What years did Willard Schmidt play?

Willard Schmidt played in Major League Baseball from 1952 to 1959.

Was Willard Schmidt a pitcher?

Yes. Willard Schmidt pitched in the major leagues, recording 31 wins and 323 strikeouts.

How many home runs did Willard Schmidt hit?

Willard Schmidt hit 0 career home runs with 25 hits.

What was Willard Schmidt's career batting average?

Willard Schmidt batted .163 over his career, with 25 hits in 153 at bats.

How many RBI did Willard Schmidt have?

Willard Schmidt drove in 7 runs in his career.

What was Willard Schmidt's career ERA?

Willard Schmidt finished with a 3.93 career ERA, going 31-29 with 323 strikeouts.

Willard Schmidt

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1952-1959)

Willard Schmidt was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1952 to 1959 for the St. Louis Cardinals and the Cincinnati Reds, a span of 8 seasons. Across 194 career appearances, he went 31-29 with a 3.93 ERA and 323 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 October 12, 2026

W–L 31–29

ERA 3.93

WHIP 1.43

SO 323

Pitcher PIV -2145.2

Position: Pitcher
Bats / Throws: R / R
Height / Weight: 6'1" / 187 lb
Born: 5/29/1928 in Hays, KS, USA
Died: 3/22/2007 in Newcastle, OK, USA
MLB Debut: 1952-04-19
Last Game: 1959-09-26

Full name: Willard Raymond Schmidt

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Career Pitching Statistics

Willard Schmidt — Career Pitching Statistics
W	L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	SO	ERA	Pitcher PIV
31	29	194	55	11	1	2	586.1	563	256	57	278	323	3.93	-2145.2

Career ERA 3.93 vs. league average 3.91 across their career seasons — near league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Willard Schmidt Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year	Team	Lg	W	L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA	Lg ERA	Pitcher PIV
1952	SLN	NL	2	3	18	3	0	0	1	34.2	36	20	18	30	5.19	3.70 (-40%)	-812.9
1953	SLN	NL	0	2	6	2	0	0	0	17.2	21	18	13	11	9.17	4.14 (-122%)	-142.1
1955	SLN	NL	7	6	20	15	8	1	0	129.2	89	40	57	86	2.78	4.00 (+31%)	2889.1
1956	SLN	NL	6	8	33	21	2	0	1	147.2	131	63	78	52	3.84	3.96 (+3%)	-3286.2
1957	SLN	NL	10	3	40	8	1	0	0	116.2	146	62	49	63	4.78	3.83 (-25%)	-885.3
1958	CIN	NL	3	5	41	2	0	0	0	69.1	60	22	33	41	2.86	3.86 (+26%)	-699.1
1959	CIN	NL	3	2	36	4	0	0	0	70.2	80	31	30	40	3.95	3.90 (-1%)	791.3
Career · 7 seasons			31	29	194	55	11	1	2	586.1	563	256	278	323	3.93	—	-2,145

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

Willard Schmidt — Career Batting Statistics
G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	PIV
194	153	10	25	2	0	0	7	0	4	52	.163	.205	.176	.381	0

Career AVG .163 vs. league average .258 across their career seasons — 36.7% below league average.

Career OBP .205 vs. league average .328 across their career seasons — 37.6% below league average.

Career SLG .176 vs. league average .391 across their career seasons — 54.8% below league average.

Career OPS .381 vs. league average .719 across their career seasons — 47.0% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Willard Schmidt — Season-by-Season Batting
Year	Team	Lg	G	AB	R	H	2B	RBI	BB	SO	AVG	Lg AVG	Lg OBP	Lg SLG	Lg OPS	PIV
1952	SLN	NL	18	8	0	1	0	0	0	1	.125	—	—	—	—	0.0
1953	SLN	NL	6	4	0	0	0	0	0	2	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1955	SLN	NL	20	42	1	5	1	4	0	15	.119	—	—	—	—	0.0
1956	SLN	NL	33	43	3	10	1	0	2	16	.233	—	—	—	—	0.0
1957	SLN	NL	40	33	3	7	0	3	0	8	.212	—	—	—	—	0.0
1958	CIN	NL	41	11	1	1	0	0	1	6	.091	—	—	—	—	0.0
1959	CIN	NL	36	12	2	1	0	0	1	4	.083	—	—	—	—	0.0
Career · 7 seasons			194	153	10	25	2	7	4	52	.163	—	—	—	—	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 (388 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Willard Schmidt — Batting — Home / Away
Split	G	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	AVG
Home	92	67	8	17	0	3	.254
Away	102	86	2	8	0	4	.093

