Joe Dobson

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1939-1954)

W–L 137–103
ERA 3.62
WHIP 1.34
SO 992
Pitcher PIV 11907.6
Position
Pitcher
Bats / Throws
R / R
Height / Weight
6'2" / 197 lb
Born
1/20/1917 in Durant, OK, USA
Died
6/23/1994 in Jacksonville, FL, USA
MLB Debut
1939-04-26
Last Game
1954-04-30
Awards
All-Star

Full name: Joseph Gordon Dobson

📊 Compare This Player 📈 View Career Timeline

Career Pitching Statistics

W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
137 103 414 273 112 22 18 2170.0 2,048 874 137 851 992 3.62 11907.6

Career ERA 3.62 vs. league average 3.95 across their career seasons — 8.2% better than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

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
1939 CLE AL 2 3 35 3 0 0 1 78.0 87 51 51 27 5.88 4.28 (-37%) -1154.6
1940 CLE AL 3 7 40 7 2 1 3 100.0 101 55 48 57 4.95 4.21 (-18%) -325.2
1941 BOS AL 12 5 27 18 7 1 0 134.3 136 67 67 69 4.49 3.94 (-14%) -525.2
1942 BOS AL 11 9 30 23 10 3 0 182.7 155 67 68 72 3.30 3.57 (+7%) -47.1
1943 BOS AL 7 11 25 20 9 3 0 164.3 144 57 57 63 3.12 3.50 (+11%) 1111.2
1946 BOS AL 13 7 32 24 9 1 0 166.7 148 60 68 91 3.24 3.59 (+10%) -14.5
1947 BOS AL 18 8 33 31 15 1 1 228.7 203 75 73 110 2.95 3.97 (+26%) 2484.3
1948 BOS AL 16 10 38 32 16 5 2 245.3 237 97 92 116 3.56 4.10 (+13%) 2559.6
1949 BOS AL 14 12 33 27 12 2 2 212.7 219 91 97 87 3.85 4.12 (+6%) 1640.6
1950 BOS AL 15 10 39 27 12 1 4 206.7 217 96 81 81 4.18 4.36 (+4%) 2370.8
1951 CHA AL 7 6 28 21 6 0 3 146.7 136 59 51 67 3.62 4.04 (+10%) -277.9
1952 CHA AL 14 10 29 25 11 3 1 200.7 164 56 60 101 2.51 3.70 (+32%) 3711.5
1953 CHA AL 5 5 23 15 3 1 1 100.7 96 41 37 50 3.67 4.14 (+11%) 374.1
1954 BOS AL 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 2.7 5 2 1 1 6.75 — 0.0
Career · 14 seasons 137 103 414 273 112 22 18 2,170.0 2,048 874 851 992 3.62 — 11,908

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
414 697 46 106 7 1 2 35 1 54 244 .152 .220 .174 .394 -3,510

Career AVG .152 vs. league average .262 across their career seasons — 41.9% below league average.

Career OBP .220 vs. league average .335 across their career seasons — 34.1% below league average.

Career SLG .174 vs. league average .377 across their career seasons — 54.0% below league average.

Career OPS .394 vs. league average .712 across their career seasons — 44.7% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

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
1939 CLE AL 35 18 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 5 .056 — — — — 0.0
1940 CLE AL 40 24 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 3 14 .125 — — — — 0.0
1941 BOS AL 27 47 3 7 0 0 1 6 0 4 14 .149 — — — — -289.6
1942 BOS AL 30 69 6 10 1 0 0 3 0 3 17 .145 .253 (-43%) .323 (-41%) .349 (-54%) .672 (-48%) -494.6
1943 BOS AL 25 52 3 5 0 0 0 0 0 2 21 .096 .255 (-62%) .324 (-51%) .346 (-72%) .671 (-62%) -475.3
1946 BOS AL 32 50 5 5 0 0 0 2 0 4 28 .100 .256 (-61%) .328 (-49%) .358 (-72%) .687 (-61%) -466.4
1947 BOS AL 33 77 4 16 0 1 0 3 0 7 22 .208 .262 (-21%) .336 (-19%) .376 (-38%) .712 (-29%) -346.0
1948 BOS AL 38 84 9 17 2 0 1 4 0 6 27 .202 .263 (-23%) .340 (-18%) .379 (-31%) .719 (-25%) -321.7
1949 BOS AL 33 68 5 10 0 0 0 2 1 10 22 .147 .262 (-44%) .343 (-25%) .384 (-62%) .727 (-45%) -472.3
1950 BOS AL 39 70 6 15 2 0 0 9 0 9 23 .214 .265 (-19%) .346 (-10%) .401 (-40%) .747 (-26%) -276.6
1951 CHA AL 28 46 2 3 1 0 0 1 0 0 20 .065 — — — — 0.0
1952 CHA AL 29 63 3 12 0 0 0 3 0 4 20 .190 .252 (-25%) .326 (-27%) .369 (-48%) .696 (-38%) -367.9
1953 CHA AL 23 29 0 2 1 0 0 2 0 1 11 .069 — — — — 0.0
1954 BOS AL 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
Career · 14 seasons 414 697 46 106 7 1 2 35 1 54 244 .152 — — — — -3,510

