Carl Mays

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1915-1929)

W–L 207–126
ERA 2.92
WHIP 1.21
SO 862
Pitcher PIV 14830.5
Position
Pitcher
Bats / Throws
L / R
Height / Weight
5'11" / 195 lb
Born
11/12/1891 in Liberty, KY, USA
Died
4/4/1971 in El Cajon, CA, USA
MLB Debut
1915-04-15
Last Game
1929-09-24

Full name: Carl William Mays

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Career Pitching Statistics

W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
207 126 490 325 231 29 31 3021.3 2,912 979 73 734 862 2.92 14830.5

Career ERA 2.92 vs. league average 3.75 across their career seasons — 22.2% better 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
1915 BOS AL 6 5 38 6 2 0 7 131.7 119 38 21 65 2.60 2.90 (+10%) 2967.7
1916 BOS AL 18 13 44 24 14 2 3 245.0 208 65 74 76 2.39 2.78 (+14%) -917.3
1917 BOS AL 22 9 35 33 27 2 0 289.0 230 56 74 91 1.74 2.69 (+35%) 618.5
1918 BOS AL 21 13 35 33 30 8 0 293.3 230 72 81 114 2.21 2.83 (+22%) 2226.5
1919 BOS AL 5 11 21 16 14 2 2 146.0 131 40 40 53 2.47 3.09 (+20%) 429.0
1919 NYA AL 9 3 13 13 12 1 0 120.0 96 22 37 54 1.65 3.09 (+47%) 656.3
1920 NYA AL 26 11 45 37 26 6 2 312.0 310 106 84 92 3.06 3.45 (+11%) -1365.7
1921 NYA AL 27 9 49 38 30 1 7 336.7 332 114 76 70 3.05 4.02 (+24%) 794.9
1922 NYA AL 12 14 34 29 21 1 2 240.0 257 96 50 41 3.60 4.18 (+14%) -218.7
1923 NYA AL 5 2 23 7 2 0 0 81.3 119 56 32 16 6.20 4.03 (-54%) -2468.9
1924 CIN NL 20 9 37 27 15 2 0 226.0 238 79 36 63 3.15 4.13 (+24%) 4592.9
1925 CIN NL 3 5 12 5 3 0 2 51.7 60 19 13 10 3.31 4.55 (+27%) 608.5
1926 CIN NL 19 12 39 33 24 3 1 281.0 286 98 53 58 3.14 4.11 (+24%) 5239.9
1927 CIN NL 3 7 14 9 6 0 0 82.0 89 32 10 17 3.51 4.08 (+14%) 1765.1
1928 CIN NL 4 1 14 7 4 1 1 62.7 67 27 22 10 3.88 4.13 (+6%) -496.1
1929 NY1 NL 7 2 37 8 1 0 4 123.0 140 59 31 32 4.32 4.60 (+6%) 397.9
Career · 16 seasons 207 126 490 325 231 29 31 3,021.1 2,912 979 734 862 2.92 — 14,830

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
502 1,085 113 291 32 21 5 110 1 66 116 .268 .313 .350 .663 -946

Career AVG .268 vs. league average .274 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career OBP .313 vs. league average .337 across their career seasons — 7.2% below league average.

Career SLG .350 vs. league average .376 across their career seasons — 6.8% below league average.

Career OPS .663 vs. league average .713 across their career seasons — 7.0% 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
1915 BOS AL 38 38 3 9 1 0 0 0 0 3 7 .237 — — — — 0.0
1916 BOS AL 48 77 8 18 1 2 0 8 0 16 19 .234 .248 (-6%) .314 (+16%) .326 (-9%) .640 (+4%) 112.0
1917 BOS AL 35 107 9 27 3 3 0 14 0 6 11 .252 .248 (+1%) .312 (-7%) .323 (+4%) .635 (-1%) -51.2
1918 BOS AL 38 104 10 30 3 3 0 5 1 9 15 .288 .255 (+13%) .318 (+12%) .326 (+15%) .645 (+13%) 219.7
1919 BOS AL 22 53 3 8 0 0 0 2 0 4 2 .151 .262 (-42%) .322 (-35%) .347 (-57%) .670 (-46%) -356.8
1919 NYA AL 13 45 6 14 3 0 0 4 0 0 3 .311 — — — — -356.8
1920 NYA AL 45 109 10 26 4 2 0 13 0 5 12 .239 .271 (-12%) .331 (-18%) .363 (-14%) .694 (-16%) -292.9
1921 NYA AL 51 143 18 49 5 1 2 22 0 4 7 .343 .286 (+20%) .344 (+6%) .395 (+10%) .739 (+8%) 190.3
1922 NYA AL 35 92 7 23 1 1 0 7 0 2 10 .250 .285 (-12%) .345 (-23%) .397 (-29%) .743 (-26%) -400.3
1923 NYA AL 23 27 2 4 0 1 1 3 0 3 4 .148 — — — — 0.0
1924 CIN NL 38 83 9 24 6 2 1 12 0 4 12 .289 .283 (+2%) .345 (-7%) .389 (+14%) .734 (+4%) 25.7
1925 CIN NL 12 16 3 4 0 1 0 3 0 2 1 .250 — — — — 0.0
1926 CIN NL 39 98 12 22 2 4 0 8 0 3 7 .224 .279 (-20%) .345 (-28%) .390 (-16%) .735 (-22%) -392.0
1927 CIN NL 14 32 5 13 1 1 1 1 0 0 2 .406 — — — — 0.0
1928 CIN NL 14 27 5 8 1 0 0 3 0 0 2 .296 — — — — 0.0
1929 NY1 NL 37 34 3 12 1 0 0 5 0 5 2 .353 — — — — 0.0
Career · 16 seasons 502 1,085 113 291 32 21 5 110 1 66 116 .268 — — — — -1,302

