What years did Ken Raffensberger play?

Ken Raffensberger played in Major League Baseball from 1939 to 1954.

Was Ken Raffensberger a pitcher?

Yes. Ken Raffensberger pitched in the major leagues, recording 119 wins and 806 strikeouts.

How many home runs did Ken Raffensberger hit?

Ken Raffensberger hit 4 career home runs with 97 hits.

What teams did Ken Raffensberger play for?

Ken Raffensberger played for 4 teams: the St. Louis Cardinals (1939), the Chicago Cubs (1940–1941), the Philadelphia Phillies (1943–1947), and the Cincinnati Redlegs (1947–1954).

What awards did Ken Raffensberger win?

Ken Raffensberger was selected to 1 All-Star Game.

What were Ken Raffensberger's career stats?

In 396 games, Ken Raffensberger went 119-154 with a 3.60 ERA, 806 strikeouts, 2,151.2 innings pitched, and 16 saves. At the plate he had 97 hits and 4 home runs.

What position did Ken Raffensberger play?

Ken Raffensberger played primarily as a pitcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.

How tall was Ken Raffensberger and how much did he weigh?

Ken Raffensberger was listed at 6 feet 2 inches and 185 pounds.

What was Ken Raffensberger's career ERA?

Ken Raffensberger finished with a 3.60 career ERA, going 119-154 with 806 strikeouts.

How many strikeouts did Ken Raffensberger have?

Ken Raffensberger recorded 806 career strikeouts.

Is Ken Raffensberger in the Hall of Fame?

No. Ken Raffensberger has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

How many All-Star Games did Ken Raffensberger make?

Ken Raffensberger was selected to 1 All-Star Game.

Ken Raffensberger

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1939-1954)

Ken Raffensberger was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1939 to 1954 for 4 teams, including the St. Louis Cardinals, a span of 16 seasons. Across 396 career appearances, he went 119-154 with a 3.60 ERA and 806 strikeouts. He also batted .141 with 4 home runs. Ken Raffensberger was an All-Star. His career Pitcher PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of pitching impact — is 16599.6.

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 October 15, 2026

W–L 119–154

ERA 3.60

WHIP 1.26

SO 806

Pitcher PIV 16599.6

Position: Pitcher
Bats / Throws: R / L
Height / Weight: 6'2" / 185 lb
Born: 8/8/1917 in York, PA, USA
Died: 11/10/2002 in York, PA, USA
MLB Debut: 1939-04-25
Last Game: 1954-06-02
Awards: All-Star

Full name: Kenneth David Raffensberger

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Career Pitching Statistics

Ken Raffensberger — Career Pitching Statistics
W	L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	SO	ERA	Pitcher PIV
119	154	396	282	133	31	16	2151.2	2,257	860	192	449	806	3.60	16599.6

Career ERA 3.60 vs. league average 3.93 across their career seasons — 8.5% better than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Ken Raffensberger Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year	Team	Lg	W	L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA	Lg ERA	Pitcher PIV
1939	SLN	NL	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	1.0	2	0	0	1	0.00	—	0.0
1940	CHN	NL	7	9	43	10	3	0	3	114.2	120	43	29	55	3.38	4.21 (+20%)	659.4
1941	CHN	NL	0	1	10	1	0	0	0	18.0	17	9	7	5	4.50	3.94 (-14%)	235.1
1943	PHI	NL	0	1	1	1	1	0	0	8.0	7	1	2	3	1.12	—	0.0
1944	PHI	NL	13	20	37	31	18	3	0	258.2	257	88	45	136	3.06	3.57 (+14%)	6491.0
1945	PHI	NL	0	3	5	4	1	0	0	24.1	28	12	14	6	4.44	3.67 (-21%)	-1147.2
1946	PHI	NL	8	15	39	23	14	2	6	196.0	203	79	39	73	3.63	3.59 (-1%)	2420.7
1947	PHI	NL	2	6	10	7	3	1	0	41.0	50	25	8	16	5.49	3.97 (-38%)	133.7
1947	CIN	NL	6	5	19	15	7	0	1	106.2	132	49	29	38	4.13	3.97 (-4%)	-448.4
1948	CIN	NL	11	12	40	24	7	4	0	180.1	187	77	37	57	3.84	4.10 (+6%)	1163.4
1949	CIN	NL	18	17	41	38	20	5	0	284.0	289	107	80	103	3.39	4.12 (+18%)	3114.4
1950	CIN	NL	14	19	38	35	18	4	0	239.0	271	113	40	87	4.26	4.36 (+2%)	792.9
1951	CIN	NL	16	17	42	33	14	5	5	248.2	232	95	38	81	3.44	4.04 (+15%)	739.4
1952	CIN	NL	17	13	38	33	18	6	1	247.0	247	77	45	93	2.81	3.70 (+24%)	3557.3
1953	CIN	NL	7	14	26	26	9	1	0	174.0	200	76	33	47	3.93	4.14 (+5%)	-874.2
1954	CIN	NL	0	2	6	1	0	0	0	10.1	15	9	3	5	7.84	3.90 (-101%)	-237.7
Career · 16 seasons			119	154	396	282	133	31	16	2,151.2	2,257	860	449	806	3.60	—	16,600

