Paul Derringer
Born: 10/17/1906 in Springfield, KY, USA
Died: 11/17/1987 in Sarasota, FL, USA
MLB Debut: 1931-04-16 | Final Game: 1945-09-27
Bats: R | Throws: R | Height: 6'3" | Weight: 205 lbs
Full name: Samuel Paul Derringer
Biography
Paul Derringer was a prominent pitcher in Major League Baseball, whose career spanned from 1931 to 1945. Born in 1906, Derringer established himself as a formidable presence on the mound, finishing his career with a record of 223 wins and 212 losses. His earned run average (ERA) of 3.46 reflected his ability to effectively manage opposing hitters, while his 1,507 strikeouts and 29 saves underscored his versatility and effectiveness in high-pressure situations. Over the course of his career, he earned six All-Star selections, a testament to his skill and recognition among his peers during a highly competitive era in baseball.
Derringer’s playing style was characterized by his strong pitching acumen and durability, contributing to his longevity in the game. He played during a time when baseball was undergoing significant changes, transitioning from the pre-war era into the post-war period, which brought new challenges and opportunities for players. His contributions to the game during this transformative time solidified his legacy as one of the notable pitchers of his generation. Paul Derringer's career remains an important chapter in the history of baseball, reflecting both his individual achievements and the broader evolution of the sport.
Career Pitching Statistics
| W | L | G | GS | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | ER | HR | BB | SO | ERA | Pitcher PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 223 | 212 | 579 | 445 | 251 | 32 | 29 | 3645.0 | 3912 | 1401 | 158 | 761 | 1507 | 3.46 | 0 |
Season-by-Season Pitching
| Year | Team | Lg | W | L | G | GS | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA | Pitcher PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1931 | STL | NL | 18 | 8 | 35 | 23 | 15 | 4 | 2 | 211.7 | 225 | 79 | 65 | 134 | 3.36 | - |
| 1932 | STL | NL | 11 | 14 | 39 | 30 | 14 | 1 | 0 | 233.3 | 296 | 105 | 67 | 78 | 4.05 | - |
| 1933 | CIN | NL | 7 | 25 | 33 | 31 | 16 | 2 | 1 | 231.0 | 240 | 83 | 51 | 86 | 3.23 | 4856.5 |
| 1933 | STL | NL | 0 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 17.0 | 24 | 8 | 9 | 3 | 4.24 | - |
| 1934 | CIN | NL | 15 | 21 | 47 | 31 | 18 | 1 | 4 | 261.0 | 297 | 104 | 59 | 122 | 3.59 | 6703.1 |
| 1935 | CIN | NL | 22 | 13 | 45 | 33 | 20 | 3 | 2 | 276.7 | 295 | 108 | 49 | 120 | 3.51 | 6320.2 |
| 1936 | CIN | NL | 19 | 19 | 51 | 37 | 13 | 2 | 5 | 282.3 | 331 | 126 | 42 | 121 | 4.02 | 8389.8 |
| 1937 | CIN | NL | 10 | 14 | 43 | 26 | 12 | 1 | 1 | 222.7 | 240 | 100 | 55 | 94 | 4.04 | 5368.4 |
| 1938 | CIN | NL | 21 | 14 | 41 | 37 | 26 | 4 | 3 | 307.0 | 315 | 100 | 49 | 132 | 2.93 | 7306.4 |
| 1939 | CIN | NL | 25 | 7 | 38 | 35 | 28 | 5 | 0 | 301.0 | 321 | 98 | 35 | 128 | 2.93 | 8950.2 |
| 1940 | CIN | NL | 20 | 12 | 37 | 37 | 26 | 3 | 0 | 296.7 | 280 | 101 | 48 | 115 | 3.06 | 6488.3 |
| 1941 | CIN | NL | 12 | 14 | 29 | 28 | 17 | 2 | 1 | 228.3 | 233 | 84 | 54 | 76 | 3.31 | 1629.7 |
| 1942 | CIN | NL | 10 | 11 | 29 | 27 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 208.7 | 203 | 71 | 49 | 68 | 3.06 | 3857.5 |
| 1943 | CHC | NL | 10 | 14 | 32 | 22 | 10 | 2 | 3 | 174.0 | 184 | 69 | 39 | 75 | 3.57 | - |
| 1944 | CHC | NL | 7 | 13 | 42 | 16 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 180.0 | 205 | 83 | 39 | 69 | 4.15 | - |
| 1945 | CHC | NL | 16 | 11 | 35 | 30 | 15 | 1 | 4 | 213.7 | 223 | 82 | 51 | 86 | 3.45 | - |
Career Batting Statistics
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 579 | 1260 | 70 | 220 | 30 | 3 | 2 | 102 | 0 | 16 | 219 | 0.175 | 0.186 | 0.208 | 0.394 | -9865.3 |
Season-by-Season Batting
| Year | Team | Lg | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1931 | STL | NL | 35 | 72 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 18 | 0.097 | -884.6 |
| 1932 | STL | NL | 39 | 73 | 8 | 13 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 11 | 0.178 | -513.7 |
| 1933 | CIN | NL | 33 | 76 | 5 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 14 | 0.184 | -560.0 |
