Ed Crane

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1884-1893)

Ed Crane was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1884 to 1893 for 9 teams, including the Boston Reds, a span of 10 seasons. Across 204 career appearances, he went 72-97 with a 3.99 ERA and 719 strikeouts. He also batted .238 with 18 home runs.

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 72–97
ERA 3.99
WHIP 1.55
SO 719
Pitcher PIV -16799.6
Position
Pitcher
Bats / Throws
R / R
Height / Weight
5'10" / 204 lb
Born
5/27/1862 in Boston, MA, USA
Died
9/20/1896 in Rochester, NY, USA
MLB Debut
1884-04-17
Last Game
1893-07-19

Full name: Edward Nicholas Crane

📊 Compare This Player 📈 View Career Timeline

Career Pitching Statistics

Ed Crane — Career Pitching Statistics
W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
72 97 204 176 146 7 2 1551.0 1,525 687 50 885 719 3.99 -16799.6

Career ERA 3.99 vs. league average 3.55 across their career seasons — 12.2% worse than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Ed Crane Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year Team Lg W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER BB SO ERA Lg ERA Pitcher PIV
1884 BSU UA 0 2 4 2 1 0 0 18.0 17 8 6 13 4.00 3.11 (-29%) -199.5
1886 WS8 NL 1 7 10 8 7 1 0 70.0 91 56 53 39 7.20 3.37 (-114%) -2854.4
1888 NY1 NL 5 6 12 11 11 2 1 92.2 70 25 40 58 2.43 2.95 (+18%) -386.3
1889 NY1 NL 14 11 29 25 23 0 0 230.2 221 93 136 130 3.63 3.93 (+8%) -2354.6
1890 NYP PL 16 19 43 35 28 0 0 330.1 323 170 208 116 4.63 3.88 (-19%) -6461.7
1891 CN3 AA 14 14 32 31 25 1 0 250.0 216 68 139 122 2.45 3.52 (+30%) -114.5
1891 CIN NL 4 8 15 13 11 1 0 116.2 134 53 64 51 4.09 3.52 (-16%) -540.1
1892 NY1 NL 16 24 47 42 35 2 1 364.1 350 154 189 174 3.80 3.28 (-16%) -1887.8
1893 NY1 NL 2 4 10 7 4 0 0 68.1 84 45 41 11 5.93 4.66 (-27%) -1204.8
1893 BRO NL 0 2 2 2 1 0 0 10.0 19 15 9 5 13.50 4.66 (-190%) -795.8
Career · 10 seasons 72 97 204 176 146 7 2 1,551.0 1,525 687 885 719 3.99 — -16,800

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

Ed Crane — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
391 1,409 199 335 45 15 18 84 29 86 191 .238 .283 .329 .612 -592

Career AVG .238 vs. league average .252 across their career seasons — 5.8% below league average.

Career OBP .283 vs. league average .315 across their career seasons — 10.2% below league average.

Career SLG .329 vs. league average .340 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career OPS .612 vs. league average .654 across their career seasons — 6.5% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Ed Crane 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
1884 BSU UA 101 428 83 122 23 6 12 0 0 14 0 .285 .243 (+17%) .278 (+10%) .327 (+38%) .606 (+25%) 1604.8
1885 PRO NL 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 .000 — — — — 0.0
1885 BFN NL 13 51 5 14 0 1 2 9 0 3 8 .275 .244 (+13%) .287 (+9%) .325 (+33%) .613 (+22%) 0.0
1886 WS8 NL 80 292 20 50 11 3 0 20 8 13 54 .171 .246 (-31%) .302 (-32%) .331 (-31%) .634 (-31%) -1332.4
1888 NY1 NL 12 37 3 6 2 0 1 2 1 3 11 .162 — — — — 0.0
1889 NY1 NL 29 103 16 21 1 0 2 11 6 13 21 .204 .263 (-23%) .334 (-12%) .357 (-24%) .691 (-18%) -270.7
1890 NYP PL 43 146 27 46 5 4 0 16 5 10 26 .315 .260 (+21%) .336 (+8%) .351 (+15%) .687 (+12%) 245.8
1891 CN3 AA 34 110 13 17 0 0 1 7 4 8 28 .155 .254 (-39%) .331 (-36%) .343 (-47%) .675 (-42%) -694.5
1891 CIN NL 15 46 3 5 0 0 0 2 3 3 12 .109 — — — — -694.5
1892 NY1 NL 48 163 20 40 1 1 0 14 2 11 30 .245 .244 (avg) .316 (-6%) .327 (-19%) .644 (-13%) -293.1
1893 NY1 NL 12 26 8 12 1 0 0 3 0 7 0 .462 — — — — 0.0
1893 BRO NL 3 5 1 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .400 — — — — 0.0
Career · 12 seasons 391 1,409 199 335 45 15 18 84 29 86 191 .238 — — — — -1,435

