Dick Coffman
Born: 12/18/1906 in Veto, AL, USA
Died: 3/24/1972 in Athens, AL, USA
MLB Debut: 1927-04-28 | Final Game: 1945-06-28
Bats: R | Throws: R | Height: 6'2" | Weight: 195 lbs
Full name: Samuel Richard Coffman
Biography
Dick Coffman was a professional baseball pitcher whose career spanned from 1927 to 1945. Born in 1906, he made his mark in Major League Baseball during a time when the sport was evolving, transitioning from the deadball era into a more offensive-minded approach. Coffman played for several teams throughout his career, amassing a record of 72 wins and 95 losses, and finishing with an ERA of 4.65. Known for his competitive spirit on the mound, he struck out a total of 372 batters and recorded 38 saves, showcasing his ability to close games when called upon.
Coffman's career unfolded against the backdrop of significant changes in baseball, including the integration of African American players and the eventual rise of power-hitting in the sport. While he may not have reached the heights of some of his contemporaries, Coffman's contributions to his teams and the game itself were notable, as he navigated the challenges of a career that lasted nearly two decades. His legacy as a reliable pitcher remains part of the rich tapestry of baseball history.
Career Pitching Statistics
| W | L | G | GS | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | ER | HR | BB | SO | ERA | Pitcher PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 72 | 95 | 472 | 132 | 47 | 8 | 38 | 1460.3 | 1782 | 755 | 92 | 463 | 372 | 4.65 | 0 |
Season-by-Season Pitching
| Year | Team | Lg | W | L | G | GS | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA | Pitcher PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1927 | WSN | AL | 0 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16.0 | 20 | 6 | 2 | 5 | 3.38 | - |
| 1928 | SLA | AL | 4 | 5 | 29 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 85.7 | 122 | 58 | 37 | 25 | 6.09 | -1530.6 |
| 1929 | SLA | AL | 1 | 1 | 27 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 52.7 | 61 | 35 | 14 | 11 | 5.98 | 29.7 |
| 1930 | SLA | AL | 8 | 18 | 38 | 30 | 12 | 1 | 1 | 196.0 | 250 | 112 | 69 | 54 | 5.14 | -1026.4 |
| 1931 | SLA | AL | 9 | 13 | 32 | 17 | 11 | 2 | 1 | 169.3 | 159 | 73 | 51 | 39 | 3.88 | -1038.5 |
| 1932 | SLA | AL | 5 | 3 | 9 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 61.0 | 66 | 21 | 21 | 14 | 3.10 | -234.6 |
| 1932 | WSN | AL | 1 | 6 | 22 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 76.3 | 92 | 41 | 31 | 17 | 4.83 | - |
| 1933 | SLA | AL | 3 | 7 | 21 | 13 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 81.0 | 114 | 53 | 39 | 19 | 5.89 | -3060.1 |
| 1934 | SLA | AL | 9 | 10 | 40 | 21 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 173.0 | 212 | 87 | 59 | 55 | 4.53 | -319.1 |
| 1935 | SLA | AL | 5 | 11 | 41 | 18 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 143.7 | 206 | 98 | 46 | 34 | 6.14 | -2279.8 |
| 1936 | NY1 | NL | 7 | 5 | 42 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 101.7 | 119 | 44 | 23 | 26 | 3.90 | 355.9 |
| 1937 | NY1 | NL | 8 | 3 | 42 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 80.0 | 93 | 27 | 31 | 30 | 3.04 | 26.3 |
| 1938 | NY1 | NL | 8 | 4 | 51 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 12 | 111.3 | 116 | 43 | 21 | 21 | 3.48 | 2105.6 |
| 1939 | NY1 | NL | 1 | 2 | 28 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 38.0 | 50 | 13 | 6 | 9 | 3.08 | 683.7 |
| 1940 | BSN | NL | 1 | 5 | 31 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 48.3 | 63 | 29 | 11 | 11 | 5.40 | -183.8 |
| 1945 | PHI | NL | 2 | 1 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 26.3 | 39 | 15 | 2 | 2 | 5.13 | 640.6 |
Career Batting Statistics
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 472 | 400 | 21 | 51 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 16 | 0 | 22 | 151 | 0.128 | 0.173 | 0.160 | 0.333 | -1653.1 |
