Johnny Vander Meer
Born: 11/2/1914 in Prospect Park, NJ, USA
Died: 10/6/1997 in Tampa, FL, USA
MLB Debut: 1937-04-22 | Final Game: 1951-05-07
Bats: B | Throws: L | Height: 6'1" | Weight: 190 lbs
Full name: John Samuel Vander Meer
Biography
Johnny Vander Meer, born in 1914, was a prominent pitcher in Major League Baseball, whose career spanned from 1937 until 1951. He was known for his exceptional left-handed pitching and remarkable durability on the mound. Vander Meer finished his career with a record of 119 wins and 121 losses, an earned run average (ERA) of 3.44, and a total of 1,294 strikeouts. He also recorded 2 saves, highlighting his versatility as a pitcher. Vander Meer's impressive performance earned him four All-Star selections, a testament to his talent and consistency during an era that featured many legendary players.
Vander Meer is perhaps best remembered for his historic achievement of throwing back-to-back no-hitters in 1938, a feat that remains unparalleled in baseball history. This remarkable accomplishment not only cemented his place in the annals of the game but also showcased his ability to dominate hitters during the late 1930s, a time when the sport was evolving and becoming more competitive. His contributions to the game extended beyond the numbers, as he became a beloved figure in the baseball community, celebrated for his skill and determination on the mound. Vander Meer's legacy continues to resonate in the world of baseball, where he is remembered as one of the great pitchers of his time.
Negro Leagues Career Statistics
Batting
| PA | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | SB | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.0 | 3.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
Pitching
| W | L | G | GS | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | R | ER | HR | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4.0 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 3.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.00 |
Negro Leagues Season-by-Season Batting
| Season | PA | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | SB | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1946 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
Negro Leagues Season-by-Season Pitching
| Season | W | L | G | GS | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | R | ER | HR | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1946 | 4.0 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 3.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.00 |
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 | 2104.7 | 1799 | 805 | 100 | 1132 | 1294 | 3.44 | 0 |
Season-by-Season Pitching
| Year | Team | Lg | W | L | G | GS | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA | Pitcher PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1937 | CIN | NL | 3 | 5 | 19 | 9 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 84.3 | 63 | 36 | 69 | 52 | 3.84 | -144.0 |
| 1938 | CIN | NL | 15 | 10 | 32 | 29 | 16 | 3 | 0 | 225.3 | 177 | 78 | 103 | 125 | 3.12 | 2152.8 |
| 1939 | CIN | NL | 5 | 9 | 30 | 21 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 129.0 | 128 | 67 | 95 | 102 | 4.67 | -288.8 |
| 1940 | CIN | NL | 3 | 1 | 10 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 48.0 | 38 | 20 | 41 | 41 | 3.75 | -548.1 |
| 1941 | CIN | NL | 16 | 13 | 33 | 32 | 18 | 6 | 0 | 226.3 | 172 | 71 | 126 | 202 | 2.82 | 5157.5 |
| 1942 | CIN | NL | 18 | 12 | 33 | 33 | 21 | 4 | 0 | 244.0 | 188 | 66 | 102 | 186 | 2.43 | 6457.1 |
| 1943 | CIN | NL | 15 | 16 | 36 | 36 | 21 | 3 | 0 | 289.0 | 228 | 92 | 162 | 174 | 2.87 | 1454.4 |
| 1946 | CIN | NL | 10 | 12 | 29 | 25 | 11 | 4 | 0 | 204.3 | 175 | 72 | 78 | 94 | 3.17 | 788.9 |
| 1947 | CIN | NL | 9 | 14 | 30 | 29 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 186.0 | 186 | 91 | 87 | 79 | 4.40 | 88.5 |
| 1948 | CIN | NL | 17 | 14 | 33 | 33 | 14 | 3 | 0 | 232.0 | 204 | 88 | 124 | 120 | 3.41 | 239.6 |
| 1949 | CIN | NL | 5 | 10 | 28 | 24 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 159.7 | 172 | 87 | 85 | 76 | 4.90 | -218.1 |
| 1950 | CHC | NL | 3 | 4 | 32 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 73.7 | 60 | 31 | 59 | 41 | 3.79 | - |
| 1951 | CLE | AL | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3.0 | 8 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 18.00 | 0.0 |
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 | 0.152 | 0.200 | 0.180 | 0.379 | -4789.3 |
Season-by-Season Batting
| Year | Team | Lg | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1937 | CIN | NL | 21 | 23 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 0.217 | 0.0 |
| 1938 | CIN | NL | 33 | 83 | 6 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 23 | 0.181 | -733.9 |
| 1939 | CIN | NL | 30 | 36 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 10 | 0.111 | 0.0 |
| 1940 | CIN | NL | 12 | 20 | 6 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0.300 | 0.0 |
| 1941 | CIN | NL | 35 | 76 | 6 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 18 | 0.132 | -742.9 |
| 1942 | CIN | NL | 37 | 75 | 7 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 26 | 0.147 | -540.6 |
| 1943 | CIN | NL | 40 | 95 | 9 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 9 | 28 | 0.137 | -694.5 |
| 1946 | CIN | NL | 33 | 73 | 6 | 18 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 21 | 0.247 | -285.0 |
| 1947 | CIN | NL | 31 | 57 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 18 | 0.088 | -622.9 |
| 1948 | CIN | NL | 41 | 78 | 6 | 11 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 21 | 0.141 | -582.1 |
| 1949 | CIN | NL | 33 | 52 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 6 | 17 | 0.077 | -587.4 |
| 1950 | CHC | NL | 35 | 16 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 0.125 | 0.0 |
| 1951 | CLE | AL | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.000 | 0.0 |
Postseason Statistics
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
| 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
| 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
| 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 |
Fielding Statistics
Career Fielding Totals by Position
| Position | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | 346 | 0 | 82 | 404 | 29 | 30 |
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 | Games |
|---|---|
| Pitcher | 346 |
Awards & Honors
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 |