Mort Cooper
Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1938-1949)
Mort Cooper was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1938 to 1949 for 4 teams, including the St. Louis Cardinals, a span of 12 seasons. Across 295 career appearances, he went 128-75 with a 2.97 ERA and 913 strikeouts. He also batted .194 with 6 home runs. Mort Cooper was a 4-time All-Star and an MVP. His career Pitcher PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of pitching impact — is 22546.0.
- 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
- 6'2" / 210 lb
- Died
- 11/17/1958 in Little Rock, AR, USA
- MLB Debut
- 1938-09-14
- Last Game
- 1949-05-07
- Awards
- 4× All-Star · MVP
Full name: Morton Cecil Cooper
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1938 | SLN | NL | 2 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 23.2 | 17 | 8 | 12 | 11 | 3.04 | 4.35 (+30%) | -7.7 |
| 1939 | SLN | NL | 12 | 6 | 45 | 26 | 7 | 2 | 4 | 210.2 | 208 | 76 | 97 | 130 | 3.25 | 4.28 (+24%) | 3687.9 |
| 1940 | SLN | NL | 11 | 12 | 38 | 29 | 16 | 3 | 3 | 230.2 | 225 | 93 | 86 | 95 | 3.63 | 4.21 (+14%) | 1209.6 |
| 1941 | SLN | NL | 13 | 9 | 29 | 25 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 186.2 | 175 | 81 | 69 | 118 | 3.91 | 3.94 (+1%) | 941.7 |
| 1942 | SLN | NL | 22 | 7 | 37 | 35 | 22 | 10 | 0 | 278.2 | 207 | 55 | 68 | 152 | 1.78 | 3.57 (+50%) | 6475.9 |
| 1943 | SLN | NL | 21 | 8 | 37 | 32 | 24 | 6 | 3 | 274.0 | 228 | 70 | 79 | 141 | 2.30 | 3.50 (+34%) | 5251.5 |
| 1944 | SLN | NL | 22 | 7 | 34 | 33 | 22 | 7 | 1 | 252.1 | 227 | 69 | 60 | 97 | 2.46 | 3.57 (+31%) | 3880.9 |
| 1945 | SLN | NL | 2 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 23.2 | 20 | 4 | 7 | 14 | 1.52 | 3.67 (+59%) | 338.6 |
| 1945 | BSN | NL | 7 | 4 | 20 | 11 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 78.0 | 77 | 29 | 27 | 45 | 3.35 | 3.67 (+9%) | 713.8 |
| 1946 | BSN | NL | 13 | 11 | 28 | 27 | 15 | 4 | 1 | 199.0 | 181 | 69 | 39 | 83 | 3.12 | 3.59 (+13%) | 1066.5 |
| 1947 | BSN | NL | 2 | 5 | 10 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 46.2 | 48 | 21 | 13 | 15 | 4.05 | 3.97 (-2%) | 467.9 |
| 1947 | NY1 | NL | 1 | 5 | 8 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 36.2 | 51 | 29 | 13 | 12 | 7.12 | 3.97 (-79%) | -1480.7 |
| 1949 | CHN | NL | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0.00 | — | 0.0 |
| Career · 13 seasons | 128 | 75 | 295 | 239 | 128 | 33 | 14 | 1,840.2 | 1,666 | 607 | 571 | 913 | 2.97 | — | 22,546 | ||
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 297 | 654 | 50 | 127 | 16 | 0 | 6 | 68 | 0 | 23 | 118 | .194 | .223 | .246 | .469 | -3,267 |
Career AVG .194 vs. league average .263 across their career seasons — 26.1% below league average.
Career OBP .223 vs. league average .333 across their career seasons — 33.1% below league average.
Career SLG .246 vs. league average .370 across their career seasons — 33.5% below league average.