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 17 1 2 0 0 0 0 1 2 .118

Playoff Batting by Year

Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1922 WS NYA 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1921 WS NYA 3 9 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .111
1918 WS BOS 2 5 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .200
1916 WS BOS 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000

Playoff Career Pitching

W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
3 4 8 7 1 57.3 47 15 8 17 2.35

Playoff Pitching by Year

Year Round Team W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
1922 WS NYA 0 1 1 1 0 8.0 9 4 2 1 4.50
1921 WS NYA 1 2 3 3 0 26.0 20 5 0 9 1.73
1918 WS BOS 2 0 2 2 0 18.0 10 2 3 5 1.00
1916 WS BOS 0 1 2 1 1 5.3 8 4 3 2 6.75

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (992 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home24854059159245.294
Away25454054132364.244

Pitching — Home / Away

SplitGIPHERBBSOERA
Home2401572.114644723874572.70
Away2501447.014475223564183.25

Last 10 Games — Batting

DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1929-09-24 NY1BSNW 200000000
1929-09-11 NY1PITW 504100200
1929-09-04 NY1BSNL 000000000
1929-08-21 NY1CHCL 000000000
1929-08-17 NY1STLL 100000000
1929-08-15 NY1STLW 101000000
1929-08-10 NY1CINL 000000000
1929-08-05 NY1PITW 110000010
1929-07-27 NY1STLW 000000000
1929-07-24 NY1CHCL 000000000

Last 10 Games — Pitching

DateTmOppDecIPHRERBBSOHR
1929-09-24 NY1BSN — 7.0951020
1929-09-11 NY1PIT W 7.1722300
1929-09-04 NY1BSN — 0.2000000
1929-08-21 NY1CHC — 2.0422001
1929-08-17 NY1STL — 2.2644200
1929-08-15 NY1STL — 3.2511100
1929-08-10 NY1CIN — 2.0433200
1929-08-05 NY1PIT — 2.0654010
1929-07-27 NY1STL SV 2.0200000
1929-07-24 NY1CHC — 2.0100000

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position G GS PO A E DP
P 490 0 174 1138 44 56

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1915 BOS P 38 0 9 44 2 0
1916 BOS P 44 0 13 117 6 5
1917 BOS P 35 0 22 118 1 5
1918 BOS P 35 0 16 122 8 3
1919 BOS P 21 0 9 49 2 5
1919 NYA P 13 0 10 37 3 1
1920 NYA P 45 0 19 106 1 5
1921 NYA P 49 0 8 104 2 4
1922 NYA P 34 0 8 94 5 4
1923 NYA P 23 0 8 32 1 2
1924 CIN P 37 0 13 94 5 5
1925 CIN P 12 0 3 15 2 3
1926 CIN P 39 0 16 117 4 10
1927 CIN P 14 0 5 38 0 1
1928 CIN P 14 0 3 17 1 0
1929 NY1 P 37 0 12 34 1 3

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Position Games
Pitcher 490

Awards & Honors

Year Award Notes
1926 Baseball Magazine All-Star P2
1921 Baseball Magazine All-Star P2
1921 Baseball Magazine All-Star P3

Award Voting History

Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
1926 Most Valuable Player NL 22th 4.0 80 0

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Carl Mays (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Urban Shocker
    187-117, 3.17 ERA
  2. 97
    Stan Coveleski HOF
    215-142, 2.89 ERA
  3. 95
    Slim Sallee
    174-143, 2.56 ERA
  4. 82
    Dolf Luque
    194-179, 3.24 ERA
  5. 81
    Eddie Cicotte
    209-149, 2.38 ERA
  6. 81
    Rube Benton
    150-144, 3.09 ERA

Frequently Asked Questions about Carl Mays

What years did Carl Mays play?
Carl Mays played in Major League Baseball from 1915 to 1929.
Was Carl Mays a pitcher?
Yes. Carl Mays pitched in the major leagues, recording 207 wins and 862 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Carl Mays hit?
Carl Mays hit 5 career home runs with 291 hits.