Don Rudolph

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1957-1964)

Don Rudolph was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1957 to 1964 for 4 teams, including the Chicago White Sox, a span of 8 seasons. Across 124 career appearances, he went 18-32 with a 4.00 ERA and 182 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

W–L 18–32
ERA 4.00
WHIP 1.30
SO 182
Pitcher PIV -3848.7
Position
Pitcher
Bats / Throws
L / L
Height / Weight
5'11" / 195 lb
Born
8/16/1931 in Baltimore, MD, USA
Died
9/12/1968 in Granada Hills, CA, USA
MLB Debut
1957-09-21
Last Game
1964-10-03

Full name: Frederick Donald Rudolph

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Career Pitching Statistics

Don Rudolph — Career Pitching Statistics
W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
18 32 124 57 10 2 3 450.1 485 200 54 102 182 4.00 -3848.7

Career ERA 4.00 vs. league average 3.75 across their career seasons — 6.5% worse than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Don Rudolph Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year Team Lg W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER BB SO ERA Lg ERA Pitcher PIV
1957 CHA AL 1 0 5 0 0 0 0 12.0 6 3 2 2 2.25 3.83 (+41%) -287.1
1958 CHA AL 1 0 7 0 0 0 1 7.0 4 2 5 2 2.57 — 0.0
1959 CHA AL 0 0 4 0 0 0 1 3.0 4 0 2 0 0.00 — 0.0
1959 CIN NL 0 0 5 0 0 0 0 7.1 13 4 3 8 4.91 — 0.0
1962 CLE AL 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0.1 1 0 0 0 0.00 — 0.0
1962 WS2 AL 8 10 37 23 6 2 0 176.1 187 71 42 68 3.62 3.96 (+8%) 1760.3
1963 WS2 AL 7 19 37 26 4 0 1 174.0 189 88 36 70 4.55 3.46 (-32%) -4487.3
1964 WS2 AL 1 3 28 8 0 0 0 70.1 81 32 12 32 4.09 3.58 (-14%) -834.6
Career · 8 seasons 18 32 124 57 10 2 3 450.1 485 200 102 182 4.00 — -3,849

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

Don Rudolph — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
124 120 8 20 5 1 1 6 0 7 35 .167 .217 .250 .467 -313

Career AVG .167 vs. league average .254 across their career seasons — 34.4% below league average.

Career OBP .217 vs. league average .320 across their career seasons — 32.1% below league average.

Career SLG .250 vs. league average .386 across their career seasons — 35.2% below league average.

Career OPS .467 vs. league average .706 across their career seasons — 33.8% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Don Rudolph — Season-by-Season Batting
Year Team Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG Lg AVG Lg OBP Lg SLG Lg OPS PIV
1957 CHA AL 5 2 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .500 — — — — 0.0
1958 CHA AL 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1959 CHA AL 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1959 CIN NL 5 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000 — — — — 0.0
1962 CLE AL 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1962 WS2 AL 37 57 5 10 2 1 0 2 0 3 18 .175 .257 (-32%) .326 (-30%) .393 (-38%) .719 (-34%) 0.0
1963 WS2 AL 37 45 3 8 2 0 1 4 0 3 10 .178 — — — — 0.0
1964 WS2 AL 28 15 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 6 .067 — — — — 0.0
Career · 8 seasons 124 120 8 20 5 1 1 6 0 7 35 .167 — — — — 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 (248 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Don Rudolph — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home60525500.096
Away646831516.221

Pitching — Home / Away

Don Rudolph — Pitching — Home / Away
SplitGIPHERBBSOERA
Home60222.02329646953.89
Away64228.125310456874.10

Last 10 Games — Batting

Don Rudolph — Last 10 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1964-10-03 TEXBOSL 000000000
1964-09-12 TEXDETL 200000002
1964-09-10 TEXBALL 100000000
1964-09-06 TEXDETL 000000000
1964-09-05 TEXDETL 000000000
1964-09-02 TEXCLEL 000000000
1964-08-18 TEXMINL 000000000
1964-08-14 TEXLAAL 100000001
1964-08-04 TEXCLEW 100000000
1964-07-31 TEXCHWL 100000000

