Johnny Vander Meer

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1937-1951)

Johnny Vander Meer was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1937 to 1951 for the Cincinnati Reds, the Chicago Cubs, and the Cleveland Guardians, a span of 15 seasons. Across 346 career appearances, he went 119-121 with a 3.44 ERA and 1,294 strikeouts. He also batted .152 with 1 home runs. Johnny Vander Meer was a 4-time All-Star. His career Pitcher PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of pitching impact — is 8251.7.

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 119–121
ERA 3.44
WHIP 1.39
SO 1,294
Pitcher PIV 8251.7
Position
Pitcher
Bats / Throws
B / L
Height / Weight
6'1" / 190 lb
Born
11/2/1914 in Prospect Park, NJ, USA
Died
10/6/1997 in Tampa, FL, USA
MLB Debut
1937-04-22
Last Game
1951-05-07
Awards
4× All-Star

Full name: John Samuel Vander Meer

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Career Pitching Statistics

Johnny Vander Meer — Career Pitching Statistics
W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
119 121 346 285 131 29 2 2104.2 1,799 805 100 1,132 1,294 3.44 8251.7

Career ERA 3.44 vs. league average 4.02 across their career seasons — 14.4% better than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Johnny Vander Meer Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year Team Lg W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER BB SO ERA Lg ERA Pitcher PIV
1937 CIN NL 3 5 19 9 4 0 0 84.1 63 36 69 52 3.84 4.34 (+11%) -330.2
1938 CIN NL 15 10 32 29 16 3 0 225.1 177 78 103 125 3.12 4.35 (+28%) 1539.5
1939 CIN NL 5 9 30 21 8 0 0 129.0 128 67 95 102 4.67 4.28 (-9%) -529.7
1940 CIN NL 3 1 10 7 2 0 1 48.0 38 20 41 41 3.75 4.21 (+11%) -623.1
1941 CIN NL 16 13 33 32 18 6 0 226.1 172 71 126 202 2.82 3.94 (+28%) 4591.6
1942 CIN NL 18 12 33 33 21 4 0 244.0 188 66 102 186 2.43 3.57 (+32%) 5972.8
1943 CIN NL 15 16 36 36 21 3 0 289.0 228 92 162 174 2.87 3.50 (+18%) 905.0
1946 CIN NL 10 12 29 25 11 4 0 204.1 175 72 78 94 3.17 3.59 (+12%) 424.4
1947 CIN NL 9 14 30 29 9 3 0 186.0 186 91 87 79 4.40 3.97 (-11%) -443.5
1948 CIN NL 17 14 33 33 14 3 0 232.0 204 88 124 120 3.41 4.10 (+17%) -537.8
1949 CIN NL 5 10 28 24 7 3 0 159.2 172 87 85 76 4.90 4.12 (-19%) -210.8
1950 CHN NL 3 4 32 6 0 0 1 73.2 60 31 59 41 3.79 4.36 (+13%) -2506.6
1951 CLE AL 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 3.0 8 6 1 2 18.00 — 0.0
Career · 13 seasons 119 121 346 285 131 29 2 2,104.2 1,799 805 1,132 1,294 3.44 — 8,252

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

Johnny Vander Meer — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
382 685 58 104 12 2 1 26 1 41 201 .152 .200 .180 .379 -4,465

Career AVG .152 vs. league average .264 across their career seasons — 42.5% below league average.

Career OBP .200 vs. league average .336 across their career seasons — 40.6% below league average.

Career SLG .180 vs. league average .378 across their career seasons — 52.6% below league average.

