Johnny Sain

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

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

W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
139 116 412 245 140 16 51 2125.7 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.

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 1 314.7 297 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 0 278.3 294 122 70 96 3.94 4.36 (+9%) 741.1
1951 BSN NL 5 13 26 22 6 1 1 160.3 195 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 7 148.3 149 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 5.3 6 4 1 5 6.75 — 0.0
1955 KC1 AL 2 5 25 0 0 0 1 44.7 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

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.

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

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

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

W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
2 2 6 2 0 30.7 27 9 6 15 2.64

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 5.7 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

SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home2083803096260.253
Away2253943994142.239

Pitching — Home / Away

SplitGIPHERBBSOERA
Home1971088.010953963084693.28
Away2151037.110524353104443.77

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

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

Position G GS PO A E DP
P 412 0 127 371 19 18

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.

Position Games
Pitcher 412

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

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

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.