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                                                                                         
+-----------+---+---+-----+---+---+---+---+---+------+----+----+----+----+----+---+-----+-----+----+
  3 Seasons   24  26  .480   2  91  69  11   2  454.0  490  240  223  107  278  35  4.42  4.32   98   
+-----------+---+---+-----+---+---+---+---+---+------+----+----+----+----+----+---+-----+-----+----+
 154 Gm  Avg  10  11  .480   1  37  28   4   1  184.1  199   98   91   43  113  14  4.42  
 Career High  17  12  .708   1  38  36   7   1  251.2  245  104   99   54  174  15  3.54     
+-----------+---+---+-----+---+---+---+---+---+------+----+----+----+----+----+---+-----+-----+----+
 Year Ag Tm    W   L  PCT.  SV   G  GS  CG SHO    IP     H    R   ER   BB   SO  HR  ERA  lgERA ERA+

Shaded Text indicates partial season results.

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  3.38
+------------------+---+---+-----+---+---+---+---+---+-----+----+----+----+----+----+---+-----+
               0-1    0   1  .000   0   2   2   0   0  10.2   12    6    4    5    9   0  3.38
+------------------+---+---+-----+---+---+---+---+---+-----+----+----+----+----+----+---+-----+

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

Wins 1944-17-4

Strikeouts 1944-174-4

Innings 1944-251.2-2

Complete Games 1944-7-8

Losses 1947-12-8

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.