Season-by-Season Batting
| Year | Team | Lg | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1927 | WSN | AL | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0.333 | 0.0 |
| 1928 | SLA | AL | 29 | 23 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 0.043 | 0.0 |
| 1929 | SLA | AL | 27 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.000 | 0.0 |
| 1930 | SLA | AL | 38 | 66 | 4 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 18 | 0.136 | -699.1 |
| 1931 | SLA | AL | 32 | 51 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 20 | 0.078 | -623.5 |
| 1932 | SLA | AL | 9 | 22 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 0.045 | 0.0 |
| 1932 | WSN | AL | 22 | 22 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 0.091 | 0.0 |
| 1933 | SLA | AL | 21 | 27 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 14 | 0.037 | 0.0 |
| 1934 | SLA | AL | 40 | 51 | 3 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 23 | 0.216 | -330.6 |
| 1935 | SLA | AL | 41 | 41 | 4 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 13 | 0.146 | 0.0 |
| 1936 | NY1 | NL | 42 | 20 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 0.200 | 0.0 |
| 1937 | NY1 | NL | 42 | 19 | 1 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0.368 | 0.0 |
| 1938 | NY1 | NL | 51 | 28 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 0.071 | 0.0 |
| 1939 | NY1 | NL | 28 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0.000 | 0.0 |
| 1940 | BSN | NL | 31 | 12 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 0.083 | 0.0 |
| 1945 | PHI | NL | 14 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0.250 | 0.0 |
Postseason Statistics
Playoff Career Batting
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.000 |
Playoff Batting by Year
| Year | Round | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1937 | WS | NY1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.000 |
| 1936 | WS | NY1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
Playoff Career Pitching
| W | L | G | GS | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 6.0 | 7 | 8 | 6 | 2 | 12.00 |
Playoff Pitching by Year
| Year | Round | Team | W | L | G | GS | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1937 | WS | NY1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4.3 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 4.15 |
| 1936 | WS | NY1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1.7 | 5 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 32.40 |
Fielding Statistics
Career Fielding Totals by Position
| Position | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | 472 | 0 | 82 | 293 | 19 | 10 |
Season-by-Season Fielding
| Year | Team | Pos | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1927 | WS1 | P | 5 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 1928 | SLA | P | 29 | 0 | 4 | 21 | 1 | 1 |
| 1929 | SLA | P | 27 | 0 | 3 | 12 | 0 | 0 |
| 1930 | SLA | P | 38 | 0 | 6 | 43 | 0 | 0 |
| 1931 | SLA | P | 32 | 0 | 15 | 24 | 1 | 1 |
| 1932 | SLA | P | 9 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| 1932 | WS1 | P | 22 | 0 | 4 | 12 | 0 | 1 |
| 1933 | SLA | P | 21 | 0 | 5 | 19 | 1 | 0 |
| 1934 | SLA | P | 40 | 0 | 7 | 36 | 4 | 1 |
| 1935 | SLA | P | 41 | 0 | 5 | 27 | 5 | 0 |
| 1936 | NY1 | P | 42 | 0 | 11 | 26 | 1 | 1 |
| 1937 | NY1 | P | 42 | 0 | 2 | 20 | 1 | 2 |
| 1938 | NY1 | P | 51 | 0 | 3 | 18 | 3 | 1 |
| 1939 | NY1 | P | 28 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 2 | 0 |
| 1940 | BSN | P | 31 | 0 | 4 | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| 1945 | PHI | P | 14 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 2 |
Career Games by Position
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| Pitcher | 472 |
Award Voting History
| Year | Award | League | Finish | Points Won | Points Max | Votes First |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1938 | Most Valuable Player | NL | 18th | 6.0 | 336 | 0 |