Russ Meyer
Born: 10/25/1923 in Peru, IL, USA
Died: 11/16/1997 in Oglesby, IL, USA
MLB Debut: 1946-09-13 | Final Game: 1959-06-28
Bats: B | Throws: R | Height: 6'1" | Weight: 175 lbs
Full name: Russell Charles Meyer
Biography
Russ Meyer was a talented pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1946 until 1959. Born in 1923, Meyer made his mark during a transitional period in baseball that followed World War II, an era characterized by an increase in the athleticism and skill level of players. Throughout his career, he compiled a record of 94 wins and 73 losses, showcasing his ability to perform consistently on the mound.
Meyer recorded an earned run average (ERA) of 3.99 across his career, indicating his effectiveness in limiting opposing teams' scoring opportunities. With a total of 672 strikeouts, he demonstrated a keen ability to overpower hitters, complemented by his five saves, which highlighted his versatility as both a starter and a reliever. Meyer's contributions to the game, particularly during the late 1940s and 1950s, solidified his place in baseball history as a reliable pitcher who contributed to the competitive landscape of the sport during that era.
Career Pitching Statistics
| W | L | G | GS | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | ER | HR | BB | SO | ERA | Pitcher PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 94 | 73 | 319 | 219 | 65 | 13 | 5 | 1531.3 | 1606 | 679 | 136 | 541 | 672 | 3.99 | 0 |
Season-by-Season Pitching
| Year | Team | Lg | W | L | G | GS | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA | Pitcher PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1946 | CHC | NL | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 17.0 | 21 | 6 | 10 | 10 | 3.18 | - |
| 1947 | CHC | NL | 3 | 2 | 23 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 45.0 | 43 | 17 | 14 | 22 | 3.40 | - |
| 1948 | CHC | NL | 10 | 10 | 29 | 26 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 164.7 | 157 | 67 | 77 | 89 | 3.66 | - |
| 1949 | PHI | NL | 17 | 8 | 37 | 28 | 14 | 2 | 1 | 213.0 | 199 | 73 | 70 | 78 | 3.08 | 2700.8 |
| 1950 | PHI | NL | 9 | 11 | 32 | 25 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 159.7 | 193 | 94 | 67 | 74 | 5.30 | -1258.0 |
| 1951 | PHI | NL | 8 | 9 | 28 | 24 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 168.0 | 172 | 65 | 55 | 65 | 3.48 | 1351.9 |
| 1952 | PHI | NL | 13 | 14 | 37 | 32 | 14 | 1 | 1 | 232.3 | 235 | 81 | 65 | 92 | 3.14 | 4144.1 |
| 1953 | BRO | NL | 15 | 5 | 34 | 32 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 191.3 | 201 | 97 | 63 | 106 | 4.56 | -238.7 |
| 1954 | BRO | NL | 11 | 6 | 36 | 28 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 180.3 | 193 | 80 | 49 | 70 | 3.99 | 944.5 |
| 1955 | BRO | NL | 6 | 2 | 18 | 11 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 73.0 | 86 | 44 | 31 | 26 | 5.42 | -659.8 |
| 1956 | CHC | NL | 1 | 6 | 20 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 57.0 | 71 | 40 | 26 | 28 | 6.32 | - |
| 1956 | CIN | NL | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.00 | 0.0 |
| 1957 | BOS | AL | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5.0 | 10 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 5.40 | 0.0 |
| 1959 | KC1 | AL | 1 | 0 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 24.0 | 24 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 4.50 | -561.3 |
Career Batting Statistics
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 319 | 484 | 26 | 55 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 25 | 0 | 22 | 146 | 0.114 | 0.154 | 0.140 | 0.294 | -4356.6 |
Season-by-Season Batting
| Year | Team | Lg | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1946 | CHC | NL | 4 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.200 | 0.0 |
| 1947 | CHC | NL | 23 | 12 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.250 | 0.0 |
| 1948 | CHC | NL | 29 | 56 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 0.107 | -632.1 |
| 1949 | PHI | NL | 37 | 70 | 3 | 10 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 19 | 0.143 | -623.5 |
| 1950 | PHI | NL | 32 | 50 | 2 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 20 | 0.140 | -472.1 |
| 1951 | PHI | NL | 28 | 48 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 8 | 0.104 | -517.1 |
| 1952 | PHI | NL | 37 | 79 | 4 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 23 | 0.089 | -809.8 |
| 1953 | BRO | NL | 34 | 75 | 6 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 21 | 0.147 | -696.7 |
| 1954 | BRO | NL | 36 | 47 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 20 | 0.043 | -605.3 |
| 1955 | BRO | NL | 18 | 27 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 0.037 | 0.0 |
| 1956 | CHC | NL | 20 | 12 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0.083 | 0.0 |
| 1956 | CIN | NL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0.0 |
| 1957 | BOS | AL | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 0.0 |
| 1959 | KC1 | AL | 18 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0.000 | 0.0 |
Postseason Statistics
Playoff Career Batting
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0.000 |
Playoff Batting by Year
| Year | Round | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1955 | WS | BRO | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.000 |
| 1953 | WS | BRO | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.000 |
| 1950 | WS | PHI | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
Playoff Career Pitching
| W | L | G | GS | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 11.7 | 16 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 3.09 |
Playoff Pitching by Year
| Year | Round | Team | W | L | G | GS | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1955 | WS | BRO | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5.7 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 0.00 |
| 1953 | WS | BRO | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4.3 | 8 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6.23 |
| 1950 | WS | PHI | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1.7 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5.40 |
Fielding Statistics
Career Fielding Totals by Position
| Position | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | 319 | 49 | 69 | 257 | 13 | 19 |
Season-by-Season Fielding
| Year | Team | Pos | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1946 | CHN | P | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 1947 | CHN | P | 23 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 1 |
| 1948 | CHN | P | 29 | 0 | 12 | 26 | 1 | 0 |
| 1949 | PHI | P | 37 | 0 | 14 | 28 | 1 | 3 |
| 1950 | PHI | P | 32 | 0 | 8 | 31 | 0 | 4 |
| 1951 | PHI | P | 28 | 0 | 5 | 21 | 1 | 1 |
| 1952 | PHI | P | 37 | 0 | 8 | 37 | 4 | 6 |
| 1953 | BRO | P | 34 | 0 | 8 | 33 | 3 | 1 |
| 1954 | BRO | P | 36 | 28 | 5 | 27 | 3 | 0 |
| 1955 | BRO | P | 18 | 11 | 1 | 21 | 0 | 1 |
| 1956 | CHN | P | 20 | 9 | 4 | 17 | 0 | 2 |
| 1956 | CIN | P | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1957 | BOS | P | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 1959 | KC1 | P | 18 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
Career Games by Position
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| Pitcher | 319 |
Award Voting History
| Year | Award | League | Finish | Points Won | Points Max | Votes First |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1949 | Most Valuable Player | NL | 19th | 8.0 | 336 | 0 |