Joe Sullivan
Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1935-1941)
Joe Sullivan was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1935 to 1941 for the Detroit Tigers, the Boston Braves, and the Pittsburgh Pirates, a span of 7 seasons. Across 150 career appearances, he went 30-37 with a 4.01 ERA and 216 strikeouts. He also batted .207 with 0 home runs.
- 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
- L / L
- Height / Weight
- 5'11" / 175 lb
- Died
- 4/8/1985 in Sequim, WA, USA
- MLB Debut
- 1935-04-20
- Last Game
- 1941-09-23
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1935 | DET | AL | 6 | 6 | 25 | 12 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 125.2 | 119 | 49 | 71 | 53 | 3.51 | 4.35 (+19%) | -565.7 |
| 1936 | DET | AL | 2 | 5 | 26 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 79.2 | 111 | 60 | 40 | 32 | 6.78 | 4.59 (-48%) | -402.0 |
| 1939 | BSN | NL | 6 | 9 | 31 | 11 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 113.2 | 114 | 46 | 50 | 46 | 3.64 | 4.28 (+15%) | 900.9 |
| 1940 | BSN | NL | 10 | 14 | 36 | 22 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 177.1 | 157 | 70 | 89 | 64 | 3.55 | 4.21 (+16%) | -1636.1 |
| 1941 | BSN | NL | 2 | 2 | 16 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 52.1 | 60 | 24 | 26 | 11 | 4.13 | 3.94 (-5%) | -1044.7 |
| 1941 | PIT | NL | 4 | 1 | 16 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 39.1 | 40 | 13 | 22 | 10 | 2.97 | 3.94 (+24%) | -687.4 |
| Career · 6 seasons | 30 | 37 | 150 | 55 | 20 | 0 | 5 | 588.0 | 601 | 262 | 298 | 216 | 4.01 | — | -3,435 | ||
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 152 | 208 | 14 | 43 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 1 | 9 | 35 | .207 | .240 | .221 | .461 | -496 |
Career AVG .207 vs. league average .273 across their career seasons — 24.4% below league average.
Career OBP .240 vs. league average .340 across their career seasons — 29.6% below league average.
Career SLG .221 vs. league average .391 across their career seasons — 43.5% below league average.
Career OPS .461 vs. league average .732 across their career seasons — 37.0% 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1935 | DET | AL | 25 | 43 | 6 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 9 | .163 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1936 | DET | AL | 26 | 28 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 9 | .179 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1939 | BSN | NL | 33 | 40 | 2 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | .300 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1940 | BSN | NL | 36 | 71 | 3 | 14 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 9 | .197 | .267 (-26%) | .335 (-41%) | .387 (-46%) | .722 (-44%) | -496.1 |
| 1941 | BSN | NL | 16 | 15 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | .067 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1941 | PIT | NL | 16 | 11 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .364 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| Career · 6 seasons | 152 | 208 | 14 | 43 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 1 | 9 | 35 | .207 | — | — | — | — | -496 | ||
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 (302 games) →Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).
Batting — Home / Away
| Split | G | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 79 | 101 | 4 | 19 | 0 | 6 | .188 |
| Away | 73 | 107 | 10 | 24 | 0 | 9 | .224 |
Pitching — Home / Away
| Split | G | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 79 | 308.1 | 293 | 127 | 150 | 114 | 3.71 |
| Away | 71 | 280.0 | 309 | 139 | 149 | 102 | 4.47 |
Last 10 Games — Batting
| Date | Tm | Opp | Res | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1941-09-23 | PIT | STL | L | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1941-09-14 | PIT | PHI | L | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1941-09-11 | PIT | BSN | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1941-08-19 | PIT | BRO | L | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1941-08-13 | PIT | CHC | L | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1941-08-10 | PIT | STL | L | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1941-08-09 | PIT | STL | W | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1941-07-29 | PIT | BSN | W | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1941-07-25 | PIT | BRO | W | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1941-07-18 | PIT | BSN | L | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Last 10 Games — Pitching
| Date | Tm | Opp | Dec | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1941-09-23 | PIT | STL | — | 2.0 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 1941-09-14 | PIT | PHI | — | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1941-09-11 | PIT | BSN | — | 3.2 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 1941-08-19 | PIT | BRO | L | 0.2 | 5 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 1941-08-13 | PIT | CHC | — | 0.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1941-08-10 | PIT | STL | — | 0.2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1941-08-09 | PIT | STL | — | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 1941-07-29 | PIT | BSN | W | 6.0 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 1941-07-25 | PIT | BRO | W | 2.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1941-07-18 | PIT | BSN | — | 8.0 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 0 |
Fielding Statistics
Career Fielding Totals by Position
Season-by-Season Fielding
Career Games by Position
Circle size = games played at each position.
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| Pitcher | 150 |
Most Similar Players
Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.
Joe Sullivan (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.
Joe Sullivan: the record in brief
According to the bio, Joe Sullivan debuted on April 20, 1935 and played a final game on September 23, 1941. By club, Sullivan's seasons break down as the Detroit Tigers (1935 through 1936), the Boston Bees (1939 to 1940), the Boston Braves (1941), and the Pittsburgh Pirates (1941). Sullivan is listed as a pitcher at 5-foot-11 and 175 pounds. Sullivan both batted and threw left-handed, per the bio block. The recorded birth is September 26, 1910, in Mason City, IL, USA. The bio records the death on April 8, 1985, in Sequim, WA, USA.
The pitching table credits Sullivan with a 30-37 record and a 4.01 ERA in 150 games. The same table counts 216 strikeouts and 20 complete games. The leagues Sullivan pitched in allowed 4.27 earned runs per nine over those seasons, so the career ERA was 6.1% better than average. No season topped the 10 wins of 1940. Among the heaviest workloads, the lowest ERA was 3.51 in 1935, when the league's was 4.35.
Frequently Asked Questions about Joe Sullivan
- What years did Joe Sullivan play?
- Joe Sullivan played in Major League Baseball from 1935 to 1941.
- Was Joe Sullivan a pitcher?
- Yes. Joe Sullivan pitched in the major leagues, recording 30 wins and 216 strikeouts.
- How many home runs did Joe Sullivan hit?
- Joe Sullivan hit 0 career home runs with 43 hits.
- What was Joe Sullivan's career batting average?
- Joe Sullivan batted .207 over his career, with 43 hits in 208 at bats.
- How many RBI did Joe Sullivan have?
- Joe Sullivan drove in 15 runs in his career.
- What was Joe Sullivan's career ERA?
- Joe Sullivan finished with a 4.01 career ERA, going 30-37 with 216 strikeouts.