Danny MacFayden
Born: 6/10/1905 in North Truro, MA, USA
Died: 8/26/1972 in Brunswick, ME, USA
MLB Debut: 1926-08-25 | Final Game: 1943-09-13
Bats: R | Throws: R | Height: 5'11" | Weight: 170 lbs
Full name: Daniel Knowles MacFayden
Biography
Danny MacFayden was a professional baseball pitcher who played from 1926 until 1943, contributing to the game during a transformative period in Major League Baseball. Born in 1905, MacFayden's career spanned the late 1920s through the early 1940s, a time marked by the emergence of more specialized roles in pitching and the increasing importance of relief appearances. Over his 17-year career, he compiled a record of 132 wins and 159 losses, with an earned run average (ERA) of 3.96. He struck out 797 batters and recorded 9 saves, showcasing his ability to succeed in both starting and relief roles.
MacFayden played at a time when the game was transitioning from the deadball era to a more offensive style. His pitching style was characterized by a strong command on the mound and the ability to induce weak contact, which was crucial in an era that began to emphasize batting prowess. Although he did not achieve the star status of some of his contemporaries, his contributions to his teams and the overall development of pitching strategies during his playing years were significant. Following his retirement, MacFayden left behind a legacy of resilience and adaptability that continued to influence the next generations of pitchers.
Career Pitching Statistics
| W | L | G | GS | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | ER | HR | BB | SO | ERA | Pitcher PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 132 | 159 | 465 | 332 | 158 | 18 | 9 | 2706.0 | 2981 | 1191 | 112 | 872 | 797 | 3.96 | 0 |
Season-by-Season Pitching
| Year | Team | Lg | W | L | G | GS | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA | Pitcher PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1926 | BOS | AL | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 13.0 | 10 | 7 | 7 | 1 | 4.85 | -148.3 |
| 1927 | BOS | AL | 5 | 8 | 34 | 16 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 160.3 | 176 | 76 | 59 | 42 | 4.27 | -1758.5 |
| 1928 | BOS | AL | 9 | 15 | 33 | 28 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 195.0 | 215 | 103 | 78 | 61 | 4.75 | -1902.2 |
| 1929 | BOS | AL | 10 | 18 | 32 | 26 | 14 | 4 | 0 | 221.0 | 225 | 89 | 81 | 61 | 3.62 | 1316.9 |
| 1930 | BOS | AL | 11 | 14 | 36 | 33 | 18 | 1 | 2 | 269.3 | 293 | 126 | 93 | 76 | 4.21 | 2397.8 |
| 1931 | BOS | AL | 16 | 12 | 35 | 32 | 17 | 2 | 0 | 230.7 | 263 | 103 | 79 | 74 | 4.02 | 1859.5 |
| 1932 | BOS | AL | 1 | 10 | 12 | 11 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 77.7 | 91 | 44 | 33 | 29 | 5.10 | 179.6 |
| 1932 | NYY | AL | 7 | 5 | 17 | 15 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 121.3 | 137 | 53 | 37 | 33 | 3.93 | - |
| 1933 | NYY | AL | 3 | 2 | 25 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 90.3 | 120 | 59 | 37 | 28 | 5.88 | - |
| 1934 | NYY | AL | 4 | 3 | 22 | 11 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 96.0 | 110 | 48 | 31 | 41 | 4.50 | - |
| 1935 | BSN | NL | 5 | 13 | 28 | 20 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 151.7 | 200 | 86 | 34 | 46 | 5.10 | 1291.0 |
| 1935 | CIN | NL | 1 | 2 | 7 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 36.0 | 39 | 19 | 13 | 13 | 4.75 | 415.4 |
| 1936 | BSN | NL | 17 | 13 | 37 | 31 | 21 | 2 | 0 | 266.7 | 268 | 85 | 66 | 86 | 2.87 | 6070.1 |
| 1937 | BSN | NL | 14 | 14 | 32 | 32 | 16 | 2 | 0 | 246.0 | 250 | 80 | 60 | 70 | 2.93 | 5014.9 |
| 1938 | BSN | NL | 14 | 9 | 29 | 29 | 19 | 5 | 0 | 219.7 | 208 | 72 | 64 | 58 | 2.95 | 3389.0 |
| 1939 | BSN | NL | 8 | 14 | 33 | 28 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 191.7 | 221 | 83 | 59 | 46 | 3.90 | 202.4 |
| 1940 | PIT | NL | 5 | 4 | 35 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 91.3 | 112 | 36 | 27 | 24 | 3.55 | 169.3 |
| 1941 | WSN | AL | 0 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7.0 | 12 | 8 | 5 | 3 | 10.29 | - |
| 1943 | BSN | NL | 2 | 1 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21.3 | 31 | 14 | 9 | 5 | 5.91 | -334.3 |
