Luther McDonald

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records

Luther McDonald was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball for 4 teams, including the St. Louis Stars. Across 99 career appearances, he went 36-26 with a 4.28 ERA and 160 strikeouts. He also batted .216 with 1 home runs. His totals include Negro Leagues seasons, which MLB recognized as major league in 2020. His career Pitcher PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of pitching impact — is 3328.7.

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

W–L 36–26
ERA 4.28
WHIP 1.49
SO 160
Pitcher PIV 3328.7
Position
Pitcher
Bats / Throws
— / R
Height / Weight
5'10" / 178 lb
Born
2/6/1906 in Greene County, MS, USA
Died
5/1/1976 in Chicago, IL, USA
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Negro Leagues Career Statistics

Batting

Luther McDonald — Batting
PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB BA OBP SLG OPS
5.0 4.0 2.0 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .250 .250 .250 .500

Pitching

Luther McDonald — Pitching
W L GS CG GF SV IP H R ER HR BB SO ERA WHIP
1 1 4 1 1 0 18.0 16 12 0 1 2 3 0.00 1.00

Career Pitching Statistics

Luther McDonald — Career Pitching Statistics
W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
36 26 99 58 34 2 2 523.0 648 249 25 129 160 4.28 3328.7

Career ERA 4.28 vs. league average 4.34 across their career seasons — near league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Luther McDonald — Season-by-Season Pitching
Year Team Lg W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER BB SO ERA Lg ERA Pitcher PIV
1927 SLS NNL 13 4 26 15 8 0 1 138.0 174 64 33 41 4.17 4.08 (-2%) 1337.4
1928 SLS NNL 8 6 21 12 8 0 0 106.0 119 42 23 27 3.57 4.13 (+14%) 875.0
1929 SLS NNL 4 3 10 5 1 0 0 36.0 63 34 18 6 8.50 4.60 (-85%) -1694.5
1930 CAG NNL 5 9 22 15 8 0 0 127.0 153 69 30 37 4.89 4.80 (-2%) 1322.1
1931 CC2 NNL 4 3 7 6 6 2 0 54.1 54 11 11 25 1.82 4.10 (+56%) 1522.8
1931 DS NNL 2 1 6 3 3 0 0 41.0 52 13 8 19 2.85 4.10 (+30%) 943.2
1935 CAG NN2 0 0 7 2 0 0 1 20.2 33 16 6 5 6.97 4.35 (-60%) -977.3
Career · 7 seasons 36 26 99 58 34 2 2 523.0 648 249 129 160 4.28 — 3,329

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

Luther McDonald — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
110 208 22 45 6 1 1 11 1 5 1 .216 .235 .269 .504 -656

Career AVG .216 vs. league average .284 across their career seasons — 23.8% below league average.

Career OBP .235 vs. league average .346 across their career seasons — 32.2% below league average.

Career SLG .269 vs. league average .404 across their career seasons — 33.3% below league average.

Career OPS .504 vs. league average .750 across their career seasons — 32.8% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Luther McDonald — Season-by-Season Batting
Year Team Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG Lg AVG Lg OBP Lg SLG Lg OPS PIV
1927 SLS NNL 27 52 3 10 2 0 0 3 0 1 0 .192 .282 (-32%) .344 (-40%) .392 (-41%) .736 (-41%) -347.8
1928 SLS NNL 22 43 7 9 1 1 0 1 0 1 0 .209 — — — — 0.0
1929 SLS NNL 13 14 4 5 1 0 0 2 0 2 0 .357 — — — — 0.0
1930 CAG NNL 26 50 5 12 1 0 0 2 0 0 0 .240 .293 (-18%) .354 (-32%) .429 (-39%) .784 (-36%) -308.4
1931 CC2 NNL 9 23 2 4 0 0 1 3 0 1 1 .174 — — — — 0.0
1931 DS NNL 6 18 0 4 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 .222 — — — — 0.0
1935 CAG NN2 7 8 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .125 — — — — 0.0
Career · 7 seasons 110 208 22 45 6 1 1 11 1 5 1 .216 — — — — -656

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

Luther McDonald — Playoff Career Batting
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
2 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000

Playoff Batting by Year

Luther McDonald — Playoff Batting by Year
Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1928 NNC SLS 2 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000

Playoff Career Pitching

Luther McDonald — Playoff Career Pitching
W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
0 0 1 1 0 3.0 6 3 0 0 9.00

Playoff Pitching by Year

Luther McDonald — Playoff Pitching by Year
Year Round Team W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
1928 NNC SLS 0 0 1 1 0 3.0 6 3 0 0 9.00

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (24 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Luther McDonald — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home832100.333
Away430101.333

