Curt Simmons
Born: 5/19/1929 in Egypt, PA, USA
Died: 12/13/2022 in Ambler, PA, USA
MLB Debut: 1947-09-28 | Final Game: 1967-10-01
Bats: L | Throws: L | Height: 5'11" | Weight: 175 lbs
Full name: Curtis Thomas Simmons
Biography
Curt Simmons was a prominent left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball, known for his durability and skill on the mound. Born in 1929, Simmons began his professional career in 1947 and played until his retirement in 1967. Throughout his 20-year tenure in the league, he compiled a career record of 193 wins and 183 losses, with a commendable earned run average of 3.54. He struck out 1,697 batters and recorded 5 saves, showcasing his ability to be both a starter and a reliable option in crucial moments. His performance earned him three selections as an All-Star, marking him as one of the standout pitchers of his era.
Simmons played in a time when baseball was evolving, transitioning from the post-war years into the more modern game of the 1960s. His career spanned significant changes in baseball, including the integration of players from diverse backgrounds and shifts in pitching strategies. Known for his smooth delivery and competitive spirit, Simmons left a lasting impact on the teams he played for, including the Philadelphia Phillies and the St. Louis Cardinals. His contributions to the game and his reputation as a workhorse pitcher solidified his place in baseball history.
Career Pitching Statistics
| W | L | G | GS | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | ER | HR | BB | SO | ERA | Pitcher PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 193 | 183 | 569 | 462 | 163 | 36 | 5 | 3348.3 | 3313 | 1318 | 255 | 1063 | 1697 | 3.54 | 0 |
Season-by-Season Pitching
| Year | Team | Lg | W | L | G | GS | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA | Pitcher PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1947 | PHI | NL | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 9.0 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 9 | 1.00 | 0.0 |
| 1948 | PHI | NL | 7 | 13 | 31 | 23 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 170.0 | 169 | 92 | 108 | 86 | 4.87 | -350.0 |
| 1949 | PHI | NL | 4 | 10 | 38 | 14 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 131.3 | 133 | 67 | 55 | 83 | 4.59 | 3034.9 |
| 1950 | PHI | NL | 17 | 8 | 31 | 27 | 11 | 2 | 1 | 214.7 | 178 | 81 | 88 | 146 | 3.40 | 4080.4 |
| 1952 | PHI | NL | 14 | 8 | 28 | 28 | 15 | 6 | 0 | 201.3 | 170 | 63 | 70 | 141 | 2.82 | 4961.1 |
| 1953 | PHI | NL | 16 | 13 | 32 | 30 | 19 | 4 | 0 | 238.0 | 211 | 85 | 82 | 138 | 3.21 | 4416.0 |
| 1954 | PHI | NL | 14 | 15 | 34 | 33 | 21 | 3 | 1 | 253.0 | 226 | 79 | 98 | 125 | 2.81 | 3647.0 |
| 1955 | PHI | NL | 8 | 8 | 25 | 22 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 130.0 | 148 | 71 | 50 | 58 | 4.92 | -669.5 |
| 1956 | PHI | NL | 15 | 10 | 33 | 27 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 198.0 | 186 | 74 | 65 | 88 | 3.36 | 1742.6 |
| 1957 | PHI | NL | 12 | 11 | 32 | 29 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 212.0 | 214 | 81 | 50 | 92 | 3.44 | 4623.1 |
| 1958 | PHI | NL | 7 | 14 | 29 | 27 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 168.3 | 196 | 82 | 40 | 78 | 4.38 | 3035.9 |
| 1959 | PHI | NL | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10.0 | 16 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 4.50 | -185.2 |
| 1960 | PHI | NL | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.0 | 13 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 18.00 | 0.0 |
| 1960 | STL | NL | 7 | 4 | 23 | 17 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 152.0 | 149 | 45 | 31 | 63 | 2.66 | - |
| 1961 | STL | NL | 9 | 10 | 30 | 29 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 195.7 | 203 | 68 | 64 | 99 | 3.13 | - |
| 1962 | STL | NL | 10 | 10 | 31 | 22 | 9 | 4 | 0 | 154.0 | 167 | 60 | 32 | 74 | 3.51 | - |
| 1963 | STL | NL | 15 | 9 | 32 | 32 | 11 | 6 | 0 | 232.7 | 209 | 64 | 48 | 127 | 2.48 | - |
| 1964 | STL | NL | 18 | 9 | 34 | 34 | 12 | 3 | 0 | 244.0 | 233 | 93 | 49 | 104 | 3.43 | - |
| 1965 | STL | NL | 9 | 15 | 34 | 32 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 203.0 | 229 | 92 | 54 | 96 | 4.08 | - |
| 1966 | CHC | NL | 4 | 7 | 19 | 10 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 77.3 | 79 | 35 | 21 | 24 | 4.07 | - |
| 1966 | STL | NL | 1 | 1 | 10 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 33.3 | 35 | 17 | 14 | 14 | 4.59 | - |
| 1967 | LAA | AL | 2 | 1 | 14 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 34.7 | 44 | 10 | 9 | 13 | 2.60 | - |
| 1967 | CHC | NL | 3 | 7 | 17 | 14 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 82.0 | 100 | 45 | 23 | 31 | 4.94 | - |
Career Batting Statistics
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 609 | 1135 | 93 | 194 | 19 | 3 | 1 | 76 | 2 | 59 | 283 | 0.171 | 0.213 | 0.196 | 0.408 | -7025.0 |
