Erv Palica
Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1945-1956)
Erv Palica was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1945 to 1956 for the Brooklyn Dodgers and the Baltimore Orioles, a span of 12 seasons. Across 246 career appearances, he went 41-55 with a 4.22 ERA and 423 strikeouts. He also batted .198 with 1 home runs. His career Pitcher PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of pitching impact — is 1318.9.
- 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
- 6'1" / 180 lb
- Died
- 5/29/1982 in Huntington Beach, CA, USA
- MLB Debut
- 1945-04-21
- Last Game
- 1956-09-24
Full name: Ervin Martin Palica
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1947 | BRO | NL | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3.0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3.00 | — | 0.0 |
| 1948 | BRO | NL | 6 | 6 | 41 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 125.1 | 111 | 62 | 58 | 74 | 4.45 | 4.10 (-9%) | -933.6 |
| 1949 | BRO | NL | 8 | 9 | 49 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 97.0 | 93 | 39 | 49 | 44 | 3.62 | 4.12 (+12%) | 405.1 |
| 1950 | BRO | NL | 13 | 8 | 43 | 19 | 10 | 2 | 1 | 201.1 | 176 | 80 | 98 | 131 | 3.58 | 4.36 (+18%) | 3921.4 |
| 1951 | BRO | NL | 2 | 6 | 19 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 53.0 | 55 | 28 | 20 | 15 | 4.75 | 4.04 (-18%) | -1932.2 |
| 1953 | BRO | NL | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6.0 | 10 | 8 | 8 | 3 | 12.00 | — | 0.0 |
| 1954 | BRO | NL | 3 | 3 | 25 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 67.2 | 77 | 40 | 31 | 25 | 5.32 | 3.90 (-37%) | -1538.8 |
| 1955 | BAL | AL | 5 | 11 | 33 | 25 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 169.2 | 165 | 78 | 83 | 68 | 4.14 | 4.00 (-3%) | 716.0 |
| 1956 | BAL | AL | 4 | 11 | 29 | 14 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 116.1 | 117 | 58 | 50 | 62 | 4.49 | 3.96 (-13%) | 681.0 |
| Career · 9 seasons | 41 | 55 | 246 | 80 | 20 | 3 | 10 | 839.1 | 806 | 394 | 399 | 423 | 4.22 | — | 1,319 | ||
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 262 | 243 | 22 | 48 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 17 | 2 | 13 | 63 | .198 | .238 | .251 | .489 | -542 |
Career AVG .198 vs. league average .262 across their career seasons — 24.6% below league average.
Career OBP .238 vs. league average .336 across their career seasons — 29.2% below league average.
Career SLG .251 vs. league average .385 across their career seasons — 34.8% below league average.
Career OPS .489 vs. league average .722 across their career seasons — 32.2% 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1945 | BRO | NL | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1947 | BRO | NL | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1948 | BRO | NL | 45 | 39 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 12 | .128 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1949 | BRO | NL | 49 | 19 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 6 | .158 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1950 | BRO | NL | 48 | 68 | 4 | 15 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 8 | .221 | .265 (-17%) | .346 (-36%) | .401 (-19%) | .747 (-27%) | -329.2 |
| 1951 | BRO | NL | 20 | 13 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | .154 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1953 | BRO | NL | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1954 | BRO | NL | 28 | 16 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | .250 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1955 | BAL | AL | 33 | 55 | 3 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 18 | .236 | .258 (-9%) | .332 (-13%) | .393 (-35%) | .726 (-25%) | -213.1 |
| 1956 | BAL | AL | 30 | 32 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | .156 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| Career · 10 seasons | 262 | 243 | 22 | 48 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 17 | 2 | 13 | 63 | .198 | — | — | — | — | -542 | ||
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 (508 games) →Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).
