Benny Frey

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1929-1936)

Benny Frey was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1929 to 1936 for the Cincinnati Reds and the St. Louis Cardinals, a span of 8 seasons. Across 256 career appearances, he went 57-82 with a 4.50 ERA and 179 strikeouts. He also batted .255 with 0 home runs. His career Pitcher PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of pitching impact — is 2669.8.

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 57–82
ERA 4.50
WHIP 1.45
SO 179
Pitcher PIV 2669.8
Position
Pitcher
Bats / Throws
R / R
Height / Weight
5'10" / 165 lb
Born
4/6/1906 in Dexter, MI, USA
Died
11/1/1937 in Spring Arbor Township, MI, USA
MLB Debut
1929-09-18
Last Game
1936-09-22

Full name: Benjamin Rudolph Frey

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Career Pitching Statistics

Benny Frey — Career Pitching Statistics
W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
57 82 256 127 49 7 8 1160.0 1,415 580 54 263 179 4.50 2669.8

Career ERA 4.50 vs. league average 4.35 across their career seasons — near league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Benny Frey Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year Team Lg W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER BB SO ERA Lg ERA Pitcher PIV
1929 CIN NL 1 2 3 3 2 0 0 24.0 29 11 8 1 4.12 4.60 (+10%) -446.3
1930 CIN NL 11 18 44 28 14 2 1 245.0 295 128 62 43 4.70 4.80 (+2%) -295.0
1931 CIN NL 8 12 34 17 7 1 2 133.2 166 73 36 19 4.92 4.10 (-20%) 680.0
1932 SLN NL 0 2 2 0 0 0 0 3.0 6 4 2 0 12.00 — 0.0
1932 CIN NL 4 10 28 15 5 0 0 131.1 159 63 30 27 4.32 4.13 (-5%) -942.9
1933 CIN NL 6 4 37 9 1 1 0 132.0 144 56 21 12 3.82 3.86 (+1%) 867.4
1934 CIN NL 11 16 39 30 12 2 2 245.1 288 96 42 33 3.52 4.29 (+18%) 1756.5
1935 CIN NL 6 10 38 13 3 1 3 114.1 164 87 32 24 6.85 4.35 (-58%) -143.4
1936 CIN NL 10 8 31 12 5 0 0 131.1 164 62 30 20 4.25 4.59 (+7%) 1193.6
Career · 9 seasons 57 82 256 127 49 7 8 1,160.0 1,415 580 263 179 4.50 — 2,670

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

Benny Frey — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
260 385 33 98 9 3 0 23 2 26 67 .255 .305 .294 .599 -751

Career AVG .255 vs. league average .281 across their career seasons — 9.5% below league average.

Career OBP .305 vs. league average .343 across their career seasons — 11.1% below league average.

Career SLG .294 vs. league average .401 across their career seasons — 26.7% below league average.

Career OPS .599 vs. league average .744 across their career seasons — 19.5% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Benny Frey 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
1929 CIN NL 3 8 3 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .375 — — — — 0.0
1930 CIN NL 44 88 7 25 4 1 0 5 0 4 18 .284 .293 (-3%) .354 (-11%) .429 (-18%) .784 (-15%) -228.1
1931 CIN NL 34 44 4 14 2 0 0 3 0 2 4 .318 — — — — 0.0
1932 SLN NL 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000 — — — — 0.0
1932 CIN NL 28 44 2 9 0 0 0 2 0 2 10 .205 — — — — 0.0
1933 CIN NL 38 42 2 11 0 1 0 1 0 6 2 .262 — — — — 0.0
1934 CIN NL 41 82 6 14 0 1 0 6 0 7 21 .171 .278 (-39%) .340 (-28%) .392 (-50%) .733 (-40%) -522.7
1935 CIN NL 38 32 5 11 1 0 0 3 2 2 2 .344 — — — — 0.0
1936 CIN NL 32 44 4 11 1 0 0 3 0 3 8 .250 — — — — 0.0
Career · 9 seasons 260 385 33 98 9 3 0 23 2 26 67 .255 — — — — -751

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.

