What years did Vern Law play?

Vern Law played in Major League Baseball from 1950 to 1967.

Was Vern Law a pitcher?

Yes. Vern Law pitched in the major leagues, recording 162 wins and 1092 strikeouts.

How many home runs did Vern Law hit?

Vern Law hit 11 career home runs with 191 hits.

What was Vern Law's career batting average?

Vern Law batted .216 over his career, with 191 hits in 883 at bats.

How many RBI did Vern Law have?

Vern Law drove in 90 runs in his career.

What was Vern Law's career ERA?

Vern Law finished with a 3.77 career ERA, going 162-147 with 1,092 strikeouts.

Vern Law

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1950-1967)

Vern Law was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1950 to 1967 for the Pittsburgh Pirates, a span of 18 seasons. Across 483 career appearances, he went 162-147 with a 3.77 ERA and 1,092 strikeouts. He also batted .216 with 11 home runs. Vern Law was an All-Star and a Cy Young. His career Pitcher PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of pitching impact — is 8172.6.

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 162–147

ERA 3.77

WHIP 1.28

SO 1,092

Pitcher PIV 8172.6

Position: Pitcher
Bats / Throws: R / R
Height / Weight: 6'2" / 195 lb
Born: 3/12/1930 in Meridian, ID, USA
MLB Debut: 1950-06-11
Last Game: 1967-08-20
Awards: All-Star · Cy Young

Full name: Vernon Sanders Law

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Career Pitching Statistics

Vern Law — Career Pitching Statistics
W	L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	SO	ERA	Pitcher PIV
162	147	483	364	119	28	13	2672.0	2,833	1,118	268	597	1,092	3.77	8172.6

Career ERA 3.77 vs. league average 3.79 across their career seasons — near league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Vern Law Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year	Team	Lg	W	L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA	Lg ERA	Pitcher PIV
1950	PIT	NL	7	9	27	17	5	1	0	128.0	137	70	49	57	4.92	4.36 (-13%)	1006.2
1951	PIT	NL	6	9	28	14	2	1	2	114.0	109	57	51	41	4.50	4.04 (-11%)	-702.3
1954	PIT	NL	9	13	39	18	7	0	3	161.2	201	99	56	57	5.51	3.90 (-41%)	-2015.6
1955	PIT	NL	10	10	43	24	8	1	1	200.2	221	85	61	82	3.81	4.00 (+5%)	1517.4
1956	PIT	NL	8	16	39	32	6	0	2	195.2	218	94	49	60	4.32	3.96 (-9%)	-1122.0
1957	PIT	NL	10	8	31	25	9	3	1	172.2	172	55	32	55	2.87	3.83 (+25%)	302.6
1958	PIT	NL	14	12	35	29	6	1	3	202.1	235	89	39	56	3.96	3.86 (-3%)	1676.9
1959	PIT	NL	18	9	34	33	20	2	1	266.0	245	88	53	110	2.98	3.90 (+24%)	2432.9
1960	PIT	NL	20	9	35	35	18	3	0	271.2	266	93	40	120	3.08	3.82 (+19%)	3533.6
1961	PIT	NL	3	4	11	10	1	0	0	59.1	72	31	18	20	4.70	4.03 (-17%)	-1520.6
1962	PIT	NL	10	7	23	20	7	2	0	139.1	156	61	27	78	3.94	3.96 (avg)	-364.0
1963	PIT	NL	4	5	18	12	1	1	0	76.2	91	42	13	31	4.93	3.46 (-43%)	-1121.8
1964	PIT	NL	12	13	35	29	7	5	0	192.0	203	77	32	93	3.61	3.58 (-1%)	1047.6
1965	PIT	NL	17	9	29	28	13	4	0	217.1	182	52	35	101	2.15	3.50 (+38%)	2098.3
1966	PIT	NL	12	8	31	28	8	4	0	177.2	203	80	24	88	4.05	3.52 (-15%)	430.8
1967	PIT	NL	2	6	25	10	1	0	0	97.0	122	45	18	43	4.18	3.30 (-26%)	972.8
Career · 16 seasons			162	147	483	364	119	28	13	2,672.0	2,833	1,118	597	1,092	3.77	—	8,173

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

Vern Law — Career Batting Statistics
G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	PIV
516	883	96	191	35	7	11	90	1	41	179	.216	.254	.309	.563	-2,386

Career AVG .216 vs. league average .254 across their career seasons — 15.0% below league average.

Career OBP .254 vs. league average .323 across their career seasons — 21.3% below league average.

Career SLG .309 vs. league average .385 across their career seasons — 19.8% below league average.

