Benn Karr

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1920-1927)

Benn Karr was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1920 to 1927 for the Boston Red Sox and the Cleveland Guardians, a span of 8 seasons. Across 177 career appearances, he went 35-48 with a 4.60 ERA and 180 strikeouts. He also batted .245 with 2 home runs.

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 35–48
ERA 4.60
WHIP 1.51
SO 180
Pitcher PIV -7920.9
Position
Pitcher
Bats / Throws
L / R
Height / Weight
6'0" / 175 lb
Born
11/28/1893 in Mount Pleasant, MS, USA
Died
12/8/1968 in Memphis, TN, USA
MLB Debut
1920-04-20
Last Game
1927-07-03

Full name: Benjamin Joyce Karr

📊 Compare This Player 📈 View Career Timeline

Career Pitching Statistics

Benn Karr — Career Pitching Statistics
W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
35 48 177 58 29 1 5 780.1 921 399 43 260 180 4.60 -7920.9

Career ERA 4.60 vs. league average 4.08 across their career seasons — 12.9% worse than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Benn Karr — Season-by-Season Pitching
Year Team Lg W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER BB SO ERA Lg ERA Pitcher PIV
1920 BOS AL 3 8 26 2 0 0 1 91.2 109 49 24 21 4.81 3.45 (-40%) -306.2
1921 BOS AL 8 7 26 7 5 0 0 117.2 123 48 38 37 3.67 4.02 (+9%) -1161.8
1922 BOS AL 5 12 41 13 7 0 1 183.1 212 91 45 41 4.47 4.18 (-7%) -438.2
1925 CLE AL 11 12 32 24 12 1 0 197.2 248 105 80 41 4.78 4.55 (-5%) -2306.8
1926 CLE AL 5 6 30 7 4 0 1 113.1 137 63 41 23 5.00 4.11 (-22%) -2360.0
1927 CLE AL 3 3 22 5 1 0 2 76.2 92 43 32 17 5.05 4.08 (-24%) -1348.0
Career · 6 seasons 35 48 177 58 29 1 5 780.1 921 399 260 180 4.60 — -7,921

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

Benn Karr — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
265 392 43 96 20 0 2 47 3 26 58 .245 .292 .311 .603 -928

Career AVG .245 vs. league average .282 across their career seasons — 13.3% below league average.

Career OBP .292 vs. league average .344 across their career seasons — 15.1% below league average.

Career SLG .311 vs. league average .391 across their career seasons — 20.5% below league average.

Career OPS .603 vs. league average .735 across their career seasons — 18.0% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Benn Karr — Season-by-Season Batting
Year Team Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG Lg AVG Lg OBP Lg SLG Lg OPS PIV
1920 BOS AL 57 75 8 21 5 0 1 15 0 6 18 .280 .271 (+3%) .331 (avg) .363 (+7%) .694 (+4%) 42.2
1921 BOS AL 43 62 7 16 2 0 0 9 1 3 16 .258 .286 (-10%) .344 (-15%) .395 (-27%) .739 (-21%) -211.0
1922 BOS AL 66 98 7 21 2 0 0 4 1 4 7 .214 .285 (-25%) .345 (-29%) .397 (-41%) .743 (-35%) -565.8
1925 CLE AL 46 92 11 24 5 0 1 17 0 7 8 .261 .288 (-9%) .349 (-10%) .407 (-15%) .756 (-13%) -193.8
1926 CLE AL 31 45 8 10 5 0 0 2 0 2 3 .222 — — — — 0.0
1927 CLE AL 22 20 2 4 1 0 0 0 1 4 6 .200 — — — — 0.0
Career · 6 seasons 265 392 43 96 20 0 2 47 3 26 58 .245 — — — — -928

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 (443 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Benn Karr — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home1352012152031.259
Away1311922244219.229

Pitching — Home / Away

Benn Karr — Pitching — Home / Away
SplitGIPHERBBSOERA
Home89407.0458184124914.07
Away88382.1465212132914.99

Last 10 Games — Batting

Benn Karr — Last 10 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1927-07-03 CLEDETW 000000000
1927-07-01 CLEDETL 100000001
1927-06-29 CLECHWW 000000000
1927-06-27 CLECHWL 200000000
1927-06-26 CLESLAL 000000000
1927-06-16 CLEBOSL 100000000
1927-06-13 CLENYYL 100000011
1927-06-11 CLENYYL 000000000
1927-06-07 CLEMINL 100000001
1927-06-02 CLEPHAL 000000000

Last 10 Games — Pitching

Benn Karr — Last 10 Games — Pitching
DateTmOppDecIPHRERBBSOHR
1927-07-03 CLEDET SV 1.0111100
1927-07-01 CLEDET — 2.0100200
1927-06-29 CLECHW SV 2.0100000
1927-06-27 CLECHW — 4.2522230
1927-06-26 CLESLA — 1.0100000
1927-06-16 CLEBOS — 3.0533210
1927-06-13 CLENYY — 3.0854222
1927-06-11 CLENYY — 2.2421211
1927-06-07 CLEMIN — 2.2100000
1927-06-02 CLEPHA — 2.0000010

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Benn Karr — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
P 177 0 40 213 17 8

Season-by-Season Fielding

Benn Karr — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1920 BOS P 26 0 5 18 2 0
1921 BOS P 26 0 2 30 2 0
1922 BOS P 41 0 9 44 5 3
1925 CLE P 32 0 14 57 4 5
1926 CLE P 30 0 6 35 2 0
1927 CLE P 22 0 4 29 2 0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Benn Karr — Career Games by Position
Position Games
Pitcher 177

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Benn Karr (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Bert Abbey
    22-40, 4.52 ERA
  2. 97
    Dutch Henry
    27-43, 4.39 ERA
  3. 94
    Dan Daub
    45-52, 4.75 ERA
  4. 93
    Milt Shoffner
    25-26, 4.59 ERA
  5. 90
    Glenn Spencer
    23-31, 4.53 ERA
  6. 90
    Jim Sullivan
    26-28, 4.50 ERA

Benn Karr: the record in brief

Between the debut on April 20, 1920 and the final game on July 3, 1927, Benn Karr built the record summarized on this page. The team column moves through the Boston Red Sox (1920 to 1922) and the Cleveland Indians (1925 through 1927). At 6-foot-0 and 175 pounds, Karr is listed as a pitcher. Karr threw right-handed and batted left-handed, per the bio block. The recorded birth is November 28, 1893, in Mount Pleasant, MS, USA. Karr's death is recorded on December 8, 1968, in Memphis, TN, USA. Benn Karr was the playing name; the full given name is Benjamin Joyce.

Karr went 35-48 with a 4.60 ERA in 177 games, 58 of them starts. Karr had 180 strikeouts and 29 complete games. The league ERA over Karr's seasons was 4.08, so the 4.60 figure ran 12.9% worse than average. 1925 brought Karr a season-high 11 wins. 1922 was Karr's sharpest full season, a 4.47 ERA against the league's 4.18.

Frequently Asked Questions about Benn Karr

What years did Benn Karr play?
Benn Karr played in Major League Baseball from 1920 to 1927.
Was Benn Karr a pitcher?
Yes. Benn Karr pitched in the major leagues, recording 35 wins and 180 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Benn Karr hit?
Benn Karr hit 2 career home runs with 96 hits.
What was Benn Karr's career batting average?
Benn Karr batted .245 over his career, with 96 hits in 392 at bats.
How many RBI did Benn Karr have?
Benn Karr drove in 47 runs in his career.
What was Benn Karr's career ERA?
Benn Karr finished with a 4.60 career ERA, going 35-48 with 180 strikeouts.