Career OPS .469 vs. league average .703 across their career seasons — 33.3% 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1938 | SLN | NL | 4 | 9 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | .222 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1939 | SLN | NL | 47 | 69 | 4 | 16 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 13 | .232 | .274 (-15%) | .342 (-29%) | .393 (-8%) | .735 (-18%) | -219.8 |
| 1940 | SLN | NL | 38 | 83 | 5 | 13 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 22 | .157 | .267 (-41%) | .335 (-50%) | .387 (-53%) | .722 (-52%) | -694.5 |
| 1941 | SLN | NL | 29 | 70 | 4 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 10 | .186 | .262 (-29%) | .332 (-31%) | .373 (-50%) | .705 (-41%) | -444.4 |
| 1942 | SLN | NL | 37 | 103 | 6 | 19 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 21 | .184 | .253 (-27%) | .323 (-36%) | .349 (-44%) | .672 (-40%) | -628.3 |
| 1943 | SLN | NL | 37 | 100 | 7 | 17 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 11 | 0 | 2 | 14 | .170 | .255 (-34%) | .324 (-43%) | .346 (-34%) | .671 (-38%) | -592.3 |
| 1944 | SLN | NL | 34 | 94 | 9 | 19 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 7 | 12 | .202 | .261 (-23%) | .325 (-21%) | .357 (-35%) | .683 (-28%) | -397.6 |
| 1945 | SLN | NL | 4 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | .333 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1945 | BSN | NL | 20 | 26 | 5 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 3 | .231 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1946 | BSN | NL | 28 | 67 | 5 | 14 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 14 | .209 | .256 (-19%) | .328 (-30%) | .358 (-25%) | .687 (-27%) | -290.4 |
| 1947 | BSN | NL | 10 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1947 | NY1 | NL | 8 | 14 | 3 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .429 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1949 | CHN | NL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| Career · 13 seasons | 297 | 654 | 50 | 127 | 16 | 0 | 6 | 68 | 0 | 23 | 118 | .194 | — | — | — | — | -3,267 | ||
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
Game Log & Splits
View full game log (592 games) →Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).
Batting — Home / Away
| Split | G | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 150 | 306 | 17 | 51 | 1 | 34 | .167 |
| Away | 147 | 350 | 33 | 76 | 5 | 33 | .217 |
Pitching — Home / Away
| Split | G | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 149 | 927.1 | 828 | 284 | 261 | 477 | 2.76 |
| Away | 146 | 914.0 | 840 | 324 | 309 | 444 | 3.19 |
Last 10 Games — Batting
| Date | Tm | Opp | Res | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1949-05-07 | CHC | BRO | L | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1947-09-28 | NY1 | PHI | W | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1947-08-02 | NY1 | PIT | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1947-07-28 | NY1 | CIN | L | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1947-07-13 | NY1 | PIT | L | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1947-07-04 | NY1 | BRO | L | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 1947-06-28 | NY1 | PHI | W | 4 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 1947-06-23 | NY1 | CHC | L | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1947-06-19 | NY1 | PIT | L | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1947-06-11 | BSN | CHC | L | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Last 10 Games — Pitching
| Date | Tm | Opp | Dec | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1949-05-07 | CHC | BRO | — | 0.0 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 1947-09-28 | NY1 | PHI | — | 2.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1947-08-02 | NY1 | PIT | — | 3.0 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 1947-07-28 | NY1 | CIN | L | 5.0 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 0 |
| 1947-07-13 | NY1 | PIT | L | 0.1 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1947-07-04 | NY1 | BRO | L | 8.1 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| 1947-06-28 | NY1 | PHI | W | 9.0 | 9 | 6 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 3 |
| 1947-06-23 | NY1 | CHC | L | 6.1 | 8 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| 1947-06-19 | NY1 | PIT | L | 2.2 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 1947-06-11 | BSN | CHC | L | 5.2 | 8 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
Fielding Statistics
Career Fielding Totals by Position
Season-by-Season Fielding
| Year | Team | Pos | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1938 | SLN | P | 4 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 1 | 0 |
| 1939 | SLN | P | 45 | 0 | 7 | 25 | 3 | 3 |
| 1940 | SLN | P | 38 | 0 | 4 | 38 | 2 | 1 |
| 1941 | SLN | P | 29 | 0 | 6 | 32 | 1 | 3 |
| 1942 | SLN | P | 37 | 0 | 6 | 44 | 2 | 3 |
| 1943 | SLN | P | 37 | 0 | 7 | 46 | 3 | 3 |
| 1944 | SLN | P | 34 | 0 | 4 | 28 | 0 | 1 |
| 1945 | SLN | P | 4 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| 1945 | BSN | P | 20 | 0 | 3 | 14 | 1 | 3 |
| 1946 | BSN | P | 28 | 0 | 6 | 25 | 2 | 3 |
| 1947 | BSN | P | 10 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| 1947 | NY1 | P | 8 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 1949 | CHN | P | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Career Games by Position
Circle size = games played at each position.
