Elmer Knetzer
Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1909-1917)
Elmer Knetzer was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1909 to 1917 for 4 teams, including the Brooklyn Dodgers, a span of 9 seasons. Across 220 career appearances, he went 69-69 with a 3.15 ERA and 535 strikeouts. He also batted .109 with 0 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
- Position
- Pitcher
- Bats / Throws
- R / R
- Height / Weight
- 5'10" / 180 lb
- Died
- 10/3/1975 in Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- MLB Debut
- 1909-09-11
- Last Game
- 1917-06-18
Full name: Elmer Ellsworth Knetzer
Season-by-Season Pitching
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1909 | BRO | NL | 1 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 35.2 | 33 | 12 | 22 | 7 | 3.03 | 2.55 (-19%) | -1677.9 |
| 1910 | BRO | NL | 7 | 5 | 20 | 15 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 132.2 | 122 | 47 | 60 | 56 | 3.19 | 2.79 (-14%) | -652.1 |
| 1911 | BRO | NL | 11 | 12 | 35 | 20 | 11 | 3 | 0 | 204.0 | 202 | 79 | 93 | 66 | 3.49 | 3.37 (-3%) | -1155.8 |
| 1912 | BRO | NL | 7 | 9 | 33 | 16 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 140.1 | 135 | 71 | 70 | 61 | 4.55 | 3.36 (-35%) | -2715.6 |
| 1914 | PTF | FL | 20 | 12 | 37 | 30 | 20 | 3 | 1 | 272.0 | 257 | 87 | 88 | 146 | 2.88 | 2.93 (+2%) | 846.8 |
| 1915 | PTF | FL | 18 | 14 | 41 | 33 | 22 | 3 | 3 | 279.0 | 256 | 80 | 89 | 120 | 2.58 | 2.90 (+11%) | 1032.0 |
| 1916 | BSN | NL | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5.0 | 11 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 7.20 | — | 0.0 |
| 1916 | CIN | NL | 5 | 12 | 36 | 16 | 12 | 0 | 1 | 171.1 | 161 | 55 | 48 | 70 | 2.89 | 2.78 (-4%) | -538.8 |
| 1917 | CIN | NL | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 27.1 | 29 | 9 | 12 | 7 | 2.96 | 2.69 (-10%) | -420.6 |
| Career · 9 seasons | 69 | 69 | 220 | 134 | 82 | 13 | 6 | 1,267.1 | 1,206 | 444 | 484 | 535 | 3.15 | — | -5,282 | ||
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 221 | 386 | 23 | 42 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 10 | 1 | 12 | 151 | .109 | .149 | .124 | .273 | -2,592 |
Career AVG .109 vs. league average .254 across their career seasons — 57.2% below league average.
Career OBP .149 vs. league average .320 across their career seasons — 53.7% below league average.
Career SLG .124 vs. league average .335 across their career seasons — 62.8% below league average.
Career OPS .273 vs. league average .655 across their career seasons — 58.4% below league average.
Season-by-Season Batting
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1909 | BRO | NL | 5 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1910 | BRO | NL | 20 | 38 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 16 | .053 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1911 | BRO | NL | 35 | 62 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 34 | .097 | .266 (-64%) | .336 (-59%) | .356 (-64%) | .693 (-61%) | -596.7 |
| 1912 | BRO | NL | 33 | 37 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 14 | .135 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1914 | PTF | FL | 37 | 91 | 6 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 35 | .099 | .255 (-61%) | .322 (-66%) | .339 (-68%) | .661 (-67%) | -905.5 |
| 1915 | PTF | FL | 41 | 91 | 8 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 27 | .132 | .250 (-47%) | .318 (-53%) | .332 (-57%) | .651 (-55%) | -733.0 |
| 1916 | BSN | NL | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1916 | CIN | NL | 37 | 52 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 18 | .154 | .248 (-38%) | .314 (-51%) | .326 (-41%) | .640 (-46%) | 0.0 |
| 1917 | CIN | NL | 11 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| Career · 9 seasons | 221 | 386 | 23 | 42 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 10 | 1 | 12 | 151 | .109 | — | — | — | — | -2,235 | ||
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 (441 games) →Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).