Career OPS .563 vs. league average .708 across their career seasons — 20.5% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Vern Law Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year	Team	Lg	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	Lg AVG	Lg OBP	Lg SLG	Lg OPS	PIV
1950	PIT	NL	27	41	0	3	0	1	0	1	0	1	14	.073	—	—	—	—	0.0
1951	PIT	NL	28	32	5	11	2	1	1	4	0	3	6	.344	—	—	—	—	0.0
1954	PIT	NL	50	52	10	12	5	0	1	13	0	5	8	.231	.261 (-12%)	.333 (-7%)	.390 (-1%)	.723 (-4%)	-35.0
1955	PIT	NL	44	63	8	16	3	0	1	8	1	4	16	.254	.258 (-2%)	.332 (-10%)	.393 (-11%)	.726 (-11%)	-112.7
1956	PIT	NL	39	57	3	10	1	0	1	8	0	4	16	.175	.258 (-32%)	.331 (-32%)	.397 (-38%)	.728 (-35%)	-335.5
1957	PIT	NL	34	63	3	12	1	1	0	6	0	1	11	.190	.257 (-26%)	.323 (-34%)	.391 (-39%)	.715 (-37%)	-368.8
1958	PIT	NL	36	62	11	12	3	1	2	12	0	9	10	.194	.257 (-25%)	.324 (-11%)	.394 (-6%)	.719 (-8%)	-104.1
1959	PIT	NL	38	96	6	16	2	0	1	8	0	3	20	.167	.256 (-35%)	.323 (-41%)	.392 (-44%)	.715 (-43%)	-651.4
1960	PIT	NL	35	94	10	17	5	2	1	7	0	2	19	.181	.255 (-29%)	.323 (-40%)	.387 (-20%)	.711 (-29%)	-480.4
1961	PIT	NL	11	19	0	5	1	0	0	5	0	1	4	.263	—	—	—	—	0.0
1962	PIT	NL	23	45	6	14	4	1	0	5	0	1	7	.311	—	—	—	—	0.0
1963	PIT	NL	21	23	2	5	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	.217	—	—	—	—	0.0
1964	PIT	NL	36	61	9	19	3	0	1	3	0	3	11	.311	.250 (+24%)	.312 (+13%)	.377 (+8%)	.690 (+11%)	110.7
1965	PIT	NL	34	82	9	20	0	0	1	6	0	0	19	.244	.245 (-1%)	.310 (-22%)	.371 (-25%)	.682 (-23%)	-291.9
1966	PIT	NL	34	66	11	16	3	0	1	3	0	3	11	.242	.248 (-2%)	.309 (-11%)	.376 (-11%)	.685 (-11%)	-117.4
1967	PIT	NL	26	27	3	3	2	0	0	1	0	1	6	.111	—	—	—	—	0.0
Career · 16 seasons			516	883	96	191	35	7	11	90	1	41	179	.216	—	—	—	—	-2,386

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

Vern Law — Playoff Career Batting
G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	AVG
3	6	1	2	1	0	0	1	0	1	.333

Playoff Batting by Year

Vern Law — Playoff Batting by Year
Year	Round	Team	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	AVG
1960	WS	PIT	3	6	1	2	1	0	0	1	0	1	.333

Playoff Career Pitching

Vern Law — Playoff Career Pitching
W	L	G	GS	SV	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
2	0	3	3	0	18.1	22	7	3	8	3.44

Playoff Pitching by Year

Vern Law — Playoff Pitching by Year
Year	Round	Team	W	L	G	GS	SV	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
1960	WS	PIT	2	0	3	3	0	18.1	22	7	3	8	3.44

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (999 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Vern Law — Batting — Home / Away
Split	G	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	AVG
Home	253	414	39	87	0	28	.210
Away	263	469	57	104	11	62	.222

Pitching — Home / Away

Vern Law — Pitching — Home / Away
Split	G	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
Home	237	1366.0	1420	522	293	581	3.44
Away	246	1307.0	1415	598	303	516	4.12

Last 10 Games — Batting

Vern Law — Last 10 Games — Batting
Date	Tm	Opp	Res	AB	R	H	BB	SO
1967-08-20	PIT	NYN	W	2	0	0	0	0
1967-08-13	PIT	NYN	L	2	1	1	0	1
1967-08-09	PIT	CHC	W	2	1	0	1	0
1967-08-05	PIT	LAD	W	2	0	0	0	0
1967-07-30	PIT	SFG	W	4	0	0	0	1
1967-07-25	PIT	LAD	L	1	0	0	0	1
1967-07-20	PIT	SFG	L	1	0	0	0	0
1967-07-16	PIT	ATL	L	2	0	0	0	1
1967-07-05	PIT	LAD	L	1	0	0	0	0
1967-07-04	PIT	LAD	W	0	1	0	0	0