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| Pitcher | 295 |
Awards & Honors
| Year | Award | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1944 | Baseball Magazine All-Star | P3 |
| 1944 | Baseball Magazine All-Star | P2 |
| 1944 | TSN All-Star | P |
| 1943 | Baseball Magazine All-Star | P2 |
| 1943 | Baseball Magazine All-Star | P1 |
| 1943 | TSN All-Star | P |
| 1942 | Baseball Magazine All-Star | P1 |
| 1942 | Most Valuable Player | |
| 1942 | TSN All-Star | P |
| 1942 | TSN Guide MVP |
Award Voting History
| Year | Award | League | Finish | Points Won | Points Max | Votes First |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1944 | Most Valuable Player | NL | 9th | 63.0 | 336 | 0 |
| 1943 | Most Valuable Player | NL | 5th | 130.0 | 336 | 0 |
| 1942 | Most Valuable Player | NL | 1st | 263.0 | 336 | 13 |
| 1941 | Most Valuable Player | NL | 24th | 8.0 | 336 | 0 |
Most Similar Players
Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.
Mort Cooper (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.
Compare Mort Cooper
Mort Cooper: the record in brief
The profile opens with Mort Cooper's first major league game on September 14, 1938; the last one listed came on May 7, 1949. By club, Cooper's seasons break down as the St. Louis Cardinals (1938 to 1945), the Boston Braves (1945 to 1947), the New York Giants (1947), and the Chicago Cubs (1949). Cooper, a pitcher by primary position, both batted and threw right-handed. Cooper is listed at 6-foot-2 and 210 pounds. Cooper was born on March 2, 1913, in Atherton, MO, USA. The bio records the death on November 17, 1958, in Little Rock, AR, USA. The bio lists the given name Morton Cecil.
Cooper went 128-75 with a 2.97 ERA in 295 games, 239 of them starts. Also on Cooper's record: 913 strikeouts, 128 complete games, 33 shutouts, and 14 saves. The leagues Cooper pitched in allowed 3.88 earned runs per nine over those seasons, so the career ERA was 23.6% better than average. No season topped the 22 wins of 1942.
Frequently Asked Questions about Mort Cooper
- What years did Mort Cooper play?
- Mort Cooper played in Major League Baseball from 1938 to 1949.
- Was Mort Cooper a pitcher?
- Yes. Mort Cooper pitched in the major leagues, recording 128 wins and 913 strikeouts.
- How many home runs did Mort Cooper hit?
- Mort Cooper hit 6 career home runs with 127 hits.
- What was Mort Cooper's career batting average?
- Mort Cooper batted .194 over his career, with 127 hits in 654 at bats.
- How many RBI did Mort Cooper have?
- Mort Cooper drove in 68 runs in his career.
- What was Mort Cooper's career ERA?
- Mort Cooper finished with a 2.97 career ERA, going 128-75 with 913 strikeouts.