Nap Rucker
Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1907-1916)
Nap Rucker was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1907 to 1916 for the Brooklyn Dodgers, a span of 10 seasons. Across 336 career appearances, he went 134-134 with a 2.42 ERA and 1,217 strikeouts. He also batted .195 with 1 home runs. His career Pitcher PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of pitching impact — is 15087.7.
- 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
- R / L
- Height / Weight
- 5'11" / 190 lb
- Died
- 12/19/1970 in Alpharetta, GA, USA
- MLB Debut
- 1907-04-15
- Last Game
- 1916-09-13
Full name: George Napoleon Rucker
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1907 | BRO | NL | 15 | 13 | 37 | 30 | 26 | 4 | 0 | 275.1 | 242 | 63 | 80 | 131 | 2.06 | 2.50 (+18%) | 1255.4 |
| 1908 | BRO | NL | 17 | 19 | 42 | 37 | 30 | 6 | 1 | 333.1 | 265 | 77 | 125 | 199 | 2.08 | 2.40 (+13%) | 1154.3 |
| 1909 | BRO | NL | 13 | 19 | 38 | 33 | 28 | 6 | 1 | 309.1 | 245 | 77 | 101 | 201 | 2.24 | 2.55 (+12%) | 1970.1 |
| 1910 | BRO | NL | 17 | 18 | 41 | 39 | 27 | 6 | 0 | 320.1 | 293 | 92 | 84 | 147 | 2.58 | 2.79 (+7%) | 2417.3 |
| 1911 | BRO | NL | 22 | 18 | 48 | 33 | 23 | 5 | 4 | 315.2 | 255 | 95 | 110 | 190 | 2.71 | 3.37 (+20%) | 1362.4 |
| 1912 | BRO | NL | 18 | 21 | 45 | 34 | 23 | 6 | 4 | 297.2 | 272 | 73 | 72 | 151 | 2.21 | 3.36 (+34%) | 3912.9 |
| 1913 | BRO | NL | 14 | 15 | 41 | 33 | 16 | 4 | 3 | 260.0 | 236 | 83 | 67 | 111 | 2.87 | 3.07 (+6%) | 2247.2 |
| 1914 | BRO | NL | 7 | 6 | 16 | 16 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 103.2 | 113 | 39 | 27 | 35 | 3.39 | 2.93 (-16%) | 136.6 |
| 1915 | BRO | NL | 9 | 4 | 19 | 15 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 122.2 | 134 | 33 | 28 | 38 | 2.42 | 2.90 (+16%) | 148.9 |
| 1916 | BRO | NL | 2 | 1 | 9 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 37.1 | 34 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 1.69 | 2.78 (+39%) | 482.6 |
| Career · 10 seasons | 134 | 134 | 336 | 274 | 186 | 38 | 14 | 2,375.1 | 2,089 | 639 | 701 | 1,217 | 2.42 | — | 15,088 | ||
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 336 | 805 | 44 | 157 | 10 | 6 | 1 | 44 | 2 | 22 | 117 | .195 | .216 | .226 | .443 | -3,552 |
Career AVG .195 vs. league average .253 across their career seasons — 22.9% below league average.
Career OBP .216 vs. league average .318 across their career seasons — 32.0% below league average.
Career SLG .226 vs. league average .332 across their career seasons — 31.9% below league average.
Career OPS .443 vs. league average .650 across their career seasons — 32.0% 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1907 | BRO | NL | 37 | 97 | 6 | 15 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 3 | 23 | .155 | .245 (-37%) | .304 (-41%) | .308 (-40%) | .613 (-40%) | -555.8 |
| 1908 | BRO | NL | 42 | 117 | 3 | 21 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 14 | .179 | .240 (-25%) | .298 (-38%) | .306 (-36%) | .605 (-37%) | -601.9 |
| 1909 | BRO | NL | 38 | 101 | 3 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 16 | .119 | .244 (-51%) | .306 (-56%) | .312 (-59%) | .618 (-57%) | -810.3 |
| 1910 | BRO | NL | 41 | 110 | 6 | 23 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 15 | .209 | .249 (-16%) | .317 (-30%) | .326 (-33%) | .644 (-32%) | -512.9 |
| 1911 | BRO | NL | 48 | 104 | 6 | 21 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 9 | 0 | 3 | 15 | .202 | .266 (-24%) | .336 (-33%) | .356 (-19%) | .693 (-26%) | -454.2 |
| 1912 | BRO | NL | 45 | 102 | 8 | 25 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 12 | 1 | 3 | 12 | .245 | .268 (-9%) | .335 (-21%) | .358 (-21%) | .694 (-21%) | -341.8 |
| 1913 | BRO | NL | 41 | 87 | 3 | 21 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 10 | .241 | .259 (-7%) | .325 (-16%) | .345 (-27%) | .670 (-21%) | -275.4 |
| 1914 | BRO | NL | 16 | 34 | 6 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | .265 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1915 | BRO | NL | 19 | 42 | 2 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 6 | .214 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1916 | BRO | NL | 9 | 11 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .091 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| Career · 10 seasons | 336 | 805 | 44 | 157 | 10 | 6 | 1 | 44 | 2 | 22 | 117 | .195 | — | — | — | — | -3,552 | ||
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 (672 games) →Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).
