Frank Sullivan
Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1953-1963)
Frank Sullivan was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1953 to 1963 for the Boston Red Sox, the Philadelphia Phillies, and the Minnesota Twins, a span of 11 seasons. Across 351 career appearances, he went 97-100 with a 3.60 ERA and 959 strikeouts. He also batted .144 with 0 home runs. Frank Sullivan was a 2-time All-Star. His career Pitcher PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of pitching impact — is 18360.5.
- 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
- Position
- Pitcher
- Bats / Throws
- R / R
- Height / Weight
- 6'6" / 215 lb
- Died
- 1/19/2016 in Lihue, HI, USA
- MLB Debut
- 1953-07-31
- Last Game
- 1963-06-12
- Awards
- 2× All-Star
Full name: Franklin Leal Sullivan
Season-by-Season Pitching
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1953 | BOS | AL | 1 | 1 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 25.2 | 24 | 16 | 11 | 17 | 5.61 | 4.14 (-36%) | -32.9 |
| 1954 | BOS | AL | 15 | 12 | 36 | 26 | 11 | 3 | 1 | 206.1 | 185 | 72 | 66 | 124 | 3.14 | 3.90 (+19%) | 2803.4 |
| 1955 | BOS | AL | 18 | 13 | 35 | 35 | 16 | 3 | 0 | 260.0 | 235 | 84 | 100 | 129 | 2.91 | 4.00 (+27%) | 2030.9 |
| 1956 | BOS | AL | 14 | 7 | 34 | 33 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 242.0 | 253 | 92 | 82 | 116 | 3.42 | 3.96 (+14%) | 1631.9 |
| 1957 | BOS | AL | 14 | 11 | 31 | 30 | 14 | 3 | 0 | 240.2 | 206 | 73 | 48 | 127 | 2.73 | 3.83 (+29%) | 5583.1 |
| 1958 | BOS | AL | 13 | 9 | 32 | 29 | 10 | 2 | 3 | 199.1 | 216 | 79 | 49 | 103 | 3.57 | 3.86 (+8%) | 4436.1 |
| 1959 | BOS | AL | 9 | 11 | 30 | 26 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 177.2 | 172 | 78 | 67 | 107 | 3.95 | 3.90 (-1%) | 332.3 |
| 1960 | BOS | AL | 6 | 16 | 40 | 22 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 153.2 | 164 | 87 | 52 | 98 | 5.10 | 3.82 (-33%) | 1659.8 |
| 1961 | PHI | NL | 3 | 16 | 49 | 18 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 159.1 | 161 | 76 | 55 | 114 | 4.29 | 4.03 (-7%) | 836.9 |
| 1962 | PHI | NL | 0 | 2 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 23.0 | 38 | 16 | 12 | 12 | 6.26 | 3.96 (-58%) | -330.6 |
| 1962 | MIN | AL | 4 | 1 | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 33.1 | 33 | 12 | 13 | 10 | 3.24 | 3.96 (+18%) | -334.9 |
| 1963 | MIN | AL | 0 | 1 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 11.0 | 15 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 5.73 | 3.46 (-66%) | -255.5 |
| Career · 12 seasons | 97 | 100 | 351 | 219 | 73 | 15 | 18 | 1,732.0 | 1,702 | 692 | 559 | 959 | 3.60 | — | 18,361 | ||
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 351 | 529 | 36 | 76 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 22 | 0 | 30 | 160 | .144 | .189 | .164 | .353 | -3,715 |
Career AVG .144 vs. league average .257 across their career seasons — 44.1% below league average.
Career OBP .189 vs. league average .326 across their career seasons — 42.2% below league average.
Career SLG .164 vs. league average .391 across their career seasons — 58.0% below league average.
Career OPS .353 vs. league average .717 across their career seasons — 50.8% below league average.
Season-by-Season Batting
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1953 | BOS | AL | 14 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .250 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1954 | BOS | AL | 36 | 68 | 6 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 21 | .103 | .261 (-61%) | .333 (-48%) | .390 (-62%) | .723 (-56%) | -622.6 |
| 1955 | BOS | AL | 35 | 89 | 6 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 33 | .112 | .258 (-57%) | .332 (-55%) | .393 (-63%) | .726 (-59%) | -853.5 |
| 1956 | BOS | AL | 34 | 85 | 4 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 21 | .141 | .258 (-45%) | .331 (-52%) | .397 (-62%) | .728 (-57%) | -792.2 |
| 1957 | BOS | AL | 31 | 79 | 6 | 13 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 30 | .165 | .257 (-36%) | .323 (-43%) | .391 (-51%) | .715 (-48%) | -593.2 |
| 1958 | BOS | AL | 32 | 67 | 6 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 18 | .164 | .257 (-36%) | .324 (-32%) | .394 (-55%) | .719 (-44%) | -460.4 |
| 1959 | BOS | AL | 30 | 60 | 2 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 15 | .200 | .256 (-22%) | .323 (-35%) | .392 (-45%) | .715 (-40%) | -393.2 |
| 1960 | BOS | AL | 40 | 40 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 11 | .125 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1961 | PHI | NL | 49 | 33 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 10 | .152 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1962 | PHI | NL | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1962 | MIN | AL | 21 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1963 | MIN | AL | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| Career · 12 seasons | 351 | 529 | 36 | 76 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 22 | 0 | 30 | 160 | .144 | — | — | — | — | -3,715 | ||
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 (702 games) →Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).
