Bob Griffith

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records

Bob Griffith was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball for 5 teams, including the Nashville Elite Giants. Across 109 career appearances, he went 25-31 with a 4.76 ERA and 264 strikeouts. He also batted .262 with 2 home runs. Bob Griffith was a 2-time All-Star. His totals include Negro Leagues seasons, which MLB recognized as major league in 2020. His career Pitcher PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of pitching impact — is 4868.4.

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 25–31
ERA 4.76
WHIP 1.47
SO 264
Pitcher PIV 4868.4
Position
Pitcher
Bats / Throws
R / R
Height / Weight
6'3" / 200 lb
Born
10/1/1912 in Liberty, TN, USA
Died
11/8/1977 in Indianapolis, IN, USA
Awards
2× All-Star

Full name: Robert Lee Griffith

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Negro Leagues Career Statistics

Batting

Bob Griffith — Batting
PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB BA OBP SLG OPS
330.0 317.0 33.0 86.0 9.0 7.0 5.0 39.0 9.0 2.0 2.0 .271 .291 .391 .682

Pitching

Bob Griffith — Pitching
W L GS CG GF SV IP H R ER HR BB SO ERA WHIP
40 52 95 58 46 7 783.0 776 460 150 40 176 230 1.72 1.22

Negro Leagues (season totals). Additive Retrosheet-digitized totals for seasons not already in the logs above; they are not summed into the career line. No team/league breakdown is available, and coverage may be partial.

Negro Leagues Season-by-Season Batting

Bob Griffith — Negro Leagues Season-by-Season Batting
Season PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB BA OBP SLG OPS
1949 31.0 28.0 4.0 12.0 1.0 0 1.0 5.0 2.0 0 0 .429 .467 .571 1.038
Listed seasons · 1 31 28 4 12 1 0 1 5 2 0 0 .429 — — —

Negro Leagues Season-by-Season Pitching

Bob Griffith — Negro Leagues Season-by-Season Pitching
Season W L GS CG GF SV IP H R ER HR BB SO ERA WHIP
1949 9 4 13 10 2 0 99.1 83 37 19 2 18 21 1.72 1.02
Listed seasons · 1 9 4 13 10 2 0 99.1 83 37 19 2 18 21 1.72 1.02

Career Pitching Statistics

Bob Griffith — Career Pitching Statistics
W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
25 31 109 59 32 1 5 527.0 588 279 27 188 264 4.76 4868.4

Career ERA 4.76 vs. league average 4.05 across their career seasons — 17.8% worse than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Bob Griffith Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year Team Lg W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER BB SO ERA Lg ERA Pitcher PIV
1934 NEG NN2 2 3 7 5 3 0 0 37.2 35 19 14 23 4.54 4.29 (-6%) 714.2
1935 CEG NN2 3 3 9 5 4 0 1 49.2 43 18 20 30 3.26 4.35 (+25%) 466.3
1936 WEG NN2 6 3 14 11 4 0 2 67.0 61 29 32 36 3.90 4.59 (+15%) 1479.9
1937 WEG NN2 1 1 2 2 2 0 0 17.0 17 11 6 13 5.82 4.34 (-34%) 359.1
1938 BEG NN2 4 4 13 10 9 0 2 82.0 81 36 17 36 3.95 4.35 (+9%) 1752.6
1941 BEG NN2 3 1 8 3 1 0 0 27.2 36 15 10 20 4.88 3.94 (-24%) 636.4
1942 NBY NN2 1 2 11 6 0 0 0 51.0 73 32 19 27 5.65 3.57 (-58%) 873.7
1943 NBY NN2 0 4 11 4 2 0 0 58.1 68 36 21 18 5.55 3.50 (-59%) -158.3
1946 NBY NN2 2 3 13 5 3 0 0 49.2 65 32 21 14 5.80 3.59 (-61%) -677.7
1947 NBY NN2 0 6 12 4 2 0 0 51.2 66 33 13 29 5.75 3.97 (-45%) -552.4
1948 NBY NN2 3 1 9 4 2 1 0 35.1 43 18 15 18 4.58 4.10 (-12%) -25.4
Career · 11 seasons 25 31 109 59 32 1 5 527.0 588 279 188 264 4.76 — 4,868

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

Bob Griffith — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
139 279 35 73 10 5 2 31 2 10 2 .262 .287 .355 .642 -205

Career AVG .262 vs. league average .268 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career OBP .287 vs. league average .337 across their career seasons — 14.7% below league average.

Career SLG .355 vs. league average .379 across their career seasons — 6.4% below league average.

