Early Wynn
⭐ Hall of Fame 1972
Born: 1/6/1920 in Hartford, AL, USA
Died: 4/4/1999 in Venice, FL, USA
MLB Debut: 1939-09-13 | Final Game: 1963-09-13
Bats: B | Throws: R | Height: 6'0" | Weight: 190 lbs
Biography
Early Wynn was a prominent American professional baseball pitcher whose career spanned from 1939 to 1963. Born in 1920, he developed into one of the most effective and durable pitchers of his era, finishing his career with a record of 300 wins and 244 losses, and an earned run average (ERA) of 3.54. Wynn was known for his fierce competitive spirit and his ability to dominate hitters, amassing a total of 2,334 strikeouts throughout his time in Major League Baseball. He also contributed to his teams with 15 saves, showcasing his versatility as a pitcher.
Wynn's career was marked by significant achievements, including being named an All-Star nine times and winning the prestigious Cy Young Award. His excellence on the mound earned him a place in the Baseball Hall of Fame, where he was inducted in 1972. Playing during a transformative era in baseball, Wynn's contributions helped shape the game in the post-World War II period, and he remained a respected figure in the sport long after his retirement. His legacy is one of resilience and skill, making him a revered member of baseball history.
Career Pitching Statistics
| W | L | G | GS | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | ER | HR | BB | SO | ERA | Pitcher PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 300 | 244 | 691 | 612 | 290 | 49 | 15 | 4564.0 | 4291 | 1796 | 338 | 1775 | 2334 | 3.54 | 0 |
Season-by-Season Pitching
| Year | Team | Lg | W | L | G | GS | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA | Pitcher PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1939 | WSN | AL | 0 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 20.3 | 26 | 13 | 10 | 1 | 5.75 | - |
| 1941 | WSN | AL | 3 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 40.0 | 35 | 7 | 10 | 15 | 1.57 | - |
| 1942 | WSN | AL | 10 | 16 | 30 | 28 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 190.0 | 246 | 108 | 73 | 58 | 5.12 | - |
| 1943 | WSN | AL | 18 | 12 | 37 | 33 | 12 | 3 | 0 | 256.7 | 232 | 83 | 83 | 89 | 2.91 | - |
| 1944 | WSN | AL | 8 | 17 | 33 | 25 | 19 | 2 | 2 | 207.7 | 221 | 78 | 67 | 65 | 3.38 | - |
| 1946 | WSN | AL | 8 | 5 | 17 | 12 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 107.0 | 112 | 37 | 33 | 36 | 3.11 | - |
| 1947 | WSN | AL | 17 | 15 | 33 | 31 | 22 | 2 | 0 | 247.0 | 251 | 100 | 90 | 73 | 3.64 | - |
| 1948 | WSN | AL | 8 | 19 | 33 | 31 | 15 | 1 | 0 | 198.0 | 236 | 128 | 94 | 49 | 5.82 | - |
| 1949 | CLE | AL | 11 | 7 | 26 | 23 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 164.7 | 186 | 76 | 57 | 62 | 4.15 | 2863.6 |
| 1950 | CLE | AL | 18 | 8 | 32 | 28 | 14 | 2 | 0 | 213.7 | 166 | 76 | 101 | 143 | 3.20 | 2359.2 |
| 1951 | CLE | AL | 20 | 13 | 37 | 34 | 21 | 3 | 1 | 274.3 | 227 | 92 | 107 | 133 | 3.02 | 3446.2 |
| 1952 | CLE | AL | 23 | 12 | 42 | 33 | 19 | 4 | 3 | 285.7 | 239 | 92 | 132 | 153 | 2.90 | -456.5 |
| 1953 | CLE | AL | 17 | 12 | 36 | 34 | 16 | 1 | 0 | 251.7 | 234 | 110 | 107 | 138 | 3.93 | 2243.8 |
| 1954 | CLE | AL | 23 | 11 | 40 | 36 | 20 | 3 | 2 | 270.7 | 225 | 82 | 83 | 155 | 2.73 | 5128.6 |
| 1955 | CLE | AL | 17 | 11 | 32 | 31 | 16 | 6 | 0 | 230.0 | 207 | 72 | 80 | 122 | 2.82 | 3227.9 |
| 1956 | CLE | AL | 20 | 9 | 38 | 35 | 18 | 4 | 2 | 277.7 | 233 | 84 | 91 | 158 | 2.72 | 5934.5 |
| 1957 | CLE | AL | 14 | 17 | 40 | 37 | 13 | 1 | 1 | 263.0 | 270 | 126 | 104 | 184 | 4.31 | -343.3 |
