Johnny Kucks

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1955-1960)

W–L 54–56
ERA 4.10
WHIP 1.36
SO 338
Pitcher PIV -4575.7
Position
Pitcher
Bats / Throws
R / R
Height / Weight
6'3" / 170 lb
Born
7/27/1932 in Hoboken, NJ, USA
Died
10/31/2013 in Saddle River, NJ, USA
MLB Debut
1955-04-17
Last Game
1960-09-25
Awards
All-Star

Full name: John Charles Kucks

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Career Pitching Statistics

W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
54 56 207 123 30 7 7 938.3 970 427 91 308 338 4.10 -4575.7

Career ERA 4.10 vs. league average 3.90 across their career seasons — 5.1% 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
1955 NYA AL 8 7 29 13 3 1 0 126.7 122 48 44 49 3.41 4.00 (+15%) 1605.8
1956 NYA AL 18 9 34 31 12 3 0 224.3 223 96 72 67 3.85 3.96 (+3%) -28.8
1957 NYA AL 8 10 37 23 4 1 2 179.3 169 71 59 78 3.56 3.83 (+7%) 853.0
1958 NYA AL 8 8 34 15 4 1 4 126.0 132 55 39 46 3.93 3.86 (-2%) -1261.8
1959 NYA AL 0 1 9 1 0 0 0 16.7 21 16 9 9 8.64 3.90 (-121%) -1282.9
1959 KC1 AL 8 11 33 23 6 1 1 151.3 163 65 42 51 3.87 3.90 (+1%) 412.1
1960 KC1 AL 4 10 31 17 1 0 0 114.0 140 76 43 38 6.00 3.82 (-57%) -4873.0
Career · 7 seasons 54 56 207 123 30 7 7 938.1 970 427 308 338 4.10 — -4,576

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
207 291 21 32 5 0 0 6 0 19 95 .110 .167 .127 .294 -1,572

Career AVG .110 vs. league average .257 across their career seasons — 57.3% below league average.

Career OBP .167 vs. league average .327 across their career seasons — 48.8% below league average.

Career SLG .127 vs. league average .393 across their career seasons — 67.6% below league average.

Career OPS .294 vs. league average .719 across their career seasons — 59.1% 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
1955 NYA AL 29 40 0 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 10 .050 — — — — 0.0
1956 NYA AL 34 77 7 11 1 0 0 1 0 7 25 .143 .258 (-45%) .331 (-33%) .397 (-61%) .728 (-48%) -579.8
1957 NYA AL 37 55 4 6 0 0 0 2 0 5 18 .109 .257 (-58%) .323 (-43%) .391 (-72%) .715 (-59%) -504.4
1958 NYA AL 34 40 2 5 2 0 0 2 0 3 9 .125 — — — — 0.0
1959 NYA AL 9 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 .000 — — — — 0.0
1959 KC1 AL 33 47 4 4 1 0 0 0 0 3 22 .085 — — — — 0.0
1960 KC1 AL 31 30 4 4 0 0 0 1 0 1 9 .133 — — — — 0.0
Career · 7 seasons 207 291 21 32 5 0 0 6 0 19 95 .110 — — — — -1,084

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.

Postseason Statistics

Playoff Career Batting

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
8 4 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .250

Playoff Batting by Year

Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1958 WS NYA 2 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.000
1957 WS NYA 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1956 WS NYA 3 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000
1955 WS NYA 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000

Playoff Career Pitching

W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
1 0 8 1 0 19.0 15 4 6 4 1.89

Playoff Pitching by Year

Year Round Team W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
1958 WS NYA 0 0 2 0 0 4.3 4 1 1 0 2.08
1957 WS NYA 0 0 1 0 0 0.7 1 0 1 1 0.00
1956 WS NYA 1 0 3 1 0 11.0 6 1 3 2 0.82
1955 WS NYA 0 0 2 0 0 3.0 4 2 1 1 6.00

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (414 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home100115101704.148
Away107176111502.085

Pitching — Home / Away

SplitGIPHERBBSOERA
Home100413.04331901371534.14
Away107524.25372371711844.07

Last 10 Games — Batting

DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1960-09-25 KC1DETL 100000000
1960-09-18 KC1CLEL 200000001
1960-09-11 KC1BALL 000000000
1960-09-07 KC1MINL 200000000
1960-09-01 KC1CLEL 101000100
1960-08-28 KC1BOSL 210000001
1960-08-24 KC1MINW 320000000
1960-08-19 KC1CHWL 000000000
1960-08-14 KC1CHWL 200000001
1960-08-09 KC1MINL 401000002

Last 10 Games — Pitching

DateTmOppDecIPHRERBBSOHR
1960-09-25 KC1DET — 4.0644013
1960-09-18 KC1CLE L 4.1974211
1960-09-11 KC1BAL — 0.1000000
1960-09-07 KC1MIN L 6.01054131
1960-09-01 KC1CLE L 4.0744101
1960-08-28 KC1BOS — 6.0733050
1960-08-24 KC1MIN W 7.1433410
1960-08-19 KC1CHW L 0.1211000
1960-08-14 KC1CHW L 6.01266000
1960-08-09 KC1MIN L 11.1833242

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position G GS PO A E DP
P 207 123 45 194 14 17

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1955 NYA P 29 13 3 24 3 0
1956 NYA P 34 31 13 40 5 5
1957 NYA P 37 23 9 47 1 5
1958 NYA P 34 15 6 25 1 2
1959 NYA P 9 1 1 5 0 0
1959 KC1 P 33 23 10 31 1 4
1960 KC1 P 31 17 3 22 3 1

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Position Games
Pitcher 207

Award Voting History

Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
1956 Most Valuable Player AL 30th 2.0 336 0

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Johnny Kucks (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Randy Gumpert
    51-59, 4.17 ERA
  2. 88
    Nick Strincevich
    46-49, 4.05 ERA
  3. 78
    Wayne Garland
    55-66, 3.89 ERA
  4. 69
    Darltie Cooper
    70-56, 4.25 ERA
  5. 69
    John Cerutti
    49-43, 3.94 ERA
  6. 68
    Saul Rogovin
    48-48, 4.06 ERA

Frequently Asked Questions about Johnny Kucks

What years did Johnny Kucks play?
Johnny Kucks played in Major League Baseball from 1955 to 1960.
Was Johnny Kucks a pitcher?
Yes. Johnny Kucks pitched in the major leagues, recording 54 wins and 338 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Johnny Kucks hit?
Johnny Kucks hit 0 career home runs with 32 hits.