Tom Sturdivant
Born: 4/28/1930 in Gordon, KS, USA
Died: 2/28/2009 in Oklahoma City, OK, USA
MLB Debut: 1955-04-14 | Final Game: 1964-06-21
Bats: L | Throws: R | Height: 6'0" | Weight: 170 lbs
Full name: Thomas Virgil Sturdivant
Biography
Tom Sturdivant was a skilled pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1955 until 1964. Born in 1930, he made his debut in an era characterized by competitive pitching and the emergence of powerful hitters. Over his career, he compiled a record of 59-51, showcasing his ability to both start and relieve games effectively. Sturdivant finished his career with a 3.74 earned run average, a testament to his consistency on the mound and his capability to navigate tough lineups.
Known for his striking ability, Sturdivant recorded 704 strikeouts throughout his time in the league, further solidifying his reputation as a formidable opponent for batters. He also contributed significantly out of the bullpen, recording 17 saves. His playing style reflected the evolving nature of baseball during the 1950s and early 1960s, where pitchers began to adapt to the increasing power of hitters. Sturdivant's contributions to his teams left a lasting impact, and he remains a notable figure in the history of baseball pitching.
Career Pitching Statistics
| W | L | G | GS | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | ER | HR | BB | SO | ERA | Pitcher PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 59 | 51 | 335 | 101 | 22 | 7 | 17 | 1137.0 | 1029 | 473 | 107 | 449 | 704 | 3.74 | 0 |
Season-by-Season Pitching
| Year | Team | Lg | W | L | G | GS | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA | Pitcher PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1955 | NYY | AL | 1 | 3 | 33 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 68.3 | 48 | 24 | 42 | 48 | 3.16 | - |
| 1956 | NYY | AL | 16 | 8 | 32 | 17 | 6 | 2 | 5 | 158.3 | 134 | 58 | 52 | 110 | 3.30 | - |
| 1957 | NYY | AL | 16 | 6 | 28 | 28 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 201.7 | 170 | 57 | 80 | 118 | 2.54 | - |
| 1958 | NYY | AL | 3 | 6 | 15 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 70.7 | 77 | 33 | 38 | 41 | 4.20 | - |
| 1959 | KC1 | AL | 2 | 6 | 36 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 71.7 | 70 | 37 | 34 | 57 | 4.65 | -646.5 |
| 1959 | NYY | AL | 0 | 2 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 25.3 | 20 | 14 | 9 | 16 | 4.97 | - |
| 1960 | BOS | AL | 3 | 3 | 40 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 101.3 | 106 | 56 | 45 | 67 | 4.97 | -2152.8 |
| 1961 | PIT | NL | 5 | 2 | 13 | 11 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 85.7 | 81 | 27 | 17 | 45 | 2.84 | 2096.8 |
| 1961 | WS2 | AL | 2 | 6 | 15 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 80.0 | 67 | 41 | 40 | 39 | 4.61 | -325.5 |
| 1962 | PIT | NL | 9 | 5 | 49 | 12 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 125.3 | 120 | 52 | 39 | 76 | 3.73 | 967.0 |
| 1963 | DET | AL | 1 | 2 | 28 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 55.0 | 43 | 23 | 24 | 36 | 3.76 | -1014.0 |
| 1963 | KC1 | AL | 1 | 2 | 17 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 53.0 | 47 | 22 | 17 | 26 | 3.74 | 276.4 |
| 1963 | PIT | NL | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8.3 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 6 | 6.48 | 0.0 |
| 1964 | KC1 | AL | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3.7 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 9.82 | 0.0 |
| 1964 | NYN | NL | 0 | 0 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 28.7 | 34 | 19 | 7 | 18 | 5.97 | 275.8 |
Career Batting Statistics
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 336 | 328 | 17 | 60 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 11 | 54 | 0.183 | 0.208 | 0.195 | 0.403 | -566.0 |
Season-by-Season Batting
| Year | Team | Lg | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1955 | NYY | AL | 33 | 12 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0.083 | 0.0 |
| 1956 | NYY | AL | 32 | 64 | 5 | 20 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0.312 | -114.1 |
| 1957 | NYY | AL | 28 | 71 | 4 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 10 | 0.183 | -451.9 |
| 1958 | NYY | AL | 15 | 21 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0.190 | 0.0 |
| 1959 | KC1 | AL | 37 | 17 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0.059 | 0.0 |
| 1959 | NYY | AL | 7 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0.000 | 0.0 |
| 1960 | BOS | AL | 40 | 22 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0.182 | 0.0 |
| 1961 | PIT | NL | 13 | 32 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0.250 | 0.0 |
| 1961 | WS2 | AL | 15 | 26 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 0.077 | 0.0 |
| 1962 | PIT | NL | 49 | 33 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0.182 | 0.0 |
| 1963 | DET | AL | 28 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0.000 | 0.0 |
| 1963 | KC1 | AL | 17 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0.000 | 0.0 |
| 1963 | PIT | NL | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.000 | 0.0 |
| 1964 | KC1 | AL | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 0.0 |
| 1964 | NYN | NL | 16 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.000 | 0.0 |
Postseason Statistics
Playoff Career Batting
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.250 |
Playoff Batting by Year
| Year | Round | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1957 | WS | NYA | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.000 |
| 1956 | WS | NYA | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.333 |
| 1955 | WS | NYA | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
Playoff Career Pitching
| W | L | G | GS | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 18.7 | 19 | 9 | 11 | 11 | 4.34 |
Playoff Pitching by Year
| Year | Round | Team | W | L | G | GS | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1957 | WS | NYA | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 6.0 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 6.00 |
| 1956 | WS | NYA | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 9.7 | 8 | 3 | 8 | 9 | 2.79 |
| 1955 | WS | NYA | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3.0 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 6.00 |
Fielding Statistics
Career Fielding Totals by Position
| Position | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | 335 | 101 | 72 | 163 | 13 | 11 |
Season-by-Season Fielding
| Year | Team | Pos | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1955 | NYA | P | 33 | 1 | 4 | 8 | 0 | 2 |
| 1956 | NYA | P | 32 | 17 | 11 | 13 | 2 | 1 |
| 1957 | NYA | P | 28 | 28 | 8 | 26 | 2 | 4 |
| 1958 | NYA | P | 15 | 10 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 1 |
| 1959 | KC1 | P | 36 | 3 | 6 | 17 | 3 | 1 |
| 1959 | NYA | P | 7 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 1 |
| 1960 | BOS | P | 40 | 3 | 7 | 14 | 1 | 0 |
| 1961 | PIT | P | 13 | 11 | 9 | 11 | 0 | 0 |
| 1961 | WS2 | P | 15 | 10 | 2 | 18 | 0 | 0 |
| 1962 | PIT | P | 49 | 12 | 10 | 23 | 3 | 0 |
| 1963 | DET | P | 28 | 0 | 3 | 11 | 0 | 0 |
| 1963 | KC1 | P | 17 | 3 | 4 | 8 | 0 | 1 |
| 1963 | PIT | P | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 1964 | KC1 | P | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1964 | NYN | P | 16 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 0 |
Career Games by Position
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| Pitcher | 335 |