Bob Porterfield

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1948-1959)

W–L 87–97
ERA 3.79
WHIP 1.35
SO 572
Pitcher PIV 8968.8
Position
Pitcher
Bats / Throws
R / R
Height / Weight
6'0" / 190 lb
Born
8/10/1923 in Newport, VA, USA
Died
4/28/1980 in Charlotte, NC, USA
MLB Debut
1948-08-08
Last Game
1959-09-21
Awards
All-Star

Full name: Erwin Cooledge Porterfield

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Career Pitching Statistics

W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
87 97 318 193 92 23 8 1567.7 1,571 660 113 552 572 3.79 8968.8

Career ERA 3.79 vs. league average 3.99 across their career seasons — 5.1% better than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

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 NYA AL 5 3 16 12 2 1 0 78.0 85 39 34 30 4.50 4.10 (-10%) -82.1
1949 NYA AL 2 5 12 8 3 0 0 57.7 53 26 29 25 4.06 4.12 (+1%) 345.9
1950 NYA AL 1 1 10 2 0 0 1 19.7 28 19 8 9 8.69 4.36 (-99%) 72.9
1951 NYA AL 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 3.0 5 5 3 2 15.00 — 0.0
1951 WS1 AL 9 8 19 19 10 3 0 133.3 109 48 54 53 3.24 4.04 (+20%) 1236.6
1952 WS1 AL 13 14 31 29 15 3 0 231.3 222 70 85 80 2.72 3.70 (+26%) 2770.0
1953 WS1 AL 22 10 34 32 24 9 0 255.0 243 95 73 77 3.35 4.14 (+19%) 2091.2
1954 WS1 AL 13 15 32 31 21 2 0 244.0 249 90 77 82 3.32 3.90 (+15%) 2837.7
1955 WS1 AL 10 17 30 27 8 2 0 178.0 197 88 54 74 4.45 4.00 (-11%) 2290.3
1956 BOS AL 3 12 25 18 4 1 0 126.0 127 72 64 53 5.14 3.96 (-30%) -4025.2
1957 BOS AL 4 4 28 9 3 1 1 102.3 107 46 30 28 4.05 3.83 (-6%) -3.6
1958 BOS AL 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 4.0 3 2 0 1 4.50 — 0.0
1958 PIT NL 4 6 37 6 2 1 5 87.7 78 32 19 39 3.29 3.86 (+15%) 1233.8
1959 PIT NL 0 0 6 0 0 0 0 5.3 6 1 2 1 1.69 — 0.0
1959 CHN NL 0 0 4 0 0 0 0 6.3 14 8 3 0 11.37 — 0.0
1959 PIT NL 1 2 30 0 0 0 1 36.0 45 19 17 18 4.75 3.90 (-22%) 0.0
Career · 16 seasons 87 97 318 193 92 23 8 1,567.2 1,571 660 552 572 3.79 — 8,767

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
322 516 34 95 15 1 6 43 1 20 123 .184 .218 .252 .470 -1,817

Career AVG .184 vs. league average .260 across their career seasons — 29.2% below league average.

Career OBP .218 vs. league average .333 across their career seasons — 34.5% below league average.

Career SLG .252 vs. league average .390 across their career seasons — 35.3% below league average.

Career OPS .470 vs. league average .723 across their career seasons — 34.9% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