Batting — Home / Away
| Split | G | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 113 | 175 | 17 | 13 | 0 | 5 | .074 |
| Away | 108 | 211 | 6 | 29 | 0 | 6 | .137 |
Pitching — Home / Away
| Split | G | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 113 | 646.0 | 600 | 215 | 247 | 261 | 3.00 |
| Away | 107 | 617.1 | 600 | 226 | 242 | 274 | 3.29 |
Last 10 Games — Batting
| Date | Tm | Opp | Res | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1917-06-18 | CIN | CHC | L | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1917-06-15 | CIN | PHI | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1917-06-13 | CIN | PHI | L | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1917-05-29 | CIN | STL | L | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1917-05-26 | CIN | PHI | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1917-05-19 | CIN | BSN | L | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1917-05-15 | CIN | BRO | L | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1917-05-11 | CIN | NY1 | L | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1917-05-05 | CIN | CHC | W | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1917-04-24 | CIN | CHC | L | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Last 10 Games — Pitching
| Date | Tm | Opp | Dec | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1917-06-18 | CIN | CHC | — | 2.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1917-06-15 | CIN | PHI | — | 5.0 | 8 | 8 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 1917-06-13 | CIN | PHI | — | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1917-05-29 | CIN | STL | — | 3.0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1917-05-26 | CIN | PHI | — | 3.1 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| 1917-05-19 | CIN | BSN | — | 2.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1917-05-15 | CIN | BRO | — | 2.0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 1917-05-11 | CIN | NY1 | — | 2.0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 1917-05-05 | CIN | CHC | SV | 0.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1917-04-24 | CIN | CHC | — | 3.0 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
Fielding Statistics
Career Fielding Totals by Position
Season-by-Season Fielding
Career Games by Position
Circle size = games played at each position.
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| Pitcher | 220 |
Most Similar Players
Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.
Elmer Knetzer (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.
Elmer Knetzer: the record in brief
The profile opens with Elmer Knetzer's first major league game on September 11, 1909; the last one listed came on June 18, 1917. The team column moves through the Brooklyn Superbas (1909 through 1910), the Brooklyn Dodgers (1911 to 1912), the Pittsburgh Rebels (1914 to 1915), the Boston Braves (1916), and the Cincinnati Reds (1916 to 1917). Born on July 22, 1885, in Carrick, PA, USA, Knetzer is listed as a pitcher and batted and threw right-handed. Knetzer's listed size is 5-foot-10 and 180 pounds. Knetzer's death is recorded on October 3, 1975, in Pittsburgh, PA, USA. Knetzer's full given name, per the bio, is Elmer Ellsworth Knetzer.
Knetzer's career pitching line is 69 wins, 69 losses and a 3.15 ERA over 220 appearances. Knetzer had 535 strikeouts, 82 complete games, and 13 shutouts. The league ERA over Knetzer's seasons was 2.92, so the 3.15 figure ran 8.1% worse than average. The best win total was 20, in 1914.
Frequently Asked Questions about Elmer Knetzer
- What years did Elmer Knetzer play?
- Elmer Knetzer played in Major League Baseball from 1909 to 1917.
- Was Elmer Knetzer a pitcher?
- Yes. Elmer Knetzer pitched in the major leagues, recording 69 wins and 535 strikeouts.
- How many home runs did Elmer Knetzer hit?
- Elmer Knetzer hit 0 career home runs with 42 hits.
- What teams did Elmer Knetzer play for?
- Elmer Knetzer played for 4 teams: the Brooklyn Dodgers (1909–1912), the Pittsburgh Rebels (1914–1915), the Boston Braves (1916), and the Cincinnati Reds (1916–1917).
- What were Elmer Knetzer's career stats?
- In 220 games, Elmer Knetzer went 69-69 with a 3.15 ERA, 535 strikeouts, 1,267.1 innings pitched, and 6 saves. At the plate he had 42 hits and 0 home runs.
- What position did Elmer Knetzer play?
- Elmer Knetzer played primarily as a pitcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.
- How tall was Elmer Knetzer and how much did he weigh?
- Elmer Knetzer was listed at 5 feet 10 inches and 180 pounds.
- What was Elmer Knetzer's career ERA?
- Elmer Knetzer finished with a 3.15 career ERA, going 69-69 with 535 strikeouts.
- How many strikeouts did Elmer Knetzer have?
- Elmer Knetzer recorded 535 career strikeouts.
- Is Elmer Knetzer in the Hall of Fame?
- No. Elmer Knetzer has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.