Career Batting Statistics
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 470 | 910 | 66 | 129 | 22 | 4 | 1 | 47 | 1 | 41 | 309 | 0.142 | 0.180 | 0.178 | 0.358 | -6762.8 |
Season-by-Season Batting
| Year | Team | Lg | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1926 | BOS | AL | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.333 | 0.0 |
| 1927 | BOS | AL | 37 | 46 | 3 | 13 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 14 | 0.283 | 53.2 |
| 1928 | BOS | AL | 35 | 63 | 5 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 7 | 32 | 0.143 | -459.9 |
| 1929 | BOS | AL | 32 | 74 | 6 | 13 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 21 | 0.176 | -640.0 |
| 1930 | BOS | AL | 36 | 92 | 11 | 13 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 7 | 32 | 0.141 | -838.7 |
| 1931 | BOS | AL | 35 | 81 | 4 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 28 | 0.123 | -819.8 |
| 1932 | BOS | AL | 12 | 25 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 0.120 | 0.0 |
| 1932 | NYY | AL | 17 | 49 | 7 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 15 | 0.102 | 0.0 |
| 1933 | NYY | AL | 25 | 34 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 15 | 0.029 | 0.0 |
| 1934 | NYY | AL | 22 | 39 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 0.103 | 0.0 |
| 1935 | BSN | NL | 28 | 51 | 2 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 0.157 | -443.0 |
| 1935 | CIN | NL | 7 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0.091 | -443.0 |
| 1936 | BSN | NL | 37 | 83 | 7 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 33 | 0.096 | -958.9 |
| 1937 | BSN | NL | 32 | 83 | 7 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 30 | 0.157 | -752.5 |
| 1938 | BSN | NL | 29 | 77 | 2 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 19 | 0.117 | -866.1 |
| 1939 | BSN | NL | 33 | 67 | 6 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 19 | 0.179 | -541.2 |
| 1940 | PIT | NL | 35 | 28 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0.179 | 0.0 |
| 1941 | WSN | AL | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0.0 |
| 1943 | BSN | NL | 10 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.250 | 0.0 |
Fielding Statistics
Career Fielding Totals by Position
| Position | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OF | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| P | 465 | 0 | 118 | 635 | 39 | 38 |
Season-by-Season Fielding
| Year | Team | Pos | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1926 | BOS | P | 3 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 2 |
| 1927 | BOS | P | 34 | 0 | 3 | 35 | 3 | 0 |
| 1928 | BOS | P | 33 | 0 | 8 | 40 | 2 | 1 |
| 1928 | BOS | OF | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1929 | BOS | P | 32 | 0 | 6 | 60 | 3 | 2 |
| 1930 | BOS | P | 36 | 0 | 17 | 60 | 3 | 4 |
| 1931 | BOS | P | 35 | 0 | 12 | 56 | 1 | 5 |
| 1932 | BOS | P | 12 | 0 | 4 | 17 | 2 | 3 |
| 1932 | NYA | P | 17 | 0 | 7 | 18 | 5 | 1 |
| 1933 | NYA | P | 25 | 0 | 4 | 19 | 2 | 2 |
| 1934 | NYA | P | 22 | 0 | 3 | 15 | 1 | 1 |
| 1935 | BSN | P | 28 | 0 | 5 | 42 | 2 | 1 |
| 1935 | CIN | P | 7 | 0 | 3 | 13 | 2 | 1 |
| 1936 | BSN | P | 37 | 0 | 9 | 75 | 4 | 5 |
| 1937 | BSN | P | 32 | 0 | 13 | 62 | 4 | 3 |
| 1938 | BSN | P | 29 | 0 | 11 | 41 | 1 | 2 |
| 1939 | BSN | P | 33 | 0 | 9 | 47 | 3 | 2 |
| 1940 | PIT | P | 35 | 0 | 2 | 22 | 1 | 2 |
| 1941 | WS1 | P | 5 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 |
| 1943 | BSN | P | 10 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
Career Games by Position
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| Pitcher | 465 |
| Left Field | 1 |
Awards & Honors
| Year | Award | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1936 | Baseball Magazine All-Star | P4 |
Award Voting History
| Year | Award | League | Finish | Points Won | Points Max | Votes First |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1936 | Most Valuable Player | NL | 9th | 12.0 | 80 | 0 |
| 1931 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 20th | 2.0 | 80 | 0 |