What years did Max Lanier play?

Max Lanier played in Major League Baseball from 1938 to 1953.

Was Max Lanier a pitcher?

Yes. Max Lanier pitched in the major leagues, recording 108 wins and 821 strikeouts.

How many home runs did Max Lanier hit?

Max Lanier hit 0 career home runs with 99 hits.

What was Max Lanier's career batting average?

Max Lanier batted .185 over his career, with 99 hits in 535 at bats.

How many RBI did Max Lanier have?

Max Lanier drove in 27 runs in his career.

What was Max Lanier's career ERA?

Max Lanier finished with a 3.01 career ERA, going 108-82 with 821 strikeouts.

Max Lanier

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1938-1953)

Max Lanier was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1938 to 1953 for the St. Louis Cardinals, the New York Giants, and the St. Louis Browns, a span of 16 seasons. Across 327 career appearances, he went 108-82 with a 3.01 ERA and 821 strikeouts. He also batted .185 with 0 home runs. Max Lanier was a 2-time All-Star. His career Pitcher PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of pitching impact — is 23059.9.

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 October 12, 2026

W–L 108–82

ERA 3.01

WHIP 1.30

SO 821

Pitcher PIV 23059.9

Position: Pitcher
Bats / Throws: R / L
Height / Weight: 5'11" / 180 lb
Born: 8/18/1915 in Denton, NC, USA
Died: 1/30/2007 in Lecanto, FL, USA
MLB Debut: 1938-04-20
Last Game: 1953-07-04
Awards: 2× All-Star

Full name: Hubert Max Lanier

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Career Pitching Statistics

Max Lanier — Career Pitching Statistics
W	L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	SO	ERA	Pitcher PIV
108	82	327	204	91	21	17	1619.1	1,490	541	65	611	821	3.01	23059.9

Career ERA 3.01 vs. league average 3.92 across their career seasons — 23.3% better than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Max Lanier Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year	Team	Lg	W	L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA	Lg ERA	Pitcher PIV
1938	SLN	NL	0	3	18	3	1	0	0	45.0	57	21	28	14	4.20	4.35 (+3%)	-463.5
1939	SLN	NL	2	1	7	6	2	0	0	37.2	29	10	13	14	2.39	4.28 (+44%)	801.1
1940	SLN	NL	9	6	35	11	4	2	3	105.0	113	39	38	49	3.34	4.21 (+21%)	2430.0
1941	SLN	NL	10	8	35	18	8	2	3	153.0	126	48	59	93	2.82	3.94 (+28%)	3283.0
1942	SLN	NL	13	8	34	20	8	2	2	161.0	137	53	60	93	2.96	3.57 (+17%)	2784.6
1943	SLN	NL	15	7	32	25	14	2	3	213.1	195	45	75	123	1.90	3.50 (+46%)	4123.1
1944	SLN	NL	17	12	33	30	16	5	0	224.1	192	66	71	141	2.65	3.57 (+26%)	5140.5
1945	SLN	NL	2	2	4	3	3	0	0	26.0	22	5	8	16	1.73	3.67 (+53%)	821.9
1946	SLN	NL	6	0	6	6	6	2	0	56.0	45	12	19	36	1.93	3.59 (+46%)	1398.1
1949	SLN	NL	5	4	15	15	4	1	0	92.0	92	39	35	37	3.82	4.12 (+7%)	1321.7
1950	SLN	NL	11	9	27	27	10	2	0	181.1	173	63	68	89	3.13	4.36 (+28%)	3216.8
1951	SLN	NL	11	9	31	23	9	2	1	160.0	149	58	50	59	3.26	4.04 (+19%)	845.6
1952	NY1	NL	7	12	37	16	6	1	5	137.0	124	60	65	47	3.94	3.70 (-6%)	-1831.3
1953	NY1	NL	0	0	3	0	0	0	0	5.1	8	4	3	2	6.75	—	0.0
1953	SLA	AL	0	1	10	1	0	0	0	22.1	28	18	19	8	7.25	4.14 (-75%)	-811.7
Career · 15 seasons			108	82	327	204	91	21	17	1,619.1	1,490	541	611	821	3.01	—	23,060

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

Max Lanier — Career Batting Statistics
G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	PIV
328	535	46	99	4	1	0	27	0	23	45	.185	.219	.196	.415	-2,433

Career AVG .185 vs. league average .262 across their career seasons — 29.5% below league average.

