Russ Christopher

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1942-1948)

Russ Christopher was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1942 to 1948 for the Philadelphia Athletics and the Cleveland Guardians, a span of 7 seasons. Across 241 career appearances, he went 54-64 with a 3.37 ERA, 424 strikeouts, and 35 saves. He also batted .158 with 2 home runs. Russ Christopher was an All-Star. His career Pitcher PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of pitching impact — is 1767.3.

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 54–64
ERA 3.37
WHIP 1.33
SO 424
Pitcher PIV 1767.3
Position
Pitcher
Bats / Throws
R / R
Height / Weight
6'3" / 170 lb
Born
9/12/1917 in Richmond, CA, USA
Died
12/5/1954 in Richmond, CA, USA
MLB Debut
1942-04-14
Last Game
1948-10-01
Awards
All-Star

Full name: Russell Ormand Christopher

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Career Pitching Statistics

Russ Christopher — Career Pitching Statistics
W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
54 64 241 97 46 3 35 999.2 931 374 38 399 424 3.37 1767.3

Career ERA 3.37 vs. league average 3.71 across their career seasons — 9.2% better than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Russ Christopher Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year Team Lg W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER BB SO ERA Lg ERA Pitcher PIV
1942 PHA AL 4 13 30 18 10 0 1 165.0 154 70 99 58 3.82 3.57 (-7%) -3260.1
1943 PHA AL 5 8 24 15 5 0 2 133.0 120 51 58 56 3.45 3.50 (+1%) 83.4
1944 PHA AL 14 14 35 24 13 1 1 215.1 200 71 63 84 2.97 3.57 (+17%) 1753.8
1945 PHA AL 13 13 33 27 17 2 2 227.1 213 80 75 100 3.17 3.67 (+14%) 1230.3
1946 PHA AL 5 7 30 13 1 0 0 119.1 119 57 44 79 4.30 3.59 (-20%) 1843.2
1947 PHA AL 10 7 44 0 0 0 12 80.2 70 26 33 33 2.90 3.97 (+27%) 455.3
1948 CLE AL 3 2 45 0 0 0 17 59.0 55 19 27 14 2.90 4.10 (+29%) -338.7
Career · 7 seasons 54 64 241 97 46 3 35 999.2 931 374 399 424 3.37 — 1,767

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

Russ Christopher — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
242 316 17 50 8 3 2 22 0 17 95 .158 .201 .222 .423 -1,163

Career AVG .158 vs. league average .259 across their career seasons — 39.0% below league average.

Career OBP .201 vs. league average .330 across their career seasons — 39.0% below league average.

Career SLG .222 vs. league average .360 across their career seasons — 38.5% below league average.

Career OPS .423 vs. league average .690 across their career seasons — 38.7% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Russ Christopher — 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
1942 PHA AL 30 56 2 5 0 1 0 3 0 1 17 .089 .253 (-65%) .323 (-67%) .349 (-64%) .672 (-66%) -564.2
1943 PHA AL 24 45 2 7 1 0 0 2 0 2 13 .156 — — — — 0.0
1944 PHA AL 35 81 4 18 5 1 1 6 0 2 18 .222 .261 (-15%) .325 (-26%) .357 (-3%) .683 (-14%) -211.5
1945 PHA AL 34 76 5 13 1 0 1 4 0 6 28 .171 .260 (-34%) .328 (-30%) .354 (-37%) .683 (-33%) -387.6
1946 PHA AL 30 36 2 5 1 1 0 5 0 1 9 .139 — — — — 0.0
1947 PHA AL 44 16 1 2 0 0 0 2 0 3 7 .125 — — — — 0.0
1948 CLE AL 45 6 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 3 .000 — — — — 0.0
Career · 7 seasons 242 316 17 50 8 3 2 22 0 17 95 .158 — — — — -1,163

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

Russ Christopher — Playoff Career Batting
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000

Playoff Batting by Year

Russ Christopher — Playoff Batting by Year
Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1948 WS CLE 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000

Playoff Career Pitching

Russ Christopher — Playoff Career Pitching
W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
0 0 1 0 0 0.0 2 1 0 0 0.00

Playoff Pitching by Year

Russ Christopher — Playoff Pitching by Year
Year Round Team W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
1948 WS CLE 0 0 1 0 0 0.0 2 1 0 0 0.00

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (483 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Russ Christopher — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home1201601230112.188
Away122156520110.128

