Big Jeff Pfeffer

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1905-1911)

Big Jeff Pfeffer was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1905 to 1911 for the Chicago Cubs and the Boston Braves, a span of 7 seasons. Across 113 career appearances, he went 31-39 with a 3.30 ERA and 317 strikeouts. He also batted .204 with 2 home runs.

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 31–39
ERA 3.30
WHIP 1.37
SO 317
Pitcher PIV -6631.7
Position
Pitcher
Bats / Throws
R / R
Height / Weight
6'1" / 185 lb
Born
3/31/1882 in Champaign, IL, USA
Died
12/19/1954 in Kankakee, IL, USA
MLB Debut
1905-04-15
Last Game
1911-10-09

Full name: Francis Xavier Pfeffer

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Career Pitching Statistics

Big Jeff Pfeffer — Career Pitching Statistics
W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
31 39 113 70 59 6 2 695.2 660 255 14 292 317 3.30 -6631.7

Career ERA 3.30 vs. league average 2.76 across their career seasons — 19.4% worse than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Big Jeff Pfeffer — Season-by-Season Pitching
Year Team Lg W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER BB SO ERA Lg ERA Pitcher PIV
1905 CHN NL 4 4 15 11 9 0 0 101.0 84 28 36 56 2.50 2.82 (+12%) -106.6
1906 BSN NL 13 22 36 36 33 4 0 302.1 270 99 114 158 2.95 2.68 (-10%) -883.9
1907 BSN NL 6 8 19 16 12 1 0 144.0 129 48 61 65 3.00 2.50 (-20%) -1672.8
1908 BSN NL 0 0 4 0 0 0 0 10.0 18 14 8 3 12.60 2.40 (-425%) -707.7
1910 CHN NL 1 0 13 1 1 0 0 41.1 43 15 16 11 3.27 2.79 (-17%) -598.9
1911 BSN NL 7 5 26 6 4 1 2 97.0 116 51 57 24 4.73 3.37 (-40%) -2661.9
Career · 6 seasons 31 39 113 70 59 6 2 695.2 660 255 292 317 3.30 — -6,632

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

Big Jeff Pfeffer — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
147 323 20 66 12 4 2 28 4 13 54 .204 .255 .285 .540 -502

Career AVG .204 vs. league average .250 across their career seasons — 18.2% below league average.

Career OBP .255 vs. league average .312 across their career seasons — 18.3% below league average.

Career SLG .285 vs. league average .323 across their career seasons — 11.9% below league average.

Career OPS .540 vs. league average .635 across their career seasons — 15.0% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Big Jeff Pfeffer — Season-by-Season Batting
Year Team Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG Lg AVG Lg OBP Lg SLG Lg OPS PIV
1905 CHN NL 15 40 4 8 3 0 0 3 2 0 10 .200 — — — — 0.0
1906 BSN NL 60 158 10 31 3 3 1 11 2 5 29 .196 .247 (-21%) .307 (-18%) .315 (-14%) .622 (-16%) -358.0
1907 BSN NL 21 60 1 15 3 0 0 6 0 2 6 .250 .245 (+2%) .304 (-6%) .308 (-3%) .613 (-4%) -44.9
1908 BSN NL 4 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000 — — — — 0.0
1910 CHN NL 14 17 1 3 1 1 0 2 0 1 1 .176 — — — — 0.0
1911 BSN NL 33 46 4 9 2 0 1 6 0 5 7 .196 — — — — -99.3
Career · 6 seasons 147 323 20 66 12 4 2 28 4 13 54 .204 — — — — -502

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 (261 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Big Jeff Pfeffer — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home7515373607.235
Away731731331216.179

Pitching — Home / Away

Big Jeff Pfeffer — Pitching — Home / Away
SplitGIPHERBBSOERA
Home59345.0325431611761.12
Away54347.0337351391440.91

Last 10 Games — Batting

Big Jeff Pfeffer — Last 10 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1911-10-09 BSNPHIW 100000010
1911-09-19 BSNSTLL 000000000
1911-09-12 BSNNY1L 100000001
1911-09-07 BSNPHIL 101000000
1911-08-19 BSNCHCL 100000000
1911-08-08 BSNCINL 000000000
1911-08-01 BSNPITL 100000000
1911-07-29 BSNPITL 100000000
1911-07-27 BSNCHCL 100000000
1911-07-20 BSNPITL 100000000

