Cliff Carter

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records

Cliff Carter was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball for 7 teams, including the Baltimore Black Sox. Across 72 career appearances, he went 31-28 with a 4.79 ERA and 186 strikeouts. His totals include Negro Leagues seasons, which MLB recognized as major league in 2020. His career Pitcher PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of pitching impact — is 1421.6.

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 31–28
ERA 4.79
WHIP 1.51
SO 186
Pitcher PIV 1421.6
Position
Pitcher
Bats / Throws
— / R
Height / Weight
6'0" / 210 lb
Born
12/10/1898 in Lewistown, PA, USA
Died
11/16/1979 in Philadelphia, PA, USA

Full name: Clifford Carter

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Negro Leagues Career Statistics

Batting

Cliff Carter — Batting
PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB BA OBP SLG OPS
4.0 4.0 1.0 2.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .500 .500 .500 1.000

Pitching

Cliff Carter — Pitching
W L GS CG GF SV IP H R ER HR BB SO ERA WHIP
1 0 1 1 0 0 9.0 7 2 0 0 7 0 0.00 1.56

Career Pitching Statistics

Cliff Carter — Career Pitching Statistics
W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
31 28 72 56 39 2 0 449.0 500 239 16 176 186 4.79 1421.6

Career ERA 4.79 vs. league average 4.22 across their career seasons — 13.6% worse than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Cliff Carter Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year Team Lg W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER BB SO ERA Lg ERA Pitcher PIV
1923 BBS ECL 3 6 11 8 3 0 0 58.2 74 33 17 22 5.06 4.03 (-26%) 420.3
1923 ACB ECL 0 1 1 1 1 0 0 5.0 2 1 3 4 1.80 — 0.0
1924 ACB ECL 1 0 2 0 0 0 0 7.1 9 6 2 3 7.36 — 0.0
1926 HBG ECL 4 3 7 6 3 0 0 41.2 57 39 26 25 8.42 4.11 (-105%) -744.1
1927 HBG ECL 13 8 26 20 17 0 0 171.0 173 70 69 60 3.68 4.08 (+10%) -32.7
1928 PTG ECL 1 1 3 2 1 0 0 16.2 22 14 4 15 7.56 4.13 (-83%) 735.9
1929 HIL ANL 2 3 7 6 3 1 0 38.0 51 24 14 14 5.68 4.60 (-24%) -531.7
1930 HIL IND 0 1 2 1 1 0 0 7.2 13 9 5 1 10.57 — 0.0
1932 HIL EWL 3 2 5 5 5 0 0 45.0 42 17 15 18 3.40 4.13 (+18%) 504.4
1933 PS IND 2 2 5 4 3 0 0 36.2 43 21 12 14 5.15 3.86 (-34%) 671.5
1934 PBG NN2 2 1 3 3 2 1 0 21.1 14 5 9 10 2.11 4.29 (+51%) 398.0
Career · 11 seasons 31 28 72 56 39 2 0 449.0 500 239 176 186 4.79 — 1,422

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

Cliff Carter — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
85 192 24 54 7 0 0 9 0 13 4 .281 .327 .318 .645 -251

Career AVG .281 vs. league average .282 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career OBP .327 vs. league average .344 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career SLG .318 vs. league average .397 across their career seasons — 19.9% below league average.

Career OPS .645 vs. league average .741 across their career seasons — 13.0% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Cliff Carter 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
1923 BBS ECL 11 21 1 3 1 0 0 0 0 2 1 .143 — — — — 0.0
1923 ACB ECL 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000 — — — — 0.0
1924 ACB ECL 2 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1926 HBG ECL 9 23 4 10 2 0 0 2 0 1 2 .435 — — — — 0.0
1927 HBG ECL 35 82 8 22 4 0 0 5 0 2 0 .268 .282 (-5%) .344 (-17%) .392 (-19%) .736 (-18%) -251.3
1928 PTG ECL 4 7 2 3 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 .429 — — — — 0.0
1929 HIL ANL 7 11 1 3 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 .273 — — — — 0.0
1930 HIL IND 2 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1932 HIL EWL 6 23 3 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .261 — — — — 0.0
1933 PS IND 5 13 1 4 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 .308 — — — — 0.0
1934 PBG NN2 3 6 2 3 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 .500 — — — — 0.0
Career · 11 seasons 85 192 24 54 7 0 0 9 0 13 4 .281 — — — — -251

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.

