Cliff Melton

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1937-1944)

W–L 86–80
ERA 3.42
WHIP 1.29
SO 660
Pitcher PIV 14570.9
Position
Pitcher
Bats / Throws
L / L
Height / Weight
6'5" / 203 lb
Born
1/3/1912 in Brevard, NC, USA
Died
7/28/1986 in Baltimore, MD, USA
MLB Debut
1937-04-25
Last Game
1944-09-29
Awards
All-Star

Full name: Clifford George Melton

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Career Pitching Statistics

W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
86 80 272 179 65 13 16 1453.7 1,446 552 79 431 660 3.42 14570.9

Career ERA 3.42 vs. league average 3.97 across their career seasons — 13.8% 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
1937 NY1 NL 20 9 46 27 14 2 7 248.0 216 72 55 142 2.61 4.34 (+40%) 6999.1
1938 NY1 NL 14 14 36 31 10 1 0 243.0 266 105 61 101 3.89 4.35 (+11%) 1944.2
1939 NY1 NL 12 15 41 23 9 2 5 207.3 214 82 65 95 3.56 4.28 (+17%) 3762.4
1940 NY1 NL 10 11 37 21 4 1 2 166.7 185 91 68 91 4.91 4.21 (-17%) 1389.6
1941 NY1 NL 8 11 42 22 9 3 1 194.3 181 65 61 100 3.01 3.94 (+24%) 1273.4
1942 NY1 NL 11 5 23 17 12 2 1 143.7 122 42 33 61 2.63 3.57 (+26%) 1094.2
1943 NY1 NL 9 13 34 28 6 2 0 186.3 184 66 69 55 3.19 3.50 (+9%) -958.6
1944 NY1 NL 2 2 13 10 1 0 0 64.3 78 29 19 15 4.06 3.57 (-13%) -933.3
Career · 8 seasons 86 80 272 179 65 13 16 1,453.2 1,446 552 431 660 3.42 — 14,571

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
272 469 28 77 4 2 0 32 0 20 108 .164 .198 .181 .380 -3,236

Career AVG .164 vs. league average .265 across their career seasons — 38.2% below league average.

Career OBP .198 vs. league average .334 across their career seasons — 40.5% below league average.

Career SLG .181 vs. league average .375 across their career seasons — 51.6% below league average.

Career OPS .380 vs. league average .708 across their career seasons — 46.4% 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
1937 NY1 NL 46 82 3 10 0 0 0 5 0 1 21 .122 .276 (-56%) .342 (-61%) .398 (-69%) .740 (-66%) -875.3
1938 NY1 NL 36 80 7 14 2 0 0 6 0 2 14 .175 .272 (-36%) .341 (-43%) .392 (-49%) .734 (-46%) -604.4
1939 NY1 NL 41 66 2 12 1 0 0 6 0 1 10 .182 .274 (-34%) .342 (-43%) .393 (-50%) .735 (-47%) -503.3
1940 NY1 NL 37 54 6 12 1 1 0 3 0 2 14 .222 .267 (-17%) .335 (-25%) .387 (-28%) .722 (-27%) -242.4
1941 NY1 NL 42 61 2 7 0 0 0 4 0 2 16 .115 .262 (-56%) .332 (-57%) .373 (-69%) .705 (-63%) -605.8
1942 NY1 NL 23 47 5 11 0 0 0 5 0 4 12 .234 — — — — -141.0
1943 NY1 NL 34 54 3 8 0 1 0 2 0 8 14 .148 .255 (-42%) .324 (-21%) .346 (-47%) .671 (-34%) -263.9
1944 NY1 NL 13 25 0 3 0 0 0 1 0 0 7 .120 — — — — 0.0
Career · 8 seasons 272 469 28 77 4 2 0 32 0 20 108 .164 — — — — -3,236

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
3 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 .000

Playoff Batting by Year

Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1937 WS NY1 3 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 .000

Playoff Career Pitching

W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
0 2 3 2 0 11.0 12 6 6 7 4.91

Playoff Pitching by Year

Year Round Team W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
1937 WS NY1 0 2 3 2 0 11.0 12 6 6 7 4.91

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (544 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home1312331642016.180
Away1412361235016.148

Pitching — Home / Away

SplitGIPHERBBSOERA
Home131760.17242832083553.35
Away141692.27232752233073.57

Last 10 Games — Batting

DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1944-09-29 NY1STLW 201000000
1944-09-24 NY1PITL 301000001
1944-09-21 NY1CHCL 200000001
1944-09-17 NY1PHIL 200000001
1944-06-24 NY1BSNL 000000000
1944-06-18 NY1BSNW 300000000
1944-06-04 NY1PITL 000000000
1944-05-27 NY1STLL 200000001
1944-05-19 NY1CHCL 300000000
1944-05-07 NY1BSNL 000000000

Last 10 Games — Pitching

DateTmOppDecIPHRERBBSOHR
1944-09-29 NY1STL — 7.0722102
1944-09-24 NY1PIT L 10.01333110
1944-09-21 NY1CHC — 4.2200110
1944-09-17 NY1PHI L 5.21044220
1944-06-24 NY1BSN — 0.0222000
1944-06-18 NY1BSN W 7.0611430
1944-06-04 NY1PIT — 0.0211000
1944-05-27 NY1STL — 5.0533402
1944-05-19 NY1CHC — 6.1321220
1944-05-07 NY1BSN — 0.0100000

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position G GS PO A E DP
P 272 0 45 397 16 15

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1937 NY1 P 46 0 10 68 1 3
1938 NY1 P 36 0 5 64 4 1
1939 NY1 P 41 0 6 49 4 0
1940 NY1 P 37 0 6 38 0 4
1941 NY1 P 42 0 4 58 2 1
1942 NY1 P 23 0 7 44 1 1
1943 NY1 P 34 0 6 57 3 4
1944 NY1 P 13 0 1 19 1 1

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Position Games
Pitcher 272

Award Voting History

Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
1937 Most Valuable Player NL 11th 17.0 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

Cliff Melton (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Bob Moose
    76-71, 3.50 ERA
  2. 96
    Vern Ruhle
    67-88, 3.73 ERA
  3. 94
    John Buzhardt
    71-96, 3.66 ERA
  4. 94
    Frank Sullivan
    97-100, 3.60 ERA
  5. 94
    Roger Wolff
    52-69, 3.41 ERA
  6. 94
    Luke Hamlin
    73-76, 3.77 ERA

Frequently Asked Questions about Cliff Melton

What years did Cliff Melton play?
Cliff Melton played in Major League Baseball from 1937 to 1944.
Was Cliff Melton a pitcher?
Yes. Cliff Melton pitched in the major leagues, recording 86 wins and 660 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Cliff Melton hit?
Cliff Melton hit 0 career home runs with 77 hits.