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

Ken Raffensberger — Career Batting Statistics
G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	PIV
397	688	38	97	16	0	4	31	0	20	280	.141	.166	.182	.348	-4,836

Career AVG .141 vs. league average .262 across their career seasons — 46.2% below league average.

Career OBP .166 vs. league average .334 across their career seasons — 50.2% below league average.

Career SLG .182 vs. league average .376 across their career seasons — 51.7% below league average.

Career OPS .348 vs. league average .711 across their career seasons — 51.0% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Ken Raffensberger Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year	Team	Lg	G	AB	R	H	2B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	AVG	Lg AVG	Lg OBP	Lg SLG	Lg OPS	PIV
1939	SLN	NL	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1940	CHN	NL	43	30	2	5	0	0	0	0	18	.167	—	—	—	—	0.0
1941	CHN	NL	10	5	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1943	PHI	NL	1	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1944	PHI	NL	38	80	1	11	0	0	3	3	38	.138	.261 (-47%)	.325 (-48%)	.357 (-62%)	.683 (-55%)	-669.0
1945	PHI	NL	5	8	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1946	PHI	NL	39	60	5	10	3	0	1	2	23	.167	.256 (-35%)	.328 (-41%)	.358 (-40%)	.687 (-40%)	-383.5
1947	PHI	NL	10	15	2	4	0	0	0	0	7	.267	—	—	—	—	0.0
1947	CIN	NL	19	37	1	6	0	0	5	1	22	.162	—	—	—	—	0.0
1948	CIN	NL	40	62	2	7	1	0	0	2	27	.113	.263 (-57%)	.340 (-59%)	.379 (-66%)	.719 (-63%)	-624.0
1949	CIN	NL	41	90	7	16	4	1	3	2	31	.178	.262 (-32%)	.343 (-41%)	.384 (-33%)	.727 (-37%)	-558.0
1950	CIN	NL	38	82	7	11	2	1	9	4	21	.134	.265 (-50%)	.346 (-50%)	.401 (-51%)	.747 (-51%)	-700.0
1951	CIN	NL	42	82	4	10	2	0	0	4	31	.122	.260 (-53%)	.336 (-52%)	.385 (-62%)	.721 (-57%)	-758.3
1952	CIN	NL	38	75	5	8	1	1	1	2	32	.107	.252 (-58%)	.326 (-60%)	.369 (-57%)	.696 (-58%)	-689.3
1953	CIN	NL	26	57	2	8	3	1	8	0	22	.140	.264 (-47%)	.335 (-58%)	.397 (-38%)	.733 (-47%)	-454.0
1954	CIN	NL	6	2	0	1	0	0	1	0	1	.500	—	—	—	—	0.0
Career · 16 seasons			397	688	38	97	16	4	31	20	280	.141	—	—	—	—	-4,836

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 (793 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Ken Raffensberger — Batting — Home / Away
Split	G	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	AVG
Home	200	332	22	54	2	21	.163
Away	197	355	16	42	2	10	.118

Pitching — Home / Away

Ken Raffensberger — Pitching — Home / Away
Split	G	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
Home	199	1138.2	1127	434	228	426	3.43
Away	197	1011.1	1130	432	222	384	3.84

Last 10 Games — Batting

Ken Raffensberger — Last 10 Games — Batting
Date	Tm	Opp	Res	AB	R	H	RBI	SO
1954-06-02	CIN	PHI	L	0	0	0	0	0
1954-05-30	CIN	CHC	L	0	0	0	0	0
1954-05-21	CIN	STL	L	0	0	0	0	0
1954-05-15	CIN	PHI	L	0	0	0	0	0
1954-05-08	CIN	STL	L	1	0	1	1	0
1954-04-20	CIN	STL	W	1	0	0	0	1
1953-09-23	CIN	CHC	W	3	0	0	0	1
1953-09-19	CIN	ATL	L	2	0	1	0	1
1953-09-13	CIN	PIT	L	1	0	0	0	0
1953-08-30	CIN	PHI	L	4	1	1	0	2