Batting — Home / Away
| Split | G | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 167 | 378 | 18 | 76 | 0 | 17 | .201 |
| Away | 169 | 426 | 26 | 81 | 1 | 27 | .190 |
Pitching — Home / Away
| Split | G | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 167 | 1206.1 | 991 | 205 | 344 | 695 | 1.53 |
| Away | 169 | 1152.2 | 1100 | 254 | 359 | 530 | 1.98 |
Last 10 Games — Batting
| Date | Tm | Opp | Res | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1916-09-13 | BRO | PIT | L | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1916-09-07 | BRO | NY1 | L | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1916-09-04 | BRO | PHI | L | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1916-08-12 | BRO | BSN | L | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1916-08-05 | BRO | PIT | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1916-08-01 | BRO | CIN | W | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1916-06-24 | BRO | NY1 | W | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1916-05-18 | BRO | CHC | L | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1916-05-01 | BRO | NY1 | W | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1915-09-29 | BRO | NY1 | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1916-09-13 | BRO | PIT | — | 2.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1916-09-07 | BRO | NY1 | L | 8.0 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 |
| 1916-09-04 | BRO | PHI | — | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1916-08-12 | BRO | BSN | — | 0.2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1916-08-05 | BRO | PIT | — | 4.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 1916-08-01 | BRO | CIN | W | 5.2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| 1916-06-24 | BRO | NY1 | W | 7.0 | 8 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 1916-05-18 | BRO | CHC | — | 5.2 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| 1916-05-01 | BRO | NY1 | — | 3.0 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1915-09-29 | BRO | NY1 | W | 9.0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 0 |
Fielding Statistics
Career Fielding Totals by Position
Season-by-Season Fielding
| Year | Team | Pos | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1907 | BRO | P | 37 | 30 | 5 | 73 | 7 | 4 |
| 1908 | BRO | P | 42 | 37 | 13 | 107 | 4 | 1 |
| 1909 | BRO | P | 38 | 33 | 3 | 67 | 4 | 3 |
| 1910 | BRO | P | 41 | 39 | 6 | 80 | 2 | 0 |
| 1911 | BRO | P | 48 | 0 | 7 | 88 | 3 | 1 |
| 1912 | BRO | P | 45 | 0 | 5 | 82 | 1 | 3 |
| 1913 | BRO | P | 41 | 0 | 5 | 50 | 2 | 1 |
| 1914 | BRO | P | 16 | 0 | 4 | 29 | 0 | 1 |
| 1915 | BRO | P | 19 | 0 | 6 | 40 | 1 | 2 |
| 1916 | BRO | P | 9 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 0 | 2 |
Career Games by Position
Circle size = games played at each position.
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| Pitcher | 336 |
Awards & Honors
| Year | Award | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1912 | Baseball Magazine All-Star | P2 |
| 1912 | Baseball Magazine All-Star | P3 |
| 1911 | Baseball Magazine All-Star | P5 |
| 1911 | Baseball Magazine All-Star | P4 |
| 1910 | Baseball Magazine All-Star | P2 |
| 1908 | Baseball Magazine All-Star | P5 |
| 1908 | Baseball Magazine All-Star | P3 |
Award Voting History
| Year | Award | League | Finish | Points Won | Points Max | Votes First |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1911 | Most Valuable Player | NL | 27th | 1.0 | 64 | 0 |
Most Similar Players
Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.
Nap Rucker (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.
Nap Rucker: the record in brief
Nap Rucker's major league career runs from a debut on April 15, 1907 to a final game on September 13, 1916. The team column moves through the Brooklyn Superbas (1907 through 1913), the Brooklyn Dodgers (1911 to 1912), and the Brooklyn Robins (1914 through 1916). Rucker, born on September 30, 1884, in Crabapple, GA, USA, is listed as a pitcher and batted right-handed and threw left-handed. Size on record: 190 pounds on a 5-foot-11 frame. Rucker's death is recorded on December 19, 1970, in Alpharetta, GA, USA. Rucker's full given name, per the bio, is George Napoleon Rucker.
Rucker went 134-134 with a 2.42 ERA in 336 games, 274 of them starts. Also on Rucker's record: 1,217 strikeouts, 186 complete games, 38 shutouts, and 14 saves. The leagues Rucker pitched in allowed 2.87 earned runs per nine over those seasons, so the career ERA was 15.6% better than average. The best win total was 22, in 1911. 1909 produced Rucker's most strikeouts, 201.
Frequently Asked Questions about Nap Rucker
- What years did Nap Rucker play?
- Nap Rucker played in Major League Baseball from 1907 to 1916.
- Was Nap Rucker a pitcher?
- Yes. Nap Rucker pitched in the major leagues, recording 134 wins and 1217 strikeouts.
- How many home runs did Nap Rucker hit?
- Nap Rucker hit 1 career home run with 157 hits.
- What teams did Nap Rucker play for?
- Nap Rucker played for one team, the Brooklyn Robins (1907–1916).
- What were Nap Rucker's career stats?
- In 336 games, Nap Rucker went 134-134 with a 2.42 ERA, 1,217 strikeouts, 2,375.1 innings pitched, and 14 saves. At the plate he had 157 hits and 1 home runs.
- What position did Nap Rucker play?
- Nap Rucker played primarily as a pitcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.
- How tall was Nap Rucker and how much did he weigh?
- Nap Rucker was listed at 5 feet 11 inches and 190 pounds.
- What was Nap Rucker's career ERA?
- Nap Rucker finished with a 2.42 career ERA, going 134-134 with 1,217 strikeouts.
- How many strikeouts did Nap Rucker have?
- Nap Rucker recorded 1,217 career strikeouts.
- Is Nap Rucker in the Hall of Fame?
- No. Nap Rucker has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.