Virgil Trucks

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1941-1958)

W–L 177–135
ERA 3.39
WHIP 1.31
SO 1,534
Pitcher PIV 22589.4
Position
Pitcher
Bats / Throws
R / R
Height / Weight
5'11" / 198 lb
Born
4/26/1917 in Birmingham, AL, USA
Died
3/23/2013 in Calera, AL, USA
MLB Debut
1941-09-27
Last Game
1958-09-26
Awards
2× All-Star

Full name: Virgil Oliver Trucks

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Career Pitching Statistics

W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
177 135 517 328 124 33 30 2682.3 2,416 1,009 188 1,088 1,534 3.39 22589.4

Career ERA 3.39 vs. league average 3.89 across their career seasons — 12.9% better than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

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
1941 DET AL 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 2.0 4 2 0 3 9.00 — 0.0
1942 DET AL 14 8 28 20 8 2 0 167.7 147 51 74 91 2.74 3.57 (+23%) 2104.8
1943 DET AL 16 10 33 25 10 2 2 202.7 170 64 52 118 2.84 3.50 (+19%) 2780.9
1945 DET AL 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 5.3 3 1 2 3 1.69 — 0.0
1946 DET AL 14 9 32 29 15 2 0 236.7 217 85 75 161 3.23 3.59 (+10%) 702.7
1947 DET AL 10 12 36 26 8 2 2 180.7 186 91 79 108 4.53 3.97 (-14%) 557.4
1948 DET AL 14 13 43 26 7 0 2 211.7 190 89 85 123 3.78 4.10 (+8%) 2208.1
1949 DET AL 19 11 41 32 17 6 4 275.0 209 86 124 153 2.81 4.12 (+32%) 4129.4
1950 DET AL 3 1 7 7 2 1 0 48.3 45 19 21 25 3.54 4.36 (+19%) -205.6
1951 DET AL 13 8 37 18 6 1 1 153.7 153 74 75 89 4.33 4.04 (-7%) 1570.8
1952 DET AL 5 19 35 29 8 3 1 197.0 190 87 82 129 3.97 3.70 (-7%) 2436.4
1953 SLA AL 5 4 16 12 4 2 2 88.0 83 30 32 47 3.07 4.14 (+26%) 1784.9
1953 CHA AL 15 6 24 21 13 3 1 176.3 151 56 67 102 2.86 4.14 (+31%) 2196.8
1954 CHA AL 19 12 40 33 16 5 3 264.7 224 82 95 152 2.79 3.90 (+28%) 6444.1
1955 CHA AL 13 8 32 26 7 3 0 175.0 176 77 61 91 3.96 4.00 (+1%) 812.7
1956 DET AL 6 5 22 16 3 1 1 120.0 104 51 63 43 3.83 3.96 (+4%) -3114.5
1957 KC1 AL 9 7 48 7 0 0 7 116.0 106 39 62 55 3.03 3.83 (+21%) -1958.3
1958 KC1 AL 0 1 16 0 0 0 3 22.0 18 5 15 15 2.05 3.86 (+47%) -263.2
1958 NYA AL 2 1 25 0 0 0 1 39.7 40 20 24 26 4.54 3.86 (-18%) 402.0
Career · 19 seasons 177 135 517 328 124 33 30 2,682.1 2,416 1,009 1,088 1,534 3.39 — 22,589

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
517 949 63 171 23 1 2 70 1 9 153 .180 .189 .213 .402 -5,746

Career AVG .180 vs. league average .260 across their career seasons — 30.6% below league average.

Career OBP .189 vs. league average .332 across their career seasons — 43.1% below league average.

Career SLG .213 vs. league average .378 across their career seasons — 43.7% below league average.

Career OPS .402 vs. league average .710 across their career seasons — 43.4% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

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
1941 DET AL 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1942 DET AL 28 65 4 8 1 0 0 3 0 0 12 .123 .253 (-51%) .323 (-62%) .349 (-60%) .672 (-61%) -602.4
1943 DET AL 33 72 7 13 1 0 0 7 0 2 4 .181 .255 (-29%) .324 (-38%) .346 (-44%) .671 (-41%) -446.2
1945 DET AL 1 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 .000 — — — — 0.0
1946 DET AL 32 95 4 17 4 0 0 5 0 0 13 .179 .256 (-30%) .328 (-46%) .358 (-38%) .687 (-42%) -630.3
1947 DET AL 36 70 7 19 2 0 0 5 0 1 7 .271 .262 (+3%) .336 (-16%) .376 (-20%) .712 (-18%) -213.8
1948 DET AL 43 79 6 13 0 1 0 2 0 2 14 .165 .263 (-38%) .340 (-46%) .379 (-50%) .719 (-48%) -614.6
1949 DET AL 41 100 6 12 2 0 0 3 0 1 15 .120 .262 (-54%) .343 (-60%) .384 (-64%) .727 (-62%) -1009.6
1950 DET AL 7 20 2 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 .150 — — — — 0.0
1951 DET AL 37 55 5 13 3 0 0 14 0 0 12 .236 .260 (-9%) .336 (-30%) .385 (-25%) .721 (-27%) -251.7
1952 DET AL 35 64 3 12 0 0 1 3 1 1 11 .188 .252 (-26%) .326 (-39%) .369 (-37%) .696 (-38%) -380.6
1953 SLA AL 16 25 0 4 1 0 0 1 0 0 3 .160 — — — — 0.0
1953 CHA AL 24 63 6 15 3 0 1 6 0 0 10 .238 .264 (-10%) .335 (-26%) .397 (-16%) .733 (-20%) 0.0
1954 CHA AL 40 93 5 17 2 0 0 8 0 1 21 .183 .261 (-30%) .333 (-44%) .390 (-48%) .723 (-46%) -706.7
1955 CHA AL 32 64 2 8 1 0 0 6 0 0 12 .125 .258 (-52%) .332 (-63%) .393 (-64%) .726 (-64%) -666.8
1956 DET AL 22 45 4 11 2 0 0 2 0 0 4 .244 — — — — 0.0
1957 KC1 AL 48 28 1 4 0 0 0 2 0 0 10 .143 — — — — 0.0
1958 KC1 AL 16 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1958 NYA AL 25 8 0 2 0 0 0 3 0 0 2 .250 — — — — 0.0
Career · 19 seasons 517 949 63 171 23 1 2 70 1 9 153 .180 — — — — -5,523