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (516 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Benny Frey — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home1201751641012.234
Away1402091657011.273

Pitching — Home / Away

Benny Frey — Pitching — Home / Away
SplitGIPHERBBSOERA
Home118563.163223398803.72
Away138595.07823521651005.32

Last 10 Games — Batting

Benny Frey — Last 10 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1936-09-22 CINSTLL 301100001
1936-09-17 CINPITL 100000000
1936-09-13 CINBSNL 100000010
1936-09-09 CINNY1W 302000001
1936-09-05 CINSTLL 200000000
1936-09-01 CINPHIW 000000000
1936-08-29 CINBROW 400000000
1936-08-26 CINNY1L 100000000
1936-08-23 CINCHCL 201000000
1936-08-20 CINSTLL 110000000

Last 10 Games — Pitching

Benny Frey — Last 10 Games — Pitching
DateTmOppDecIPHRERBBSOHR
1936-09-22 CINSTL L 5.0644120
1936-09-17 CINPIT — 2.2754101
1936-09-13 CINBSN L 6.01144010
1936-09-09 CINNY1 W 7.0622211
1936-09-05 CINSTL L 9.01032120
1936-09-01 CINPHI W 1.0211000
1936-08-29 CINBRO W 9.01022100
1936-08-26 CINNY1 — 2.1322100
1936-08-23 CINCHC L 5.0975220
1936-08-20 CINSTL L 2.0333100

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Benny Frey — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
P 256 0 54 354 15 35

Season-by-Season Fielding

Benny Frey — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1929 CIN P 3 0 2 11 3 2
1930 CIN P 44 0 10 79 1 7
1931 CIN P 34 0 4 48 1 5
1932 SLN P 2 0 0 0 0 0
1932 CIN P 28 0 7 39 0 5
1933 CIN P 37 0 11 36 3 3
1934 CIN P 39 0 8 74 1 6
1935 CIN P 38 0 6 34 1 5
1936 CIN P 31 0 6 33 5 2

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Benny Frey Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position Games
Pitcher 256

Award Voting History

Benny Frey — Award Voting History
Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
1934 Most Valuable Player NL 16th 4.0 80 0

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Benny Frey (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Fred Heimach
    62-69, 4.46 ERA
  2. 89
    Joe Genewich
    73-92, 4.29 ERA
  3. 89
    Hollis Thurston
    89-86, 4.24 ERA
  4. 86
    Bill Hubbell
    40-63, 4.68 ERA
  5. 78
    Mule Watson
    50-53, 4.03 ERA
  6. 76
    Ivy Andrews
    50-59, 4.14 ERA

Benny Frey: the record in brief

Benny Frey played a first major league game on September 18, 1929 and a last one on September 22, 1936. Frey played for the Cincinnati Reds (1929 to 1936) and the St. Louis Cardinals (1932). Frey played primarily as a pitcher and threw and hit right-handed. The bio adds a birth date on April 6, 1906, in Dexter, MI, USA and a listed size of 165 pounds on a 5-foot-10 frame. Frey died on November 1, 1937, in Spring Arbor Township, MI, USA. Benny Frey was the playing name; the full given name is Benjamin Rudolph.

The pitching table credits Frey with a 57-82 record and a 4.50 ERA in 256 games. Also on Frey's record: 179 strikeouts, 49 complete games, and 7 shutouts. Frey's 4.50 ERA was close to the 4.35 league figure for those seasons. No season topped the 11 wins of 1930. In 1934, one of the busiest seasons, Frey posted a 3.52 ERA; the league figure that year was 4.29.

Frequently Asked Questions about Benny Frey

What years did Benny Frey play?
Benny Frey played in Major League Baseball from 1929 to 1936.
Was Benny Frey a pitcher?
Yes. Benny Frey pitched in the major leagues, recording 57 wins and 179 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Benny Frey hit?
Benny Frey hit 0 career home runs with 98 hits.
What was Benny Frey's career batting average?
Benny Frey batted .255 over his career, with 98 hits in 385 at bats.
How many RBI did Benny Frey have?
Benny Frey drove in 23 runs in his career.
What was Benny Frey's career ERA?
Benny Frey finished with a 4.50 career ERA, going 57-82 with 179 strikeouts.