Pitching — Home / Away

Russ Christopher — Pitching — Home / Away
SplitGIPHERBBSOERA
Home120520.14541731792442.99
Away121479.14772002191793.76

Last 10 Games — Pitching

Russ Christopher — Last 10 Games — Pitching
DateTmOppDecIPHRERBBSOHR
1948-10-01 CLEDET — 0.1110100
1948-09-20 CLEPHA SV 2.1200110
1948-09-19 CLEPHA W 1.1200000
1948-09-14 CLENYY — 0.2000100
1948-09-13 CLESLA — 0.2100000
1948-09-12 CLESLA — 1.0000010
1948-09-12 CLESLA SV 0.1000000
1948-09-04 CLESLA — 1.2100000
1948-08-27 CLENYY — 2.0433100
1948-08-26 CLEBOS — 0.1100000

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Russ Christopher — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
P 241 0 93 314 9 20

Season-by-Season Fielding

Russ Christopher — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1942 PHA P 30 0 10 60 2 5
1943 PHA P 24 0 11 61 1 5
1944 PHA P 35 0 27 58 3 5
1945 PHA P 33 0 26 71 1 4
1946 PHA P 30 0 7 38 1 1
1947 PHA P 44 0 10 13 1 0
1948 CLE P 45 0 2 13 0 0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Russ Christopher — Career Games by Position
Position Games
Pitcher 241

Award Voting History

Russ Christopher — Award Voting History
Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
1945 Most Valuable Player AL 32th 1.0 336 0

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Russ Christopher (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Billy Loes
    80-63, 3.89 ERA
  2. 93
    Bob Klinger
    66-61, 3.68 ERA
  3. 87
    Johnny Morrison
    103-80, 3.65 ERA
  4. 86
    Dave Wickersham
    68-57, 3.66 ERA
  5. 85
    Ike Delock
    84-75, 4.03 ERA
  6. 84
    Ron Robinson
    48-39, 3.63 ERA

Russ Christopher: the record in brief

The profile opens with Russ Christopher's first major league game on April 14, 1942; the last one listed came on October 1, 1948. By club, Christopher's seasons break down as the Philadelphia Athletics (1942 to 1947) and the Cleveland Indians (1948). Christopher is listed as a pitcher at 6-foot-3 and 170 pounds. Christopher both batted and threw right-handed, per the bio block. Christopher was born on September 12, 1917, in Richmond, CA, USA. Christopher's death is recorded on December 5, 1954, in Richmond, CA, USA. Christopher's full given name, per the bio, is Russell Ormand Christopher.

Christopher went 54-64 with a 3.37 ERA in 241 games, 97 of them starts. Also on Christopher's record: 424 strikeouts, 46 complete games, and 35 saves. That 3.37 ERA compares with a 3.71 league average across the same seasons, 9.2% better. Christopher won 14 games in 1944, the most of any season listed. 1945 produced Christopher's most strikeouts, 100. Christopher saved 17 games in 1948, the season high.

Frequently Asked Questions about Russ Christopher

What years did Russ Christopher play?
Russ Christopher played in Major League Baseball from 1942 to 1948.
Was Russ Christopher a pitcher?
Yes. Russ Christopher pitched in the major leagues, recording 54 wins and 424 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Russ Christopher hit?
Russ Christopher hit 2 career home runs with 50 hits.
What teams did Russ Christopher play for?
Russ Christopher played for 2 teams: the Philadelphia Athletics (1942–1947) and the Cleveland Indians (1948).
What awards did Russ Christopher win?
Russ Christopher was selected to 1 All-Star Game.
What were Russ Christopher's career stats?
In 241 games, Russ Christopher went 54-64 with a 3.37 ERA, 424 strikeouts, 999.2 innings pitched, and 35 saves. At the plate he had 50 hits and 2 home runs.
What position did Russ Christopher play?
Russ Christopher played primarily as a pitcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.
How tall was Russ Christopher and how much did he weigh?
Russ Christopher was listed at 6 feet 3 inches and 170 pounds.
What was Russ Christopher's career ERA?
Russ Christopher finished with a 3.37 career ERA, going 54-64 with 424 strikeouts.
How many strikeouts did Russ Christopher have?
Russ Christopher recorded 424 career strikeouts.
Is Russ Christopher in the Hall of Fame?
No. Russ Christopher has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
How many All-Star Games did Russ Christopher make?
Russ Christopher was selected to 1 All-Star Game.