Career OBP .219 vs. league average .334 across their career seasons — 34.4% below league average.

Career SLG .196 vs. league average .374 across their career seasons — 47.6% below league average.

Career OPS .415 vs. league average .708 across their career seasons — 41.4% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Max Lanier Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year	Team	Lg	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	RBI	BB	SO	AVG	Lg AVG	Lg OBP	Lg SLG	Lg OPS	PIV
1938	SLN	NL	18	10	1	1	0	0	0	1	0	.100	—	—	—	—	0.0
1939	SLN	NL	7	14	1	4	0	0	0	1	1	.286	—	—	—	—	0.0
1940	SLN	NL	35	30	3	6	0	0	0	1	5	.200	—	—	—	—	0.0
1941	SLN	NL	35	52	3	10	0	0	0	1	5	.192	.262 (-27%)	.332 (-38%)	.373 (-48%)	.705 (-43%)	-352.3
1942	SLN	NL	34	47	6	12	0	0	4	5	5	.255	—	—	—	—	-77.4
1943	SLN	NL	32	73	8	12	0	0	5	1	5	.164	.255 (-36%)	.324 (-46%)	.346 (-53%)	.671 (-49%)	-542.7
1944	SLN	NL	33	77	11	14	1	0	2	4	2	.182	.261 (-30%)	.325 (-32%)	.357 (-46%)	.683 (-39%)	-454.3
1945	SLN	NL	4	11	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	.182	—	—	—	—	0.0
1946	SLN	NL	6	25	1	5	0	0	2	1	1	.200	—	—	—	—	0.0
1949	SLN	NL	15	27	1	2	0	0	1	3	1	.074	—	—	—	—	0.0
1950	SLN	NL	27	68	5	11	1	1	10	3	10	.162	.265 (-39%)	.346 (-43%)	.401 (-49%)	.747 (-46%)	-531.2
1951	SLN	NL	31	53	2	8	0	0	1	1	5	.151	.260 (-42%)	.336 (-50%)	.385 (-61%)	.721 (-56%)	-475.2
1952	NY1	NL	38	41	4	11	2	0	2	1	4	.268	—	—	—	—	0.0
1953	NY1	NL	3	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1953	SLA	AL	10	6	0	1	0	0	0	0	1	.167	—	—	—	—	0.0
Career · 15 seasons			328	535	46	99	4	1	27	23	45	.185	—	—	—	—	-2,433

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

Max Lanier — Playoff Career Batting
G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	AVG
7	9	0	4	0	0	0	3	0	0	.444

Playoff Batting by Year

Max Lanier — Playoff Batting by Year
Year	Round	Team	G	AB	H	RBI	AVG
1944	WS	SLN	2	4	2	1	.500
1943	WS	SLN	3	4	1	1	.250
1942	WS	SLN	2	1	1	1	1.000

Playoff Career Pitching

Max Lanier — Playoff Career Pitching
W	L	G	GS	SV	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
2	1	7	4	0	31.2	24	6	12	25	1.71

Playoff Pitching by Year

Max Lanier — Playoff Pitching by Year
Year	Round	Team	W	L	G	GS	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
1944	WS	SLN	1	0	2	2	12.1	8	3	8	11	2.19
1943	WS	SLN	0	1	3	2	15.1	13	3	3	13	1.76
1942	WS	SLN	1	0	2	0	4.0	3	0	1	1	0.00

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (655 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Max Lanier — Batting — Home / Away
Split	G	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	AVG
Home	176	248	22	50	0	16	.202
Away	152	287	24	49	0	11	.171

Pitching — Home / Away

Max Lanier — Pitching — Home / Away
Split	G	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
Home	175	836.0	759	258	280	466	2.78
Away	152	782.2	729	277	330	354	3.19

