Vinegar Bend Mizell

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1952-1962)

Vinegar Bend Mizell was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1952 to 1962 for the St. Louis Cardinals, the Pittsburgh Pirates, and the New York Mets, a span of 11 seasons. Across 268 career appearances, he went 90-88 with a 3.85 ERA and 918 strikeouts. He also batted .111 with 1 home runs. Vinegar Bend Mizell was an All-Star. His career Pitcher PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of pitching impact — is 839.0.

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 90–88
ERA 3.85
WHIP 1.38
SO 918
Pitcher PIV 839.0
Position
Pitcher
Bats / Throws
R / L
Height / Weight
6'3" / 205 lb
Born
8/13/1930 in Leakesville, MS, USA
Died
2/21/1999 in Kerrville, TX, USA
MLB Debut
1952-04-22
Last Game
1962-07-25
Awards
All-Star

Full name: Wilmer David Mizell

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Career Pitching Statistics

Vinegar Bend Mizell — Career Pitching Statistics
W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
90 88 268 230 61 15 0 1528.2 1,434 654 143 680 918 3.85 839.0

Career ERA 3.85 vs. league average 3.91 across their career seasons — near league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Vinegar Bend Mizell Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year Team Lg W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER BB SO ERA Lg ERA Pitcher PIV
1952 SLN NL 10 8 30 30 7 2 0 190.0 171 77 103 146 3.65 3.70 (+1%) 1907.5
1953 SLN NL 13 11 33 33 10 1 0 224.1 193 87 114 173 3.49 4.14 (+16%) 4793.4
1956 SLN NL 14 14 33 33 11 3 0 208.2 172 84 92 153 3.62 3.96 (+9%) 2138.8
1957 SLN NL 8 10 33 21 7 2 0 149.1 136 62 51 87 3.74 3.83 (+3%) -261.2
1958 SLN NL 10 14 30 29 8 2 0 189.2 178 72 91 80 3.42 3.86 (+11%) -1932.1
1959 SLN NL 13 10 31 30 8 1 0 201.1 196 94 89 108 4.20 3.90 (-8%) -1849.8
1960 SLN NL 1 3 9 9 0 0 0 55.1 64 28 28 42 4.55 3.82 (-19%) -490.3
1960 PIT NL 13 5 23 23 8 3 0 155.2 141 54 46 71 3.12 3.82 (+18%) 2709.2
1961 PIT NL 7 10 25 17 2 1 0 100.0 120 56 31 37 5.04 4.03 (-25%) -2044.0
1962 PIT NL 1 1 4 3 0 0 0 16.1 15 9 10 6 4.96 3.96 (-25%) -953.6
1962 NYN NL 0 2 17 2 0 0 0 38.0 48 31 25 15 7.34 3.96 (-86%) -3178.8
Career · 11 seasons 90 88 268 230 61 15 0 1,528.2 1,434 654 680 918 3.85 — 839

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

Vinegar Bend Mizell — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
268 513 28 57 8 3 1 30 0 20 196 .111 .149 .144 .293 -3,946

Career AVG .111 vs. league average .258 across their career seasons — 56.9% below league average.

Career OBP .149 vs. league average .327 across their career seasons — 54.5% below league average.

Career SLG .144 vs. league average .392 across their career seasons — 63.2% below league average.

Career OPS .293 vs. league average .719 across their career seasons — 59.2% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Vinegar Bend Mizell Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year Team Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG Lg AVG Lg OBP Lg SLG Lg OPS PIV
1952 SLN NL 30 68 2 3 1 1 0 1 0 0 31 .044 .252 (-83%) .326 (-86%) .369 (-76%) .696 (-81%) -865.4
1953 SLN NL 33 83 4 7 1 1 1 8 0 3 42 .084 .264 (-68%) .335 (-65%) .397 (-61%) .733 (-63%) -864.5
1956 SLN NL 33 75 5 8 1 0 0 4 0 4 16 .107 .258 (-59%) .331 (-51%) .397 (-70%) .728 (-61%) -735.3
1957 SLN NL 33 45 1 4 2 0 0 3 0 3 17 .089 — — — — 0.0
1958 SLN NL 30 61 3 7 1 0 0 1 0 1 25 .115 .257 (-56%) .324 (-60%) .394 (-67%) .719 (-64%) -616.7
1959 SLN NL 31 75 7 14 1 1 0 7 0 3 29 .187 .256 (-27%) .323 (-33%) .392 (-42%) .715 (-38%) -453.5
1960 SLN NL 9 18 1 2 1 0 0 2 0 1 10 .111 — — — — 0.0
1960 PIT NL 23 51 2 7 0 0 0 3 0 2 14 .137 .255 (-46%) .323 (-38%) .387 (-65%) .711 (-53%) 0.0
1961 PIT NL 25 23 1 3 0 0 0 1 0 2 9 .130 — — — — 0.0
1962 PIT NL 4 6 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 .000 — — — — 0.0
1962 NYN NL 17 8 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 .250 — — — — 0.0
Career · 11 seasons 268 513 28 57 8 3 1 30 0 20 196 .111 — — — — -3,535

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

Vinegar Bend Mizell — Playoff Career Batting
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000

Playoff Batting by Year

Vinegar Bend Mizell — Playoff Batting by Year
Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1960 WS PIT 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000

Playoff Career Pitching

Vinegar Bend Mizell — Playoff Career Pitching
W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
0 1 2 1 0 2.1 4 4 2 1 15.43

Playoff Pitching by Year

Vinegar Bend Mizell — Playoff Pitching by Year
Year Round Team W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
1960 WS PIT 0 1 2 1 0 2.1 4 4 2 1 15.43

