Clark Griffith
⭐ Hall of Fame 1946
Born: 11/20/1869 in Clear Creek, MO, USA
Died: 10/27/1955 in Washington, DC, USA
MLB Debut: 1891-04-11 | Final Game: 1914-10-07
Bats: R | Throws: R | Height: 5'6" | Weight: 156 lbs
Full name: Clark Calvin Griffith
Biography
Clark Griffith, born in 1869, was a prominent pitcher in Major League Baseball whose career spanned from 1891 to 1914. Known for his exceptional skills on the mound, Griffith compiled a career record of 237 wins and 146 losses, showcasing a remarkable earned run average (ERA) of 3.31. Throughout his tenure, he recorded 955 strikeouts and notched 8 saves, establishing himself as a formidable competitor during an era that laid the groundwork for modern baseball. His playing style was characterized by precision and strategy, which made him a key figure in the development of pitching techniques.
Griffith's contributions to the game extended beyond his playing days; he was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1946, recognizing his significant impact on the sport. After retiring as a player, he transitioned into coaching and management, further influencing baseball's evolution. His legacy is remembered not only for his impressive statistics but also for his role in shaping the future of the game during a transformative period in baseball history.
Career Pitching Statistics
| W | L | G | GS | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | ER | HR | BB | SO | ERA | Pitcher PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 237 | 146 | 453 | 372 | 337 | 22 | 8 | 3385.7 | 3670 | 1246 | 76 | 774 | 955 | 3.31 | 0 |
Season-by-Season Pitching
| Year | Team | Lg | W | L | G | GS | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA | Pitcher PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1891 | BS2 | AA | 3 | 1 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 40.0 | 47 | 25 | 15 | 20 | 5.62 | -484.8 |
| 1891 | SL4 | AA | 11 | 8 | 27 | 17 | 12 | 0 | 2 | 186.3 | 195 | 69 | 58 | 68 | 3.33 | -42.6 |
| 1893 | CHC | NL | 1 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 19.7 | 24 | 11 | 5 | 9 | 5.03 | - |
| 1894 | CHC | NL | 21 | 14 | 36 | 30 | 28 | 0 | 0 | 261.3 | 328 | 143 | 85 | 71 | 4.92 | - |
| 1895 | CHC | NL | 26 | 14 | 42 | 41 | 39 | 0 | 0 | 353.0 | 434 | 154 | 91 | 79 | 3.93 | - |
| 1896 | CHC | NL | 23 | 11 | 36 | 35 | 35 | 0 | 0 | 317.7 | 370 | 125 | 70 | 81 | 3.54 | - |
| 1897 | CHC | NL | 21 | 18 | 41 | 38 | 38 | 1 | 1 | 343.7 | 410 | 142 | 86 | 102 | 3.72 | - |
| 1898 | CHC | NL | 24 | 10 | 38 | 38 | 36 | 4 | 0 | 325.7 | 305 | 68 | 64 | 97 | 1.88 | - |
| 1899 | CHC | NL | 22 | 14 | 38 | 38 | 35 | 0 | 0 | 319.7 | 329 | 99 | 65 | 73 | 2.79 | - |
| 1900 | CHC | NL | 14 | 13 | 30 | 30 | 27 | 4 | 0 | 248.0 | 245 | 84 | 51 | 61 | 3.05 | - |
| 1901 | CHW | AL | 24 | 7 | 35 | 30 | 26 | 5 | 1 | 266.7 | 275 | 79 | 50 | 67 | 2.67 | - |
| 1902 | CHW | AL | 15 | 9 | 28 | 24 | 20 | 3 | 0 | 213.0 | 247 | 99 | 47 | 51 | 4.18 | - |
| 1903 | NYY | AL | 14 | 11 | 25 | 24 | 22 | 2 | 0 | 213.0 | 201 | 64 | 33 | 69 | 2.70 | - |
| 1904 | NYY | AL | 7 | 5 | 16 | 11 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 100.3 | 91 | 32 | 16 | 36 | 2.87 | - |
| 1905 | NYY | AL | 9 | 6 | 25 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 101.7 | 82 | 19 | 15 | 46 | 1.68 | - |
| 1906 | NYY | AL | 2 | 2 | 17 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 59.7 | 58 | 20 | 15 | 16 | 3.02 | - |
| 1907 | NYY | AL | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8.3 | 15 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 8.64 | - |
| 1909 | CIN | NL | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6.0 | 11 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 6.00 | 0.0 |
| 1912 | WSN | AL | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | - |
| 1913 | WSN | AL | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | - |
| 1914 | WSN | AL | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.00 | - |
Career Batting Statistics
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 485 | 1380 | 202 | 321 | 49 | 17 | 8 | 166 | 22 | 166 | 126 | 0.233 | 0.318 | 0.310 | 0.628 | -2327.8 |
Season-by-Season Batting
| Year | Team | Lg | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1891 | BS2 | AA | 10 | 23 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 5 | 0.174 | 0.0 |
| 1891 | SL4 | AA | 27 | 77 | 11 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 2 | 8 | 15 | 0.156 | 0.0 |
| 1893 | CHC | NL | 4 | 11 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.182 | 0.0 |
| 1894 | CHC | NL | 46 | 142 | 27 | 33 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 15 | 6 | 23 | 9 | 0.232 | -509.1 |
| 1895 | CHC | NL | 43 | 144 | 20 | 46 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 27 | 2 | 16 | 9 | 0.319 | 33.2 |
