John Whitehead

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1935-1942)

W–L 49–54
ERA 4.60
WHIP 1.53
SO 254
Pitcher PIV -10664.0
Position
Pitcher
Bats / Throws
R / R
Height / Weight
6'2" / 195 lb
Born
4/27/1909 in Coleman, TX, USA
Died
10/20/1964 in Bonham, TX, USA
MLB Debut
1935-04-19
Last Game
1942-05-13

Full name: John Henderson Whitehead

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Career Pitching Statistics

W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
49 54 172 119 52 9 4 944.0 1,074 482 69 372 254 4.60 -10664.0

Career ERA 4.60 vs. league average 4.24 across their career seasons — 8.5% worse 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
1935 CHA AL 13 13 28 27 18 1 0 222.3 209 92 101 72 3.72 4.35 (+14%) -3220.0
1936 CHA AL 13 13 34 32 15 1 1 230.7 254 119 98 70 4.64 4.59 (-1%) -62.1
1937 CHA AL 11 8 26 24 8 4 0 165.7 191 75 56 45 4.07 4.34 (+6%) -2170.5
1938 CHA AL 10 11 32 24 10 2 2 183.3 218 97 80 38 4.76 4.35 (-10%) -2474.5
1939 CHA AL 0 3 7 4 0 0 0 32.0 60 29 5 9 8.16 4.28 (-90%) -252.5
1939 SLA AL 1 3 26 4 0 0 1 66.0 88 43 17 9 5.86 4.28 (-37%) -2219.3
1940 SLA AL 1 3 15 4 1 1 0 40.0 46 24 14 11 5.40 4.21 (-28%) -265.1
1942 SLA AL 0 0 4 0 0 0 0 4.0 8 3 1 0 6.75 — 0.0
Career · 8 seasons 49 54 172 119 52 9 4 944.0 1,074 482 372 254 4.60 — -10,664

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
172 325 24 55 2 0 0 30 0 20 54 .169 .220 .175 .395 -2,017

Career AVG .169 vs. league average .273 across their career seasons — 37.9% below league average.

Career OBP .220 vs. league average .340 across their career seasons — 35.3% below league average.

Career SLG .175 vs. league average .389 across their career seasons — 54.9% below league average.

Career OPS .395 vs. league average .729 across their career seasons — 45.8% 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
1935 CHA AL 28 82 7 12 0 0 0 9 0 4 9 .146 .279 (-48%) .342 (-46%) .399 (-63%) .742 (-55%) -734.6
1936 CHA AL 34 87 6 21 1 0 0 9 0 5 9 .241 .283 (-15%) .349 (-19%) .404 (-37%) .753 (-29%) -408.1
1937 CHA AL 26 58 7 13 1 0 0 5 0 4 10 .224 .276 (-19%) .342 (-17%) .398 (-39%) .740 (-29%) -260.6
1938 CHA AL 32 60 3 6 0 0 0 5 0 5 15 .100 .272 (-63%) .341 (-50%) .392 (-75%) .734 (-63%) -614.1
1939 CHA AL 7 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 7 .000 — — — — 0.0
1939 SLA AL 26 17 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 2 1 .059 — — — — 0.0
1940 SLA AL 15 12 0 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 3 .167 — — — — 0.0
1942 SLA AL 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
Career · 8 seasons 172 325 24 55 2 0 0 30 0 20 54 .169 — — — — -2,018

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 (344 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home881501228013.187
Away841751227017.154

Pitching — Home / Away

SplitGIPHERBBSOERA
Home88473.15162251771264.28
Away84470.25582531961314.84

Last 10 Games — Batting

DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1942-05-13 SLAPHAL 000000000
1942-05-03 SLAMINL 000000000
1942-04-26 SLADETL 000000000
1942-04-17 SLADETW 000000000
1940-09-22 SLACHWL 000000000
1940-09-17 SLANYYL 000000000
1940-08-14 SLADETL 101000100
1940-08-09 SLACLEW 200000000
1940-08-05 SLADETW 300000001
1940-08-03 SLAPHAL 000000000

Last 10 Games — Pitching

DateTmOppDecIPHRERBBSOHR
1942-05-13 SLAPHA — 1.0100000
1942-05-03 SLAMIN — 1.0222100
1942-04-26 SLADET — 2.0311000
1942-04-17 SLADET — 0.0200000
1940-09-22 SLACHW — 2.0311100
1940-09-17 SLANYY — 1.0100000
1940-08-14 SLADET — 1.2100000
1940-08-09 SLACLE — 8.0833210
1940-08-05 SLADET W 6.0000120
1940-08-03 SLAPHA — 1.0233101

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position G GS PO A E DP
P 172 0 35 206 9 16

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1935 CHA P 28 0 7 56 1 6
1936 CHA P 34 0 10 60 5 4
1937 CHA P 26 0 6 27 1 1
1938 CHA P 32 0 4 35 1 3
1939 CHA P 7 0 3 5 0 0
1939 SLA P 26 0 4 15 0 2
1940 SLA P 15 0 1 6 1 0
1942 SLA P 4 0 0 2 0 0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Position Games
Pitcher 172

Award Voting History

Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
1935 Most Valuable Player AL 19th 4.0 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

John Whitehead (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Kent Greenfield
    41-48, 4.54 ERA
  2. 89
    Charlie Robertson
    49-80, 4.44 ERA
  3. 88
    Duane Pillette
    38-66, 4.40 ERA
  4. 85
    Monte Weaver
    71-50, 4.36 ERA
  5. 82
    Karl Drews
    44-53, 4.76 ERA
  6. 82
    Socks Seibold
    48-86, 4.43 ERA

Frequently Asked Questions about John Whitehead

What years did John Whitehead play?
John Whitehead played in Major League Baseball from 1935 to 1942.
Was John Whitehead a pitcher?
Yes. John Whitehead pitched in the major leagues, recording 49 wins and 254 strikeouts.
How many home runs did John Whitehead hit?
John Whitehead hit 0 career home runs with 55 hits.