Career OPS .379 vs. league average .715 across their career seasons — 46.9% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Johnny Vander Meer 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
1937 CIN NL 21 23 2 5 0 1 0 0 0 2 7 .217 — — — — 0.0
1938 CIN NL 33 83 6 15 0 0 0 2 0 0 23 .181 .272 (-34%) .341 (-47%) .392 (-54%) .734 (-51%) -681.6
1939 CIN NL 30 36 1 4 1 0 0 1 0 3 10 .111 — — — — 0.0
1940 CIN NL 12 20 6 6 2 0 0 0 0 1 3 .300 — — — — 0.0
1941 CIN NL 35 76 6 10 1 0 0 4 0 2 18 .132 .262 (-50%) .332 (-54%) .373 (-61%) .705 (-58%) -689.8
1942 CIN NL 37 75 7 11 1 0 0 3 0 6 26 .147 .253 (-42%) .323 (-35%) .349 (-54%) .672 (-45%) -502.8
1943 CIN NL 40 95 9 13 1 0 0 5 1 9 28 .137 .255 (-47%) .324 (-35%) .346 (-57%) .671 (-47%) -652.7
1946 CIN NL 33 73 6 18 2 0 0 2 0 1 21 .247 .256 (-4%) .328 (-22%) .358 (-24%) .687 (-23%) -267.2
1947 CIN NL 31 57 3 5 2 0 0 2 0 3 18 .088 .262 (-67%) .336 (-60%) .376 (-67%) .712 (-64%) -587.3
1948 CIN NL 41 78 6 11 2 0 1 2 0 7 21 .141 .263 (-46%) .340 (-38%) .379 (-46%) .719 (-42%) -531.8
1949 CIN NL 33 52 5 4 0 0 0 5 0 6 17 .077 .262 (-71%) .343 (-50%) .384 (-80%) .727 (-66%) -551.9
1950 CHN NL 35 16 1 2 0 1 0 0 0 1 9 .125 — — — — 0.0
1951 CLE AL 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
Career · 13 seasons 382 685 58 104 12 2 1 26 1 41 201 .152 — — — — -4,465

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

Johnny Vander Meer — Playoff Career Batting
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000

Playoff Batting by Year

Johnny Vander Meer — Playoff Batting by Year
Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1940 WS CIN 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000

Playoff Career Pitching

Johnny Vander Meer — Playoff Career Pitching
W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
0 0 1 0 0 3.0 2 0 3 2 0.00

Playoff Pitching by Year

Johnny Vander Meer — Playoff Pitching by Year
Year Round Team W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
1940 WS CIN 0 0 1 0 0 3.0 2 0 3 2 0.00

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (730 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Johnny Vander Meer — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home1963112939111.125
Away1883732965015.174

Pitching — Home / Away

Johnny Vander Meer — Pitching — Home / Away
SplitGIPHERBBSOERA
Home1761067.29013855516353.25
Away1701036.08964185826653.63

Last 10 Games — Batting

Johnny Vander Meer — Last 10 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1951-05-07 CLEMINL 100000000
1950-09-30 CHCSTLL 000000000
1950-09-13 CHCBSNL 100000001
1950-09-10 CHCCINL 101000000
1950-09-03 CHCCINL 000000000
1950-08-28 CHCPHIL 000000000
1950-08-28 CHCPHIW 000000000
1950-08-25 CHCBSNW 100000001
1950-08-22 CHCNY1L 000000000
1950-08-14 CHCSTLW 000000000

Last 10 Games — Pitching

Johnny Vander Meer — Last 10 Games — Pitching
DateTmOppDecIPHRERBBSOHR
1951-05-07 CLEMIN L 3.0866120
1950-09-30 CHCSTL — 1.0000000
1950-09-13 CHCBSN — 3.2000120
1950-09-10 CHCCIN — 2.2110110
1950-09-03 CHCCIN — 0.2000010
1950-08-28 CHCPHI SV 0.1000200
1950-08-25 CHCBSN — 2.0522310
1950-08-22 CHCNY1 — 1.2100210
1950-08-14 CHCSTL W 1.1000000
1950-08-08 CHCCIN — 1.0210000

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Johnny Vander Meer — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
P 346 0 82 404 29 30

Season-by-Season Fielding

Johnny Vander Meer — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1937 CIN P 19 0 7 23 0 1
1938 CIN P 32 0 8 38 3 0
1939 CIN P 30 0 5 16 3 5
1940 CIN P 10 0 0 9 0 0
1941 CIN P 33 0 10 47 2 3
1942 CIN P 33 0 6 51 2 4
1943 CIN P 36 0 11 67 4 7
1946 CIN P 29 0 6 33 3 2
1947 CIN P 30 0 8 31 2 1
1948 CIN P 33 0 11 39 5 3
1949 CIN P 28 0 6 33 2 4
1950 CHN P 32 0 4 14 3 0
1951 CLE P 1 0 0 3 0 0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Johnny Vander Meer Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position Games
Pitcher 346

