What years did Boots Poffenberger play?

Boots Poffenberger played in Major League Baseball from 1937 to 1939.

Was Boots Poffenberger a pitcher?

Yes. Boots Poffenberger pitched in the major leagues, recording 16 wins and 65 strikeouts.

How many home runs did Boots Poffenberger hit?

Boots Poffenberger hit 0 career home runs with 19 hits.

What was Boots Poffenberger's career batting average?

Boots Poffenberger batted .198 over his career, with 19 hits in 96 at bats.

How many RBI did Boots Poffenberger have?

Boots Poffenberger drove in 5 runs in his career.

What was Boots Poffenberger's career ERA?

Boots Poffenberger finished with a 4.75 career ERA, going 16-12 with 65 strikeouts.

Boots Poffenberger

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1937-1939)

Boots Poffenberger was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1937 to 1939 for the Detroit Tigers and the Brooklyn Dodgers, a span of 3 seasons. Across 57 career appearances, he went 16-12 with a 4.75 ERA and 65 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 September 10, 2026

W–L 16–12

ERA 4.75

WHIP 1.68

SO 65

Pitcher PIV -5554.3

Position: Pitcher
Bats / Throws: R / R
Height / Weight: 5'10" / 178 lb
Born: 7/1/1915 in Williamsport, MD, USA
Died: 9/1/1999 in Williamsport, MD, USA
MLB Debut: 1937-06-11
Last Game: 1939-05-21

Full name: Cletus Elwood Poffenberger

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Career Pitching Statistics

Boots Poffenberger — Career Pitching Statistics
W	L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	SO	ERA	Pitcher PIV
16	12	57	32	13	1	4	267.3	301	141	17	149	65	4.75	-5554.3

Career ERA 4.75 vs. league average 4.32 across their career seasons — 9.8% worse than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Boots Poffenberger — Season-by-Season Pitching
Year	Team	Lg	W	L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA	Lg ERA	Pitcher PIV
1937	DET	AL	10	5	29	16	5	0	3	137.3	147	71	79	35	4.65	4.34 (-7%)	-3175.1
1938	DET	AL	6	7	25	15	8	1	1	125.0	147	67	66	28	4.82	4.35 (-11%)	-2379.2
1939	BRO	NL	0	0	3	1	0	0	0	5.0	7	3	4	2	5.40	—	0.0
Career · 3 seasons			16	12	57	32	13	1	4	267.1	301	141	149	65	4.75	—	-5,554

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

Boots Poffenberger — Career Batting Statistics
G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	PIV
57	96	5	19	3	0	0	5	0	2	18	.198	.214	.229	.443	-291

Career AVG .198 vs. league average .275 across their career seasons — 27.9% below league average.

Career OBP .214 vs. league average .342 across their career seasons — 37.4% below league average.

Career SLG .229 vs. league average .395 across their career seasons — 41.9% below league average.

Career OPS .443 vs. league average .737 across their career seasons — 39.8% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Boots Poffenberger — Season-by-Season Batting
Year	Team	Lg	G	AB	R	H	2B	RBI	BB	SO	AVG	Lg AVG	Lg OBP	Lg SLG	Lg OPS	PIV
1937	DET	AL	29	51	5	11	3	3	0	8	.216	.276 (-22%)	.342 (-37%)	.398 (-31%)	.740 (-34%)	-291.4
1938	DET	AL	25	44	0	8	0	2	2	9	.182	—	—	—	—	0.0
1939	BRO	NL	3	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
Career · 3 seasons			57	96	5	19	3	5	2	18	.198	—	—	—	—	-291

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 (114 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Boots Poffenberger — Batting — Home / Away
Split	G	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	AVG
Home	30	52	4	12	0	2	.231
Away	27	44	1	7	0	3	.159

Pitching — Home / Away

Boots Poffenberger — Pitching — Home / Away
Split	G	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
Home	30	158.1	170	78	85	40	4.43
Away	27	109.0	129	63	64	24	5.20

Last 10 Games — Batting

Boots Poffenberger — Last 10 Games — Batting
Date	Tm	Opp	Res	AB	H	BB	SO
1939-05-21	BRO	CIN	L	0	0	0	0
1939-05-12	BRO	BSN	L	1	0	0	1
1939-05-04	BRO	CHC	W	0	0	0	0
1938-10-01	DET	CLE	L	2	0	0	0
1938-09-25	DET	CLE	W	3	0	0	1
1938-09-21	DET	PHA	W	1	1	1	0
1938-09-16	DET	NYY	L	0	0	0	0
1938-07-30	DET	PHA	W	1	0	0	0
1938-07-20	DET	MIN	L	0	0	0	0
1938-07-15	DET	NYY	L	2	0	0	1

Last 10 Games — Pitching

Boots Poffenberger — Last 10 Games — Pitching
Date	Tm	Opp	Dec	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR
1939-05-21	BRO	CIN	—	2.0	3	1	1	0	0	1
1939-05-12	BRO	BSN	—	3.0	2	1	1	2	0	0
1939-05-04	BRO	CHC	—	0.0	2	1	1	2	0	0
1938-10-01	DET	CLE	L	6.0	6	5	5	6	0	0
1938-09-25	DET	CLE	W	9.0	10	5	5	1	2	1
1938-09-21	DET	PHA	W	5.0	3	0	0	1	1	0
1938-09-16	DET	NYY	—	2.0	2	0	0	0	0	0
1938-07-30	DET	PHA	—	4.0	8	6	5	3	1	2
1938-07-20	DET	MIN	L	0.0	2	2	2	2	0	0
1938-07-15	DET	NYY	L	5.1	8	3	3	2	1	0

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Boots Poffenberger — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
P	57	0	13	51	2	4

Season-by-Season Fielding

Boots Poffenberger — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year	Team	Pos	G	PO	A	E	DP
1937	DET	P	29	8	32	1	3
1938	DET	P	25	5	17	1	1
1939	BRO	P	3	0	2	0	0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Boots Poffenberger — Career Games by Position
Position	Games
Pitcher	57

Frequently Asked Questions about Boots Poffenberger

What years did Boots Poffenberger play?: Boots Poffenberger played in Major League Baseball from 1937 to 1939.
Was Boots Poffenberger a pitcher?: Yes. Boots Poffenberger pitched in the major leagues, recording 16 wins and 65 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Boots Poffenberger hit?: Boots Poffenberger hit 0 career home runs with 19 hits.
What was Boots Poffenberger's career batting average?: Boots Poffenberger batted .198 over his career, with 19 hits in 96 at bats.
How many RBI did Boots Poffenberger have?: Boots Poffenberger drove in 5 runs in his career.
What was Boots Poffenberger's career ERA?: Boots Poffenberger finished with a 4.75 career ERA, going 16-12 with 65 strikeouts.