Charlie Root

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1923-1941)

Charlie Root was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1923 to 1941 for the St. Louis Browns and the Chicago Cubs, a span of 19 seasons. Across 632 career appearances, he went 201-160 with a 3.59 ERA, 1,459 strikeouts, and 40 saves. He also batted .180 with 11 home runs. His career Pitcher PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of pitching impact — is 28449.3.

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

W–L 201–160
ERA 3.59
WHIP 1.30
SO 1,459
Pitcher PIV 28449.3
Position
Pitcher
Bats / Throws
R / R
Height / Weight
5'10" / 190 lb
Born
3/17/1899 in Middletown, OH, USA
Died
11/5/1970 in Hollister, CA, USA
MLB Debut
1923-04-18
Last Game
1941-09-02

Full name: Charles Henry Root

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Career Pitching Statistics

Charlie Root — Career Pitching Statistics
W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
201 160 632 341 177 21 40 3197.1 3,252 1,274 187 889 1,459 3.59 28449.3

Career ERA 3.59 vs. league average 4.24 across their career seasons — 15.5% better than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Charlie Root Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year Team Lg W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER BB SO ERA Lg ERA Pitcher PIV
1923 SLA AL 0 4 27 2 0 0 0 60.0 68 38 18 27 5.70 4.03 (-41%) -251.7
1926 CHN NL 18 17 42 32 21 2 2 271.1 267 85 62 127 2.82 4.11 (+31%) 5334.7
1927 CHN NL 26 15 48 36 21 4 2 309.0 296 129 117 145 3.76 4.08 (+8%) 283.8
1928 CHN NL 14 18 40 30 13 1 2 237.0 214 94 73 122 3.57 4.13 (+14%) 1456.6
1929 CHN NL 19 6 43 31 19 4 5 272.0 286 105 83 124 3.47 4.60 (+24%) 4650.1
1930 CHN NL 16 14 37 30 15 4 3 220.1 247 106 63 124 4.33 4.80 (+10%) 2089.7
1931 CHN NL 17 14 39 31 19 3 2 251.0 240 97 71 131 3.48 4.10 (+15%) 4696.3
1932 CHN NL 15 10 39 23 11 0 3 216.1 211 86 55 96 3.58 4.13 (+13%) 2571.3
1933 CHN NL 15 10 35 30 20 2 0 242.1 232 70 61 86 2.60 3.86 (+33%) 157.7
1934 CHN NL 4 7 34 9 2 0 0 117.2 141 56 53 46 4.28 4.29 (avg) -1499.9
1935 CHN NL 15 8 38 18 11 1 2 201.1 193 69 47 94 3.08 4.35 (+29%) 1980.3
1936 CHN NL 3 6 33 4 0 0 1 73.2 81 34 20 32 4.15 4.59 (+9%) 1258.4
1937 CHN NL 13 5 43 15 5 0 5 178.2 173 67 32 74 3.38 4.34 (+22%) 232.3
1938 CHN NL 8 7 44 11 5 0 8 160.2 163 51 30 70 2.86 4.35 (+34%) 2990.0
1939 CHN NL 8 8 35 16 8 0 4 167.1 189 75 34 65 4.03 4.28 (+6%) 2134.8
1940 CHN NL 2 4 36 8 1 0 1 112.0 118 48 33 50 3.86 4.21 (+8%) 422.7
1941 CHN NL 8 7 19 15 6 0 0 106.2 133 64 37 46 5.40 3.94 (-37%) -57.8
Career · 17 seasons 201 160 632 341 177 21 40 3,197.1 3,252 1,274 889 1,459 3.59 — 28,449

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

Charlie Root — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
632 1,086 86 196 46 7 11 93 1 44 329 .180 .217 .266 .483 -5,629

Career AVG .180 vs. league average .278 across their career seasons — 35.1% below league average.

Career OBP .217 vs. league average .342 across their career seasons — 36.5% below league average.

Career SLG .266 vs. league average .395 across their career seasons — 32.6% below league average.

