Johnny Sain

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1942-1955)

Johnny Sain was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1942 to 1955 for the Boston Braves, the New York Yankees, and the Kansas City Athletics, a span of 14 seasons. Across 412 career appearances, he went 139-116 with a 3.49 ERA, 910 strikeouts, and 51 saves. He also batted .245 with 3 home runs. Johnny Sain was a 3-time All-Star. His career Pitcher PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of pitching impact — is 15136.3.

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 139–116
ERA 3.49
WHIP 1.30
SO 910
Pitcher PIV 15136.3
Position
Pitcher
Bats / Throws
R / R
Height / Weight
6'2" / 185 lb
Born
9/25/1917 in Havana, La Habana, Cuba
Died
11/7/2006 in Downers Grove, IL, USA
MLB Debut
1942-04-17
Last Game
1955-07-15
Awards
3× All-Star

Full name: John Franklin Sain

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Career Pitching Statistics

Johnny Sain — Career Pitching Statistics
W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
139 116 412 245 140 16 51 2125.2 2,145 824 180 619 910 3.49 15136.3

Career ERA 3.49 vs. league average 3.94 across their career seasons — 11.5% better than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Johnny Sain Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year Team Lg W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER BB SO ERA Lg ERA Pitcher PIV
1942 BSN NL 4 7 40 3 0 0 6 97.0 79 42 63 68 3.90 3.57 (-9%) -1895.6
1946 BSN NL 20 14 37 34 24 3 2 265.0 225 65 87 129 2.21 3.59 (+39%) 4049.7
1947 BSN NL 21 12 38 35 22 3 1 266.0 265 104 79 132 3.52 3.97 (+11%) 2837.2
1948 BSN NL 24 15 42 39 28 4 1 314.2 297 91 83 137 2.60 4.10 (+37%) 4844.2
1949 BSN NL 10 17 37 36 16 1 0 243.0 285 130 75 73 4.81 4.12 (-17%) 2749.3
1950 BSN NL 20 13 37 37 25 3 0 278.1 294 122 70 96 3.94 4.36 (+9%) 741.1
1951 BSN NL 5 13 26 22 6 1 1 160.1 195 75 45 63 4.21 4.04 (-4%) 626.4
1951 NYA AL 2 1 7 4 1 0 1 37.0 41 17 8 21 4.14 4.04 (-2%) 270.7
1952 NYA AL 11 6 35 16 8 0 7 148.1 149 57 38 57 3.46 3.70 (+7%) -159.6
1953 NYA AL 14 7 40 19 10 1 9 189.0 189 63 45 84 3.00 4.14 (+27%) 2816.3
1954 NYA AL 6 6 45 0 0 0 22 77.0 66 27 15 33 3.16 3.90 (+19%) -164.0
1955 NYA AL 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 5.1 6 4 1 5 6.75 — 0.0
1955 KC1 AL 2 5 25 0 0 0 1 44.2 54 27 10 12 5.44 4.00 (-36%) -1579.4
Career · 13 seasons 139 116 412 245 140 16 51 2,125.2 2,145 824 619 910 3.49 — 15,136

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

Johnny Sain — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
433 774 69 190 28 4 3 101 0 24 20 .245 .270 .304 .574 -2,170

Career AVG .245 vs. league average .260 across their career seasons — 5.6% below league average.

Career OBP .270 vs. league average .335 across their career seasons — 19.3% below league average.

Career SLG .304 vs. league average .380 across their career seasons — 20.0% below league average.

Career OPS .574 vs. league average .714 across their career seasons — 19.7% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Johnny Sain 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
1942 BSN NL 40 27 0 2 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 .074 — — — — 0.0
1946 BSN NL 40 94 6 28 2 1 0 17 0 0 0 .298 .256 (+16%) .328 (-9%) .358 (-5%) .687 (-7%) -133.0
1947 BSN NL 40 107 13 37 7 0 0 18 0 3 1 .346 .262 (+32%) .336 (+8%) .376 (+9%) .712 (+9%) 131.2
1948 BSN NL 43 115 11 25 3 1 0 16 0 1 3 .217 .263 (-18%) .340 (-34%) .379 (-31%) .719 (-33%) -624.4
1949 BSN NL 39 97 10 20 3 0 0 3 0 2 2 .206 .262 (-22%) .343 (-35%) .384 (-38%) .727 (-37%) -592.8
1950 BSN NL 37 102 9 21 2 0 1 15 0 6 3 .206 .265 (-23%) .346 (-26%) .401 (-37%) .747 (-32%) -534.2
1951 BSN NL 26 52 4 11 2 0 1 4 0 1 3 .212 .260 (-19%) .336 (-28%) .385 (-20%) .721 (-24%) -211.2
1951 NYA AL 7 14 3 4 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .286 — — — — -211.2
1952 NYA AL 47 71 4 19 4 1 1 14 0 3 5 .268 .252 (+6%) .326 (-9%) .369 (+7%) .696 (-1%) -36.5
1953 NYA AL 41 68 8 17 3 1 0 8 0 5 1 .250 .264 (-5%) .335 (-10%) .397 (-19%) .733 (-15%) -169.7
1954 NYA AL 45 17 1 6 1 0 0 5 0 2 1 .353 — — — — 0.0
1955 NYA AL 3 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1955 KC1 AL 25 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
Career · 13 seasons 433 774 69 190 28 4 3 101 0 24 20 .245 — — — — -2,382

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

Johnny Sain — Playoff Career Batting
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
7 11 1 2 1 0 0 2 0 1 .182

Playoff Batting by Year

Johnny Sain — Playoff Batting by Year
Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1953 WS NYA 2 2 1 1 1 0 0 2 0 1 .500
1952 WS NYA 2 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1951 WS NYA 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1948 WS BSN 2 5 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .200

