What years did Ken Holcombe play?

Ken Holcombe played in Major League Baseball from 1945 to 1953.

Was Ken Holcombe a pitcher?

Yes. Ken Holcombe pitched in the major leagues, recording 18 wins and 118 strikeouts.

How many home runs did Ken Holcombe hit?

Ken Holcombe hit 0 career home runs with 19 hits.

What was Ken Holcombe's career batting average?

Ken Holcombe batted .179 over his career, with 19 hits in 106 at bats.

How many RBI did Ken Holcombe have?

Ken Holcombe drove in 3 runs in his career.

What was Ken Holcombe's career ERA?

Ken Holcombe finished with a 3.98 career ERA, going 18-32 with 118 strikeouts.

Ken Holcombe

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1945-1953)

Ken Holcombe was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1945 to 1953 for 5 teams, including the New York Yankees, a span of 9 seasons. Across 99 career appearances, he went 18-32 with a 3.98 ERA and 118 strikeouts.

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 October 12, 2026

W–L 18–32

ERA 3.98

WHIP 1.46

SO 118

Pitcher PIV -1496.3

Position: Pitcher
Bats / Throws: R / R
Height / Weight: 5'11" / 169 lb
Born: 8/23/1918 in Burnsville, NC, USA
Died: 3/15/2010 in Weaverville, NC, USA
MLB Debut: 1945-04-27
Last Game: 1953-05-10

Full name: Kenneth Edward Holcombe

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Career Pitching Statistics

Ken Holcombe — Career Pitching Statistics
W	L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	SO	ERA	Pitcher PIV
18	32	99	48	18	2	2	375.0	377	166	25	170	118	3.98	-1496.3

Career ERA 3.98 vs. league average 3.99 across their career seasons — near league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Ken Holcombe — Season-by-Season Pitching
Year	Team	Lg	W	L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA	Lg ERA	Pitcher PIV
1945	NYA	AL	3	3	23	2	0	0	0	55.1	43	11	27	20	1.79	3.67 (+51%)	-361.2
1948	CIN	NL	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	2.1	3	2	0	2	7.71	—	0.0
1950	CHA	AL	3	10	24	15	5	0	1	96.0	122	49	45	37	4.59	4.36 (-5%)	-515.7
1951	CHA	AL	11	12	28	23	12	2	0	159.1	142	67	68	39	3.78	4.04 (+6%)	68.6
1952	CHA	AL	0	5	7	7	1	0	0	35.0	38	24	18	12	6.17	3.70 (-67%)	-727.0
1952	SLA	AL	0	2	12	1	0	0	0	21.0	20	9	9	7	3.86	3.70 (-4%)	39.0
1953	BOS	AL	1	0	3	0	0	0	1	6.0	9	4	3	1	6.00	—	0.0
Career · 7 seasons			18	32	99	48	18	2	2	375.0	377	166	170	118	3.98	—	-1,496

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

Ken Holcombe — Career Batting Statistics
G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	PIV
99	106	7	19	2	0	0	3	0	3	36	.179	.202	.198	.400	0

Career AVG .179 vs. league average .261 across their career seasons — 31.4% below league average.

Career OBP .202 vs. league average .336 across their career seasons — 39.9% below league average.

Career SLG .198 vs. league average .381 across their career seasons — 48.0% below league average.

Career OPS .400 vs. league average .716 across their career seasons — 44.2% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Ken Holcombe — Season-by-Season Batting
Year	Team	Lg	G	AB	R	H	2B	RBI	BB	SO	AVG	Lg AVG	Lg OBP	Lg SLG	Lg OPS	PIV
1945	NYA	AL	23	15	0	2	0	0	0	7	.133	—	—	—	—	0.0
1948	CIN	NL	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1950	CHA	AL	24	32	2	5	1	0	0	8	.156	—	—	—	—	0.0
1951	CHA	AL	28	44	5	11	1	3	3	16	.250	—	—	—	—	0.0
1952	CHA	AL	7	10	0	0	0	0	0	4	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1952	SLA	AL	12	3	0	1	0	0	0	0	.333	—	—	—	—	0.0
1953	BOS	AL	3	2	0	0	0	0	0	1	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
Career · 7 seasons			99	106	7	19	2	3	3	36	.179	—	—	—	—	0

