Al Papai
Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1948-1955)
Al Papai was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1948 to 1955 for 4 teams, including the St. Louis Cardinals, a span of 8 seasons. Across 88 career appearances, he went 9-14 with a 5.37 ERA and 70 strikeouts.
- 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
- 6'3" / 185 lb
- Died
- 9/7/1995 in Springfield, IL, USA
- MLB Debut
- 1948-04-24
- Last Game
- 1955-09-16
Full name: Alfred Thomas Papai
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1948 | SLN | NL | 0 | 1 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16.0 | 14 | 9 | 7 | 8 | 5.06 | 4.10 (-23%) | -568.1 |
| 1949 | SLA | AL | 4 | 11 | 42 | 15 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 142.1 | 175 | 80 | 81 | 31 | 5.06 | 4.12 (-23%) | -1482.1 |
| 1950 | BOS | AL | 4 | 2 | 16 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 50.2 | 61 | 38 | 28 | 19 | 6.75 | 4.36 (-55%) | -527.0 |
| 1950 | SLN | NL | 1 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19.0 | 21 | 11 | 14 | 7 | 5.21 | 4.36 (-20%) | 143.6 |
| 1955 | CHA | AL | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11.2 | 10 | 5 | 8 | 5 | 3.86 | 4.00 (+4%) | -199.5 |
| Career · 5 seasons | 9 | 14 | 88 | 18 | 8 | 0 | 4 | 239.2 | 281 | 143 | 138 | 70 | 5.37 | — | -2,633 | ||
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 89 | 62 | 9 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 26 | .097 | .211 | .097 | .308 | 0 |
Career AVG .097 vs. league average .263 across their career seasons — 63.2% below league average.
Career OBP .211 vs. league average .340 across their career seasons — 37.9% below league average.
Career SLG .097 vs. league average .389 across their career seasons — 75.1% below league average.
Career OPS .308 vs. league average .730 across their career seasons — 57.8% 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1948 | SLN | NL | 11 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1949 | SLA | AL | 42 | 38 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 20 | .079 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1950 | BOS | AL | 16 | 17 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | .176 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1950 | SLN | NL | 13 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1955 | CHA | AL | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| Career · 5 seasons | 89 | 62 | 9 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 26 | .097 | — | — | — | — | 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 (177 games) →Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).
Batting — Home / Away
| Split | G | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 42 | 35 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | .029 |
| Away | 47 | 27 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 0 | .185 |
Pitching — Home / Away
| Split | G | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 41 | 123.1 | 148 | 71 | 58 | 37 | 5.18 |
| Away | 47 | 116.1 | 133 | 73 | 80 | 34 | 5.65 |
Last 10 Games — Batting
| Date | Tm | Opp | Res | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1955-09-16 | CHW | KC1 | L | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1955-09-14 | CHW | BAL | L | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1955-09-11 | CHW | BOS | L | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1955-09-10 | CHW | NYY | W | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1955-09-09 | CHW | NYY | L | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1955-09-05 | CHW | DET | L | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1955-09-03 | CHW | CLE | L | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1950-09-18 | STL | NY1 | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1950-09-10 | STL | PIT | W | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1950-09-09 | STL | PIT | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1955-09-16 | CHW | KC1 | — | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1955-09-14 | CHW | BAL | — | 1.0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1955-09-11 | CHW | BOS | — | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| 1955-09-10 | CHW | NYY | — | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 1955-09-09 | CHW | NYY | — | 1.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1955-09-05 | CHW | DET | — | 5.0 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 |
| 1955-09-03 | CHW | CLE | — | 0.2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1950-09-18 | STL | NY1 | — | 3.0 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| 1950-09-10 | STL | PIT | — | 2.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1950-09-09 | STL | PIT | — | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 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 | 88 |
Al Papai: the record in brief
Between the debut on April 24, 1948 and the final game on September 16, 1955, Al Papai built the record summarized on this page. Club by club, the record runs the St. Louis Cardinals (1948 to 1950), the St. Louis Browns (1949), the Boston Red Sox (1950), and the Chicago White Sox (1955). Papai is listed as a pitcher at 6-foot-3 and 185 pounds. Papai batted and threw right-handed, per the bio block. Papai was born on May 7, 1917, in Divernon, IL, USA. Papai died on September 7, 1995, in Springfield, IL, USA. Papai's full given name, per the bio, is Alfred Thomas Papai.
The pitching table credits Papai with a 9-14 record and a 5.37 ERA in 88 games. The totals include 70 strikeouts. The league ERA over Papai's seasons was 4.14, so the 5.37 figure ran 29.6% worse than average. In 1949, one of the busiest seasons, Papai posted a 5.06 ERA; the league figure that year was 4.12.
Frequently Asked Questions about Al Papai
- What years did Al Papai play?
- Al Papai played in Major League Baseball from 1948 to 1955.
- Was Al Papai a pitcher?
- Yes. Al Papai pitched in the major leagues, recording 9 wins and 70 strikeouts.
- How many home runs did Al Papai hit?
- Al Papai hit 0 career home runs with 6 hits.
- What teams did Al Papai play for?
- Al Papai played for 4 teams: the St. Louis Cardinals (1948, 1950), the St. Louis Browns (1949), the Boston Red Sox (1950), and the Chicago White Sox (1955).
- What were Al Papai's career stats?
- In 88 games, Al Papai went 9-14 with a 5.37 ERA, 70 strikeouts, 239.2 innings pitched, and 4 saves.
- What position did Al Papai play?
- Al Papai played primarily as a pitcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.
- How tall was Al Papai and how much did he weigh?
- Al Papai was listed at 6 feet 3 inches and 185 pounds.
- What was Al Papai's career ERA?
- Al Papai finished with a 5.37 career ERA, going 9-14 with 70 strikeouts.
- How many strikeouts did Al Papai have?
- Al Papai recorded 70 career strikeouts.
- Is Al Papai in the Hall of Fame?
- No. Al Papai has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.