Buddy Napier
Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1912-1921)
Buddy Napier was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1912 to 1921 for the St. Louis Browns, the Chicago Cubs, and the Cincinnati Reds, a span of 10 seasons. Across 39 career appearances, he went 5-6 with a 3.92 ERA and 43 strikeouts. His career Pitcher PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of pitching impact — is 1562.8.
- 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
- Position
- Pitcher
- Bats / Throws
- R / R
- Height / Weight
- 5'11" / 165 lb
- Died
- 3/29/1968 in Dallas, TX, USA
- MLB Debut
- 1912-08-14
- Last Game
- 1921-07-16
Full name: Skelton Leroy Napier
Season-by-Season Pitching
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1912 | SLA | AL | 1 | 2 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 25.1 | 33 | 14 | 5 | 10 | 4.97 | 3.36 (-48%) | 214.4 |
| 1918 | CHN | NL | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6.2 | 10 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 5.40 | — | 0.0 |
| 1920 | CIN | NL | 4 | 2 | 9 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 49.0 | 47 | 7 | 7 | 17 | 1.29 | 3.45 (+63%) | 1059.6 |
| 1921 | CIN | NL | 0 | 2 | 22 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 56.2 | 72 | 35 | 13 | 14 | 5.56 | 4.02 (-38%) | 288.8 |
| Career · 4 seasons | 5 | 6 | 39 | 13 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 137.2 | 162 | 60 | 29 | 43 | 3.92 | — | 1,563 | ||
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 39 | 38 | 3 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 13 | .158 | .273 | .263 | .536 | 0 |
Career AVG .158 vs. league average .272 across their career seasons — 42.0% below league average.
Career OBP .273 vs. league average .334 across their career seasons — 18.3% below league average.
Career SLG .263 vs. league average .364 across their career seasons — 27.7% below league average.
Career OPS .536 vs. league average .698 across their career seasons — 23.2% below league average.
Season-by-Season Batting
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1912 | SLA | AL | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1918 | CHN | NL | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .333 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1920 | CIN | NL | 9 | 14 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 4 | .214 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1921 | CIN | NL | 22 | 14 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | .143 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| Career · 4 seasons | 39 | 38 | 3 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 13 | .158 | — | — | — | — | 0 | ||
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.
Game Log & Splits
View full game log (78 games) →Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).
Batting — Home / Away
| Split | G | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 16 | 15 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | .133 |
| Away | 23 | 21 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | .190 |
Pitching — Home / Away
| Split | G | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 16 | 60.1 | 67 | 23 | 18 | 15 | 3.43 |
| Away | 23 | 76.2 | 95 | 39 | 15 | 27 | 4.58 |
Last 10 Games — Batting
| Date | Tm | Opp | Res | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1921-07-16 | CIN | PHI | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1921-07-07 | CIN | BSN | L | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1921-07-04 | CIN | CHC | L | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1921-06-28 | CIN | STL | L | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1921-06-25 | CIN | CHC | L | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1921-06-18 | CIN | PHI | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1921-06-16 | CIN | PHI | W | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1921-06-01 | CIN | STL | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1921-05-30 | CIN | STL | L | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1921-05-30 | CIN | STL | L | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Last 10 Games — Pitching
| Date | Tm | Opp | Dec | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1921-07-16 | CIN | PHI | — | 2.1 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1921-07-07 | CIN | BSN | — | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 1921-07-04 | CIN | CHC | — | 1.2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1921-06-28 | CIN | STL | — | 0.2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1921-06-25 | CIN | CHC | — | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1921-06-18 | CIN | PHI | L | 3.1 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1921-06-16 | CIN | PHI | SV | 3.0 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1921-06-01 | CIN | STL | — | 3.1 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 1921-05-30 | CIN | STL | — | 2.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1921-05-30 | CIN | STL | — | 2.0 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
Fielding Statistics
Career Fielding Totals by Position
Season-by-Season Fielding
Career Games by Position
Circle size = games played at each position.
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| Pitcher | 39 |
Buddy Napier: the record in brief
According to the bio, Buddy Napier debuted on August 14, 1912 and played a final game on July 16, 1921. Club by club, the record runs the St. Louis Browns (1912), the Chicago Cubs (1918), and the Cincinnati Reds (1920 through 1921). Born on December 18, 1889, in Byromville, GA, USA, Napier is listed as a pitcher and both batted and threw right-handed. Napier's listed size is 5 feet, 11 inches and 165 pounds. Napier died on March 29, 1968, in Dallas, TX, USA. On the record, Buddy Napier was born Skelton Leroy Napier.
Across 39 games (13 starts), Napier recorded 5 wins against 6 losses with a 3.92 ERA. The same table counts 43 strikeouts. Against a 3.46 league ERA for the same seasons, the 3.92 mark was 13.2% worse. Among the heaviest workloads, the lowest ERA was 1.29 in 1920, when the league's was 3.45. Napier's career Pitcher PIV, which scores run prevention against each season's league, is 1,562.8.
Frequently Asked Questions about Buddy Napier
- What years did Buddy Napier play?
- Buddy Napier played in Major League Baseball from 1912 to 1921.
- Was Buddy Napier a pitcher?
- Yes. Buddy Napier pitched in the major leagues, recording 5 wins and 43 strikeouts.
- How many home runs did Buddy Napier hit?
- Buddy Napier hit 0 career home runs with 6 hits.
- What teams did Buddy Napier play for?
- Buddy Napier played for 3 teams: the St. Louis Browns (1912), the Chicago Cubs (1918), and the Cincinnati Reds (1920–1921).
- What were Buddy Napier's career stats?
- In 39 games, Buddy Napier went 5-6 with a 3.92 ERA, 43 strikeouts, 137.2 innings pitched, and 1 saves.
- What position did Buddy Napier play?
- Buddy Napier played primarily as a pitcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.
- How tall was Buddy Napier and how much did he weigh?
- Buddy Napier was listed at 5 feet 11 inches and 165 pounds.
- What was Buddy Napier's career ERA?
- Buddy Napier finished with a 3.92 career ERA, going 5-6 with 43 strikeouts.
- How many strikeouts did Buddy Napier have?
- Buddy Napier recorded 43 career strikeouts.
- Is Buddy Napier in the Hall of Fame?
- No. Buddy Napier has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.