1923
Born August 10, 1923
Newport, VA, USA
Bob Porterfield Notable
b. August 10, 1923 · New York Yankees 1948–1951, Washington Senators 1951–1955, Boston Red Sox 1956–1958, Pittsburgh Pirates 1958–1959, Chicago Cubs 1959
Bob Porterfield played for five clubs across 12 seasons as a pitcher, opening with the New York Yankees in 1948 and closing with the Chicago Cubs in 1959. His longest stay was with the Washington Senators, from 1951 to 1955.
He went 87 and 97 with a 3.79 earned run average, pitching 1,567.7 innings in 318 games. He struck out 572, completed 92 of his 193 starts and threw 23 shutouts. Across 322 games he batted .184, with 95 hits and 34 runs. He finished with 6 home runs, 15 doubles and 1 stolen base.
He led the league in shutouts once, in 1953, with 9. He led the league in wins once, in 1953, with 22.
He was an All-Star in 1954.
He was born in Newport, VA, USA on August 10, 1923, and died on April 28, 1980. He batted right-handed and threw right-handed.
Honors
| Award | Times | Years |
|---|---|---|
| All-Star selection | 1 | 1954 |
| The Sporting News All-Star | 1 | 1953 |
| The Sporting News Pitcher of the Year | 1 | 1953 |
Batting, season by season
| Year | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | SB | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1948 | NYY | 16 | 24 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 0 | .250 |
| 1949 | NYY | 12 | 19 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | .053 |
| 1950 | NYY | 11 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .333 |
| 1951 | NYY/WSH | 21 | 46 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 12 | 0 | .130 |
| 1952 | WSH | 31 | 79 | 5 | 15 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 18 | 0 | .190 |
| 1953 | WSH | 37 | 98 | 8 | 25 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 16 | 6 | 20 | 1 | .255 |
| 1954 | WSH | 32 | 88 | 3 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 4 | 24 | 0 | .102 |
| 1955 | WSH | 30 | 63 | 3 | 12 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 15 | 0 | .190 |
| 1956 | BOS | 25 | 43 | 4 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 10 | 0 | .326 |
| 1957 | BOS | 28 | 29 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 0 | .172 |
| 1958 | BOS/PIT | 39 | 20 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 0 | .050 |
| 1959 | CHC/PIT | 40 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | .000 |
| Career | — | 322 | 516 | 34 | 95 | 15 | 1 | 6 | 43 | 20 | 123 | 1 | .184 |
Pitching, season by season
| Year | Team | W | L | G | GS | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1948 | NYY | 5 | 3 | 16 | 12 | 0 | 78.0 | 85 | 39 | 34 | 30 | 4.50 |
| 1949 | NYY | 2 | 5 | 12 | 8 | 0 | 57.2 | 53 | 26 | 29 | 25 | 4.06 |
| 1950 | NYY | 1 | 1 | 10 | 2 | 1 | 19.2 | 28 | 19 | 8 | 9 | 8.69 |
| 1951 | NYY/WSH | 9 | 8 | 21 | 19 | 0 | 136.1 | 114 | 53 | 57 | 55 | 3.50 |
| 1952 | WSH | 13 | 14 | 31 | 29 | 0 | 231.1 | 222 | 70 | 85 | 80 | 2.72 |
| 1953 | WSH | 22 | 10 | 34 | 32 | 0 | 255.0 | 243 | 95 | 73 | 77 | 3.35 |
| 1954 | WSH | 13 | 15 | 32 | 31 | 0 | 244.0 | 249 | 90 | 77 | 82 | 3.32 |
| 1955 | WSH | 10 | 17 | 30 | 27 | 0 | 178.0 | 197 | 88 | 54 | 74 | 4.45 |
| 1956 | BOS | 3 | 12 | 25 | 18 | 0 | 126.0 | 127 | 72 | 64 | 53 | 5.14 |
| 1957 | BOS | 4 | 4 | 28 | 9 | 1 | 102.1 | 107 | 46 | 30 | 28 | 4.05 |
| 1958 | BOS/PIT | 4 | 6 | 39 | 6 | 5 | 91.2 | 81 | 34 | 19 | 40 | 3.34 |
| 1959 | CHC/PIT | 1 | 2 | 40 | 0 | 1 | 47.2 | 65 | 28 | 22 | 19 | 5.29 |
| Career | — | 87 | 97 | 318 | 193 | 8 | 1567.2 | 1571 | 660 | 552 | 572 | 3.79 |
On this day & linked events
1980
Died April 28, 1980
1948
Major-league debut: Bob Porterfield
Bob Porterfield made a major-league debut on August 8, 1948.
1952
Virgil Trucks's No-Hitter
Virgil Trucks threw a no-hitter for the Detroit Tigers against the Washington Senators on May 15, 1952, winning 1–0.
1959
Final major-league game: Bob Porterfield
Bob Porterfield played a final major-league game on September 21, 1959.
Image: Bowman Gum, public domain