Vern Kennedy

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1934-1945)

W–L 104–132
ERA 4.67
WHIP 1.59
SO 691
Pitcher PIV -31542.2
Position
Pitcher
Bats / Throws
L / R
Height / Weight
6'0" / 175 lb
Born
3/20/1907 in Kansas City, MO, USA
Died
1/28/1993 in Mendon, MO, USA
MLB Debut
1934-09-18
Last Game
1945-09-27
Awards
2× All-Star

Full name: Lloyd Vernon Kennedy

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Career Pitching Statistics

W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
104 132 344 263 126 7 5 2025.7 2,173 1,052 130 1,049 691 4.67 -31542.2

Career ERA 4.67 vs. league average 4.05 across their career seasons — 15.5% worse than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Year Team Lg W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER BB SO ERA Lg ERA Pitcher PIV
1934 CHA AL 0 2 3 3 1 0 0 19.3 21 8 9 7 3.72 4.29 (+13%) -132.4
1935 CHA AL 11 11 31 25 16 2 1 211.7 211 92 95 65 3.91 4.35 (+10%) -3578.5
1936 CHA AL 21 9 35 34 20 1 0 274.3 282 141 147 99 4.63 4.59 (-1%) -2095.3
1937 CHA AL 14 13 32 30 15 1 0 221.0 238 125 124 114 5.09 4.34 (-17%) -2749.2
1938 DET AL 12 9 33 26 11 0 2 190.3 215 107 113 53 5.06 4.35 (-16%) -4154.9
1939 DET AL 0 3 4 4 1 0 0 21.0 25 15 9 9 6.43 4.28 (-50%) -961.8
1939 SLA AL 9 17 33 27 12 1 0 191.7 229 122 115 55 5.73 4.28 (-34%) -5975.3
1940 SLA AL 12 17 34 32 18 0 0 222.3 263 138 122 70 5.59 4.21 (-33%) -5000.0
1941 SLA AL 2 4 6 6 2 0 0 45.0 44 22 27 6 4.40 3.94 (-12%) -2077.1
1941 WS1 AL 1 7 17 7 2 0 0 66.3 77 42 39 22 5.70 3.94 (-45%) -1723.7
1942 CLE AL 4 8 28 12 4 0 1 108.0 99 49 50 37 4.08 3.57 (-14%) 385.9
1943 CLE AL 10 7 28 17 8 1 0 146.7 130 40 59 63 2.45 3.50 (+30%) 409.6
1944 CLE AL 2 5 12 10 2 0 0 59.0 66 33 37 17 5.03 3.57 (-41%) -602.8
1944 PHI NL 1 5 12 7 3 0 0 55.3 60 26 20 23 4.23 3.57 (-18%) -85.0
1945 PHI NL 0 3 12 3 0 0 0 36.0 43 22 14 13 5.50 3.67 (-50%) -195.2
1945 CIN NL 5 12 24 20 11 1 1 157.7 170 70 69 38 4.00 3.67 (-9%) -3006.5
Career · 16 seasons 104 132 344 263 126 7 5 2,025.2 2,173 1,052 1,049 691 4.67 — -31,542

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

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
373 743 80 181 27 5 4 61 1 15 123 .244 .260 .310 .569 -2,015

Career AVG .244 vs. league average .269 across their career seasons — 9.4% below league average.

Career OBP .260 vs. league average .336 across their career seasons — 22.7% below league average.

Career SLG .310 vs. league average .379 across their career seasons — 18.3% below league average.

Career OPS .569 vs. league average .715 across their career seasons — 20.4% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

