Luther Taylor

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1900-1908)

Luther Taylor was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1900 to 1908 for the New York Giants and the Cleveland Guardians, a span of 9 seasons. Across 274 career appearances, he went 116-106 with a 2.75 ERA and 767 strikeouts. He also batted .144 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

W–L 116–106
ERA 2.75
WHIP 1.27
SO 767
Pitcher PIV -2048.6
Position
Pitcher
Bats / Throws
R / R
Height / Weight
6'1" / 160 lb
Born
2/21/1875 in Oskaloosa, KS, USA
Died
8/22/1958 in Jacksonville, IL, USA
MLB Debut
1900-08-27
Last Game
1908-09-29

Full name: Luther Haden Taylor

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Career Pitching Statistics

Luther Taylor — Career Pitching Statistics
W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
116 106 274 237 160 21 3 1916.1 1,877 585 38 551 767 2.75 -2048.6

Career ERA 2.75 vs. league average 2.88 across their career seasons — near league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Luther Taylor Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year Team Lg W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER BB SO ERA Lg ERA Pitcher PIV
1900 NY1 NL 4 3 11 7 6 0 0 62.1 74 17 24 16 2.45 3.68 (+33%) -28.1
1901 NY1 NL 18 27 45 43 37 4 0 353.1 377 125 112 136 3.18 3.49 (+9%) -448.0
1902 CLE AL 1 3 4 4 4 1 0 34.0 37 6 8 8 1.59 3.17 (+50%) 78.6
1902 NY1 NL 7 15 26 25 18 0 0 200.2 194 51 55 87 2.29 3.17 (+28%) 341.5
1903 NY1 NL 13 13 33 31 18 1 0 244.2 306 115 89 94 4.23 3.10 (-36%) -2060.2
1904 NY1 NL 21 15 37 36 29 5 0 296.1 231 77 75 138 2.34 2.66 (+12%) 464.9
1905 NY1 NL 16 9 32 28 18 4 0 213.1 200 63 51 91 2.66 2.82 (+6%) 73.7
1906 NY1 NL 17 9 31 27 13 2 0 213.0 186 52 57 91 2.20 2.68 (+18%) 469.2
1907 NY1 NL 11 7 28 21 11 3 1 171.0 145 46 46 56 2.42 2.50 (+3%) 175.2
1908 NY1 NL 8 5 27 15 6 1 2 127.2 127 33 34 50 2.33 2.40 (+3%) -1115.4
Career · 10 seasons 116 106 274 237 160 21 3 1,916.1 1,877 585 551 767 2.75 — -2,049

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

Luther Taylor — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
276 645 51 93 6 4 0 41 1 41 166 .144 .197 .166 .362 -3,813

Career AVG .144 vs. league average .255 across their career seasons — 43.4% below league average.

Career OBP .197 vs. league average .312 across their career seasons — 37.0% below league average.

Career SLG .166 vs. league average .330 across their career seasons — 49.7% below league average.

Career OPS .362 vs. league average .641 across their career seasons — 43.5% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Luther Taylor Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year Team Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG Lg AVG Lg OBP Lg SLG Lg OPS PIV
1900 NY1 NL 11 22 2 3 0 0 0 1 0 1 6 .136 — — — — 0.0
1901 NY1 NL 45 136 11 18 0 0 0 6 0 4 44 .132 .271 (-51%) .326 (-52%) .359 (-63%) .686 (-58%) -1189.7
1902 CLE AL 4 10 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 .100 — — — — 0.0
1902 NY1 NL 26 65 3 6 1 0 0 3 0 3 23 .092 .266 (-65%) .321 (-59%) .343 (-69%) .665 (-64%) 0.0
1903 NY1 NL 33 82 7 12 0 0 0 5 0 10 19 .146 .261 (-44%) .316 (-25%) .345 (-58%) .662 (-42%) -473.8
1904 NY1 NL 38 102 8 16 1 2 0 6 0 6 15 .157 .246 (-36%) .300 (-32%) .321 (-36%) .622 (-34%) -494.6
1905 NY1 NL 32 69 10 9 1 1 0 4 0 4 14 .130 .248 (-47%) .307 (-42%) .322 (-46%) .629 (-44%) -437.4
1906 NY1 NL 31 76 6 14 2 1 0 6 0 2 16 .184 .247 (-26%) .307 (-33%) .315 (-25%) .622 (-29%) -329.0
1907 NY1 NL 29 48 3 6 1 0 0 6 0 5 18 .125 — — — — -272.3
1908 NY1 NL 27 35 0 8 0 0 0 4 0 5 11 .229 — — — — 0.0
Career · 10 seasons 276 645 51 93 6 4 0 41 1 41 166 .144 — — — — -3,197

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 (550 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Luther Taylor — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home1363052146016.151
Away1403393047017.139