Batting — Home / Away
| Split | G | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 123 | 93 | 11 | 18 | 0 | 6 | .194 |
| Away | 139 | 151 | 11 | 30 | 1 | 11 | .199 |
Pitching — Home / Away
| Split | G | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 117 | 376.1 | 358 | 182 | 189 | 196 | 4.35 |
| Away | 129 | 463.0 | 449 | 213 | 211 | 228 | 4.14 |
Last 10 Games — Batting
| Date | Tm | Opp | Res | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1956-09-24 | BAL | NYY | W | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1956-09-19 | BAL | DET | L | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1956-09-15 | BAL | CHW | W | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1956-09-08 | BAL | BOS | L | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1956-09-07 | BAL | BOS | L | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1956-09-03 | BAL | NYY | L | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1956-08-25 | BAL | DET | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1956-08-18 | BAL | NYY | L | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1956-08-12 | BAL | NYY | L | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1956-08-09 | BAL | BOS | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1956-09-24 | BAL | NYY | — | 7.0 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 2 |
| 1956-09-19 | BAL | DET | — | 0.1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1956-09-15 | BAL | CHW | W | 3.2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| 1956-09-08 | BAL | BOS | — | 2.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1956-09-03 | BAL | NYY | L | 8.0 | 9 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 2 |
| 1956-08-25 | BAL | DET | — | 4.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 0 |
| 1956-08-18 | BAL | NYY | L | 7.0 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 1 |
| 1956-08-12 | BAL | NYY | — | 7.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 0 |
| 1956-08-09 | BAL | BOS | — | 0.1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1956-08-03 | BAL | CHW | — | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 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 | 246 |
Most Similar Players
Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.
Erv Palica (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.
Erv Palica: the record in brief
Erv Palica played a first major league game on April 21, 1945 and a last one on September 24, 1956. Club by club, the record runs the Brooklyn Dodgers (1945 through 1954) and the Baltimore Orioles (1955 to 1956). The bio lists Palica as a pitcher who both batted and threw right-handed. Palica is listed at 6-foot-1 and 180 pounds. The birth record reads February 9, 1928, in Lomita, CA, USA. The bio records the death on May 29, 1982, in Huntington Beach, CA, USA. Erv Palica was the playing name; the full given name is Ervin Martin.
Across 246 games (80 starts), Palica recorded 41 wins against 55 losses with a 4.22 ERA. The totals include 423 strikeouts, 20 complete games, and 10 saves. Palica's 4.22 ERA was close to the 4.06 league figure for those seasons. The best win total was 13, in 1950. 1950 was Palica's sharpest full season, a 3.58 ERA against the league's 4.36.
Frequently Asked Questions about Erv Palica
- What years did Erv Palica play?
- Erv Palica played in Major League Baseball from 1945 to 1956.
- Was Erv Palica a pitcher?
- Yes. Erv Palica pitched in the major leagues, recording 41 wins and 423 strikeouts.
- How many home runs did Erv Palica hit?
- Erv Palica hit 1 career home run with 48 hits.
- What teams did Erv Palica play for?
- Erv Palica played for 2 teams: the Brooklyn Dodgers (1945, 1947–1951, 1953–1954) and the Baltimore Orioles (1955–1956).
- What were Erv Palica's career stats?
- In 246 games, Erv Palica went 41-55 with a 4.22 ERA, 423 strikeouts, 839.1 innings pitched, and 10 saves. At the plate he had 48 hits and 1 home runs.
- What position did Erv Palica play?
- Erv Palica played primarily as a pitcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.
- How tall was Erv Palica and how much did he weigh?
- Erv Palica was listed at 6 feet 1 inch and 180 pounds.
- What was Erv Palica's career ERA?
- Erv Palica finished with a 4.22 career ERA, going 41-55 with 423 strikeouts.
- How many strikeouts did Erv Palica have?
- Erv Palica recorded 423 career strikeouts.
- Is Erv Palica in the Hall of Fame?
- No. Erv Palica has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.