| 1933 | STL | NL | 3 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.000 | -560.0 |
| 1934 | CIN | NL | 47 | 92 | 6 | 18 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 21 | 0.196 | -590.4 |
| 1935 | CIN | NL | 45 | 93 | 3 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 0.140 | -996.7 |
| 1936 | CIN | NL | 51 | 90 | 7 | 18 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 15 | 0.200 | -686.0 |
| 1937 | CIN | NL | 43 | 80 | 2 | 16 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 0.200 | -555.1 |
| 1938 | CIN | NL | 41 | 119 | 8 | 21 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 15 | 0 | 2 | 24 | 0.176 | -903.3 |
| 1939 | CIN | NL | 38 | 110 | 10 | 23 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 0 | 1 | 11 | 0.209 | -759.2 |
| 1940 | CIN | NL | 37 | 108 | 4 | 18 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 0.167 | -921.3 |
| 1941 | CIN | NL | 29 | 84 | 2 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 0.155 | -767.6 |
| 1942 | CIN | NL | 29 | 68 | 4 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 9 | 0.132 | -557.8 |
| 1943 | CHC | NL | 32 | 58 | 4 | 13 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0.224 | -250.2 |
| 1944 | CHC | NL | 42 | 57 | 2 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 0.158 | -465.2 |
| 1945 | CHC | NL | 35 | 75 | 3 | 15 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 0.200 | -454.4 |
Postseason Statistics
Playoff Career Batting
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | 14 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0.071 |
Playoff Batting by Year
| Year | Round | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1945 | WS | CHN | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| 1940 | WS | CIN | 3 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.000 |
| 1939 | WS | CIN | 2 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.200 |
| 1931 | WS | SLN | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.000 |
Playoff Career Pitching
| W | L | G | GS | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 4 | 11 | 7 | 0 | 52.7 | 45 | 20 | 27 | 30 | 3.42 |
Playoff Pitching by Year
| Year | Round | Team | W | L | G | GS | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1945 | WS | CHN | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 5.3 | 5 | 4 | 7 | 1 | 6.75 |
| 1940 | WS | CIN | 2 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 19.3 | 17 | 6 | 10 | 6 | 2.79 |
| 1939 | WS | CIN | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 15.3 | 9 | 4 | 3 | 9 | 2.35 |
| 1931 | WS | SLN | 0 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 12.7 | 14 | 6 | 7 | 14 | 4.26 |
Fielding Statistics
Career Fielding Totals by Position
| Position | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | 579 | 0 | 153 | 656 | 26 | 30 |
Season-by-Season Fielding
| Year | Team | Pos | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1931 | SLN | P | 35 | 0 | 9 | 38 | 2 | 3 |
| 1932 | SLN | P | 39 | 0 | 9 | 43 | 3 | 0 |
| 1933 | CIN | P | 33 | 0 | 3 | 57 | 1 | 1 |
| 1933 | SLN | P | 3 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 1934 | CIN | P | 47 | 0 | 11 | 44 | 1 | 2 |
| 1935 | CIN | P | 45 | 0 | 9 | 69 | 1 | 5 |
| 1936 | CIN | P | 51 | 0 | 19 | 53 | 2 | 5 |
| 1937 | CIN | P | 43 | 0 | 17 | 50 | 4 | 3 |
| 1938 | CIN | P | 41 | 0 | 13 | 51 | 1 | 3 |
| 1939 | CIN | P | 38 | 0 | 11 | 48 | 3 | 1 |
| 1940 | CIN | P | 37 | 0 | 8 | 47 | 3 | 1 |
| 1941 | CIN | P | 29 | 0 | 16 | 42 | 1 | 2 |
| 1942 | CIN | P | 29 | 0 | 8 | 28 | 1 | 1 |
| 1943 | CHN | P | 32 | 0 | 3 | 20 | 1 | 0 |
| 1944 | CHN | P | 42 | 0 | 7 | 30 | 1 | 3 |
| 1945 | CHN | P | 35 | 0 | 9 | 32 | 1 | 0 |
Career Games by Position
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| Pitcher | 579 |
Awards & Honors
Award Voting History
| Year | Award | League | Finish | Points Won | Points Max | Votes First |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1940 | Most Valuable Player | NL | 4th | 121.0 | 336 | 1 |
| 1939 | Most Valuable Player | NL | 3rd | 174.0 | 336 | 2 |
| 1938 | Most Valuable Player | NL | 8th | 70.0 | 336 | 0 |
| 1936 | Most Valuable Player | NL | 11th | 6.0 | 80 | 0 |
| 1935 | Most Valuable Player | NL | 17th | 4.0 | 80 | 0 |
| 1931 | Most Valuable Player | NL | 20th | 3.0 | 80 | 0 |