| 1896 | CHC | NL | 38 | 135 | 22 | 36 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 16 | 3 | 9 | 7 | 0.267 | -260.4 |
| 1897 | CHC | NL | 46 | 162 | 27 | 38 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 21 | 2 | 18 | 8 | 0.235 | -399.3 |
| 1898 | CHC | NL | 38 | 122 | 15 | 20 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 15 | 1 | 13 | 6 | 0.164 | -624.6 |
| 1899 | CHC | NL | 39 | 120 | 15 | 31 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 2 | 14 | 9 | 0.258 | -137.3 |
| 1900 | CHC | NL | 30 | 95 | 16 | 24 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 2 | 8 | 7 | 0.253 | -115.0 |
| 1901 | CHW | AL | 35 | 89 | 21 | 27 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 14 | 0 | 23 | 5 | 0.303 | 530.9 |
| 1902 | CHW | AL | 35 | 92 | 11 | 20 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 7 | 4 | 0.217 | -304.3 |
| 1903 | NYY | AL | 25 | 69 | 5 | 11 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 11 | 13 | 0.159 | -164.8 |
| 1904 | NYY | AL | 16 | 42 | 2 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 13 | 0.143 | 0.0 |
| 1905 | NYY | AL | 26 | 32 | 2 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 11 | 0.219 | 0.0 |
| 1906 | NYY | AL | 17 | 18 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 0.111 | 0.0 |
| 1907 | NYY | AL | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.000 | 0.0 |
| 1909 | CIN | NL | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.000 | 0.0 |
| 1910 | CIN | NL | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0.0 |
| 1912 | WSN | AL | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.000 | 0.0 |
| 1913 | WSN | AL | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 0.0 |
| 1914 | WSN | AL | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 0.0 |
Fielding Statistics
Career Fielding Totals by Position
| Position | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1B | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2B | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 3B | 1 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| OF | 18 | 0 | 13 | 2 | 5 | 0 |
| P | 453 | 21 | 179 | 863 | 64 | 22 |
| SS | 4 | 0 | 6 | 9 | 6 | 1 |
Season-by-Season Fielding
| Year | Team | Pos | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1891 | BS2 | P | 7 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 0 |
| 1891 | BS2 | OF | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1891 | SL4 | P | 27 | 0 | 8 | 45 | 4 | 1 |
| 1893 | CHN | P | 4 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| 1894 | CHN | P | 36 | 0 | 20 | 45 | 4 | 1 |
| 1894 | CHN | SS | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 1894 | CHN | OF | 7 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| 1895 | CHN | P | 42 | 0 | 27 | 81 | 9 | 2 |
| 1895 | CHN | OF | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1896 | CHN | P | 36 | 0 | 20 | 79 | 9 | 3 |
| 1897 | CHN | P | 41 | 0 | 23 | 85 | 6 | 3 |
| 1897 | CHN | 1B | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1897 | CHN | 3B | 1 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| 1897 | CHN | SS | 2 | 0 | 5 | 8 | 1 | 1 |
| 1897 | CHN | OF | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 1898 | CHN | P | 38 | 0 | 18 | 82 | 5 | 2 |
| 1899 | CHN | P | 38 | 0 | 17 | 109 | 9 | 3 |
| 1899 | CHN | SS | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 1900 | CHN | P | 30 | 0 | 9 | 57 | 6 | 0 |
| 1901 | CHA | P | 35 | 0 | 9 | 78 | 5 | 3 |
| 1902 | CHA | P | 28 | 0 | 10 | 55 | 0 | 1 |
| 1902 | CHA | OF | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1903 | NYA | P | 25 | 0 | 8 | 50 | 1 | 1 |
| 1904 | NYA | P | 16 | 11 | 3 | 32 | 2 | 0 |
| 1905 | NYA | P | 25 | 7 | 1 | 23 | 1 | 0 |
| 1905 | NYA | OF | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1906 | NYA | P | 17 | 2 | 1 | 23 | 0 | 2 |
| 1907 | NYA | P | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 |
| 1909 | CIN | P | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 1912 | WS1 | P | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1912 | WS1 | 2B | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 1913 | WS1 | P | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1913 | WS1 | OF | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1914 | WS1 | P | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Career Games by Position
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| Pitcher | 453 |
| First Base | 1 |
| Second Base | 1 |
| Third Base | 1 |
| Shortstop | 4 |
| Left Field | 6 |
| Center Field | 5 |
| Right Field | 8 |
College History
| School Name | City | State | Years Attended |
|---|---|---|---|
| Illinois State University | Normal | IL | 1887 |