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

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
3 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 .000

Playoff Batting by Year

Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1946 WS BOS 3 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 .000

Playoff Career Pitching

W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
1 0 3 1 0 12.7 4 0 3 10 0.00

Playoff Pitching by Year

Year Round Team W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
1946 WS BOS 1 0 3 1 0 12.7 4 0 3 10 0.00

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (828 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home2063372349015.145
Away2083602357220.158

Pitching — Home / Away

SplitGIPHERBBSOERA
Home2061118.010294094345123.29
Away2081052.010194664184793.99

Last 10 Games — Batting

DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1954-04-30 BOSCHWL 000000000
1954-04-13 BOSPHAL 000000000
1953-08-15 CHWDETL 000000000
1953-08-12 CHWCLEL 000000000
1953-08-05 CHWPHAW 000000000
1953-07-19 CHWNYYL 000000000
1953-07-11 CHWCLEW 100000001
1953-07-09 CHWDETW 100000001
1953-07-04 CHWSLAW 100000011
1953-06-30 CHWSLAL 000000000

Last 10 Games — Pitching

DateTmOppDecIPHRERBBSOHR
1954-04-30 BOSCHW — 2.0311010
1954-04-13 BOSPHA — 0.2211100
1953-08-15 CHWDET — 1.2311010
1953-08-12 CHWCLE — 0.1100010
1953-08-05 CHWPHA — 3.0443322
1953-07-19 CHWNYY — 0.1000100
1953-07-11 CHWCLE — 4.0132310
1953-07-09 CHWDET — 3.2722230
1953-07-04 CHWSLA W 5.0622011
1953-06-30 CHWSLA — 1.0100000

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position G GS PO A E DP
P 414 0 126 341 11 24

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1939 CLE P 35 0 3 16 0 0
1940 CLE P 40 0 6 15 0 1
1941 BOS P 27 0 10 13 0 0
1942 BOS P 30 0 17 42 0 2
1943 BOS P 25 0 9 22 1 2
1946 BOS P 32 0 18 33 1 1
1947 BOS P 33 0 13 25 0 1
1948 BOS P 38 0 10 36 2 3
1949 BOS P 33 0 12 30 0 3
1950 BOS P 39 0 8 44 3 4
1951 CHA P 28 0 6 25 1 5
1952 CHA P 29 0 7 26 1 2
1953 CHA P 23 0 6 14 2 0
1954 BOS P 2 0 1 0 0 0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Position Games
Pitcher 414

Award Voting History

Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
1948 Most Valuable Player AL 24th 5.0 336 0
1947 Most Valuable Player AL 29th 3.0 336 0

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Joe Dobson (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Howie Pollet
    131-116, 3.51 ERA
  2. 83
    Johnny Allen
    142-75, 3.75 ERA
  3. 82
    Van Mungo
    120-115, 3.47 ERA
  4. 79
    Jack Billingham
    145-113, 3.83 ERA
  5. 75
    Thornton Lee
    117-124, 3.56 ERA
  6. 71
    Jack Sanford
    137-101, 3.69 ERA

Frequently Asked Questions about Joe Dobson

What years did Joe Dobson play?
Joe Dobson played in Major League Baseball from 1939 to 1954.
Was Joe Dobson a pitcher?
Yes. Joe Dobson pitched in the major leagues, recording 137 wins and 992 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Joe Dobson hit?
Joe Dobson hit 2 career home runs with 106 hits.