Lon Warneke

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1930-1945)

Lon Warneke was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1930 to 1945 for the Chicago Cubs and the St. Louis Cardinals, a span of 16 seasons. Across 445 career appearances, he went 192-121 with a 3.18 ERA and 1,140 strikeouts. He also batted .223 with 4 home runs. Lon Warneke was a 5-time All-Star. His career Pitcher PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of pitching impact — is 21013.4.

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 192–121
ERA 3.18
WHIP 1.25
SO 1,140
Pitcher PIV 21013.4
Position
Pitcher
Bats / Throws
R / R
Height / Weight
6'2" / 185 lb
Born
3/28/1909 in Mount Ida, AR, USA
Died
6/23/1976 in Hot Springs, AR, USA
MLB Debut
1930-04-18
Last Game
1945-09-29
Awards
5× All-Star

Full name: Lonnie Warneke

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Career Pitching Statistics

Lon Warneke — Career Pitching Statistics
W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
192 121 445 343 192 30 13 2782.1 2,726 984 175 739 1,140 3.18 21013.4

Career ERA 3.18 vs. league average 4.13 across their career seasons — 22.9% better than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

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Lon Warneke Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year Team Lg W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER BB SO ERA Lg ERA Pitcher PIV
1930 CHN NL 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1.1 2 5 5 0 33.75 — 0.0
1931 CHN NL 2 4 20 7 3 0 0 64.1 67 23 37 27 3.22 4.10 (+22%) -429.6
1932 CHN NL 22 6 35 32 25 4 0 277.0 247 73 64 106 2.37 4.13 (+43%) 3574.6
1933 CHN NL 18 13 36 34 26 4 1 287.1 262 64 75 133 2.00 3.86 (+48%) 5298.1
1934 CHN NL 22 10 43 35 23 3 3 291.1 273 104 66 143 3.21 4.29 (+25%) 4942.7
1935 CHN NL 20 13 42 30 20 1 4 261.2 257 89 50 120 3.06 4.35 (+30%) 3611.1
1936 CHN NL 16 13 40 29 13 4 1 240.1 246 92 76 113 3.45 4.59 (+25%) 3981.8
1937 SLN NL 18 11 36 33 18 2 0 238.2 280 120 69 87 4.53 4.34 (-4%) -4447.5
1938 SLN NL 13 8 31 26 12 4 0 197.0 199 87 64 89 3.97 4.35 (+9%) 1177.3
1939 SLN NL 13 7 34 21 6 2 2 162.0 160 68 49 59 3.78 4.28 (+12%) -501.9
1940 SLN NL 16 10 33 31 17 1 0 232.0 235 81 47 85 3.14 4.21 (+25%) 2092.5
1941 SLN NL 17 9 37 30 12 4 0 246.0 227 86 82 83 3.15 3.94 (+20%) -1441.6
1942 SLN NL 6 4 12 12 5 0 0 82.0 76 30 15 31 3.29 3.57 (+8%) -142.4
1942 CHN NL 5 7 15 12 8 1 2 99.0 97 25 21 28 2.27 3.57 (+36%) 1663.9
1943 CHN NL 4 5 21 10 4 0 0 88.1 82 31 18 30 3.16 3.50 (+10%) 1075.5
1945 CHN NL 0 1 9 1 0 0 0 14.0 16 6 1 6 3.86 3.67 (-5%) 559.1
Career · 16 seasons 192 121 445 343 192 30 13 2,782.1 2,726 984 739 1,140 3.18 — 21,013

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

Lon Warneke — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
459 962 87 215 26 2 4 97 1 52 148 .223 .266 .267 .533 -3,768

Career AVG .223 vs. league average .272 across their career seasons — 17.9% below league average.

Career OBP .266 vs. league average .338 across their career seasons — 21.1% below league average.

Career SLG .267 vs. league average .386 across their career seasons — 30.7% below league average.

