Mel Harder

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1928-1947)

Mel Harder was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1928 to 1947 for the Cleveland Guardians, a span of 20 seasons. Across 582 career appearances, he went 223-186 with a 3.80 ERA, 1,160 strikeouts, and 23 saves. He also batted .165 with 4 home runs. Mel Harder was a 4-time All-Star. His career Pitcher PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of pitching impact — is 11572.3.

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 223–186
ERA 3.80
WHIP 1.41
SO 1,160
Pitcher PIV 11572.3
Position
Pitcher
Bats / Throws
R / R
Height / Weight
6'1" / 195 lb
Born
10/15/1909 in Beemer, NE, USA
Died
10/20/2002 in Chardon, OH, USA
MLB Debut
1928-04-24
Last Game
1947-09-07
Awards
4× All-Star

Full name: Melvin Leroy Harder

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Career Pitching Statistics

Mel Harder — Career Pitching Statistics
W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
223 186 582 433 181 25 23 3426.1 3,706 1,447 161 1,118 1,160 3.80 11572.3

Career ERA 3.80 vs. league average 4.10 across their career seasons — 7.2% better than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Mel Harder Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year Team Lg W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER BB SO ERA Lg ERA Pitcher PIV
1928 CLE AL 0 2 23 1 0 0 1 49.0 64 36 32 15 6.61 4.13 (-60%) -1676.3
1929 CLE AL 1 0 11 0 0 0 0 17.2 24 11 5 4 5.60 4.60 (-22%) -495.2
1930 CLE AL 11 10 36 19 7 0 2 175.1 205 82 68 44 4.21 4.80 (+12%) -897.2
1931 CLE AL 13 14 40 24 9 0 1 194.0 229 94 72 63 4.36 4.10 (-6%) -639.9
1932 CLE AL 15 13 39 32 17 1 0 254.2 277 106 68 90 3.75 4.13 (+9%) 2758.3
1933 CLE AL 15 17 43 31 14 2 4 253.0 254 83 67 81 2.95 3.86 (+23%) 1610.4
1934 CLE AL 20 12 44 29 17 6 4 255.1 246 74 81 91 2.61 4.29 (+39%) 2992.4
1935 CLE AL 22 11 42 35 17 4 2 287.1 313 105 53 95 3.29 4.35 (+24%) 7578.5
1936 CLE AL 15 15 36 30 13 0 1 224.2 294 129 71 84 5.17 4.59 (-13%) 1157.2
1937 CLE AL 15 12 38 30 13 0 2 233.2 269 111 86 95 4.28 4.34 (+1%) 1797.0
1938 CLE AL 17 10 38 29 15 2 4 240.0 257 102 62 102 3.83 4.35 (+12%) 2527.8
1939 CLE AL 15 9 29 26 12 1 1 208.0 213 81 64 67 3.50 4.28 (+18%) -229.0
1940 CLE AL 12 11 31 25 5 0 0 186.1 200 84 59 76 4.06 4.21 (+4%) -563.9
1941 CLE AL 5 4 15 10 1 0 1 68.2 76 40 37 21 5.24 3.94 (-33%) -2532.7
1942 CLE AL 13 14 29 29 13 4 0 198.2 179 76 82 74 3.44 3.57 (+4%) -350.5
1943 CLE AL 8 7 19 18 6 1 0 135.1 126 46 61 40 3.06 3.50 (+13%) -2044.2
1944 CLE AL 12 10 30 27 12 2 0 196.1 211 81 69 64 3.71 3.57 (-4%) 599.4
1945 CLE AL 3 7 11 11 2 0 0 76.0 93 31 23 16 3.67 3.67 (avg) -95.5
1946 CLE AL 5 4 13 12 4 1 0 92.1 85 35 31 21 3.41 3.59 (+5%) -256.2
1947 CLE AL 6 4 15 15 4 1 0 80.0 91 40 27 17 4.50 3.97 (-13%) 331.8
Career · 20 seasons 223 186 582 433 181 25 23 3,426.1 3,706 1,447 1,118 1,160 3.80 — 11,572

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

Mel Harder — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
584 1,203 89 199 38 5 4 93 2 39 369 .165 .194 .215 .409 -7,082

Career AVG .165 vs. league average .272 across their career seasons — 39.2% below league average.

Career OBP .194 vs. league average .338 across their career seasons — 42.7% below league average.

Career SLG .215 vs. league average .385 across their career seasons — 44.0% below league average.