Career OPS .483 vs. league average .737 across their career seasons — 34.5% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Charlie Root Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year Team Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG Lg AVG Lg OBP Lg SLG Lg OPS PIV
1923 SLA AL 27 13 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 5 .077 — — — — 0.0
1926 CHN NL 42 91 8 13 1 0 1 7 0 2 25 .143 .279 (-49%) .345 (-48%) .390 (-52%) .735 (-50%) -747.4
1927 CHN NL 48 122 15 27 6 1 0 8 0 4 35 .221 .282 (-22%) .344 (-27%) .392 (-27%) .736 (-27%) -552.7
1928 CHN NL 40 73 5 13 5 0 0 5 0 2 18 .178 .280 (-37%) .342 (-42%) .395 (-38%) .737 (-39%) -483.6
1929 CHN NL 43 96 8 15 3 4 1 15 0 4 28 .156 .289 (-46%) .353 (-46%) .415 (-27%) .769 (-36%) -635.3
1930 CHN NL 37 80 4 21 8 0 1 6 1 4 21 .263 .293 (-11%) .354 (-14%) .429 (-7%) .784 (-10%) -150.5
1931 CHN NL 39 90 7 20 8 0 0 8 0 4 31 .222 .276 (-20%) .338 (-24%) .388 (-20%) .726 (-22%) -338.5
1932 CHN NL 39 76 4 13 1 0 1 10 0 0 29 .171 .275 (-38%) .335 (-49%) .391 (-43%) .726 (-46%) -561.8
1933 CHN NL 35 85 1 8 3 0 0 0 0 4 22 .094 .270 (-65%) .329 (-59%) .377 (-66%) .707 (-63%) -840.9
1934 CHN NL 34 40 3 7 3 0 2 4 0 0 13 .175 — — — — 0.0
1935 CHN NL 38 69 8 14 2 1 1 7 0 3 22 .203 .279 (-27%) .342 (-31%) .399 (-24%) .742 (-27%) -323.1
1936 CHN NL 33 15 1 5 0 0 0 0 0 2 4 .333 — — — — 0.0
1937 CHN NL 43 67 7 12 2 0 1 9 0 1 19 .179 .276 (-35%) .342 (-41%) .398 (-36%) .740 (-38%) -427.7
1938 CHN NL 44 48 2 8 1 0 0 3 0 4 16 .167 — — — — -332.5
1939 CHN NL 35 57 4 10 2 1 2 6 0 2 21 .175 .274 (-36%) .342 (-37%) .393 (-11%) .735 (-23%) -235.6
1940 CHN NL 36 31 4 4 0 0 0 1 0 2 10 .129 — — — — 0.0
1941 CHN NL 19 33 4 5 1 0 1 4 0 5 10 .152 — — — — 0.0
Career · 17 seasons 632 1,086 86 196 46 7 11 93 1 44 329 .180 — — — — -5,629

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.

Postseason Statistics

Playoff Career Batting

Charlie Root — Playoff Career Batting
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
6 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 .000

Playoff Batting by Year

Charlie Root — Playoff Batting by Year
Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1938 WS CHN 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1935 WS CHN 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1932 WS CHN 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000
1929 WS CHN 2 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 .000

Playoff Career Pitching

Charlie Root — Playoff Career Pitching
W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
0 3 6 4 0 22.2 26 17 6 15 6.75

Playoff Pitching by Year

Charlie Root — Playoff Pitching by Year
Year Round Team W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
1938 WS CHN 0 0 1 0 0 3.0 3 1 0 1 3.00
1935 WS CHN 0 1 2 1 0 2.0 5 4 1 2 18.00
1932 WS CHN 0 1 1 1 0 4.1 6 5 3 4 10.38
1929 WS CHN 0 1 2 2 0 13.1 12 7 2 8 4.72

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (1264 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Charlie Root — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home31856247104548.185
Away3145233992647.176

Pitching — Home / Away

Charlie Root — Pitching — Home / Away
SplitGIPHERBBSOERA
Home3181715.016776214768323.26
Away3141483.215776464126303.92

Last 10 Games — Batting

Charlie Root — Last 10 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1941-09-02 CHCCINW 300000001
1941-08-27 CHCBSNW 301000202
1941-08-24 CHCPHIL 100000001
1941-08-22 CHCBROL 000000000
1941-08-17 CHCCINW 300000000
1941-08-10 CHCCINL 100000020
1941-08-03 CHCBROL 000000000
1941-07-31 CHCPHIL 000000000
1941-07-16 CHCPHIW 311001100
1941-07-06 CHCPITL 200000001

Last 10 Games — Pitching

Charlie Root — Last 10 Games — Pitching
DateTmOppDecIPHRERBBSOHR
1941-09-02 CHCCIN W 9.0511550
1941-08-27 CHCBSN W 8.2622630
1941-08-24 CHCPHI — 4.21166263
1941-08-22 CHCBRO — 1.0000000
1941-08-17 CHCCIN W 7.0822200
1941-08-10 CHCCIN L 9.01132250
1941-08-03 CHCBRO — 2.0221010
1941-07-31 CHCPHI L 1.2653100
1941-07-16 CHCPHI W 6.2944240
1941-07-06 CHCPIT L 4.1877640