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 (198 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Ken Holcombe — Batting — Home / Away
Split	G	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	AVG
Home	44	33	1	4	0	0	.121
Away	55	73	6	15	0	3	.205

Pitching — Home / Away

Ken Holcombe — Pitching — Home / Away
Split	G	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
Home	44	146.0	153	73	76	52	4.50
Away	55	229.0	223	98	94	65	3.85

Last 10 Games — Batting

Ken Holcombe — Last 10 Games — Batting
Date	Tm	Opp	Res	AB	SO
1953-05-10	BOS	NYY	L	0	0
1953-04-20	BOS	MIN	W	1	1
1953-04-16	BOS	PHA	W	1	0
1952-07-20	SLA	MIN	L	2	0
1952-07-18	SLA	MIN	L	0	0
1952-07-17	SLA	PHA	L	0	0
1952-07-13	SLA	BOS	L	0	0
1952-07-06	SLA	DET	L	0	0
1952-07-05	SLA	DET	L	0	0
1952-07-04	SLA	CHW	L	0	0

Last 10 Games — Pitching

Ken Holcombe — Last 10 Games — Pitching
Date	Tm	Opp	Dec	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR
1953-05-10	BOS	NYY	—	0.1	3	2	2	0	0	0
1953-04-20	BOS	MIN	SV	2.0	2	2	2	2	1	0
1953-04-16	BOS	PHA	W	3.2	4	0	0	1	0	0
1952-07-20	SLA	MIN	—	5.0	5	3	3	2	3	0
1952-07-18	SLA	MIN	—	0.1	2	0	0	0	0	0
1952-07-17	SLA	PHA	—	2.0	2	0	0	1	0	0
1952-07-13	SLA	BOS	L	1.2	2	3	3	1	1	1
1952-07-06	SLA	DET	—	2.0	3	2	2	1	1	0
1952-07-05	SLA	DET	—	0.2	0	0	0	0	0	0
1952-07-04	SLA	CHW	—	1.0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Ken Holcombe — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
P	99	0	19	84	8	7

Season-by-Season Fielding

Ken Holcombe — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year	Team	Pos	G	PO	A	E	DP
1945	NYA	P	23	2	10	1	1
1948	CIN	P	2	0	0	0	0
1950	CHA	P	24	6	16	2	1
1951	CHA	P	28	8	42	3	5
1952	CHA	P	7	1	10	2	0
1952	SLA	P	12	1	5	0	0
1953	BOS	P	3	1	1	0	0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Ken Holcombe — Career Games by Position
Position	Games
Pitcher	99

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Ken Holcombe (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

Ken Holcombe: the record in brief

According to the bio, Ken Holcombe debuted on April 27, 1945 and played a final game on May 10, 1953. Club by club, the record runs the New York Yankees (1945), the Cincinnati Reds (1948), the Chicago White Sox (1950 to 1952), the St. Louis Browns (1952), and the Boston Red Sox (1953). Holcombe is listed as a pitcher at 5-foot-11 and 169 pounds. Holcombe threw and hit right-handed, per the bio block. The recorded birth is August 23, 1918, in Burnsville, NC, USA. Holcombe's death is recorded on March 15, 2010, in Weaverville, NC, USA. Ken Holcombe was the playing name; the full given name is Kenneth Edward.

The pitching table credits Holcombe with a 18-32 record and a 3.98 ERA in 99 games. Also on Holcombe's record: 118 strikeouts and 18 complete games. Holcombe's 3.98 ERA was close to the 3.99 league figure for those seasons. Holcombe won 11 games in 1951, the most of any season listed. Among the heaviest workloads, the lowest ERA was 3.78 in 1951, when the league's was 4.04.

Frequently Asked Questions about Ken Holcombe

What years did Ken Holcombe play?: Ken Holcombe played in Major League Baseball from 1945 to 1953.
Was Ken Holcombe a pitcher?: Yes. Ken Holcombe pitched in the major leagues, recording 18 wins and 118 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Ken Holcombe hit?: Ken Holcombe hit 0 career home runs with 19 hits.
What was Ken Holcombe's career batting average?: Ken Holcombe batted .179 over his career, with 19 hits in 106 at bats.
How many RBI did Ken Holcombe have?: Ken Holcombe drove in 3 runs in his career.
What was Ken Holcombe's career ERA?: Ken Holcombe finished with a 3.98 career ERA, going 18-32 with 118 strikeouts.