0	8	4	4	4	2	1
1952-04-22	PIT	CHC	—	0.0	2	3	2	0	0	0
1952-04-20	PIT	CIN	—	2.0	4	3	3	1	0	0
1951-09-16	PIT	NY1	—	4.0	6	2	2	2	3	1
1951-09-11	PIT	PHI	L	8.1	6	3	3	0	3	1
1951-09-07	PIT	STL	L	2.2	7	7	6	4	1	1
1951-09-03	PIT	CHC	—	0.0	3	2	2	0	0	0
1951-09-01	PIT	STL	L	7.0	10	4	4	2	3	1

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Don Carlsen — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
P	13	0	1	12	2	2

Season-by-Season Fielding

Don Carlsen — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year	Team	Pos	G	PO	A	E	DP
1948	CHN	P	1	0	0	0	0
1951	PIT	P	7	1	6	2	1
1952	PIT	P	5	0	6	0	1

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Don Carlsen — Career Games by Position
Position	Games
Pitcher	13

Don Carlsen: the record in brief

According to the bio, Don Carlsen debuted on April 28, 1948 and played a final game on May 24, 1952. The season rows list, in order, the Chicago Cubs (1948) and the Pittsburgh Pirates (1951 through 1952). Carlsen is listed as a pitcher at 175 pounds on a 6-foot-1 frame. Carlsen both batted and threw right-handed, per the bio block. Carlsen was born on October 15, 1926, in Chicago, IL, USA. Carlsen's death is recorded on September 22, 2002, in Denver, CO, USA. Don Carlsen was the playing name; the full given name is Donald Herbert.

Carlsen pitched in 13 games, starting 7, and finished with a 2-4 record and 6.00 ERA. Carlsen had 23 strikeouts. The league ERA over Carlsen's seasons was 3.96, so the 6.00 figure ran 51.7% worse than average. 1951 was Carlsen's sharpest full season, a 4.19 ERA against the league's 4.04.

The position breakdown shows 13 games, all at pitcher. The fielding table credits Carlsen with 1 putouts, 12 assists and 2 errors on the mound.

Frequently Asked Questions about Don Carlsen

What years did Don Carlsen play?: Don Carlsen played in Major League Baseball from 1948 to 1952.
Was Don Carlsen a pitcher?: Yes. Don Carlsen pitched in the major leagues, recording 2 wins and 23 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Don Carlsen hit?: Don Carlsen hit 0 career home runs with 5 hits.
What teams did Don Carlsen play for?: Don Carlsen played for 2 teams: the Chicago Cubs (1948) and the Pittsburgh Pirates (1951–1952).
What were Don Carlsen's career stats?: In 13 games, Don Carlsen went 2-4 with a 6.00 ERA, 23 strikeouts, and 54.0 innings pitched.
What position did Don Carlsen play?: Don Carlsen played primarily as a pitcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.
How tall was Don Carlsen and how much did he weigh?: Don Carlsen was listed at 6 feet 1 inch and 175 pounds.
What was Don Carlsen's career ERA?: Don Carlsen finished with a 6.00 career ERA, going 2-4 with 23 strikeouts.
How many strikeouts did Don Carlsen have?: Don Carlsen recorded 23 career strikeouts.
Is Don Carlsen in the Hall of Fame?: No. Don Carlsen has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.