Career OPS .409 vs. league average .722 across their career seasons — 43.4% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Mel Harder 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
1928 CLE AL 23 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 .000 — — — — 0.0
1929 CLE AL 11 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000 — — — — 0.0
1930 CLE AL 36 63 8 9 2 1 0 4 1 2 28 .143 .293 (-51%) .354 (-52%) .429 (-52%) .784 (-52%) -575.7
1931 CLE AL 40 75 7 19 2 1 0 10 0 2 24 .253 .276 (-8%) .338 (-19%) .388 (-21%) .726 (-20%) -254.1
1932 CLE AL 39 94 11 17 7 1 0 13 0 5 25 .181 .275 (-34%) .335 (-34%) .391 (-29%) .726 (-31%) -498.0
1933 CLE AL 44 84 2 16 3 0 1 5 0 2 26 .190 .270 (-29%) .329 (-37%) .377 (-31%) .707 (-33%) -451.2
1934 CLE AL 44 87 9 14 6 0 0 5 0 3 24 .161 .278 (-42%) .340 (-45%) .392 (-41%) .733 (-43%) -622.7
1935 CLE AL 42 102 11 21 1 0 2 10 0 2 29 .206 .279 (-26%) .342 (-35%) .399 (-31%) .742 (-33%) -562.8
1936 CLE AL 36 80 3 11 4 0 0 3 0 0 19 .138 .283 (-52%) .349 (-58%) .404 (-54%) .753 (-55%) -748.6
1937 CLE AL 38 86 5 15 4 0 0 10 0 5 33 .174 .276 (-37%) .342 (-36%) .398 (-45%) .740 (-40%) -575.5
1938 CLE AL 39 88 3 10 2 0 0 6 0 4 31 .114 .272 (-58%) .341 (-55%) .392 (-65%) .734 (-61%) -873.0
1939 CLE AL 29 72 8 10 0 1 1 9 0 3 17 .139 .274 (-49%) .342 (-43%) .393 (-47%) .735 (-45%) -536.1
1940 CLE AL 31 62 4 11 1 0 0 4 1 4 17 .177 .267 (-34%) .335 (-32%) .387 (-50%) .722 (-42%) -410.5
1941 CLE AL 15 25 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 7 .080 — — — — 0.0
1942 CLE AL 29 67 3 8 0 0 0 2 0 2 19 .119 .253 (-53%) .323 (-55%) .349 (-66%) .672 (-61%) -611.2
1943 CLE AL 19 47 2 10 1 1 0 4 0 2 11 .213 — — — — 0.0
1944 CLE AL 30 74 9 16 3 0 0 6 0 0 19 .216 .261 (-17%) .325 (-34%) .357 (-28%) .683 (-31%) -362.3
1945 CLE AL 11 25 0 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 9 .080 — — — — 0.0
1946 CLE AL 13 35 1 3 0 0 0 1 0 1 14 .086 — — — — 0.0
1947 CLE AL 15 28 2 5 1 0 0 1 0 2 10 .179 — — — — 0.0
Career · 20 seasons 584 1,203 89 199 38 5 4 93 2 39 369 .165 — — — — -7,082

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 (1166 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Mel Harder — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home28957051105150.184
Away2956343894341.148

Pitching — Home / Away

Mel Harder — Pitching — Home / Away
SplitGIPHERBBSOERA
Home2891760.118697245526393.70
Away2931665.018387305695233.95

Last 10 Games — Batting

Mel Harder — Last 10 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1947-09-07 CLECHWW 200000001
1947-08-24 CLEBOSL 000000000
1947-08-19 CLEMINW 000000000
1947-08-11 CLEDETL 101000000
1947-08-06 CLEDETL 100000000
1947-08-01 CLENYYW 201000111
1947-07-26 CLEMINL 200000000
1947-07-20 CLEMINW 300000002
1947-07-13 CLEBOSW 201000000
1947-07-05 CLECHWL 211100001

Last 10 Games — Pitching

Mel Harder — Last 10 Games — Pitching
DateTmOppDecIPHRERBBSOHR
1947-09-07 CLECHW — 4.2521100
1947-08-24 CLEBOS L 0.1233200
1947-08-19 CLEMIN — 2.1422000
1947-08-11 CLEDET L 3.0433400
1947-08-06 CLEDET L 1.2977201
1947-08-01 CLENYY — 5.2833020
1947-07-26 CLEMIN — 4.0644110
1947-07-20 CLEMIN W 9.0611220
1947-07-13 CLEBOS W 9.0900230
1947-07-05 CLECHW L 4.2955320

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Mel Harder — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
P 582 0 209 734 45 38