Last 10 Games — Pitching

Don Rudolph — Last 10 Games — Pitching
DateTmOppDecIPHRERBBSOHR
1964-10-03 TEXBOS — 2.0100010
1964-09-12 TEXDET — 5.0711120
1964-09-10 TEXBAL — 3.0311010
1964-09-06 TEXDET — 2.0100010
1964-09-05 TEXDET — 3.0200020
1964-09-02 TEXCLE L 2.0533011
1964-08-18 TEXMIN — 1.0100000
1964-08-14 TEXLAA — 3.2221120
1964-08-04 TEXCLE — 1.2422100
1964-07-31 TEXCHW — 3.0533011

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Don Rudolph — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
P 124 57 20 75 2 4

Season-by-Season Fielding

Don Rudolph — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1957 CHA P 5 0 0 1 0 0
1958 CHA P 7 0 0 3 0 1
1959 CHA P 4 0 1 1 0 1
1959 CIN P 5 0 0 1 0 0
1962 CLE P 1 0 0 0 0 0
1962 WS2 P 37 23 6 32 2 0
1963 WS2 P 37 26 9 27 0 2
1964 WS2 P 28 8 4 10 0 0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Don Rudolph — Career Games by Position
Position Games
Pitcher 124

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Don Rudolph (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Lee Wade
    25-27, 3.77 ERA
  2. 94
    Willie Jefferson
    22-24, 3.94 ERA
  3. 94
    Jim Willis
    33-42, 3.91 ERA
  4. 93
    Tom Poholsky
    31-52, 3.93 ERA
  5. 93
    Porter Charleston
    32-19, 3.86 ERA
  6. 91
    Henderson Alvarez
    27-35, 3.82 ERA

Don Rudolph: the record in brief

Don Rudolph played a first major league game on September 21, 1957 and a last one on October 3, 1964. Club by club, the record runs the Chicago White Sox (1957 through 1959), the Cincinnati Redlegs (1959), the Cleveland Indians (1962), and the Washington Senators (1962 to 1964). At 5 feet, 11 inches and 195 pounds, Rudolph is listed as a pitcher. The bio says Rudolph batted and threw left-handed. Rudolph was born on August 16, 1931, in Baltimore, MD, USA. The bio records the death on September 12, 1968, in Granada Hills, CA, USA. The given name on file is Frederick Donald Rudolph.

Across 124 games (57 starts), Rudolph recorded 18 wins against 32 losses with a 4.00 ERA. Rudolph had 182 strikeouts and 10 complete games. Against a 3.75 league ERA for the same seasons, the 4.00 mark was 6.5% worse. 1962 brought Rudolph a season-high 8 wins. 1963 produced Rudolph's most strikeouts, 70. 1962 was Rudolph's sharpest full season, a 3.62 ERA against the league's 3.96.

Frequently Asked Questions about Don Rudolph

What years did Don Rudolph play?
Don Rudolph played in Major League Baseball from 1957 to 1964.
Was Don Rudolph a pitcher?
Yes. Don Rudolph pitched in the major leagues, recording 18 wins and 182 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Don Rudolph hit?
Don Rudolph hit 1 career home run with 20 hits.
What teams did Don Rudolph play for?
Don Rudolph played for 4 teams: the Chicago White Sox (1957–1959), the Cincinnati Redlegs (1959), the Cleveland Indians (1962), and the Washington Senators (1962–1964).
What were Don Rudolph's career stats?
In 124 games, Don Rudolph went 18-32 with a 4.00 ERA, 182 strikeouts, 450.1 innings pitched, and 3 saves.
What position did Don Rudolph play?
Don Rudolph played primarily as a pitcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.
How tall was Don Rudolph and how much did he weigh?
Don Rudolph was listed at 5 feet 11 inches and 195 pounds.
What was Don Rudolph's career ERA?
Don Rudolph finished with a 4.00 career ERA, going 18-32 with 182 strikeouts.
How many strikeouts did Don Rudolph have?
Don Rudolph recorded 182 career strikeouts.
Is Don Rudolph in the Hall of Fame?
No. Don Rudolph has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.