Last 10 Games — Batting

Max Lanier — Last 10 Games — Batting
Date	Tm	Opp	Res	AB	H	SO
1953-07-04	SLA	CHW	L	0	0	0
1953-07-01	SLA	CHW	L	1	0	0
1953-06-24	SLA	MIN	W	0	0	0
1953-06-17	SLA	NYY	L	1	0	0
1953-06-13	SLA	PHA	L	0	0	0
1953-06-11	SLA	BOS	L	0	0	0
1953-06-10	SLA	BOS	L	1	0	0
1953-06-05	SLA	NYY	L	2	1	0
1953-06-02	SLA	MIN	W	0	0	0
1953-05-29	SLA	DET	W	1	0	1

Last 10 Games — Pitching

Max Lanier — Last 10 Games — Pitching
Date	Tm	Opp	Dec	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR
1953-07-04	SLA	CHW	—	0.2	2	4	4	2	0	1
1953-07-01	SLA	CHW	—	2.0	3	0	0	0	0	0
1953-06-24	SLA	MIN	—	2.0	3	2	2	2	2	0
1953-06-17	SLA	NYY	—	3.0	4	2	2	4	0	0
1953-06-13	SLA	PHA	—	2.0	3	3	3	2	0	1
1953-06-11	SLA	BOS	—	1.0	0	0	0	0	1	0
1953-06-10	SLA	BOS	L	2.2	5	6	6	2	1	0
1953-06-05	SLA	NYY	—	4.2	3	0	0	4	4	0
1953-06-02	SLA	MIN	—	1.0	1	0	0	2	0	0
1953-05-29	SLA	DET	—	3.1	4	1	1	1	0	0

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Max Lanier — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
P	327	0	78	324	17	25

Season-by-Season Fielding

Max Lanier — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year	Team	Pos	G	PO	A	E	DP
1938	SLN	P	18	3	9	2	1
1939	SLN	P	7	1	6	0	0
1940	SLN	P	35	5	26	3	1
1941	SLN	P	35	10	37	0	2
1942	SLN	P	34	5	38	2	1
1943	SLN	P	32	8	43	1	2
1944	SLN	P	33	8	39	3	3
1945	SLN	P	4	0	4	0	0
1946	SLN	P	6	1	10	0	1
1949	SLN	P	15	2	12	0	2
1950	SLN	P	27	12	31	1	2
1951	SLN	P	31	9	28	2	5
1952	NY1	P	37	13	37	3	4
1953	NY1	P	3	0	1	0	0
1953	SLA	P	10	1	3	0	1

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Max Lanier Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position	Games
Pitcher	327

Award Voting History

Max Lanier — Award Voting History
Year	Award	League	Finish	Points Won	Points Max	Votes First
1944	Most Valuable Player	NL	26th	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

Max Lanier (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

Max Lanier: the record in brief

April 20, 1938 and July 4, 1953 bracket Max Lanier's time in the majors: the debut and the last game on record. Lanier played for the St. Louis Cardinals (1938 through 1951), the New York Giants (1952 through 1953), and the St. Louis Browns (1953). Lanier is listed as a pitcher at 5 feet, 11 inches and 180 pounds. The bio says Lanier batted right-handed and threw left-handed. The recorded birth is August 18, 1915, in Denton, NC, USA. Lanier died on January 30, 2007, in Lecanto, FL, USA. The given name on file is Hubert Max Lanier.

Across 327 games (204 starts), Lanier recorded 108 wins against 82 losses with a 3.01 ERA. The same table counts 821 strikeouts, 91 complete games, 21 shutouts, and 17 saves. That 3.01 ERA compares with a 3.92 league average across the same seasons, 23.3% better. Lanier won 17 games in 1944, the most of any season listed.

Frequently Asked Questions about Max Lanier

What years did Max Lanier play?: Max Lanier played in Major League Baseball from 1938 to 1953.
Was Max Lanier a pitcher?: Yes. Max Lanier pitched in the major leagues, recording 108 wins and 821 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Max Lanier hit?: Max Lanier hit 0 career home runs with 99 hits.
What was Max Lanier's career batting average?: Max Lanier batted .185 over his career, with 99 hits in 535 at bats.
How many RBI did Max Lanier have?: Max Lanier drove in 27 runs in his career.
What was Max Lanier's career ERA?: Max Lanier finished with a 3.01 career ERA, going 108-82 with 821 strikeouts.