What years did Ray Narleski play?

Ray Narleski played in Major League Baseball from 1954 to 1959.

Was Ray Narleski a pitcher?

Yes. Ray Narleski pitched in the major leagues, recording 43 wins and 454 strikeouts.

How many home runs did Ray Narleski hit?

Ray Narleski hit 1 career home runs with 26 hits.

What was Ray Narleski's career batting average?

Ray Narleski batted .157 over his career, with 26 hits in 166 at bats.

How many RBI did Ray Narleski have?

Ray Narleski drove in 8 runs in his career.

What was Ray Narleski's career ERA?

Ray Narleski finished with a 3.60 career ERA, going 43-33 with 454 strikeouts.

Ray Narleski

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1954-1959)

Ray Narleski was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1954 to 1959 for the Cleveland Guardians and the Detroit Tigers, a span of 6 seasons. Across 266 career appearances, he went 43-33 with a 3.60 ERA, 454 strikeouts, and 58 saves. Ray Narleski was a 2-time All-Star.

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 October 12, 2026

W–L 43–33

ERA 3.60

WHIP 1.34

SO 454

Pitcher PIV -3727.0

Position: Pitcher
Bats / Throws: R / R
Height / Weight: 6'1" / 175 lb
Born: 11/25/1928 in Camden, NJ, USA
Died: 3/29/2012 in Clementon, NJ, USA
MLB Debut: 1954-04-17
Last Game: 1959-09-26
Awards: 2× All-Star

Full name: Raymond Edmond Narleski

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Career Pitching Statistics

Ray Narleski — Career Pitching Statistics
W	L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	SO	ERA	Pitcher PIV
43	33	266	52	17	1	58	702.0	606	281	80	335	454	3.60	-3727.0

Career ERA 3.60 vs. league average 3.91 across their career seasons — 7.9% better than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Ray Narleski — Season-by-Season Pitching
Year	Team	Lg	W	L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA	Lg ERA	Pitcher PIV
1954	CLE	AL	3	3	42	2	1	0	13	89.0	59	22	44	52	2.22	3.90 (+43%)	-114.2
1955	CLE	AL	9	1	60	1	1	0	19	111.2	91	46	52	94	3.71	4.00 (+7%)	1819.5
1956	CLE	AL	3	2	32	0	0	0	4	59.1	36	10	19	42	1.52	3.96 (+62%)	1358.4
1957	CLE	AL	11	5	46	15	7	1	16	154.1	136	53	70	93	3.09	3.83 (+19%)	-139.2
1958	CLE	AL	13	10	44	24	7	0	1	183.1	179	83	91	102	4.07	3.86 (-6%)	-2426.4
1959	DET	AL	4	12	42	10	1	0	5	104.1	105	67	59	71	5.78	3.90 (-48%)	-4225.1
Career · 6 seasons			43	33	266	52	17	1	58	702.0	606	281	335	454	3.60	—	-3,727

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

Ray Narleski — Career Batting Statistics
G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	PIV
266	166	7	26	1	1	1	8	0	7	57	.157	.191	.193	.384	-274

Career AVG .157 vs. league average .258 across their career seasons — 39.4% below league average.

Career OBP .191 vs. league average .328 across their career seasons — 41.9% below league average.

Career SLG .193 vs. league average .393 across their career seasons — 51.0% below league average.

Career OPS .384 vs. league average .721 across their career seasons — 46.8% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Ray Narleski — Season-by-Season Batting
Year	Team	Lg	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	AVG	Lg AVG	Lg OBP	Lg SLG	Lg OPS	PIV
1954	CLE	AL	42	16	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	5	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1955	CLE	AL	60	24	0	7	0	0	0	5	0	8	.292	—	—	—	—	0.0
1956	CLE	AL	32	8	1	2	0	0	0	0	1	4	.250	—	—	—	—	0.0
1957	CLE	AL	46	43	3	4	0	0	1	3	1	17	.093	—	—	—	—	0.0
1958	CLE	AL	44	54	3	11	1	0	0	0	4	19	.204	.257 (-21%)	.324 (-20%)	.394 (-44%)	.719 (-33%)	-274.2
1959	DET	AL	42	21	0	2	0	1	0	0	0	4	.095	—	—	—	—	0.0
Career · 6 seasons			266	166	7	26	1	1	1	8	7	57	.157	—	—	—	—	-274

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

Ray Narleski — 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

Ray Narleski — Playoff Batting by Year
Year	Round	Team	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	AVG
1954	WS	CLE	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000

Playoff Career Pitching

Ray Narleski — Playoff Career Pitching
W	L	G	GS	SV	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
0	0	2	0	0	4.0	1	1	1	2	2.25

