Ken Raffensberger
Kenneth David Raffensberger

Bats Right
Throws Right
Height 6'2
Weight 185

Born August 8, 1917
York, PA
Died November 10, 2002
York, PA

Pitching  

 Year Ag Tm    W   L  PCT.  SV   G  GS  CG SHO    IP     H    R   ER   BB   SO  HR  ERA  lgERA ERA+
+-----------+---+---+-----+---+---+---+---+---+------+----+----+----+----+----+---+-----+-----+----+
 1944 26 HAR  17   7  .708   0  38  36   7   1  251.2  245  104   99   54  174  13  3.54  4.32  122  
 1946 28 HAR   4   7  .364   1  26  14   4   1  107.1  115   53   47   23   49   7  3.94  3.97  101  
 1947 29 HAR   3  12  .200   1  27  19   0   0   95.0  130   83   77   30   55  15  7.29  4.63   63  
 1948 30 HAR   7   9  .438   0  28  26   4   0  179.0  193   85   72   38   41  12  3.62  4.45  123  
 1949 31 HAR  10  12  .455   0  30  30   6   1  184.2  212  123  100   88   46  10  4.87  4.54   93  
 1950 32 HAR   7  10  .412   0  38  38   4   1  232.0  273  116  103   42  107  28  4.00  4.26  107  
 1951 33 HAR  11  11  .500   2  37  32   6   1  223.0  226   87   83   45  104  20  3.35  4.04  121  
 1952 34 HAR  12  14  .462   0  36  35   5   0  221.1  247  114   99   53  134  22  4.03  4.02  100  
 1953 35 HAR   8  13  .381   0  28  28   7   1  168.1  196  100   84   31   24  19  4.49  4.67  104  
+-----------+---+---+-----+---+---+---+---+---+------+----+----+----+----+----+---+-----+-----+----+
  9 Seasons   79  95  .454   4 288 258  43   6 1662.1 1837  865  764  404  734 146  4.49  4.31  104   
+-----------+---+---+-----+---+---+---+---+---+------+----+----+----+----+----+---+-----+-----+----+
 154 Gm  Avg   9  11  .454   0  34  31   5   1  198.0  219  103   91   48   87  17  4.14  
 Career High  17  14  .708   2  38  38   7   1  251.2  273  123  103   88  174  28  3.35     
+-----------+---+---+-----+---+---+---+---+---+------+----+----+----+----+----+---+-----+-----+----+
 Year Ag Tm    W   L  PCT.  SV   G  GS  CG SHO    IP     H    R   ER   BB   SO  HR  ERA  lgERA ERA+

Postseason Pitching

 
 Year Tm  OPP WLser   W   L  PCT.  SV   G  GS  CG SHO    IP    H    R   ER   BB   SO  HR   ERA  
+------------------+---+---+-----+---+---+---+---+---+-----+----+----+----+----+----+---+-----+
 1944 HAR MON   L     0   1  .000   0   2   2   0   0  10.2   12    6    4    5    9   0  3.37
 1950 HAR STL   W     1   0 1.000   0   1   1   0   0   8.0    9    3    3    2    3   2  3.38
+------------------+---+---+-----+---+---+---+---+---+-----+----+----+----+----+----+---+-----+
               1-1    1   1  .500   0   3   3   0   0  18.2   21    9    7    7   12   2  3.37
+------------------+---+---+-----+---+---+---+---+---+-----+----+----+----+----+----+---+-----+

WLser shows whether the player's team Won or Lost the series.



Appearances on Leaderboards and Awards  

Stats are Year-Value-Rank

ERA
1944-3.54-6
1948-3.62-9
1951-3.35-7

Wins
1944-17-4

Strikeouts
1944-174-4
1952-134-6

Innings
1944-251.2-2
1950-232.0-9
1952-221.1-9

Complete Games
1944-7-8
1951-6-7

Losses
1947-12-8
1952-14-7
1954-13-8

Pitcher of the Month, April 1944


Transactions

January 1, 1939: Drafted 2nd round (16th overall) by Harlem.


Biography
Raffensberger was 119-154 with a 3.60 ERA for the St. Louis Cardinals, Chicago Cubs, Philadelphia Phillies and Cincinnati Reds.

He made his debut with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1939, appearing in a single game. In 1940, he finished with a 7-9 record, mostly as a relief pitcher, with the Chicago Cubs.

He was the only representative for the Philadelphia Phillies in the 1944 All-Star game and he is credited as the winning pitcher. That year, he was 13-20 with a 3.06 ERA for a last-place team.

He served in the Navy during the 1945 season and returned to lead the NL in saves in 1946 with 6.

In 1947, baseball's color barrier was broken with Jackie Robinson joined the Brooklyn Dodgers. Raffensberger, as published in wire reports, later claimed that Philadelphia manager Ben Chapman told his pitchers to throw at Robinson if they had two strikes in the count.

"I didn't go along with it. I never believed in throwing at a guy," Raffensberger said, as quoted in wire reports.

That season, he was traded to the Reds along with catcher Hugh Poland for catcher Al Lakeman. Lakeman struggled at the plate for the Phillies while Raffensberger won 89 games for the Reds.

In 1949, he finished 18-17 and led the NL with 5 shutouts and, in 1952, he was 17-13 and led the NL with 6 shutouts.

One NL player gave Raffensberger one of his biggest moments. Hall of Famer Stan Musial said, on an "Ed Sullivan Show" appearance, that Raffensberger was the toughest pitcher he had faced.

Following his major league career, he played briefly in Cuba and then returned home to pitch for the minor league York White Roses.



  • Real-life stats at Baseball-Reference.com


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