Pitching — Home / Away

Luther McDonald — Pitching — Home / Away
SplitGIPHERBBSOERA
Home832.0290440.00
Away411.0192311.64

Last 10 Games — Batting

Luther McDonald — Last 10 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1937-05-31 MEMCAGL 000000000
1937-05-25 MEMSSAW 000000000
1935-08-25 CAGPTCL 000000000
1935-08-24 CAGPTCL 110000010
1935-08-04 CAGNY6L 000000000
1935-07-22 CAGPTCW 100000000
1935-07-01 CAGBRNL 000000000
1935-06-17 CAGNW1L 201000100
1935-06-09 CAGPH5L 000000000
1935-06-02 CAGHOML 000000000

Last 10 Games — Pitching

Luther McDonald — Last 10 Games — Pitching
DateTmOppDecIPHRERBBSOHR
1937-05-31 MEMCAG L 0.0000000
1937-05-25 MEMSSA — 0.0000000
1935-08-25 CAGPTC L 9.0770000
1935-08-24 CAGPTC — 5.0840110
1935-08-04 CAGNY6 — 1.0210100
1935-07-22 CAGPTC SV 3.2520000
1935-07-01 CAGBRN L 6.0000000
1935-06-17 CAGNW1 — 4.1622110
1935-06-09 CAGPH5 — 0.0000000
1935-06-02 CAGHOM — 2.0220000

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Luther McDonald — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
OF 1 0 0 0 0 0
P 99 58 8 169 7 5

Season-by-Season Fielding

Luther McDonald — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1927 SLS P 26 15 1 37 2 1
1928 SLS P 21 12 2 31 4 0
1929 SLS P 10 5 0 13 0 1
1930 CAG OF 1 0 0 0 0 0
1930 CAG P 22 15 2 37 0 0
1931 CC2 P 7 6 2 30 1 2
1931 DS P 6 3 1 12 0 1
1935 CAG P 7 2 0 9 0 0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Luther McDonald — Career Games by Position
Position Games
Pitcher 99
Center Field 1

Most Similar Players

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

  1. 98
    Isidro Fabré
    26-29, 4.42 ERA
  2. 69
    Tony Freitas
    25-33, 4.48 ERA
  3. 65
    Johnny Werts
    15-21, 4.29 ERA
  4. 61
    John Taylor
    17-35, 4.49 ERA
  5. 55
    Tiny Chaplin
    15-23, 4.25 ERA
  6. 37
    Lucas Boada
    25-44, 4.65 ERA

Luther McDonald: the record in brief

The season rows for Luther McDonald begin in 1927. McDonald played for the St. Louis Stars (1927 through 1929), the Chicago American Giants (1930 through 1935), the Chicago Columbia Giants (1931), and the Detroit Stars (1931). McDonald played primarily as a pitcher. The bio adds a birth date on February 6, 1906, in Greene County, MS, USA and a listed size of 5-foot-10 and 178 pounds. McDonald's death is recorded on May 1, 1976, in Chicago, IL, USA.

McDonald pitched in 99 games, starting 58, and finished with a 36-26 record and 4.28 ERA. Also on McDonald's record: 160 strikeouts and 34 complete games. McDonald's 4.28 ERA was close to the 4.34 league figure for those seasons. McDonald won 13 games in 1927, the most of any season listed. Among the heaviest workloads, the lowest ERA was 3.57 in 1928, when the league's was 4.13. By Pitcher PIV, Baseball Data Hub's measure of run prevention relative to each season's league, McDonald's career adds up to 3,328.7.

Frequently Asked Questions about Luther McDonald

Was Luther McDonald a pitcher?
Yes. Luther McDonald pitched in the major leagues, recording 36 wins and 160 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Luther McDonald hit?
Luther McDonald hit 1 career home run with 45 hits.
What teams did Luther McDonald play for?
Luther McDonald played for 3 teams: the St. Louis Stars (1927–1929), the Chicago American Giants (1930–1931, 1935), and the Detroit Stars (1931).
What were Luther McDonald's career stats?
In 99 games, Luther McDonald went 36-26 with a 4.28 ERA, 160 strikeouts, 523.0 innings pitched, and 2 saves. At the plate he had 45 hits and 1 home runs.
What position did Luther McDonald play?
Luther McDonald played primarily as a pitcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.
How tall was Luther McDonald and how much did he weigh?
Luther McDonald was listed at 5 feet 10 inches and 178 pounds.
What was Luther McDonald's career ERA?
Luther McDonald finished with a 4.28 career ERA, going 36-26 with 160 strikeouts.
How many strikeouts did Luther McDonald have?
Luther McDonald recorded 160 career strikeouts.
Is Luther McDonald in the Hall of Fame?
No. Luther McDonald has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.