| 1958 | CHW | AL | 14 | 16 | 40 | 34 | 11 | 4 | 2 | 239.7 | 214 | 110 | 104 | 179 | 4.13 | - |
| 1959 | CHW | AL | 22 | 10 | 37 | 37 | 14 | 5 | 0 | 255.7 | 202 | 90 | 119 | 179 | 3.17 | - |
| 1960 | CHW | AL | 13 | 12 | 36 | 35 | 13 | 4 | 1 | 237.3 | 220 | 92 | 112 | 158 | 3.49 | - |
| 1961 | CHW | AL | 8 | 2 | 17 | 16 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 110.3 | 88 | 43 | 47 | 64 | 3.51 | - |
| 1962 | CHW | AL | 7 | 15 | 27 | 26 | 11 | 3 | 0 | 167.7 | 171 | 83 | 56 | 91 | 4.46 | - |
| 1963 | CLE | AL | 1 | 2 | 20 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 55.3 | 50 | 14 | 15 | 29 | 2.28 | 1042.3 |
Career Batting Statistics
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 796 | 1704 | 136 | 365 | 59 | 5 | 17 | 173 | 1 | 141 | 330 | 0.214 | 0.274 | 0.285 | 0.559 | -5873.8 |
Season-by-Season Batting
| Year | Team | Lg | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1939 | WSN | AL | 3 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0.167 | 0.0 |
| 1941 | WSN | AL | 5 | 15 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0.133 | 0.0 |
| 1942 | WSN | AL | 30 | 69 | 4 | 15 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 13 | 0.217 | -295.2 |
| 1943 | WSN | AL | 38 | 98 | 6 | 29 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 11 | 0.296 | -13.0 |
| 1944 | WSN | AL | 43 | 92 | 4 | 19 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 21 | 0.207 | -437.2 |
| 1946 | WSN | AL | 25 | 47 | 4 | 15 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 0 | 5 | 7 | 0.319 | 140.8 |
| 1947 | WSN | AL | 54 | 120 | 6 | 33 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 13 | 0 | 1 | 19 | 0.275 | -215.6 |
| 1948 | WSN | AL | 73 | 106 | 9 | 23 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 16 | 0 | 14 | 22 | 0.217 | -385.8 |
| 1949 | CLE | AL | 35 | 70 | 3 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 4 | 10 | 0.143 | -573.4 |
| 1950 | CLE | AL | 39 | 77 | 12 | 18 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 10 | 0 | 10 | 12 | 0.234 | -57.6 |
| 1951 | CLE | AL | 41 | 108 | 8 | 20 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 13 | 0 | 7 | 9 | 0.185 | -513.6 |
| 1952 | CLE | AL | 44 | 99 | 5 | 22 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 9 | 15 | 0.222 | -382.4 |
| 1953 | CLE | AL | 37 | 91 | 11 | 25 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 10 | 0 | 7 | 17 | 0.275 | -25.9 |
| 1954 | CLE | AL | 40 | 93 | 10 | 17 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 7 | 13 | 0.183 | -587.7 |
| 1955 | CLE | AL | 34 | 84 | 8 | 15 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 6 | 17 | 0.179 | -484.7 |
| 1956 | CLE | AL | 38 | 101 | 5 | 23 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 15 | 1 | 7 | 22 | 0.228 | -347.5 |
| 1957 | CLE | AL | 40 | 86 | 4 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 11 | 23 | 0.116 | -773.2 |
| 1958 | CHW | AL | 40 | 75 | 7 | 15 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 10 | 25 | 0.200 | -358.4 |
| 1959 | CHW | AL | 37 | 90 | 11 | 22 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 9 | 18 | 0.244 | -27.6 |
| 1960 | CHW | AL | 36 | 75 | 8 | 15 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 14 | 17 | 0.200 | -120.5 |
| 1961 | CHW | AL | 17 | 37 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 11 | 0.162 | 0.0 |
| 1962 | CHW | AL | 27 | 54 | 5 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 17 | 0.130 | -415.2 |