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

Ed Crane — Playoff Career Batting
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
7 25 4 6 1 1 1 7 1 3 .240

Playoff Batting by Year

Ed Crane — Playoff Batting by Year
Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1889 WS NY1 5 18 3 5 1 1 1 5 1 2 .278
1888 WS NY1 2 7 1 1 0 0 0 2 0 1 .143

Playoff Career Pitching

Ed Crane — Playoff Career Pitching
W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
5 2 7 7 0 55.0 44 20 38 31 3.27

Playoff Pitching by Year

Ed Crane — Playoff Pitching by Year
Year Round Team W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
1889 WS NY1 4 1 5 5 0 38.0 29 16 32 19 3.79
1888 WS NY1 1 1 2 2 0 17.0 15 4 6 12 2.12

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Ed Crane — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
1B 7 0 40 1 4 1
C 46 0 257 79 65 3
OF 145 0 207 38 48 7
P 204 0 72 302 71 7

Season-by-Season Fielding

Ed Crane — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1884 BSU 1B 5 0 37 0 4 1
1884 BSU C 42 0 252 74 64 2
1884 BSU OF 57 0 74 21 20 3
1884 BSU P 4 0 1 7 0 0
1885 PRO OF 1 0 0 1 1 0
1885 BFN OF 13 0 20 0 6 0
1886 WS8 C 4 0 5 5 1 1
1886 WS8 OF 68 0 107 16 19 4
1886 WS8 P 10 0 4 14 0 0
1888 NY1 P 12 0 3 23 4 0
1889 NY1 1B 1 0 3 1 0 0
1889 NY1 P 29 0 9 23 10 1
1890 NYP P 43 0 17 71 16 0
1891 CN3 OF 3 0 5 0 1 0
1891 CN3 P 32 0 5 55 13 0
1891 CIN P 15 0 3 26 3 2
1892 NY1 OF 1 0 1 0 1 0
1892 NY1 P 47 0 27 69 22 4
1893 NY1 1B 1 0 0 0 0 0
1893 NY1 OF 1 0 0 0 0 0
1893 NY1 P 10 0 2 14 2 0
1893 BRO OF 1 0 0 0 0 0
1893 BRO P 2 0 1 0 1 0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Ed Crane Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position Games
Pitcher 204
Catcher 46
First Base 7
Left Field 37
Center Field 13
Right Field 95

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Ed Crane (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Phil Knell
    79-90, 4.05 ERA
  2. 90
    Ed Doheny
    75-83, 3.73 ERA
  3. 89
    George Haddock
    95-87, 4.07 ERA
  4. 79
    Willie McGill
    71-73, 4.57 ERA
  5. 78
    Ed Stein
    109-78, 3.97 ERA
  6. 75
    Hank Gastright
    72-63, 4.20 ERA

Ed Crane: the record in brief

April 17, 1884 and July 19, 1893 bracket Ed Crane's time in the majors: the debut and the last game on record. Crane played for the Boston Reds (1884), the Providence Grays (1885), the Buffalo Bisons (1885), the Washington Nationals (1886), the New York Giants (1888 through 1893), the Cincinnati Kelly's Killers (1891), the Cincinnati Reds (1891), and the Brooklyn Grooms (1893). Crane played primarily as a pitcher and batted and threw right-handed. The bio adds a birth date on May 27, 1862, in Boston, MA, USA and a listed size of 5'10" and 204 pounds. Crane's death is recorded on September 20, 1896, in Rochester, NY, USA. Crane's full given name, per the bio, is Edward Nicholas Crane.

The pitching table credits Crane with a 72-97 record and a 3.99 ERA in 204 games. The same table counts 719 strikeouts, 146 complete games, and 7 shutouts. Against a 3.55 league ERA for the same seasons, the 3.99 mark was 12.2% worse. 1890 brought Crane a season-high 16 wins.

Frequently Asked Questions about Ed Crane

What years did Ed Crane play?
Ed Crane played in Major League Baseball from 1884 to 1893.
Was Ed Crane a pitcher?
Yes. Ed Crane pitched in the major leagues, recording 72 wins and 719 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Ed Crane hit?
Ed Crane hit 18 career home runs with 335 hits.
What was Ed Crane's career batting average?
Ed Crane batted .238 over his career, with 335 hits in 1,409 at bats.
How many RBI did Ed Crane have?
Ed Crane drove in 84 runs in his career.
What was Ed Crane's career ERA?
Ed Crane finished with a 3.99 career ERA, going 72-97 with 719 strikeouts.