Awards & Honors

Johnny Vander Meer — Awards & Honors
Year Award Notes
1942 Baseball Magazine All-Star P5
1942 Baseball Magazine All-Star P3
1938 Baseball Magazine All-Star P3
1938 Baseball Magazine All-Star P4
1938 TSN All-Star P
1938 TSN Major League Player of the Year

Award Voting History

Johnny Vander Meer — Award Voting History
Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
1948 Most Valuable Player NL 19th 13.0 336 0
1946 Most Valuable Player NL 24th 7.0 336 0
1942 Most Valuable Player NL 20th 11.0 336 0
1938 Most Valuable Player NL 18th 6.0 336 0

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Johnny Vander Meer (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Steve Barber
    121-106, 3.36 ERA
  2. 91
    Blue Moon Odom
    84-85, 3.70 ERA
  3. 91
    Sam Jones
    103-104, 3.63 ERA
  4. 91
    Bob Turley
    101-85, 3.64 ERA
  5. 90
    Fred Norman
    104-103, 3.64 ERA
  6. 89
    Ken Hill
    117-109, 4.06 ERA

Compare Johnny Vander Meer

Side-by-side career stat comparisons against Vander Meer's closest peers by position and era.

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Johnny Vander Meer: the record in brief

Johnny Vander Meer played a first major league game on April 22, 1937 and a last one on May 7, 1951. The season rows list, in order, the Cincinnati Reds (1937 through 1949), the Chicago Cubs (1950), and the Cleveland Indians (1951). Vander Meer, born on November 2, 1914, in Prospect Park, NJ, USA, is listed as a pitcher and batted from both sides and threw left-handed. Size on record: 6'1" and 190 pounds. Vander Meer died on October 6, 1997, in Tampa, FL, USA. The given name on file is John Samuel Vander Meer.

Across 346 games (285 starts), Vander Meer recorded 119 wins against 121 losses with a 3.44 ERA. Also on Vander Meer's record: 1,294 strikeouts, 131 complete games, and 29 shutouts. The leagues Vander Meer pitched in allowed 4.02 earned runs per nine over those seasons, so the career ERA was 14.4% better than average. No season topped the 18 wins of 1942. 1941 produced Vander Meer's most strikeouts, 202.

Frequently Asked Questions about Johnny Vander Meer

What years did Johnny Vander Meer play?
Johnny Vander Meer played in Major League Baseball from 1937 to 1951.
Was Johnny Vander Meer a pitcher?
Yes. Johnny Vander Meer pitched in the major leagues, recording 119 wins and 1294 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Johnny Vander Meer hit?
Johnny Vander Meer hit 1 career home run with 104 hits.
What teams did Johnny Vander Meer play for?
Johnny Vander Meer played for 3 teams: the Cincinnati Reds (1937–1943, 1946–1949), the Chicago Cubs (1950), and the Cleveland Indians (1951).
What awards did Johnny Vander Meer win?
Johnny Vander Meer was selected to 4 All-Star Games.
What were Johnny Vander Meer's career stats?
In 346 games, Johnny Vander Meer went 119-121 with a 3.44 ERA, 1,294 strikeouts, 2,104.2 innings pitched, and 2 saves. At the plate he had 104 hits and 1 home runs.
What position did Johnny Vander Meer play?
Johnny Vander Meer played primarily as a pitcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.
How tall was Johnny Vander Meer and how much did he weigh?
Johnny Vander Meer was listed at 6 feet 1 inch and 190 pounds.
What was Johnny Vander Meer's career ERA?
Johnny Vander Meer finished with a 3.44 career ERA, going 119-121 with 1,294 strikeouts.
How many strikeouts did Johnny Vander Meer have?
Johnny Vander Meer recorded 1,294 career strikeouts.
Is Johnny Vander Meer in the Hall of Fame?
No. Johnny Vander Meer has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
How many All-Star Games did Johnny Vander Meer make?
Johnny Vander Meer was selected to 4 All-Star Games.