| 1963 | CLE | AL | 20 | 11 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 0.273 | 0.0 |
Postseason Statistics
Playoff Career Batting
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0.286 |
Playoff Batting by Year
| Year | Round | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1959 | WS | CHA | 3 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0.200 |
| 1954 | WS | CLE | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.500 |
Playoff Career Pitching
| W | L | G | GS | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 20.0 | 23 | 11 | 6 | 15 | 4.95 |
Playoff Pitching by Year
| Year | Round | Team | W | L | G | GS | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1959 | WS | CHA | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 13.0 | 19 | 8 | 4 | 10 | 5.54 |
| 1954 | WS | CLE | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 7.0 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 3.86 |
Fielding Statistics
Career Fielding Totals by Position
| Position | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | 691 | 291 | 193 | 670 | 29 | 47 |
Season-by-Season Fielding
| Year | Team | Pos | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1939 | WS1 | P | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1941 | WS1 | P | 5 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 1 | 1 |
| 1942 | WS1 | P | 30 | 0 | 5 | 36 | 2 | 3 |
| 1943 | WS1 | P | 37 | 0 | 5 | 49 | 3 | 3 |
| 1944 | WS1 | P | 33 | 0 | 4 | 31 | 1 | 4 |
| 1946 | WS1 | P | 17 | 0 | 7 | 18 | 1 | 2 |
| 1947 | WS1 | P | 33 | 0 | 15 | 33 | 1 | 3 |
| 1948 | WS1 | P | 33 | 0 | 6 | 32 | 2 | 1 |
| 1949 | CLE | P | 26 | 0 | 16 | 31 | 0 | 3 |
| 1950 | CLE | P | 32 | 0 | 5 | 36 | 3 | 5 |
| 1951 | CLE | P | 37 | 0 | 13 | 42 | 1 | 2 |
| 1952 | CLE | P | 42 | 0 | 20 | 46 | 4 | 2 |
| 1953 | CLE | P | 36 | 0 | 11 | 36 | 0 | 2 |
| 1954 | CLE | P | 40 | 36 | 17 | 27 | 2 | 1 |
| 1955 | CLE | P | 32 | 31 | 7 | 27 | 2 | 0 |
| 1956 | CLE | P | 38 | 35 | 15 | 48 | 3 | 3 |
| 1957 | CLE | P | 40 | 37 | 10 | 38 | 0 | 5 |
| 1958 | CHA | P | 40 | 34 | 12 | 25 | 0 | 2 |
| 1959 | CHA | P | 37 | 37 | 6 | 39 | 2 | 2 |
| 1960 | CHA | P | 36 | 34 | 7 | 28 | 1 | 1 |
| 1961 | CHA | P | 17 | 16 | 4 | 11 | 0 | 0 |
| 1962 | CHA | P | 27 | 26 | 3 | 20 | 0 | 2 |
| 1963 | CLE | P | 20 | 5 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 0 |
Career Games by Position
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| Pitcher | 691 |
Awards & Honors
| Year | Award | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1959 | Cy Young Award | |
| 1959 | TSN All-Star | P |
| 1959 | TSN Major League Player of the Year | |
| 1959 | TSN Pitcher of the Year |
Award Voting History
| Year | Award | League | Finish | Points Won | Points Max | Votes First |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1959 | Cy Young Award | ML | 1st | 13.0 | 16 | 13 |
| 1959 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 3rd | 123.0 | 336 | 0 |
| 1956 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 13th | 32.0 | 336 | 0 |
| 1955 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 20th | 6.0 | 336 | 0 |
| 1954 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 6th | 72.0 | 336 | 0 |
| 1952 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 5th | 99.0 | 336 | 0 |
| 1951 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 16th | 29.0 | 336 | 0 |
| 1947 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 23th | 7.0 | 336 | 0 |
| 1943 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 18th | 13.0 | 336 | 0 |