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 CHA AL 3 7 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .286 — — — — 0.0
1935 CHA AL 31 73 5 18 3 1 0 10 0 1 18 .247 .279 (-12%) .342 (-25%) .399 (-21%) .742 (-23%) -290.7
1936 CHA AL 36 113 12 32 8 0 0 11 0 1 13 .283 .283 (avg) .349 (-17%) .404 (-12%) .753 (-15%) -300.3
1937 CHA AL 32 87 12 20 1 1 2 9 0 0 17 .230 .276 (-17%) .342 (-30%) .398 (-16%) .740 (-23%) -343.2
1938 DET AL 37 79 10 23 3 0 0 8 0 1 11 .291 .272 (+7%) .341 (-12%) .392 (-16%) .734 (-14%) -192.6
1939 DET AL 4 7 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .286 — — — — 0.0
1939 SLA AL 34 67 9 10 4 0 0 6 0 3 10 .149 .274 (-46%) .342 (-46%) .393 (-47%) .735 (-46%) 0.0
1940 SLA AL 35 84 12 25 3 1 2 12 0 3 13 .298 .267 (+11%) .335 (-4%) .387 (+11%) .722 (+4%) 28.5
1941 SLA AL 6 15 2 6 0 1 0 2 0 1 1 .400 — — — — 0.0
1941 WS1 AL 18 21 1 3 0 0 0 1 0 1 4 .143 — — — — 0.0
1942 CLE AL 33 30 3 6 1 0 0 0 1 2 9 .200 — — — — 0.0
1943 CLE AL 38 52 8 12 0 1 0 0 0 0 4 .231 .255 (-10%) .324 (-29%) .346 (-22%) .671 (-26%) -214.6
1944 CLE AL 15 23 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 .087 — — — — 0.0
1944 PHI NL 14 21 3 6 0 0 0 1 0 0 3 .286 — — — — 0.0
1945 PHI NL 13 11 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 3 .182 — — — — 0.0
1945 CIN NL 24 53 1 12 4 0 0 1 0 1 13 .226 .260 (-13%) .328 (-27%) .354 (-15%) .683 (-21%) 0.0
Career · 16 seasons 373 743 80 181 27 5 4 61 1 15 123 .244 — — — — -1,313

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 (717 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home1913454583235.241
Away1823983498226.246

Pitching — Home / Away

SplitGIPHERBBSOERA
Home1721009.010565245393544.67
Away1721016.111195305133374.69

Last 10 Games — Batting

DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1945-09-27 CINCHCL 200000000
1945-09-22 CINSTLL 000000000
1945-09-16 CINBSNW 100000000
1945-09-13 CINNY1W 000000000
1945-09-12 CINNY1W 000000000
1945-09-09 CINBROW 110000010
1945-09-03 CINCHCL 201000000
1945-08-29 CINSTLW 401000001
1945-08-25 CINPITW 301000000
1945-08-20 CINPHIL 400000002

Last 10 Games — Pitching

DateTmOppDecIPHRERBBSOHR
1945-09-27 CINCHC L 8.0853410
1945-09-22 CINSTL — 2.0321210
1945-09-16 CINBSN — 5.0844200
1945-09-13 CINNY1 SV 2.0100000
1945-09-12 CINNY1 — 0.2222300
1945-09-09 CINBRO — 5.0955420
1945-09-03 CINCHC L 7.01277451
1945-08-29 CINSTL W 9.0811011
1945-08-25 CINPIT W 9.0600240
1945-08-20 CINPHI L 8.1944631

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position G GS PO A E DP
P 344 0 98 439 22 28

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1934 CHA P 3 0 1 6 0 0
1935 CHA P 31 0 8 54 2 3
1936 CHA P 35 0 13 50 2 5
1937 CHA P 32 0 9 40 3 1
1938 DET P 33 0 6 46 3 4
1939 DET P 4 0 1 6 0 1
1939 SLA P 33 0 7 31 1 1
1940 SLA P 34 0 13 50 0 4
1941 SLA P 6 0 2 10 1 1
1941 WS1 P 17 0 2 14 1 0
1942 CLE P 28 0 4 24 3 3
1943 CLE P 28 0 8 36 1 2
1944 CLE P 12 0 6 14 2 1
1944 PHI P 12 0 2 11 1 0
1945 PHI P 12 0 4 11 1 1
1945 CIN P 24 0 12 36 1 1

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Position Games
Pitcher 344

Awards & Honors

Year Award Notes
1936 Baseball Magazine All-Star P2
1936 Baseball Magazine All-Star P4

Award Voting History

Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
1936 Most Valuable Player AL 6th 27.0 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

Vern Kennedy (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Bill Dietrich
    108-128, 4.48 ERA
  2. 93
    Herm Wehmeier
    92-108, 4.80 ERA
  3. 89
    Milt Gaston
    97-164, 4.55 ERA
  4. 89
    Sheriff Blake
    87-102, 4.13 ERA
  5. 86
    Vic Sorrell
    92-101, 4.43 ERA
  6. 82
    Jack Kramer
    95-103, 4.24 ERA

Frequently Asked Questions about Vern Kennedy

What years did Vern Kennedy play?
Vern Kennedy played in Major League Baseball from 1934 to 1945.
Was Vern Kennedy a pitcher?
Yes. Vern Kennedy pitched in the major leagues, recording 104 wins and 691 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Vern Kennedy hit?
Vern Kennedy hit 4 career home runs with 181 hits.