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 NYA AL 16 24 4 6 0 0 0 1 0 1 4 .250 — — — — 0.0
1949 NYA AL 12 19 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 3 .053 — — — — 0.0
1950 NYA AL 11 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .333 — — — — 0.0
1951 NYA AL 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1951 WS1 AL 19 46 3 6 0 0 0 2 0 2 12 .130 — — — — 0.0
1952 WS1 AL 31 79 5 15 3 0 0 3 0 2 18 .190 .252 (-25%) .326 (-36%) .369 (-38%) .696 (-37%) -467.0
1953 WS1 AL 37 98 8 25 7 0 3 16 1 6 20 .255 .264 (-3%) .335 (-11%) .397 (+5%) .733 (-2%) -65.5
1954 WS1 AL 32 88 3 9 0 0 1 5 0 4 24 .102 .261 (-61%) .333 (-55%) .390 (-65%) .723 (-61%) -863.4
1955 WS1 AL 30 63 3 12 3 1 0 7 0 0 15 .190 .258 (-26%) .332 (-44%) .393 (-32%) .726 (-37%) -420.8
1956 BOS AL 25 43 4 14 0 0 1 5 0 1 10 .326 — — — — 0.0
1957 BOS AL 28 29 2 5 1 0 0 2 0 2 8 .172 — — — — 0.0
1958 BOS AL 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1958 PIT NL 37 20 1 1 0 0 1 2 0 1 7 .050 — — — — 0.0
1959 PIT NL 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1959 CHN NL 4 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1959 PIT NL 30 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 .000 — — — — 0.0
Career · 16 seasons 322 516 34 95 15 1 6 43 1 20 123 .184 — — — — -1,817

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 (640 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home1552271345015.198
Away1672882250628.174

Pitching — Home / Away

SplitGIPHERBBSOERA
Home153782.17503002372933.45
Away165784.28213613152804.14

Last 10 Games — Pitching

DateTmOppDecIPHRERBBSOHR
1959-09-21 PITATL — 0.2000010
1959-09-11 PITLAD — 1.1000100
1959-09-09 PITSFG — 0.0000200
1959-09-07 PITATL — 2.0300010
1959-09-05 PITPHI W 0.2000010
1959-09-04 PITPHI — 0.2000000
1959-08-30 PITPHI — 1.1000210
1959-08-25 PITSFG — 1.2122201
1959-08-16 PITATL — 1.1211110
1959-08-16 PITATL SV 0.1000000

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position G GS PO A E DP
P 318 91 80 280 15 15

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1948 NYA P 16 0 4 8 0 0
1949 NYA P 12 0 1 10 3 1
1950 NYA P 10 0 1 3 0 0
1951 NYA P 2 0 0 1 0 0
1951 WS1 P 19 0 8 23 2 0
1952 WS1 P 31 0 4 34 0 0
1953 WS1 P 34 0 16 50 0 4
1954 WS1 P 32 31 10 61 3 4
1955 WS1 P 30 27 8 28 1 2
1956 BOS P 25 18 8 14 2 1
1957 BOS P 28 9 7 23 3 1
1958 BOS P 2 0 0 0 0 0
1958 PIT P 37 6 8 13 0 0
1959 PIT P 6 0 0 0 0 0
1959 CHN P 4 0 0 2 0 1
1959 PIT P 30 0 5 10 1 1

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Position Games
Pitcher 318

Awards & Honors

Year Award Notes
1953 TSN All-Star P
1953 TSN Pitcher of the Year

Award Voting History

Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
1953 Most Valuable Player AL 7th 64.0 336 0
1952 Most Valuable Player AL 34th 1.0 336 0

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Bob Porterfield (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Vic Aldridge
    97-80, 3.76 ERA
  2. 93
    Cal McLish
    92-92, 4.00 ERA
  3. 91
    Jim Hearn
    109-89, 3.81 ERA
  4. 89
    Hank Borowy
    108-82, 3.50 ERA
  5. 88
    Jim Colborn
    83-88, 3.80 ERA
  6. 86
    Max Butcher
    95-106, 3.73 ERA

Frequently Asked Questions about Bob Porterfield

What years did Bob Porterfield play?
Bob Porterfield played in Major League Baseball from 1948 to 1959.
Was Bob Porterfield a pitcher?
Yes. Bob Porterfield pitched in the major leagues, recording 87 wins and 572 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Bob Porterfield hit?
Bob Porterfield hit 6 career home runs with 95 hits.