Playoff Pitching by Year

Ray Narleski — Playoff Pitching by Year
Year	Round	Team	W	L	G	GS	SV	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
1954	WS	CLE	0	0	2	0	0	4.0	1	1	1	2	2.25

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (532 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Ray Narleski — Batting — Home / Away
Split	G	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	AVG
Home	139	64	2	11	0	4	.172
Away	127	102	5	15	1	4	.147

Pitching — Home / Away

Ray Narleski — Pitching — Home / Away
Split	G	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
Home	139	333.1	286	157	148	211	4.24
Away	127	368.1	320	119	190	241	2.91

Last 10 Games — Batting

Ray Narleski — Last 10 Games — Batting
Date	Tm	Opp	Res	AB	SO
1959-09-26	DET	CHW	L	0	0
1959-09-23	DET	KC1	L	0	0
1959-09-20	DET	CHW	W	0	0
1959-09-19	DET	CHW	W	0	0
1959-09-14	DET	MIN	L	1	0
1959-09-07	DET	CLE	L	2	1
1959-09-02	DET	CHW	L	0	0
1959-08-24	DET	BAL	L	1	0
1959-08-19	DET	NYY	L	0	0
1959-08-18	DET	NYY	L	0	0

Last 10 Games — Pitching

Ray Narleski — Last 10 Games — Pitching
Date	Tm	Opp	Dec	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR
1959-09-26	DET	CHW	—	3.0	4	5	5	3	2	2
1959-09-23	DET	KC1	—	2.0	0	0	0	1	1	0
1959-09-20	DET	CHW	—	1.1	2	0	0	2	0	0
1959-09-19	DET	CHW	SV	0.1	0	0	0	0	0	0
1959-09-14	DET	MIN	L	5.0	5	4	4	4	3	1
1959-09-07	DET	CLE	—	6.0	6	3	3	5	6	0
1959-09-02	DET	CHW	—	2.1	1	0	0	1	2	0
1959-08-24	DET	BAL	—	1.0	6	6	6	0	0	1
1959-08-19	DET	NYY	—	1.0	3	2	2	1	1	1
1959-08-18	DET	NYY	—	3.0	0	0	0	0	1	0

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Ray Narleski — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
P	266	52	22	60	9	3

Season-by-Season Fielding

Ray Narleski — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year	Team	Pos	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
1954	CLE	P	42	2	5	10	2	2
1955	CLE	P	60	1	1	11	2	0
1956	CLE	P	32	0	2	5	0	1
1957	CLE	P	46	15	4	10	2	0
1958	CLE	P	44	24	6	16	1	0
1959	DET	P	42	10	4	8	2	0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Ray Narleski — Career Games by Position
Position	Games
Pitcher	266

Award Voting History

Ray Narleski — Award Voting History
Year	Award	League	Finish	Points Won	Points Max	Votes First
1955	Most Valuable Player	AL	6th	90.0	336	1

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Ray Narleski (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

Ray Narleski: the record in brief

According to the bio, Ray Narleski debuted on April 17, 1954 and played a final game on September 26, 1959. By club, Narleski's seasons break down as the Cleveland Indians (1954 to 1958) and the Detroit Tigers (1959). Narleski played primarily as a pitcher and both batted and threw right-handed. The bio adds a birth date on November 25, 1928, in Camden, NJ, USA and a listed size of 6-foot-1 and 175 pounds. The bio records the death on March 29, 2012, in Clementon, NJ, USA. Ray Narleski was the playing name; the full given name is Raymond Edmond.

Narleski pitched in 266 games, starting 52, and finished with a 43-33 record and 3.60 ERA. The same table counts 454 strikeouts, 17 complete games, and 58 saves. The leagues Narleski pitched in allowed 3.91 earned runs per nine over those seasons, so the career ERA was 7.9% better than average. The best win total was 13, in 1958. The most saves in one season was 19, in 1955.

Frequently Asked Questions about Ray Narleski

What years did Ray Narleski play?: Ray Narleski played in Major League Baseball from 1954 to 1959.
Was Ray Narleski a pitcher?: Yes. Ray Narleski pitched in the major leagues, recording 43 wins and 454 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Ray Narleski hit?: Ray Narleski hit 1 career home runs with 26 hits.
What was Ray Narleski's career batting average?: Ray Narleski batted .157 over his career, with 26 hits in 166 at bats.
How many RBI did Ray Narleski have?: Ray Narleski drove in 8 runs in his career.
What was Ray Narleski's career ERA?: Ray Narleski finished with a 3.60 career ERA, going 43-33 with 454 strikeouts.