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Charlie Root — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
P 632 0 95 506 15 21

Season-by-Season Fielding

Charlie Root — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1923 SLA P 27 0 1 13 0 0
1926 CHN P 42 0 8 58 4 4
1927 CHN P 48 0 6 49 2 2
1928 CHN P 40 0 6 39 1 2
1929 CHN P 43 0 12 35 1 2
1930 CHN P 37 0 9 27 0 1
1931 CHN P 39 0 3 38 1 0
1932 CHN P 39 0 8 32 0 0
1933 CHN P 35 0 11 36 1 4
1934 CHN P 34 0 2 23 0 1
1935 CHN P 38 0 7 27 1 0
1936 CHN P 33 0 2 10 0 1
1937 CHN P 43 0 8 36 1 2
1938 CHN P 44 0 5 23 1 0
1939 CHN P 35 0 2 22 2 0
1940 CHN P 36 0 3 22 0 0
1941 CHN P 19 0 2 16 0 2

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Charlie Root Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position Games
Pitcher 632

Awards & Honors

Charlie Root — Awards & Honors
Year Award Notes
1927 Baseball Magazine All-Star P1
1927 TSN All-Star P

Award Voting History

Charlie Root — Award Voting History
Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
1938 Most Valuable Player NL 25th 3.0 336 0
1937 Most Valuable Player NL 12th 15.0 80 0
1931 Most Valuable Player NL 20th 3.0 80 0
1927 Most Valuable Player NL 4th 46.0 80 0
1926 Most Valuable Player NL 16th 8.0 80 0

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Charlie Root (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Dutch Leonard
    191-181, 3.25 ERA
  2. 97
    Hooks Dauss
    222-182, 3.30 ERA
  3. 93
    Herb Pennock HOF
    240-162, 3.60 ERA
  4. 91
    Dolf Luque
    194-179, 3.24 ERA
  5. 88
    Lew Burdette
    203-144, 3.66 ERA
  6. 88
    Danny Darwin
    171-182, 3.84 ERA

Charlie Root: the record in brief

April 18, 1923 and September 2, 1941 bracket Charlie Root's time in the majors: the debut and the last game on record. Club by club, the record runs the St. Louis Browns (1923) and the Chicago Cubs (1926 through 1941). Root played primarily as a pitcher and threw and hit right-handed. The bio adds a birth date on March 17, 1899, in Middletown, OH, USA and a listed size of 5'10" and 190 pounds. The bio records the death on November 5, 1970, in Hollister, CA, USA. The given name on file is Charles Henry Root.

Root's career pitching line is 201 wins, 160 losses and a 3.59 ERA over 632 appearances. Root had 1,459 strikeouts, 177 complete games, 21 shutouts, and 40 saves. That 3.59 ERA compares with a 4.24 league average across the same seasons, 15.5% better. The best win total was 26, in 1927. Among the heaviest workloads, the lowest ERA was 2.60 in 1933, when the league's was 3.86.

Frequently Asked Questions about Charlie Root

What years did Charlie Root play?
Charlie Root played in Major League Baseball from 1923 to 1941.
Was Charlie Root a pitcher?
Yes. Charlie Root pitched in the major leagues, recording 201 wins and 1459 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Charlie Root hit?
Charlie Root hit 11 career home runs with 196 hits.
What teams did Charlie Root play for?
Charlie Root played for 2 teams: the St. Louis Browns (1923) and the Chicago Cubs (1926–1941).
What were Charlie Root's career stats?
In 632 games, Charlie Root went 201-160 with a 3.59 ERA, 1,459 strikeouts, 3,197.1 innings pitched, and 40 saves. At the plate he had 196 hits and 11 home runs.
What position did Charlie Root play?
Charlie Root played primarily as a pitcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.
How tall was Charlie Root and how much did he weigh?
Charlie Root was listed at 5 feet 10 inches and 190 pounds.
What was Charlie Root's career ERA?
Charlie Root finished with a 3.59 career ERA, going 201-160 with 1,459 strikeouts.
How many strikeouts did Charlie Root have?
Charlie Root recorded 1,459 career strikeouts.
Is Charlie Root in the Hall of Fame?
No. Charlie Root has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.