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (536 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Vinegar Bend Mizell — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home1422641829018.110
Away1262491028112.112

Pitching — Home / Away

Vinegar Bend Mizell — Pitching — Home / Away
SplitGIPHERBBSOERA
Home142830.27863423504913.71
Away126698.06493103324284.00

Last 10 Games — Batting

Vinegar Bend Mizell — Last 10 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1962-07-25 NYNATLL 000000000
1962-07-15 NYNSFGL 000000000
1962-07-14 NYNLADL 000000000
1962-07-04 NYNSFGL 000000000
1962-07-03 NYNSFGL 000000000
1962-07-02 NYNSFGW 000000000
1962-06-25 NYNPITL 000000000
1962-06-22 NYNHOUL 000000000
1962-06-20 NYNATLL 000000000
1962-06-17 NYNCHCL 100000000

Last 10 Games — Pitching

Vinegar Bend Mizell — Last 10 Games — Pitching
DateTmOppDecIPHRERBBSOHR
1962-07-25 NYNATL — 2.1366511
1962-07-15 NYNSFG — 1.0300010
1962-07-14 NYNLAD — 2.0000100
1962-07-04 NYNSFG — 0.1000100
1962-07-03 NYNSFG — 1.0333001
1962-07-02 NYNSFG — 0.0000100
1962-06-25 NYNPIT — 2.0000010
1962-06-22 NYNHOU — 2.0676101
1962-06-20 NYNATL — 2.0533221
1962-06-17 NYNCHC L 2.1111231

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Vinegar Bend Mizell — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
P 268 167 79 217 21 14

Season-by-Season Fielding

Vinegar Bend Mizell — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1952 SLN P 30 0 7 25 4 1
1953 SLN P 33 0 13 35 7 2
1956 SLN P 33 33 19 30 2 2
1957 SLN P 33 21 8 29 0 3
1958 SLN P 30 29 6 31 3 3
1959 SLN P 31 30 9 23 3 1
1960 SLN P 9 9 2 11 0 0
1960 PIT P 23 23 7 17 0 1
1961 PIT P 25 17 6 7 2 1
1962 PIT P 4 3 1 5 0 0
1962 NYN P 17 2 1 4 0 0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Vinegar Bend Mizell Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position Games
Pitcher 268

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Vinegar Bend Mizell (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Clay Kirby
    75-104, 3.84 ERA
  2. 91
    Ernie Broglio
    77-74, 3.74 ERA
  3. 86
    Steve Stone
    107-93, 3.97 ERA
  4. 85
    Tom Brewer
    91-82, 4.00 ERA
  5. 81
    Lynn McGlothen
    86-93, 3.98 ERA
  6. 79
    Paul Foytack
    86-87, 4.14 ERA

Vinegar Bend Mizell: the record in brief

The profile opens with Vinegar Bend Mizell's first major league game on April 22, 1952; the last one listed came on July 25, 1962. Mizell played for the St. Louis Cardinals (1952 through 1960), the Pittsburgh Pirates (1960 through 1962), and the New York Mets (1962). Mizell played primarily as a pitcher and hit right-handed while throwing left-handed. The bio adds a birth date on August 13, 1930, in Leakesville, MS, USA and a listed size of 6-foot-3 and 205 pounds. The bio records the death on February 21, 1999, in Kerrville, TX, USA. The bio lists the given name Wilmer David.

Across 268 games (230 starts), Mizell recorded 90 wins against 88 losses with a 3.85 ERA. The same table counts 918 strikeouts, 61 complete games, and 15 shutouts. Mizell's 3.85 ERA was close to the 3.91 league figure for those seasons. 1956 brought Mizell a season-high 14 wins. The strikeout high was 173 in 1953. 1960 was Mizell's sharpest full season, a 3.12 ERA against the league's 3.82.

Frequently Asked Questions about Vinegar Bend Mizell

What years did Vinegar Bend Mizell play?
Vinegar Bend Mizell played in Major League Baseball from 1952 to 1962.
Was Vinegar Bend Mizell a pitcher?
Yes. Vinegar Bend Mizell pitched in the major leagues, recording 90 wins and 918 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Vinegar Bend Mizell hit?
Vinegar Bend Mizell hit 1 career home run with 57 hits.
What teams did Vinegar Bend Mizell play for?
Vinegar Bend Mizell played for 3 teams: the St. Louis Cardinals (1952–1953, 1956–1960), the Pittsburgh Pirates (1960–1962), and the New York Mets (1962).
Did Vinegar Bend Mizell win a Cy Young Award?
No. Vinegar Bend Mizell did not win the Cy Young Award.
What awards did Vinegar Bend Mizell win?
Vinegar Bend Mizell was selected to 1 All-Star Game.
What were Vinegar Bend Mizell's career stats?
In 268 games, Vinegar Bend Mizell went 90-88 with a 3.85 ERA, 918 strikeouts, and 1,528.2 innings pitched. At the plate he had 57 hits and 1 home runs.
What position did Vinegar Bend Mizell play?
Vinegar Bend Mizell played primarily as a pitcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.
How tall was Vinegar Bend Mizell and how much did he weigh?
Vinegar Bend Mizell was listed at 6 feet 3 inches and 205 pounds.
What was Vinegar Bend Mizell's career ERA?
Vinegar Bend Mizell finished with a 3.85 career ERA, going 90-88 with 918 strikeouts.
How many strikeouts did Vinegar Bend Mizell have?
Vinegar Bend Mizell recorded 918 career strikeouts.
Is Vinegar Bend Mizell in the Hall of Fame?
No. Vinegar Bend Mizell has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
How many All-Star Games did Vinegar Bend Mizell make?
Vinegar Bend Mizell was selected to 1 All-Star Game.