Career OPS .533 vs. league average .723 across their career seasons — 26.2% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Lon Warneke 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
1930 CHN NL 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1931 CHN NL 20 19 3 5 2 0 0 2 0 0 5 .263 — — — — 0.0
1932 CHN NL 35 99 8 19 1 1 0 9 0 3 20 .192 .275 (-30%) .335 (-36%) .391 (-43%) .726 (-40%) -634.9
1933 CHN NL 39 100 9 30 6 1 2 13 0 3 13 .300 .270 (+11%) .329 (-3%) .377 (+17%) .707 (+8%) 89.0
1934 CHN NL 52 113 12 22 3 0 0 8 0 3 9 .195 .278 (-30%) .340 (-37%) .392 (-44%) .733 (-40%) -743.6
1935 CHN NL 44 91 9 20 1 0 0 15 0 3 9 .220 .279 (-21%) .342 (-26%) .399 (-42%) .742 (-35%) -509.7
1936 CHN NL 40 84 9 17 1 0 1 5 0 2 9 .202 .283 (-29%) .349 (-32%) .404 (-38%) .753 (-35%) -489.4
1937 SLN NL 36 80 10 21 3 0 0 10 0 7 12 .263 .276 (-5%) .342 (-6%) .398 (-25%) .740 (-16%) -195.4
1938 SLN NL 31 71 5 23 3 0 0 6 0 2 7 .324 .272 (+19%) .341 (avg) .392 (-7%) .734 (-4%) -44.9
1939 SLN NL 34 52 4 10 3 0 0 8 0 4 7 .192 .274 (-30%) .342 (-23%) .393 (-36%) .735 (-30%) -254.0
1940 SLN NL 33 86 6 18 2 0 1 13 0 5 24 .209 .267 (-22%) .335 (-25%) .387 (-31%) .722 (-28%) -388.0
1941 SLN NL 37 77 6 9 0 0 0 4 0 11 18 .117 .262 (-55%) .332 (-32%) .373 (-69%) .705 (-51%) -597.3
1942 SLN NL 12 30 2 10 0 0 0 3 0 3 4 .333 — — — — 0.0
1942 CHN NL 15 32 1 6 0 0 0 1 0 0 5 .188 — — — — 0.0
1943 CHN NL 21 26 2 5 1 0 0 0 1 5 6 .192 — — — — 0.0
1945 CHN NL 9 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
Career · 16 seasons 459 962 87 215 26 2 4 97 1 52 148 .223 — — — — -3,768

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

Lon Warneke — Playoff Career Batting
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
5 9 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 3 .111

Playoff Batting by Year

Lon Warneke — Playoff Batting by Year
Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1935 WS CHN 3 5 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .200
1932 WS CHN 2 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 .000

Playoff Career Pitching

Lon Warneke — Playoff Career Pitching
W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
2 1 5 3 0 27.1 24 8 9 13 2.63

Playoff Pitching by Year

Lon Warneke — Playoff Pitching by Year
Year Round Team W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
1935 WS CHN 2 0 3 2 0 16.2 9 1 4 5 0.54
1932 WS CHN 0 1 2 1 0 10.2 15 7 5 8 5.91

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (904 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Lon Warneke — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home23349445117152.237
Away2264684298347.209

Pitching — Home / Away

Lon Warneke — Pitching — Home / Away
SplitGIPHERBBSOERA
Home2281496.014735183756633.12
Away2171284.212564663654853.26

Last 10 Games — Batting

Lon Warneke — Last 10 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1945-09-29 CHCPITW 100000000
1945-09-26 CHCSTLL 000000000
1945-09-17 CHCBROL 000000000
1945-08-04 CHCCINL 000000000
1945-07-22 CHCPHIL 000000000
1945-07-20 CHCBROL 000000000
1945-07-18 CHCBROL 110000010
1945-07-01 CHCNY1L 000000000
1945-06-23 CHCSTLL 000000000
1943-09-28 CHCNY1W 200000012

Last 10 Games — Pitching

Lon Warneke — Last 10 Games — Pitching
DateTmOppDecIPHRERBBSOHR
1945-09-29 CHCPIT SV 3.0200020
1945-09-26 CHCSTL — 0.0331000
1945-09-17 CHCBRO — 1.0100000
1945-08-04 CHCCIN — 2.0100110
1945-07-22 CHCPHI — 0.1220010
1945-07-20 CHCBRO — 0.1100000
1945-07-18 CHCBRO L 5.1544020
1945-07-01 CHCNY1 — 1.0100000
1945-06-23 CHCSTL — 1.0000000
1943-09-28 CHCNY1 W 9.0611140