Last 10 Games — Pitching

Big Jeff Pfeffer — Last 10 Games — Pitching
DateTmOppDecIPHRERBBSOHR
1911-10-09 BSNPHI W 5.2741240
1911-09-19 BSNSTL — 1.0442000
1911-09-07 BSNPHI — 1.0000100
1911-08-19 BSNCHC — 3.2774210
1911-08-08 BSNCIN — 1.0211110
1911-07-29 BSNPIT — 5.0722410
1911-07-27 BSNCHC — 2.0211011
1911-07-20 BSNPIT — 0.2255100
1911-07-19 BSNCHC L 2.0222211
1911-07-18 BSNCHC — 2.0000000

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Big Jeff Pfeffer — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
1B 1 0 0 0 0 0
OF 18 9 22 2 1 1
P 113 64 29 189 6 0

Season-by-Season Fielding

Big Jeff Pfeffer — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1905 CHN P 15 11 4 24 0 0
1906 BSN OF 14 8 19 2 1 1
1906 BSN P 36 36 13 91 4 0
1907 BSN P 19 16 4 38 2 0
1908 BSN P 4 0 0 1 0 0
1910 CHN OF 1 1 1 0 0 0
1910 CHN P 13 1 0 10 0 0
1911 BSN 1B 1 0 0 0 0 0
1911 BSN OF 3 0 2 0 0 0
1911 BSN P 26 0 8 25 0 0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Big Jeff Pfeffer — Career Games by Position
Position Games
Pitcher 113
First Base 1
Left Field 6
Center Field 6
Right Field 6

College History

Big Jeff Pfeffer — College History
School Name City State Years Attended
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Champaign IL 1904

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Big Jeff Pfeffer (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    George Baumgardner
    36-47, 3.22 ERA
  2. 94
    Ray Keating
    30-51, 3.29 ERA
  3. 93
    Bill Hogg
    37-50, 3.06 ERA
  4. 91
    Mike Lynch
    43-32, 3.05 ERA
  5. 91
    Jack Rowan
    31-40, 3.07 ERA
  6. 90
    Cecil Ferguson
    29-46, 3.34 ERA

Big Jeff Pfeffer: the record in brief

Big Jeff Pfeffer's major league career runs from a debut on April 15, 1905 to a final game on October 9, 1911. Pfeffer played for the Chicago Cubs (1905 through 1910), the Boston Beaneaters (1906), the Boston Doves (1907 through 1908), and the Boston Rustlers (1911). At 6'1" and 185 pounds, Pfeffer is listed as a pitcher. The bio says Pfeffer threw and hit right-handed. Pfeffer was born on March 31, 1882, in Champaign, IL, USA. Pfeffer died on December 19, 1954, in Kankakee, IL, USA. The given name on file is Francis Xavier Pfeffer.

Pfeffer pitched in 113 games, starting 70, and finished with a 31-39 record and 3.30 ERA. Also on Pfeffer's record: 317 strikeouts, 59 complete games, and 6 shutouts. Against a 2.76 league ERA for the same seasons, the 3.30 mark was 19.4% worse. Pfeffer won 13 games in 1906, the most of any season listed. 1906 was Pfeffer's sharpest full season, a 2.95 ERA against the league's 2.68.

Frequently Asked Questions about Big Jeff Pfeffer

What years did Big Jeff Pfeffer play?
Big Jeff Pfeffer played in Major League Baseball from 1905 to 1911.
Was Big Jeff Pfeffer a pitcher?
Yes. Big Jeff Pfeffer pitched in the major leagues, recording 31 wins and 317 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Big Jeff Pfeffer hit?
Big Jeff Pfeffer hit 2 career home runs with 66 hits.
What was Big Jeff Pfeffer's career batting average?
Big Jeff Pfeffer batted .204 over his career, with 66 hits in 323 at bats.
How many RBI did Big Jeff Pfeffer have?
Big Jeff Pfeffer drove in 28 runs in his career.
What was Big Jeff Pfeffer's career ERA?
Big Jeff Pfeffer finished with a 3.30 career ERA, going 31-39 with 317 strikeouts.