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Cliff Carter — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
OF 3 1 1 0 0 0
P 72 56 3 109 15 2

Season-by-Season Fielding

Cliff Carter — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1923 BBS P 11 8 2 10 1 1
1923 ACB P 1 1 0 0 0 0
1924 ACB P 2 0 0 1 0 0
1926 HBG OF 1 0 0 0 0 0
1926 HBG P 7 6 0 8 7 0
1927 HBG OF 1 0 0 0 0 0
1927 HBG P 26 20 0 38 4 0
1928 PTG P 3 2 0 7 1 0
1929 HIL P 7 6 1 3 0 0
1930 HIL P 2 1 0 6 0 0
1932 HIL OF 1 1 1 0 0 0
1932 HIL P 5 5 0 17 1 0
1933 PS P 5 4 0 11 1 1
1934 PBG P 3 3 0 8 0 0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Cliff Carter Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position Games
Pitcher 72
Left Field 1
Center Field 1
Right Field 1

Most Similar Players

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

  1. 98
    Malvin Powell
    22-17, 4.83 ERA
  2. 95
    Don August
    34-30, 4.64 ERA
  3. 95
    Bob Sykes
    23-26, 4.65 ERA
  4. 95
    Ray Bare
    16-26, 4.79 ERA
  5. 90
    Johnny Babich
    30-45, 4.93 ERA
  6. 90
    Theolic Smith
    17-27, 4.95 ERA

Cliff Carter: the record in brief

Cliff Carter's record on this page is drawn from the season tables, which run from 1923 to 1934. Carter played for the Baltimore Black Sox (1923), the Atlantic City Bacharach Giants (1923 through 1924), the Harrisburg Giants (1926 through 1927), the Philadelphia Tigers (1928), the Hilldale Club (1929 through 1932), the Philadelphia Stars (1933), and the Philadelphia Bacharach Giants (1934). At 6'0" and 210 pounds, Carter is listed as a pitcher. The recorded birth is December 10, 1898, in Lewistown, PA, USA. The bio records the death on November 16, 1979, in Philadelphia, PA, USA. Carter's full given name, per the bio, is Clifford Carter.

Carter went 31-28 with a 4.79 ERA in 72 games, 56 of them starts. Carter had 186 strikeouts and 39 complete games. Against a 4.22 league ERA for the same seasons, the 4.79 mark was 13.6% worse. Carter won 13 games in 1927, the most of any season listed.

Frequently Asked Questions about Cliff Carter

Was Cliff Carter a pitcher?
Yes. Cliff Carter pitched in the major leagues, recording 31 wins and 186 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Cliff Carter hit?
Cliff Carter hit 0 career home runs with 54 hits.
What teams did Cliff Carter play for?
Cliff Carter played for 7 teams: the Baltimore Black Sox (1923), the Atlantic City Bacharach Giants (1923–1924), the Harrisburg Giants (1926–1927), the Philadelphia Tigers (1928), the Hilldale Club (1929–1930, 1932), the Philadelphia Stars (1933), and the Philadelphia Bacharach Giants (1934).
What were Cliff Carter's career stats?
In 72 games, Cliff Carter went 31-28 with a 4.79 ERA, 186 strikeouts, and 449.0 innings pitched.
What position did Cliff Carter play?
Cliff Carter played primarily as a pitcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.
How tall was Cliff Carter and how much did he weigh?
Cliff Carter was listed at 6 feet and 210 pounds.
What was Cliff Carter's career ERA?
Cliff Carter finished with a 4.79 career ERA, going 31-28 with 186 strikeouts.
How many strikeouts did Cliff Carter have?
Cliff Carter recorded 186 career strikeouts.
Is Cliff Carter in the Hall of Fame?
No. Cliff Carter has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.