Woody Rich
Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1939-1944)
Woody Rich was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1939 to 1944 for the Boston Red Sox and the Boston Braves, a span of 6 seasons. Across 33 career appearances, he went 6-4 with a 5.06 ERA and 42 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
- Position
- Pitcher
- Bats / Throws
- L / R
- Height / Weight
- 6'2" / 185 lb
- Died
- 4/18/1983 in Morganton, NC, USA
- MLB Debut
- 1939-04-22
- Last Game
- 1944-09-16
Full name: Woodrow Earl Rich
Season-by-Season Pitching
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 | BOS | AL | 4 | 3 | 21 | 12 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 77.0 | 78 | 42 | 35 | 24 | 4.91 | 4.28 (-15%) | -110.0 |
| 1940 | BOS | AL | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 11.2 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 0.77 | 4.21 (+82%) | 28.0 |
| 1941 | BOS | AL | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3.2 | 8 | 7 | 2 | 4 | 17.18 | — | 0.0 |
| 1944 | BSN | NL | 1 | 1 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 25.0 | 32 | 16 | 12 | 6 | 5.76 | 3.57 (-61%) | -1239.7 |
| Career · 4 seasons | 6 | 4 | 33 | 16 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 117.1 | 127 | 66 | 50 | 42 | 5.06 | — | -1,322 | ||
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 33 | 39 | 3 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 | .205 | .225 | .205 | .430 | 0 |
Career AVG .205 vs. league average .266 across their career seasons — 23.0% below league average.
Career OBP .225 vs. league average .334 across their career seasons — 32.6% below league average.
Career SLG .205 vs. league average .378 across their career seasons — 45.7% below league average.
Career OPS .430 vs. league average .712 across their career seasons — 39.6% below league average.
Season-by-Season Batting
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 | BOS | AL | 21 | 27 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | .259 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1940 | BOS | AL | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1941 | BOS | AL | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1944 | BSN | NL | 7 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .125 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| Career · 4 seasons | 33 | 39 | 3 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 | .205 | — | — | — | — | 0 | ||
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 (66 games) →Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).
Batting — Home / Away
| Split | G | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 19 | 24 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | .208 |
| Away | 14 | 15 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1 | .200 |
Pitching — Home / Away
| Split | G | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 19 | 70.1 | 80 | 40 | 31 | 27 | 5.12 |
| Away | 14 | 47.0 | 47 | 26 | 19 | 15 | 4.98 |
Last 10 Games — Batting
| Date | Tm | Opp | Res | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1944-09-16 | BSN | BRO | L | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1944-09-07 | BSN | NY1 | L | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1944-09-03 | BSN | PHI | L | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1944-08-29 | BSN | NY1 | L | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1944-08-27 | BSN | PHI | W | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1944-08-20 | BSN | STL | W | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1944-08-16 | BSN | CHC | L | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1941-04-26 | BOS | PHA | W | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1941-04-22 | BOS | MIN | L | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1940-09-29 | BOS | PHA | W | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Last 10 Games — Pitching
| Date | Tm | Opp | Dec | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1944-09-16 | BSN | BRO | L | 3.0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| 1944-09-07 | BSN | NY1 | — | 1.0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 1944-09-03 | BSN | PHI | — | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1944-08-29 | BSN | NY1 | — | 0.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1944-08-27 | BSN | PHI | — | 3.2 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 1944-08-20 | BSN | STL | W | 9.0 | 9 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 |
| 1944-08-16 | BSN | CHC | — | 7.0 | 11 | 7 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 1 |
| 1941-04-26 | BOS | PHA | — | 2.2 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 2 | 3 | 1 |
| 1941-04-22 | BOS | MIN | — | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1940-09-29 | BOS | PHA | W | 8.0 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 0 |
Fielding Statistics
Career Fielding Totals by Position
Season-by-Season Fielding
Career Games by Position
Circle size = games played at each position.
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| Pitcher | 33 |
Woody Rich: the record in brief
Woody Rich played a first major league game on April 22, 1939 and a last one on September 16, 1944. By club, Rich's seasons break down as the Boston Red Sox (1939 to 1941) and the Boston Braves (1944). Rich played primarily as a pitcher and hit left-handed while throwing right-handed. The bio adds a birth date on March 9, 1916, in Morganton, NC, USA and a listed size of 6 feet, 2 inches and 185 pounds. The bio records the death on April 18, 1983, in Morganton, NC, USA. Woody Rich was the playing name; the full given name is Woodrow Earl.
Rich went 6-4 with a 5.06 ERA in 33 games, 16 of them starts. The same table counts 42 strikeouts. Against a 4.00 league ERA for the same seasons, the 5.06 mark was 26.6% worse. Among the heaviest workloads, the lowest ERA was 4.91 in 1939, when the league's was 4.28.
Frequently Asked Questions about Woody Rich
- What years did Woody Rich play?
- Woody Rich played in Major League Baseball from 1939 to 1944.
- Was Woody Rich a pitcher?
- Yes. Woody Rich pitched in the major leagues, recording 6 wins and 42 strikeouts.
- How many home runs did Woody Rich hit?
- Woody Rich hit 0 career home runs with 8 hits.
- What teams did Woody Rich play for?
- Woody Rich played for 2 teams: the Boston Red Sox (1939–1941) and the Boston Braves (1944).
- What were Woody Rich's career stats?
- In 33 games, Woody Rich went 6-4 with a 5.06 ERA, 42 strikeouts, 117.1 innings pitched, and 1 saves.
- What position did Woody Rich play?
- Woody Rich played primarily as a pitcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.
- How tall was Woody Rich and how much did he weigh?
- Woody Rich was listed at 6 feet 2 inches and 185 pounds.
- What was Woody Rich's career ERA?
- Woody Rich finished with a 5.06 career ERA, going 6-4 with 42 strikeouts.
- How many strikeouts did Woody Rich have?
- Woody Rich recorded 42 career strikeouts.
- Is Woody Rich in the Hall of Fame?
- No. Woody Rich has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.