Batting — Home / Away
| Split | G | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 180 | 264 | 22 | 31 | 0 | 12 | .117 |
| Away | 171 | 265 | 14 | 45 | 0 | 10 | .170 |
Pitching — Home / Away
| Split | G | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 180 | 910.1 | 877 | 344 | 275 | 516 | 3.40 |
| Away | 171 | 821.2 | 825 | 348 | 284 | 444 | 3.81 |
Last 10 Games — Pitching
| Date | Tm | Opp | Dec | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1963-06-12 | MIN | KC1 | — | 0.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1963-06-09 | MIN | LAA | — | 0.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1963-06-02 | MIN | DET | L | 1.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1963-05-19 | MIN | CLE | SV | 0.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1963-05-19 | MIN | CLE | — | 2.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1963-05-11 | MIN | KC1 | — | 3.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 1963-05-01 | MIN | BOS | — | 1.0 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1963-04-20 | MIN | CHW | — | 1.1 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1963-04-16 | MIN | LAA | — | 0.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1963-04-13 | MIN | KC1 | — | 0.2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Fielding Statistics
Career Fielding Totals by Position
Season-by-Season Fielding
| Year | Team | Pos | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1953 | BOS | P | 14 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 1954 | BOS | P | 36 | 26 | 12 | 36 | 2 | 5 |
| 1955 | BOS | P | 35 | 35 | 22 | 41 | 1 | 5 |
| 1956 | BOS | P | 34 | 33 | 16 | 37 | 1 | 5 |
| 1957 | BOS | P | 31 | 30 | 17 | 48 | 1 | 5 |
| 1958 | BOS | P | 32 | 29 | 13 | 26 | 0 | 5 |
| 1959 | BOS | P | 30 | 26 | 15 | 20 | 2 | 4 |
| 1960 | BOS | P | 40 | 22 | 6 | 17 | 0 | 1 |
| 1961 | PHI | P | 49 | 18 | 10 | 34 | 2 | 0 |
| 1962 | PHI | P | 19 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| 1962 | MIN | P | 21 | 0 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| 1963 | MIN | P | 10 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
Career Games by Position
Circle size = games played at each position.
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| Pitcher | 351 |
Award Voting History
| Year | Award | League | Finish | Points Won | Points Max | Votes First |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1955 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 24th | 1.0 | 336 | 0 |
Most Similar Players
Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.
Frank Sullivan (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.
Frank Sullivan: the record in brief
July 31, 1953 and June 12, 1963 bracket Frank Sullivan's time in the majors: the debut and the last game on record. Sullivan played for the Boston Red Sox (1953 through 1960), the Philadelphia Phillies (1961 through 1962), and the Minnesota Twins (1962 to 1963). Sullivan played primarily as a pitcher and batted and threw right-handed. The bio adds a birth date on January 23, 1930, in Hollywood, CA, USA and a listed size of 6 feet, 6 inches and 215 pounds. Sullivan died on January 19, 2016, in Lihue, HI, USA. The given name on file is Franklin Leal Sullivan.
The pitching table credits Sullivan with a 97-100 record and a 3.60 ERA in 351 games. Sullivan had 959 strikeouts, 73 complete games, 15 shutouts, and 18 saves. Against a 3.89 league ERA for the same years, Sullivan was 7.5% better. The best win total was 18, in 1955. Among the heaviest workloads, the lowest ERA was 2.73 in 1957, when the league's was 3.83.
Frequently Asked Questions about Frank Sullivan
- What years did Frank Sullivan play?
- Frank Sullivan played in Major League Baseball from 1953 to 1963.
- Was Frank Sullivan a pitcher?
- Yes. Frank Sullivan pitched in the major leagues, recording 97 wins and 959 strikeouts.
- How many home runs did Frank Sullivan hit?
- Frank Sullivan hit 0 career home runs with 76 hits.
- What was Frank Sullivan's career batting average?
- Frank Sullivan batted .144 over his career, with 76 hits in 529 at bats.
- How many RBI did Frank Sullivan have?
- Frank Sullivan drove in 22 runs in his career.
- What was Frank Sullivan's career ERA?
- Frank Sullivan finished with a 3.60 career ERA, going 97-100 with 959 strikeouts.