Season-by-Season Batting
| Year | Team | Lg | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1947 | PHI | NL | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.500 | 0.0 |
| 1948 | PHI | NL | 31 | 51 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 13 | 0.137 | -459.0 |
| 1949 | PHI | NL | 39 | 41 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 0.171 | 0.0 |
| 1950 | PHI | NL | 34 | 77 | 11 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 10 | 0.156 | -675.5 |
| 1952 | PHI | NL | 28 | 67 | 4 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 6 | 17 | 0.164 | -377.0 |
| 1953 | PHI | NL | 32 | 93 | 6 | 13 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 15 | 0.140 | -871.6 |
| 1954 | PHI | NL | 38 | 91 | 11 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 3 | 20 | 0.176 | -736.7 |
| 1955 | PHI | NL | 27 | 46 | 5 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 0.174 | 0.0 |
| 1956 | PHI | NL | 39 | 72 | 6 | 17 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 4 | 9 | 0.236 | -313.5 |
| 1957 | PHI | NL | 38 | 71 | 7 | 17 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 6 | 11 | 0.239 | -251.8 |
| 1958 | PHI | NL | 38 | 59 | 4 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 14 | 0.203 | -392.3 |
| 1959 | PHI | NL | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0.0 |
| 1960 | PHI | NL | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0.0 |
| 1960 | STL | NL | 29 | 47 | 8 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 9 | 0.213 | 0.0 |
| 1961 | STL | NL | 32 | 66 | 9 | 20 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 8 | 22 | 0.303 | 32.1 |
| 1962 | STL | NL | 31 | 50 | 4 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 11 | 0.160 | -361.1 |
| 1963 | STL | NL | 32 | 81 | 4 | 13 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 32 | 0.160 | -578.6 |
| 1964 | STL | NL | 34 | 94 | 6 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 32 | 0.106 | -965.3 |
| 1965 | STL | NL | 34 | 64 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 30 | 0.047 | -862.5 |
| 1966 | CHC | NL | 19 | 18 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 0.111 | 0.0 |
| 1966 | STL | NL | 10 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0.125 | 0.0 |
| 1967 | LAA | AL | 14 | 9 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0.222 | 0.0 |
| 1967 | CHC | NL | 17 | 28 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0.143 | 0.0 |
Postseason Statistics
Playoff Career Batting
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0.500 |
Playoff Batting by Year
| Year | Round | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1964 | WS | SLN | 2 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0.500 |
Playoff Career Pitching
| W | L | G | GS | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 14.3 | 11 | 4 | 3 | 8 | 2.51 |
Playoff Pitching by Year
| Year | Round | Team | W | L | G | GS | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1964 | WS | SLN | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 14.3 | 11 | 4 | 3 | 8 | 2.51 |
Fielding Statistics
Career Fielding Totals by Position
| Position | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | 569 | 339 | 127 | 514 | 23 | 26 |
Season-by-Season Fielding
| Year | Team | Pos | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1947 | PHI | P | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1948 | PHI | P | 31 | 0 | 4 | 34 | 2 | 4 |
| 1949 | PHI | P | 38 | 0 | 5 | 22 | 2 | 0 |
| 1950 | PHI | P | 31 | 0 | 12 | 32 | 0 | 2 |
| 1952 | PHI | P | 28 | 0 | 3 | 25 | 0 | 0 |
| 1953 | PHI | P | 32 | 0 | 3 | 30 | 2 | 2 |
| 1954 | PHI | P | 34 | 33 | 6 | 33 | 3 | 1 |
| 1955 | PHI | P | 25 | 22 | 8 | 17 | 1 | 1 |
| 1956 | PHI | P | 33 | 27 | 4 | 35 | 1 | 3 |
| 1957 | PHI | P | 32 | 29 | 8 | 26 | 0 | 0 |
| 1958 | PHI | P | 29 | 27 | 14 | 21 | 2 | 1 |
| 1959 | PHI | P | 7 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 1960 | PHI | P | 4 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| 1960 | SLN | P | 23 | 17 | 6 | 28 | 1 | 4 |
| 1961 | SLN | P | 30 | 29 | 6 | 36 | 1 | 4 |
| 1962 | SLN | P | 31 | 22 | 6 | 26 | 1 | 2 |
| 1963 | SLN | P | 32 | 32 | 12 | 23 | 0 | 0 |
| 1964 | SLN | P | 34 | 34 | 12 | 45 | 2 | 0 |
| 1965 | SLN | P | 34 | 32 | 8 | 32 | 1 | 0 |
| 1966 | CHN | P | 19 | 10 | 4 | 22 | 0 | 0 |
| 1966 | SLN | P | 10 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 0 |
| 1967 | CAL | P | 14 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 1967 | CHN | P | 17 | 14 | 3 | 15 | 2 | 1 |
Career Games by Position
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| Pitcher | 569 |
Award Voting History
| Year | Award | League | Finish | Points Won | Points Max | Votes First |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950 | Most Valuable Player | NL | 16th | 22.0 | 336 | 0 |