Pitching — Home / Away

Luther Taylor — Pitching — Home / Away
SplitGIPHERBBSOERA
Home136960.0929872574360.82
Away138952.29441142923411.08

Last 10 Games — Batting

Luther Taylor — Last 10 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1908-09-29 NY1PHIL 101000000
1908-09-25 NY1CINL 000000000
1908-09-17 NY1STLW 100000001
1908-09-10 NY1BROW 100000001
1908-09-03 NY1BSNW 000000000
1908-09-01 NY1BSNW 000000000
1908-08-26 NY1PITW 200000001
1908-08-16 NY1STLL 000000000
1908-08-05 NY1CINL 000000000
1908-07-31 NY1STLW 201000011

Last 10 Games — Pitching

Luther Taylor — Last 10 Games — Pitching
DateTmOppDecIPHRERBBSOHR
1908-09-29 NY1PHI — 3.0410030
1908-09-25 NY1CIN — 2.0100010
1908-09-17 NY1STL W 5.0540241
1908-09-10 NY1BRO W 2.2100110
1908-09-03 NY1BSN SV 1.0320010
1908-09-01 NY1BSN SV 1.0200000
1908-08-26 NY1PIT — 7.0630240
1908-08-16 NY1STL — 2.0000120
1908-08-05 NY1CIN — 1.0220000
1908-07-31 NY1STL W 9.0920370

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Luther Taylor — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
3B 1 0 0 1 0 0
OF 1 0 0 0 0 0
P 274 127 95 509 35 15

Season-by-Season Fielding

Luther Taylor — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1900 NY1 P 11 0 0 9 2 0
1901 NY1 P 45 0 19 92 6 2
1902 CLE P 4 0 2 15 0 0
1902 NY1 P 26 0 5 48 5 0
1903 NY1 P 33 0 10 62 4 2
1904 NY1 OF 1 0 0 0 0 0
1904 NY1 P 37 36 20 87 1 7
1905 NY1 P 32 28 13 62 5 1
1906 NY1 P 31 27 10 54 4 2
1907 NY1 3B 1 0 0 1 0 0
1907 NY1 P 28 21 8 45 4 0
1908 NY1 P 27 15 8 35 4 1

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Luther Taylor Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position Games
Pitcher 274
Third Base 1
Left Field 1

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Luther Taylor (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Ray Fisher
    100-94, 2.82 ERA
  2. 91
    Ed Willett
    102-99, 3.08 ERA
  3. 89
    Lefty Leifield
    124-97, 2.47 ERA
  4. 87
    Bob Rhoads
    97-82, 2.61 ERA
  5. 86
    Pat Ragan
    77-104, 2.99 ERA
  6. 84
    Tully Sparks
    121-137, 2.82 ERA

Luther Taylor: the record in brief

According to the bio, Luther Taylor debuted on August 27, 1900 and played a final game on September 29, 1908. The team column moves through the New York Giants (1900 through 1908) and the Cleveland Bronchos (1902). The bio lists Taylor as a pitcher who both batted and threw right-handed. The recorded size is 6'1" and 160 pounds. Taylor was born on February 21, 1875, in Oskaloosa, KS, USA. The bio records the death on August 22, 1958, in Jacksonville, IL, USA. Taylor's full given name, per the bio, is Luther Haden Taylor.

Taylor went 116-106 with a 2.75 ERA in 274 games, 237 of them starts. The same table counts 767 strikeouts, 160 complete games, and 21 shutouts. Taylor's 2.75 ERA was close to the 2.88 league figure for those seasons. No season topped the 21 wins of 1904. In 1906, one of the busiest seasons, Taylor posted a 2.20 ERA; the league figure that year was 2.68.

Frequently Asked Questions about Luther Taylor

What years did Luther Taylor play?
Luther Taylor played in Major League Baseball from 1900 to 1908.
Was Luther Taylor a pitcher?
Yes. Luther Taylor pitched in the major leagues, recording 116 wins and 767 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Luther Taylor hit?
Luther Taylor hit 0 career home runs with 93 hits.
What teams did Luther Taylor play for?
Luther Taylor played for 2 teams: the New York Giants (1900–1908) and the Cleveland Bronchos (1902).
What were Luther Taylor's career stats?
In 274 games, Luther Taylor went 116-106 with a 2.75 ERA, 767 strikeouts, 1,916.1 innings pitched, and 3 saves. At the plate he had 93 hits and 0 home runs.
What position did Luther Taylor play?
Luther Taylor played primarily as a pitcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.
How tall was Luther Taylor and how much did he weigh?
Luther Taylor was listed at 6 feet 1 inch and 160 pounds.
What was Luther Taylor's career ERA?
Luther Taylor finished with a 2.75 career ERA, going 116-106 with 767 strikeouts.
How many strikeouts did Luther Taylor have?
Luther Taylor recorded 767 career strikeouts.
Is Luther Taylor in the Hall of Fame?
No. Luther Taylor has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.