Last 10 Games — Pitching

Vern Law — Last 10 Games — Pitching
Date	Tm	Opp	Dec	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR
1967-08-20	PIT	NYN	—	5.1	10	2	2	0	1	0
1967-08-13	PIT	NYN	—	4.1	9	5	5	1	2	1
1967-08-09	PIT	CHC	—	5.1	7	5	2	2	0	0
1967-08-05	PIT	LAD	W	9.0	5	1	1	1	5	0
1967-07-30	PIT	SFG	W	8.1	9	3	3	1	3	0
1967-07-25	PIT	LAD	L	5.0	4	3	2	1	5	0
1967-07-20	PIT	SFG	L	4.1	8	4	4	0	2	0
1967-07-16	PIT	ATL	L	7.0	5	2	2	0	3	0
1967-07-05	PIT	LAD	—	2.2	1	0	0	0	0	0
1967-06-28	PIT	CHC	—	1.0	1	0	0	0	0	0

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Vern Law — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
OF	1	1	1	0	0	0
P	483	333	212	453	19	41

Season-by-Season Fielding

Vern Law — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year	Team	Pos	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
1950	PIT	P	27	0	5	15	2	1
1951	PIT	P	28	0	10	15	2	2
1954	PIT	OF	1	1	1	0	0	0
1954	PIT	P	39	18	11	23	1	2
1955	PIT	P	43	24	14	35	4	3
1956	PIT	P	39	32	12	31	0	3
1957	PIT	P	31	25	13	23	2	2
1958	PIT	P	35	29	16	31	0	3
1959	PIT	P	34	33	20	47	1	5
1960	PIT	P	35	35	28	50	2	6
1961	PIT	P	11	10	7	13	0	1
1962	PIT	P	23	20	7	27	2	3
1963	PIT	P	18	12	5	20	0	1
1964	PIT	P	35	29	16	36	1	3
1965	PIT	P	29	28	29	36	1	2
1966	PIT	P	31	28	11	36	0	4
1967	PIT	P	25	10	8	15	1	0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Vern Law Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position	Games
Pitcher	483
Right Field	1

Awards & Honors

Vern Law — Awards & Honors
Year	Award	Notes
1965	Lou Gehrig Memorial Award
1965	TSN Comeback Player of the Year
1960	Cy Young Award
1960	TSN All-Star	P
1960	TSN Pitcher of the Year

Award Voting History

Vern Law — Award Voting History
Year	Award	League	Finish	Points Won	Points Max	Votes First
1965	Most Valuable Player	NL	17th	12.0	280	0
1960	Cy Young Award	ML	1st	8.0	16	8
1960	Most Valuable Player	NL	6th	80.0	336	0
1959	Most Valuable Player	NL	19th	3.0	336	0
1955	Most Valuable Player	NL	23th	1.0	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

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

Compare Vern Law

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Vern Law: the record in brief

Vern Law's major league career runs from a debut on June 11, 1950 to a final game on August 20, 1967. Law's only club in the season tables is the Pittsburgh Pirates. Born on March 12, 1930, in Meridian, ID, USA, Law is listed as a pitcher and both batted and threw right-handed. The bio gives 195 pounds on a 6-foot-2 frame. The given name on file is Vernon Sanders Law.

Law went 162-147 with a 3.77 ERA in 483 games, 364 of them starts. The totals include 1,092 strikeouts, 119 complete games, 28 shutouts, and 13 saves. Law's 3.77 ERA was close to the 3.79 league figure for those seasons. Law won 20 games in 1960, the most of any season listed. In 1965, one of the busiest seasons, Law posted a 2.15 ERA; the league figure that year was 3.50. Law's career Pitcher PIV, which scores run prevention against each season's league, is 8,172.6.

Frequently Asked Questions about Vern Law

What years did Vern Law play?: Vern Law played in Major League Baseball from 1950 to 1967.
Was Vern Law a pitcher?: Yes. Vern Law pitched in the major leagues, recording 162 wins and 1092 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Vern Law hit?: Vern Law hit 11 career home runs with 191 hits.
What was Vern Law's career batting average?: Vern Law batted .216 over his career, with 191 hits in 883 at bats.
How many RBI did Vern Law have?: Vern Law drove in 90 runs in his career.
What was Vern Law's career ERA?: Vern Law finished with a 3.77 career ERA, going 162-147 with 1,092 strikeouts.