Denny Sothern

Outfielder · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1926-1931)

Denny Sothern was an outfielder who played in Major League Baseball from 1926 to 1931 for the Philadelphia Phillies, the Pittsburgh Pirates, and the Brooklyn Dodgers, a span of 6 seasons. In 357 career games, he hit .280 with 379 hits, 19 home runs, and 115 RBI.

AVG (Batting Average):
Hits divided by at bats. .300 is the traditional mark of an excellent hitter.
HR (Home Runs):
Hits on which the batter circled the bases and scored, almost always by clearing the outfield fence.
RBI (Runs Batted In):
Runs that scored as a direct result of a batter's plate appearance.
OPS (On-Base Plus Slugging):
On-base percentage plus slugging percentage, the quickest single summary of offensive value. .900 or better is star-level.

Data updated

AVG .280
HR 19
RBI 115
H 379
OPS .719
PIV -1,095
Position
Outfielder
Bats / Throws
R / R
Height / Weight
5'11" / 175 lb
Born
1/20/1904 in Washington, DC, USA
Died
12/7/1977 in Durham, NC, USA
MLB Debut
1926-09-10
Last Game
1931-09-21

Full name: Dennis Elwood Sothern

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Career Batting Statistics

Denny Sothern — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
357 1,355 219 379 80 9 19 115 38 83 136 .280 .325 .394 .719 -1,095

Career AVG .280 vs. league average .284 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career OBP .325 vs. league average .347 across their career seasons — 6.5% below league average.

Career SLG .394 vs. league average .404 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career OPS .719 vs. league average .751 across their career seasons — near league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Denny Sothern — 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
1926 PHI NL 14 53 5 13 1 0 3 10 0 4 10 .245 .279 (-12%) .345 (-10%) .390 (+11%) .735 (+1%) 4.9
1928 PHI NL 141 579 82 165 27 5 5 38 17 34 53 .285 .280 (+1%) .342 (-5%) .395 (-5%) .737 (-5%) -498.6
1929 PHI NL 76 294 52 90 21 3 5 27 13 16 24 .306 .289 (+6%) .353 (-2%) .415 (+8%) .769 (+3%) 128.8
1930 PHI NL 90 347 66 97 26 1 5 36 6 22 37 .280 .293 (-5%) .354 (-8%) .429 (-6%) .784 (-7%) -438.8
1930 PIT NL 17 51 4 9 4 0 1 4 2 3 4 .176 .293 (-40%) .354 (-37%) .429 (-27%) .784 (-32%) -438.8
1931 BRO NL 19 31 10 5 1 0 0 0 0 4 8 .161 — — — — 0.0
Career · 6 seasons 357 1,355 219 379 80 9 19 115 38 83 136 .280 — — — — -1,242

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 (357 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Denny Sothern — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home1877021241951061.278
Away17065397184956.282

Last 10 Games — Batting

Denny Sothern — Last 10 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1931-09-21 BROSTLL 321100011
1931-09-19 BROCHCL 000000000
1931-09-16 BROPITW 211000001
1931-09-15 BROPITL 000000000
1931-09-13 BROPITW 010000000
1931-09-10 BROCINL 000000000
1931-09-08 BROBSNW 000000000
1931-09-06 BROPHIL 100000000
1931-09-05 BRONY1L 500000001
1931-09-04 BRONY1L 400000001

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Denny Sothern — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
OF 327 0 863 44 32 12

Season-by-Season Fielding

Denny Sothern — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1926 PHI OF 13 0 38 1 1 0
1928 PHI OF 136 0 358 19 14 7
1929 PHI OF 71 0 193 9 7 2
1930 PHI OF 84 0 217 15 8 3
1930 PIT OF 13 0 34 0 1 0
1931 BRO OF 10 0 23 0 1 0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Denny Sothern — Career Games by Position
Position Games
Left Field 28
Center Field 292
Right Field 8

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Denny Sothern (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Lou Novikoff
    .282 avg, 15 HR
  2. 97
    Ray Pepper
    .281 avg, 14 HR
  3. 96
    Hal Peck
    .279 avg, 15 HR
  4. 94
    Tracy Jones
    .273 avg, 27 HR
  5. 90
    Tike Redman
    .281 avg, 17 HR
  6. 88
    So Taguchi
    .279 avg, 19 HR

Denny Sothern: the record in brief

The profile opens with Denny Sothern's first major league game on September 10, 1926; the last one listed came on September 21, 1931. Sothern played for the Philadelphia Phillies (1926 to 1930), the Pittsburgh Pirates (1930), and the Brooklyn Robins (1931). Born on January 20, 1904, in Washington, DC, USA, Sothern is listed as an outfielder and both batted and threw right-handed. Size on record: 175 pounds on a 5-foot-11 frame. Sothern's death is recorded on December 7, 1977, in Durham, NC, USA. The bio lists the given name Dennis Elwood.

Sothern collected 379 hits in 1,355 at bats across 357 games, good for a .280 batting average, adding 19 home runs, 115 RBI, and 38 stolen bases. Reaching base at a .325 clip and slugging .394, Sothern finished with a .719 OPS. The .280 career average is close to the .284 the league hit across the same seasons. The highest hit total in a season was 165, in 1928. Among the seasons with the heaviest workload, the best average was .285 in 1928, 1% above that year's league mark of .280.

Frequently Asked Questions about Denny Sothern

What years did Denny Sothern play?
Denny Sothern played in Major League Baseball from 1926 to 1931.
Was Denny Sothern a pitcher?
No. Denny Sothern was a position player (Outfielder).
How many home runs did Denny Sothern hit?
Denny Sothern hit 19 career home runs with 379 hits.
What teams did Denny Sothern play for?
Denny Sothern played for 3 teams: the Philadelphia Phillies (1926, 1928–1930), the Pittsburgh Pirates (1930), and the Brooklyn Robins (1931).
What were Denny Sothern's career stats?
In 357 games, Denny Sothern had 379 hits, 19 home runs, 115 RBI, 219 runs, and 38 stolen bases, with a .280 batting average.
What position did Denny Sothern play?
Denny Sothern played primarily as an outfielder, the position where he appeared in the most games.
How tall was Denny Sothern and how much did he weigh?
Denny Sothern was listed at 5 feet 11 inches and 175 pounds.
How many home runs did Denny Sothern hit each season?
Denny Sothern's home runs by season: 3 in 1926, 5 in 1928, 5 in 1929, 6 in 1930, and 0 in 1931. His most in one season was 6, in 1930.
What was Denny Sothern's career batting average?
Denny Sothern batted .280 over his career, with 379 hits in 1,355 at bats.
How many RBI did Denny Sothern have?
Denny Sothern drove in 115 runs in his career.
Is Denny Sothern in the Hall of Fame?
No. Denny Sothern has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.