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.

Postseason Statistics

Playoff Career Batting

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
2 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 .000

Playoff Batting by Year

Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1945 WS DET 2 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 .000

Playoff Career Pitching

W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
1 0 2 2 0 13.3 14 5 5 7 3.38

Playoff Pitching by Year

Year Round Team W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
1945 WS DET 1 0 2 2 0 13.3 14 5 5 7 3.38

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (1034 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home2564552694131.207
Away2614953777138.156

Pitching — Home / Away

SplitGIPHERBBSOERA
Home2561348.011875125427813.42
Away2611334.112294985477553.36

Last 10 Games — Batting

DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1958-09-26 NYYBALL 000000000
1958-09-14 NYYKC1W 301000201
1958-09-09 NYYCLEL 000000000
1958-09-05 NYYMINL 000000000
1958-08-30 NYYMINL 100000000
1958-08-27 NYYKC1L 000000000
1958-08-24 NYYDETL 000000000
1958-08-22 NYYCHWW 100000000
1958-08-17 NYYBOSL 000000000
1958-08-12 NYYBALW 101000100

Last 10 Games — Pitching

DateTmOppDecIPHRERBBSOHR
1958-09-26 NYYBAL L 2.0222330
1958-09-14 NYYKC1 W 6.0200450
1958-09-09 NYYCLE — 0.1222100
1958-09-05 NYYMIN — 0.1000000
1958-08-30 NYYMIN — 2.2411010
1958-08-27 NYYKC1 — 1.0211000
1958-08-24 NYYDET — 1.2120101
1958-08-22 NYYCHW SV 2.0311100
1958-08-17 NYYBOS — 1.0000010
1958-08-12 NYYBAL SV 1.1100000

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position G GS PO A E DP
P 517 82 156 420 27 14

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1941 DET P 1 0 1 0 0 0
1942 DET P 28 0 5 28 3 0
1943 DET P 33 0 16 24 0 0
1945 DET P 1 0 1 1 0 0
1946 DET P 32 0 11 33 3 1
1947 DET P 36 0 13 22 2 0
1948 DET P 43 0 13 28 0 1
1949 DET P 41 0 13 33 2 2
1950 DET P 7 0 2 13 1 1
1951 DET P 37 0 11 32 3 2
1952 DET P 35 0 21 37 2 1
1953 SLA P 16 0 3 13 6 1
1953 CHA P 24 0 11 29 0 2
1954 CHA P 40 33 10 48 0 1
1955 CHA P 32 26 4 33 0 1
1956 DET P 22 16 6 18 3 1
1957 KC1 P 48 7 8 21 1 0
1958 KC1 P 16 0 4 3 1 0
1958 NYA P 25 0 3 4 0 0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Position Games
Pitcher 517

Award Voting History

Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
1954 Most Valuable Player AL 12th 19.0 336 0
1953 Most Valuable Player AL 5th 81.0 336 0
1951 Most Valuable Player AL 30th 2.0 336 0
1949 Most Valuable Player AL 22th 3.0 336 0

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Virgil Trucks (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Dizzy Trout
    170-161, 3.23 ERA
  2. 95
    Hal Newhouser HOF
    207-150, 3.06 ERA
  3. 94
    Bob Shawkey
    196-150, 3.09 ERA
  4. 89
    Bob Lemon HOF
    207-128, 3.23 ERA
  5. 89
    Stan Bahnsen
    146-149, 3.60 ERA
  6. 82
    Dave Stewart
    168-129, 3.95 ERA

Frequently Asked Questions about Virgil Trucks

What years did Virgil Trucks play?
Virgil Trucks played in Major League Baseball from 1941 to 1958.
Was Virgil Trucks a pitcher?
Yes. Virgil Trucks pitched in the major leagues, recording 177 wins and 1534 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Virgil Trucks hit?
Virgil Trucks hit 2 career home runs with 171 hits.