Season-by-Season Fielding

Mel Harder — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1928 CLE P 23 0 0 8 2 0
1929 CLE P 11 0 0 3 1 0
1930 CLE P 36 0 9 32 7 3
1931 CLE P 40 0 14 38 4 4
1932 CLE P 39 0 18 65 2 0
1933 CLE P 43 0 22 87 3 4
1934 CLE P 44 0 10 61 7 2
1935 CLE P 42 0 18 81 4 0
1936 CLE P 36 0 13 38 3 3
1937 CLE P 38 0 12 48 1 3
1938 CLE P 38 0 21 49 1 2
1939 CLE P 29 0 14 26 1 1
1940 CLE P 31 0 9 38 2 4
1941 CLE P 15 0 7 16 1 0
1942 CLE P 29 0 14 44 3 5
1943 CLE P 19 0 6 27 0 2
1944 CLE P 30 0 11 34 2 3
1945 CLE P 11 0 6 19 0 1
1946 CLE P 13 0 5 9 0 1
1947 CLE P 15 0 0 11 1 0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Mel Harder Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position Games
Pitcher 582

Awards & Honors

Mel Harder — Awards & Honors
Year Award Notes
1935 Baseball Magazine All-Star P3
1934 Baseball Magazine All-Star P3

Award Voting History

Mel Harder — Award Voting History
Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
1938 Most Valuable Player AL 16th 14.0 336 0
1935 Most Valuable Player AL 22th 2.0 80 0
1934 Most Valuable Player AL 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

Mel Harder (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    George Uhle
    200-166, 3.99 ERA
  2. 88
    Tom Zachary
    186-191, 3.73 ERA
  3. 85
    Sad Sam Jones
    229-217, 3.84 ERA
  4. 82
    Murry Dickson
    172-181, 3.66 ERA
  5. 81
    Herb Pennock HOF
    240-162, 3.60 ERA
  6. 81
    Bullet Joe Bush
    195-183, 3.51 ERA

Compare Mel Harder

Side-by-side career stat comparisons against Harder's closest peers by position and era.

vs Lefty Grove
vs Pete Alexander
vs Warren Spahn
vs Carl Hubbell
vs Bob Feller
vs Hal Newhouser

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Mel Harder: the record in brief

Mel Harder played a first major league game on April 24, 1928 and a last one on September 7, 1947. Harder spent the whole of the career shown here with one club, the Cleveland Indians. Harder played primarily as a pitcher and both batted and threw right-handed. Born on October 15, 1909, in Beemer, NE, USA, Harder was listed at 6 feet, 1 inch and 195 pounds. The bio records the death on October 20, 2002, in Chardon, OH, USA. Harder's full given name, per the bio, is Melvin Leroy Harder.

Harder went 223-186 with a 3.80 ERA in 582 games, 433 of them starts. Also on Harder's record: 1,160 strikeouts, 181 complete games, 25 shutouts, and 23 saves. That 3.80 ERA compares with a 4.10 league average across the same seasons, 7.2% better. The best win total was 22, in 1935. The strikeout high was 102 in 1938. In 1934, one of the busiest seasons, Harder posted a 2.61 ERA; the league figure that year was 4.29.

Frequently Asked Questions about Mel Harder

What years did Mel Harder play?
Mel Harder played in Major League Baseball from 1928 to 1947.
Was Mel Harder a pitcher?
Yes. Mel Harder pitched in the major leagues, recording 223 wins and 1160 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Mel Harder hit?
Mel Harder hit 4 career home runs with 199 hits.
What teams did Mel Harder play for?
Mel Harder played for one team, the Cleveland Indians (1928–1947).
What awards did Mel Harder win?
Mel Harder was selected to 4 All-Star Games.
What were Mel Harder's career stats?
In 582 games, Mel Harder went 223-186 with a 3.80 ERA, 1,160 strikeouts, 3,426.1 innings pitched, and 23 saves. At the plate he had 199 hits and 4 home runs.
What position did Mel Harder play?
Mel Harder played primarily as a pitcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.
How tall was Mel Harder and how much did he weigh?
Mel Harder was listed at 6 feet 1 inch and 195 pounds.
What was Mel Harder's career ERA?
Mel Harder finished with a 3.80 career ERA, going 223-186 with 1,160 strikeouts.
How many strikeouts did Mel Harder have?
Mel Harder recorded 1,160 career strikeouts.
Is Mel Harder in the Hall of Fame?
No. Mel Harder has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
How many All-Star Games did Mel Harder make?
Mel Harder was selected to 4 All-Star Games.