Last 10 Games — Pitching

Ken Raffensberger — Last 10 Games — Pitching
Date	Tm	Opp	Dec	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR
1954-06-02	CIN	PHI	—	1.0	2	1	1	2	0	0
1954-05-30	CIN	CHC	—	1.0	2	0	0	0	0	0
1954-05-21	CIN	STL	L	1.0	1	2	1	0	1	0
1954-05-15	CIN	PHI	—	1.0	0	0	0	0	0	0
1954-05-08	CIN	STL	L	4.1	6	4	4	1	2	1
1954-04-20	CIN	STL	—	2.0	4	3	3	0	2	1
1953-09-23	CIN	CHC	—	6.1	7	3	2	2	3	1
1953-09-19	CIN	ATL	L	5.1	10	5	5	0	4	1
1953-09-13	CIN	PIT	L	6.1	9	5	3	2	1	0
1953-08-30	CIN	PHI	L	8.0	9	4	4	1	6	1

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Ken Raffensberger — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
P	396	1	71	335	17	17

Season-by-Season Fielding

Ken Raffensberger — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year	Team	Pos	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
1939	SLN	P	1	0	0	0	0	0
1940	CHN	P	43	0	6	18	0	2
1941	CHN	P	10	0	2	7	0	1
1943	PHI	P	1	0	0	2	1	0
1944	PHI	P	37	0	10	33	2	1
1945	PHI	P	5	0	1	6	1	0
1946	PHI	P	39	0	7	26	0	1
1947	PHI	P	10	0	5	10	1	2
1947	CIN	P	19	0	2	18	1	2
1948	CIN	P	40	0	4	28	3	0
1949	CIN	P	41	0	6	41	1	2
1950	CIN	P	38	0	7	36	1	0
1951	CIN	P	42	0	5	31	3	1
1952	CIN	P	38	0	9	38	1	2
1953	CIN	P	26	0	7	41	2	3
1954	CIN	P	6	1	0	0	0	0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Ken Raffensberger Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position	Games
Pitcher	396

Award Voting History

Ken Raffensberger — Award Voting History
Year	Award	League	Finish	Points Won	Points Max
1952	Most Valuable Player	NL	23th	8.0	336
1951	Most Valuable Player	NL	18th	8.0	336
1949	Most Valuable Player	NL	19th	8.0	336

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Ken Raffensberger (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

Ken Raffensberger: the record in brief

The profile opens with Ken Raffensberger's first major league game on April 25, 1939; the last one listed came on June 2, 1954. The team column moves through the St. Louis Cardinals (1939), the Chicago Cubs (1940 to 1941), the Philadelphia Blue Jays (1943 through 1944), the Philadelphia Phillies (1945 to 1947), the Cincinnati Reds (1947 to 1953), and the Cincinnati Redlegs (1954). At 6 feet, 2 inches and 185 pounds, Raffensberger is listed as a pitcher. Raffensberger batted right-handed and threw left-handed, per the bio block. The recorded birth is August 8, 1917, in York, PA, USA. Raffensberger's death is recorded on November 10, 2002, in York, PA, USA. Ken Raffensberger was the playing name; the full given name is Kenneth David.

Raffensberger went 119-154 with a 3.60 ERA in 396 games, 282 of them starts. Raffensberger had 806 strikeouts, 133 complete games, 31 shutouts, and 16 saves.

Frequently Asked Questions about Ken Raffensberger

What years did Ken Raffensberger play?: Ken Raffensberger played in Major League Baseball from 1939 to 1954.
Was Ken Raffensberger a pitcher?: Yes. Ken Raffensberger pitched in the major leagues, recording 119 wins and 806 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Ken Raffensberger hit?: Ken Raffensberger hit 4 career home runs with 97 hits.
What teams did Ken Raffensberger play for?: Ken Raffensberger played for 4 teams: the St. Louis Cardinals (1939), the Chicago Cubs (1940–1941), the Philadelphia Phillies (1943–1947), and the Cincinnati Redlegs (1947–1954).
What awards did Ken Raffensberger win?: Ken Raffensberger was selected to 1 All-Star Game.
What were Ken Raffensberger's career stats?: In 396 games, Ken Raffensberger went 119-154 with a 3.60 ERA, 806 strikeouts, 2,151.2 innings pitched, and 16 saves. At the plate he had 97 hits and 4 home runs.
What position did Ken Raffensberger play?: Ken Raffensberger played primarily as a pitcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.
How tall was Ken Raffensberger and how much did he weigh?: Ken Raffensberger was listed at 6 feet 2 inches and 185 pounds.
What was Ken Raffensberger's career ERA?: Ken Raffensberger finished with a 3.60 career ERA, going 119-154 with 806 strikeouts.
How many strikeouts did Ken Raffensberger have?: Ken Raffensberger recorded 806 career strikeouts.
Is Ken Raffensberger in the Hall of Fame?: No. Ken Raffensberger has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
How many All-Star Games did Ken Raffensberger make?: Ken Raffensberger was selected to 1 All-Star Game.