Career OPS .642 vs. league average .716 across their career seasons — 10.3% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Bob Griffith 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
1934 NEG NN2 7 16 3 4 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 .250 — — — — 0.0
1935 CEG NN2 9 18 5 6 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 .333 — — — — 0.0
1936 WEG NN2 14 27 2 4 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 .148 — — — — 0.0
1937 WEG NN2 2 8 1 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .250 — — — — 0.0
1938 BEG NN2 13 32 5 11 0 1 0 8 0 1 1 .344 — — — — 0.0
1941 BEG NN2 9 11 2 4 1 0 0 2 1 0 0 .364 — — — — 0.0
1942 NBY NN2 13 25 2 6 1 0 0 3 0 0 0 .240 — — — — 0.0
1943 NBY NN2 22 65 6 15 1 2 0 5 0 1 0 .231 .255 (-10%) .324 (-25%) .346 (-11%) .671 (-18%) -205.2
1946 NBY NN2 17 25 2 5 1 0 1 4 0 2 1 .200 — — — — 0.0
1947 NBY NN2 18 30 3 10 2 1 0 5 1 3 0 .333 — — — — 0.0
1948 NBY NN2 15 22 4 6 0 0 1 2 0 2 0 .273 — — — — 0.0
Career · 11 seasons 139 279 35 73 10 5 2 31 2 10 2 .262 — — — — -205

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 (274 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Bob Griffith — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home61111929114.261
Away941572240414.255

Pitching — Home / Away

Bob Griffith — Pitching — Home / Away
SplitGIPHERBBSOERA
Home50290.024466781082.05
Away69357.04098288832.07

Last 10 Games — Batting

Bob Griffith — Last 10 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1949-09-05 PH5BLGW 000000000
1949-08-26 PH5BLGL 202000010
1949-08-20 PH5IN9W 000000000
1949-07-31 PH5CAGL 000000000
1949-07-25 PH5IN9L 300000000
1949-07-24 PH5NY6L 101000000
1949-07-10 PH5BIRL 111100010
1949-07-05 PH5HOEW 000000000
1949-06-07 PH5BIRW 423000100
1949-06-06 PH5HOEL 101000000

Last 10 Games — Pitching

Bob Griffith — Last 10 Games — Pitching
DateTmOppDecIPHRERBBSOHR
1949-09-05 PH5BLG W 5.0020000
1949-08-26 PH5BLG L 8.01190430
1949-08-20 PH5IN9 W 9.0010000
1949-07-31 PH5CAG L 6.0752000
1949-07-25 PH5IN9 L 9.01066301
1949-07-10 PH5BIR — 0.1100000
1949-07-05 PH5HOE W 9.0711000
1949-06-07 PH5BIR W 9.0932090
1949-05-30 PH5HOE W 9.0832520
1949-05-25 PH5KCM W 9.0800150

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Bob Griffith — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
OF 17 10 20 1 3 1
P 109 59 15 164 8 5

Season-by-Season Fielding

Bob Griffith — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1934 NEG P 7 5 1 9 0 0
1935 CEG P 9 5 3 19 0 0
1936 WEG P 14 11 1 18 4 1
1937 WEG P 2 2 0 6 0 0
1938 BEG P 13 10 3 22 0 0
1941 BEG P 8 3 0 3 0 0
1942 NBY OF 1 1 2 0 0 0
1942 NBY P 11 6 2 17 0 1
1943 NBY OF 10 8 13 1 2 1
1943 NBY P 11 4 1 18 3 0
1946 NBY OF 1 0 0 0 0 0
1946 NBY P 13 5 0 19 0 1
1947 NBY OF 1 0 1 0 0 0
1947 NBY P 12 4 4 17 1 2
1948 NBY OF 4 1 4 0 1 0
1948 NBY P 9 4 0 16 0 0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Bob Griffith Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position Games
Pitcher 109
Left Field 11
Center Field 1
Right Field 5

Most Similar Players

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

  1. 98
    Jesse Hubbard
    34-41, 4.79 ERA
  2. 88
    Mike Paxton
    30-24, 4.71 ERA
  3. 87
    Roy Smith
    30-31, 4.60 ERA
  4. 86
    Osvaldo Fernandez
    19-26, 4.93 ERA
  5. 83
    Ted Shaw
    24-19, 4.77 ERA
  6. 83
    Jose Mercedes
    33-39, 4.75 ERA

Bob Griffith: the record in brief

Bob Griffith's record on this page is drawn from the season tables, which run from 1934 to 1948. By club, Griffith's seasons break down as the Nashville Elite Giants (1934), the Columbus Elite Giants (1935), the Washington Elite Giants (1936 through 1937), the Baltimore Elite Giants (1938 through 1941), and the New York Black Yankees (1942 to 1948). Griffith is listed as a pitcher at 6'3" and 200 pounds. Griffith batted and threw right-handed, per the bio block. Griffith was born on October 1, 1912, in Liberty, TN, USA. Griffith's death is recorded on November 8, 1977, in Indianapolis, IN, USA. On the record, Bob Griffith was born Robert Lee Griffith.

Across 109 games (59 starts), Griffith recorded 25 wins against 31 losses with a 4.76 ERA. The totals include 264 strikeouts and 32 complete games. Against a 4.05 league ERA for the same seasons, the 4.76 mark was 17.8% worse. The best win total was 6, in 1936.

Frequently Asked Questions about Bob Griffith

Was Bob Griffith a pitcher?
Yes. Bob Griffith pitched in the major leagues, recording 25 wins and 264 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Bob Griffith hit?
Bob Griffith hit 2 career home runs with 73 hits.
What was Bob Griffith's career batting average?
Bob Griffith batted .262 over his career, with 73 hits in 279 at bats.
How many RBI did Bob Griffith have?
Bob Griffith drove in 31 runs in his career.
What was Bob Griffith's career ERA?
Bob Griffith finished with a 4.76 career ERA, going 25-31 with 264 strikeouts.
How many strikeouts did Bob Griffith have?
Bob Griffith recorded 264 career strikeouts.