Playoff Career Pitching

Johnny Sain — Playoff Career Pitching
W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
2 2 6 2 0 30.2 27 9 6 15 2.64

Playoff Pitching by Year

Johnny Sain — Playoff Pitching by Year
Year Round Team W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
1953 WS NYA 1 0 2 0 0 5.2 8 3 1 1 4.76
1952 WS NYA 0 1 1 0 0 6.0 6 2 3 3 3.00
1951 WS NYA 0 0 1 0 0 2.0 4 2 2 2 9.00
1948 WS BSN 1 1 2 2 0 17.0 9 2 0 9 1.06

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (845 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Johnny Sain — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home2083803096260.253
Away2253943994142.239

Pitching — Home / Away

Johnny Sain — Pitching — Home / Away
SplitGIPHERBBSOERA
Home1971088.010953963084693.28
Away2151037.110524353104443.77

Last 10 Games — Batting

Johnny Sain — Last 10 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1955-07-15 KC1BALL 000000000
1955-07-14 KC1BALL 000000000
1955-07-10 KC1DETW 000000000
1955-07-08 KC1DETL 100000000
1955-07-07 KC1CLEL 000000000
1955-07-06 KC1CLEL 000000000
1955-07-03 KC1DETW 100000000
1955-07-02 KC1DETW 100000000
1955-07-01 KC1DETW 000000000
1955-06-28 KC1CLEL 000000000

Last 10 Games — Pitching

Johnny Sain — Last 10 Games — Pitching
DateTmOppDecIPHRERBBSOHR
1955-07-15 KC1BAL — 1.0311120
1955-07-14 KC1BAL — 1.2433002
1955-07-10 KC1DET — 0.1322000
1955-07-08 KC1DET L 2.1333031
1955-07-07 KC1CLE — 1.0111000
1955-07-06 KC1CLE — 1.1411001
1955-07-03 KC1DET — 4.1310230
1955-07-02 KC1DET W 3.0200110
1955-07-01 KC1DET — 1.0311000
1955-06-28 KC1CLE — 1.0000000

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Johnny Sain — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
P 412 0 127 371 19 18

Season-by-Season Fielding

Johnny Sain — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1942 BSN P 40 0 1 25 0 0
1946 BSN P 37 0 20 61 1 4
1947 BSN P 38 0 11 55 3 1
1948 BSN P 42 0 21 48 2 3
1949 BSN P 37 0 14 35 3 2
1950 BSN P 37 0 14 42 4 3
1951 BSN P 26 0 13 28 1 3
1951 NYA P 7 0 1 10 0 1
1952 NYA P 35 0 15 18 3 0
1953 NYA P 40 0 8 32 2 1
1954 NYA P 45 0 6 11 0 0
1955 NYA P 3 0 0 1 0 0
1955 KC1 P 25 0 3 5 0 0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Johnny Sain Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position Games
Pitcher 412

Awards & Honors

Johnny Sain — Awards & Honors
Year Award Notes
1948 Baseball Magazine All-Star P2
1948 Baseball Magazine All-Star P1
1948 TSN All-Star P
1948 TSN Pitcher of the Year
1946 Baseball Magazine All-Star P2

Award Voting History

Johnny Sain — Award Voting History
Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
1952 Most Valuable Player AL 29th 3.0 336 0
1950 Most Valuable Player NL 21th 12.0 336 0
1948 Most Valuable Player NL 2nd 223.0 336 5
1947 Most Valuable Player NL 16th 20.0 336 0
1946 Most Valuable Player NL 5th 95.0 336 0

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Johnny Sain (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Ken Forsch
    114-113, 3.37 ERA
  2. 93
    Harry Gumbert
    143-113, 3.68 ERA
  3. 81
    Mudcat Grant
    145-119, 3.63 ERA
  4. 78
    Billy O'Dell
    105-100, 3.29 ERA
  5. 75
    Don Robinson
    109-106, 3.79 ERA
  6. 64
    Pedro Ramos
    117-160, 4.08 ERA

Compare Johnny Sain

Side-by-side career stat comparisons against Sain's closest peers by position and era.

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Johnny Sain: the record in brief

Johnny Sain's major league career runs from a debut on April 17, 1942 to a final game on July 15, 1955. The season rows list, in order, the Boston Braves (1942 through 1951), the New York Yankees (1951 through 1955), and the Kansas City Athletics (1955). Listed as a pitcher, Sain batted and threw right-handed. The recorded size is 6 feet, 2 inches and 185 pounds. Sain was born on September 25, 1917, in Havana, La Habana, Cuba. Sain died on November 7, 2006, in Downers Grove, IL, USA. The given name on file is John Franklin Sain.

Sain's career pitching line is 139 wins, 116 losses and a 3.49 ERA over 412 appearances. The totals include 910 strikeouts, 140 complete games, 16 shutouts, and 51 saves. The leagues Sain pitched in allowed 3.94 earned runs per nine over those seasons, so the career ERA was 11.5% better than average. The best win total was 24, in 1948. Sain saved 22 games in 1954, the season high.

Frequently Asked Questions about Johnny Sain

What years did Johnny Sain play?
Johnny Sain played in Major League Baseball from 1942 to 1955.
Was Johnny Sain a pitcher?
Yes. Johnny Sain pitched in the major leagues, recording 139 wins and 910 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Johnny Sain hit?
Johnny Sain hit 3 career home runs with 190 hits.
What was Johnny Sain's career batting average?
Johnny Sain batted .245 over his career, with 190 hits in 774 at bats.
How many RBI did Johnny Sain have?
Johnny Sain drove in 101 runs in his career.
What was Johnny Sain's career ERA?
Johnny Sain finished with a 3.49 career ERA, going 139-116 with 910 strikeouts.