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Lon Warneke — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
P 445 0 126 538 8 31

Season-by-Season Fielding

Lon Warneke — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1930 CHN P 1 0 0 1 0 0
1931 CHN P 20 0 1 8 1 0
1932 CHN P 35 0 11 55 1 7
1933 CHN P 36 0 8 72 0 7
1934 CHN P 43 0 15 58 0 1
1935 CHN P 42 0 15 47 1 1
1936 CHN P 40 0 15 44 1 1
1937 SLN P 36 0 10 40 2 0
1938 SLN P 31 0 4 34 2 0
1939 SLN P 34 0 9 28 0 4
1940 SLN P 33 0 10 50 0 5
1941 SLN P 37 0 8 43 0 3
1942 SLN P 12 0 6 13 0 0
1942 CHN P 15 0 8 20 0 0
1943 CHN P 21 0 3 22 0 2
1945 CHN P 9 0 3 3 0 0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Lon Warneke Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position Games
Pitcher 445

Awards & Honors

Lon Warneke — Awards & Honors
Year Award Notes
1941 Baseball Magazine All-Star P5
1937 Baseball Magazine All-Star P4
1935 Baseball Magazine All-Star P3
1934 Baseball Magazine All-Star P3
1933 Baseball Magazine All-Star P4
1932 Baseball Magazine All-Star P4
1932 Baseball Magazine All-Star P1
1932 TSN All-Star P

Award Voting History

Lon Warneke — Award Voting History
Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
1941 Most Valuable Player NL 27th 7.0 336 0
1938 Most Valuable Player NL 30th 1.0 336 0
1937 Most Valuable Player NL 16th 6.0 80 0
1935 Most Valuable Player NL 12th 9.0 80 0
1934 Most Valuable Player NL 13th 10.0 80 0
1933 Most Valuable Player NL 20th 4.0 80 0
1932 Most Valuable Player NL 2nd 68.0 80 0

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Lon Warneke (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Art Nehf
    184-120, 3.20 ERA
  2. 83
    Bill Doak
    169-157, 2.98 ERA
  3. 79
    Urban Shocker
    187-117, 3.17 ERA
  4. 77
    Rube Benton
    150-144, 3.09 ERA
  5. 76
    Stan Coveleski HOF
    215-142, 2.89 ERA
  6. 75
    Claude Passeau
    162-150, 3.32 ERA

Compare Lon Warneke

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

vs Lefty Grove
vs Carl Hubbell
vs Bob Feller
vs Hal Newhouser

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Lon Warneke: the record in brief

According to the bio, Lon Warneke debuted on April 18, 1930 and played a final game on September 29, 1945. Club by club, the record runs the Chicago Cubs (1930 through 1945) and the St. Louis Cardinals (1937 through 1942). Warneke, a pitcher by primary position, threw and hit right-handed. Warneke is listed at 185 pounds on a 6-foot-2 frame. Warneke was born on March 28, 1909, in Mount Ida, AR, USA. Warneke's death is recorded on June 23, 1976, in Hot Springs, AR, USA. Lon Warneke was the playing name; the full given name is Lonnie.

Warneke's career pitching line is 192 wins, 121 losses and a 3.18 ERA over 445 appearances. Warneke had 1,140 strikeouts, 192 complete games, 30 shutouts, and 13 saves. That 3.18 ERA compares with a 4.13 league average across the same seasons, 22.9% better. 1932 brought Warneke a season-high 22 wins. The strikeout high was 143 in 1934. Among the heaviest workloads, the lowest ERA was 2.00 in 1933, when the league's was 3.86.

Frequently Asked Questions about Lon Warneke

What years did Lon Warneke play?
Lon Warneke played in Major League Baseball from 1930 to 1945.
Was Lon Warneke a pitcher?
Yes. Lon Warneke pitched in the major leagues, recording 192 wins and 1140 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Lon Warneke hit?
Lon Warneke hit 4 career home runs with 215 hits.
What was Lon Warneke's career batting average?
Lon Warneke batted .223 over his career, with 215 hits in 962 at bats.
How many RBI did Lon Warneke have?
Lon Warneke drove in 97 runs in his career.
What was Lon Warneke's career ERA?
Lon Warneke finished with a 3.18 career ERA, going 192-121 with 1,140 strikeouts.