Ken Raffensberger

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

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

W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
119 154 396 282 133 31 16 2151.7 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.

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 3 114.7 120 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 0 258.7 257 88 45 136 3.06 3.57 (+14%) 6491.0
1945 PHI NL 0 3 5 4 1 0 0 24.3 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 1 106.7 132 49 29 38 4.13 3.97 (-4%) -448.4
1948 CIN NL 11 12 40 24 7 4 0 180.3 187 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 5 248.7 232 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 10.3 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

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.

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

SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home2003322254221.163
Away1973551642210.118

Pitching — Home / Away

SplitGIPHERBBSOERA
Home1991138.211274342284263.43
Away1971011.111304322223843.84

Last 10 Games — Batting

DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1954-06-02 CINPHIL 000000000
1954-05-30 CINCHCL 000000000
1954-05-21 CINSTLL 000000000
1954-05-15 CINPHIL 000000000
1954-05-08 CINSTLL 101000100
1954-04-20 CINSTLW 100000001
1953-09-23 CINCHCW 300000001
1953-09-19 CINATLL 201000001
1953-09-13 CINPITL 100000000
1953-08-30 CINPHIL 411000002

Last 10 Games — Pitching

DateTmOppDecIPHRERBBSOHR
1954-06-02 CINPHI — 1.0211200
1954-05-30 CINCHC — 1.0200000
1954-05-21 CINSTL L 1.0121010
1954-05-15 CINPHI — 1.0000000
1954-05-08 CINSTL L 4.1644121
1954-04-20 CINSTL — 2.0433021
1953-09-23 CINCHC — 6.1732231
1953-09-19 CINATL L 5.11055041
1953-09-13 CINPIT L 6.1953210
1953-08-30 CINPHI L 8.0944161

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position G GS PO A E DP
P 396 1 71 335 17 17

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.

Position Games
Pitcher 396

Award Voting History

Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
1952 Most Valuable Player NL 23th 8.0 336 0
1951 Most Valuable Player NL 18th 8.0 336 0
1949 Most Valuable Player NL 19th 8.0 336 0

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

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

  1. 98
    Jim Barr
    101-112, 3.56 ERA
  2. 95
    Bob Purkey
    129-115, 3.79 ERA
  3. 91
    George Mogridge
    132-131, 3.21 ERA
  4. 91
    Mike Caldwell
    137-130, 3.81 ERA
  5. 89
    Jesse Barnes
    152-150, 3.22 ERA
  6. 85
    Watson Clark
    111-97, 3.66 ERA

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.