Vern Kennedy
Born: 3/20/1907 in Kansas City, MO, USA
Died: 1/28/1993 in Mendon, MO, USA
MLB Debut: 1934-09-18 | Final Game: 1945-09-27
Bats: L | Throws: R | Height: 6'0" | Weight: 175 lbs
Full name: Lloyd Vernon Kennedy
Biography
Vern Kennedy was a professional baseball pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1934 until 1945. Born in 1907, he made his debut during an era characterized by the transition from the deadball era to a more offensive-minded game. Over the course of his career, Kennedy compiled a record of 104 wins and 132 losses, with an earned run average (ERA) of 4.67. He struck out a total of 691 batters and recorded five saves, showcasing his ability as a versatile pitcher in various game situations.
Kennedy's contributions to the game were recognized with two All-Star selections, highlighting his talent and performance during his playing years. He navigated the challenges of a competitive baseball landscape, demonstrating resilience and adaptability on the mound. His career spanned a time when baseball was beginning to shift dramatically, paving the way for future generations of players. Vern Kennedy's legacy lies not only in his statistics but also in his role as a competitor during a pivotal era in baseball history.
Negro Leagues Career Statistics
Batting
| PA | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | SB | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1.0 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
Pitching
| W | L | G | GS | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | R | ER | HR | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
Negro Leagues Season-by-Season Batting
| Season | PA | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | SB | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1935 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
Negro Leagues Season-by-Season Pitching
| Season | W | L | G | GS | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | R | ER | HR | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1935 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
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 | 2173 | 1052 | 130 | 1049 | 691 | 4.67 | 0 |
Season-by-Season Pitching
| Year | Team | Lg | W | L | G | GS | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA | Pitcher PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1934 | CHW | AL | 0 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 19.3 | 21 | 8 | 9 | 7 | 3.72 | - |
| 1935 | CHW | AL | 11 | 11 | 31 | 25 | 16 | 2 | 1 | 211.7 | 211 | 92 | 95 | 65 | 3.91 | - |
| 1936 | CHW | AL | 21 | 9 | 35 | 34 | 20 | 1 | 0 | 274.3 | 282 | 141 | 147 | 99 | 4.63 | - |
| 1937 | CHW | AL | 14 | 13 | 32 | 30 | 15 | 1 | 0 | 221.0 | 238 | 125 | 124 | 114 | 5.09 | - |
| 1938 | DET | AL | 12 | 9 | 33 | 26 | 11 | 0 | 2 | 190.3 | 215 | 107 | 113 | 53 | 5.06 | -3811.8 |
| 1939 | DET | AL | 0 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 21.0 | 25 | 15 | 9 | 9 | 6.43 | -925.5 |
| 1939 | SLA | AL | 9 | 17 | 33 | 27 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 191.7 | 229 | 122 | 115 | 55 | 5.73 | -5838.3 |
| 1940 | SLA | AL | 12 | 17 | 34 | 32 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 222.3 | 263 | 138 | 122 | 70 | 5.59 | -4849.1 |
| 1941 | SLA | AL | 2 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 45.0 | 44 | 22 | 27 | 6 | 4.40 | -1989.0 |
| 1941 | WSN | AL | 1 | 7 | 17 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 66.3 | 77 | 42 | 39 | 22 | 5.70 | - |
| 1942 | CLE | AL | 4 | 8 | 28 | 12 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 108.0 | 99 | 49 | 50 | 37 | 4.08 | 594.2 |
| 1943 | CLE | AL | 10 | 7 | 28 | 17 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 146.7 | 130 | 40 | 59 | 63 | 2.45 | 680.3 |
| 1944 | CLE | AL | 2 | 5 | 12 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 59.0 | 66 | 33 | 37 | 17 | 5.03 | -483.9 |
| 1944 | PHI | NL | 1 | 5 | 12 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 55.3 | 60 | 26 | 20 | 23 | 4.23 | 32.6 |
| 1945 | CIN | NL | 5 | 12 | 24 | 20 | 11 | 1 | 1 | 157.7 | 170 | 70 | 69 | 38 | 4.00 | -2726.8 |
| 1945 | PHI | NL | 0 | 3 | 12 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 36.0 | 43 | 22 | 14 | 13 | 5.50 | -111.7 |
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 | 0.244 | 0.260 | 0.310 | 0.569 | -2158.0 |
Season-by-Season Batting
| Year | Team | Lg | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1934 | CHW | AL | 3 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.286 | 0.0 |
| 1935 | CHW | AL | 31 | 73 | 5 | 18 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 18 | 0.247 | -301.2 |
| 1936 | CHW | AL | 36 | 113 | 12 | 32 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 13 | 0.283 | -319.1 |
| 1937 | CHW | AL | 32 | 87 | 12 | 20 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 0.230 | -368.2 |
| 1938 | DET | AL | 37 | 79 | 10 | 23 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 11 | 0.291 | -214.8 |
| 1939 | DET | AL | 4 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.286 | 0.0 |
| 1939 | SLA | AL | 34 | 67 | 9 | 10 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 10 | 0.149 | 0.0 |
| 1940 | SLA | AL | 35 | 84 | 12 | 25 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 12 | 0 | 3 | 13 | 0.298 | 24.8 |
| 1941 | SLA | AL | 6 | 15 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0.400 | 0.0 |
| 1941 | WSN | AL | 18 | 21 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0.143 | 0.0 |
| 1942 | CLE | AL | 33 | 30 | 3 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 9 | 0.200 | 0.0 |
| 1943 | CLE | AL | 38 | 52 | 8 | 12 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0.231 | -226.0 |
| 1944 | CLE | AL | 15 | 23 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0.087 | 0.0 |
| 1944 | PHI | NL | 14 | 21 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0.286 | 0.0 |
| 1945 | CIN | NL | 24 | 53 | 1 | 12 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 13 | 0.226 | -194.5 |
| 1945 | PHI | NL | 13 | 11 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0.182 | -194.5 |
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 | CIN | P | 24 | 0 | 12 | 36 | 1 | 1 |
| 1945 | PHI | P | 12 | 0 | 4 | 11 | 1 | 1 |
Career Games by 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 |