Pitching — Home / Away

Willard Schmidt — Pitching — Home / Away
Split	G	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
Home	92	291.0	287	129	140	155	3.99
Away	102	295.1	276	128	139	167	3.90

Last 10 Games — Batting

Willard Schmidt — Last 10 Games — Batting
Date	Tm	Opp	Res	AB
1959-09-26	CIN	PIT	W	0
1959-09-20	CIN	PIT	L	0
1959-09-11	CIN	ATL	L	1
1959-09-06	CIN	ATL	L	0
1959-08-25	CIN	CHC	L	0
1959-08-20	CIN	LAD	L	0
1959-08-16	CIN	PHI	L	0
1959-08-16	CIN	PHI	L	0
1959-08-14	CIN	PHI	W	3
1959-08-11	CIN	ATL	L	0

Last 10 Games — Pitching

Willard Schmidt — Last 10 Games — Pitching
Date	Tm	Opp	Dec	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR
1959-09-26	CIN	PIT	—	3.0	3	2	2	0	0	2
1959-09-20	CIN	PIT	—	0.1	0	0	0	0	0	0
1959-09-11	CIN	ATL	—	4.1	2	0	0	1	4	0
1959-09-06	CIN	ATL	—	1.0	1	1	1	0	0	1
1959-08-25	CIN	CHC	—	0.2	2	1	1	1	0	0
1959-08-20	CIN	LAD	—	0.1	1	0	0	0	0	0
1959-08-16	CIN	PHI	—	1.0	1	0	0	0	2	0
1959-08-16	CIN	PHI	—	0.0	0	1	1	1	0	0
1959-08-14	CIN	PHI	W	8.0	9	4	4	1	2	0
1959-08-11	CIN	ATL	—	0.0	2	3	3	2	0	0

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Willard Schmidt — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
P	194	50	40	122	6	11

Season-by-Season Fielding

Willard Schmidt — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year	Team	Pos	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
1952	SLN	P	18	0	2	11	1	0
1953	SLN	P	6	0	2	2	0	0
1955	SLN	P	20	15	12	20	2	5
1956	SLN	P	33	21	6	34	0	3
1957	SLN	P	40	8	8	22	1	1
1958	CIN	P	41	2	5	17	2	0
1959	CIN	P	36	4	5	16	0	2

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Willard Schmidt — Career Games by Position
Position	Games
Pitcher	194

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Willard Schmidt (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

Willard Schmidt: the record in brief

The profile opens with Willard Schmidt's first major league game on April 19, 1952; the last one listed came on September 26, 1959. By club, Schmidt's seasons break down as the St. Louis Cardinals (1952 to 1957) and the Cincinnati Redlegs (1958 to 1959). Schmidt played primarily as a pitcher and both batted and threw right-handed. Born on May 29, 1928, in Hays, KS, USA, Schmidt was listed at 6 feet, 1 inch and 187 pounds. The bio records the death on March 22, 2007, in Newcastle, OK, USA. Schmidt's full given name, per the bio, is Willard Raymond Schmidt.

Schmidt went 31-29 with a 3.93 ERA in 194 games, 55 of them starts. Also on Schmidt's record: 323 strikeouts and 11 complete games. Schmidt's 3.93 ERA was close to the 3.91 league figure for those seasons. The best win total was 10, in 1957. Schmidt struck out 86 batters in 1955, a career high. In 1955, one of the busiest seasons, Schmidt posted a 2.78 ERA; the league figure that year was 4.00.

Frequently Asked Questions about Willard Schmidt

What years did Willard Schmidt play?: Willard Schmidt played in Major League Baseball from 1952 to 1959.
Was Willard Schmidt a pitcher?: Yes. Willard Schmidt pitched in the major leagues, recording 31 wins and 323 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Willard Schmidt hit?: Willard Schmidt hit 0 career home runs with 25 hits.
What was Willard Schmidt's career batting average?: Willard Schmidt batted .163 over his career, with 25 hits in 153 at bats.
How many RBI did Willard Schmidt have?: Willard Schmidt drove in 7 runs in his career.
What was Willard Schmidt's career ERA?: Willard Schmidt finished with a 3.93 career ERA, going 31-29 with 323 strikeouts.