Bob Porterfield
| Bob Porterfield | |||
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Porterfield in about 1953.
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| Pitcher | |||
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Born: August 10, 1923 Newport, Virginia |
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Died: April 28, 1980 (aged 56) Charlotte, North Carolina |
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| MLB debut | |||
| August 8, 1948, for the New York Yankees | |||
| Last MLB appearance | |||
| September 9, 1959, for the Pittsburgh Pirates | |||
| MLB statistics | |||
| Win–loss record | 87–97 | ||
| Earned run average | 3.79 | ||
| Strikeouts | 572 | ||
| Teams | |||
| Career highlights and awards | |||
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Erwin Coolidge "Bob" Porterfield (August 10, 1923 – April 28, 1980) was a right-handed Major League Baseball pitcher. He played for twelve seasons between 1948 and 1959 for the New York Yankees, Washington Senators, Boston Red Sox, Pittsburgh Pirates and Chicago Cubs. He appeared in one All-Star game in his career.
Originally signed by the Yankees in 1946, it did not take him long to reach the Major Leagues. He made his debut on August 8, 1948 at the age of 24. He showed some promise in his rookie season, going 5 and 3 with a 4.50 ERA in 78 innings of work. Although he walked 34 and struck out only 30 batters, he threw only one wild pitch in that time so his control must not have been too much of a concern. While in the minors in 1948, he led the International League in ERA.
He spent the next couple years with the Yankees, never playing a full season with them. In his time with them, he wore the number 18, except in 1951, he wore 23.
On June 15, 1951, he was sent with Tom Ferrick and Fred Sanford to the Senators for Bob Kuzava. The Senators would end up getting the better of the deal. In less than three seasons with the Yankees, Kuzava would go 15 and 19 as a starter/reliever. In contrast, Ferrick went 6 and 3 with a 2.73 ERA in 49 relief appearances with the Senators. Although Stanford did not amount to much, Bob Porterfield was the gem of the trade. In 1952, he posted a mediocre 13 and 14 record, but he did post solid 2.72 ERA, which was good for seventh in the league.
In 1953, he led the league with 22 wins and was tenth in the league with a 3.35 ERA. He was seventh in the league in MVP voting and was named The Sporting News Pitcher of the Year. He led the league with 24 complete games and 9 shutouts and was also involved in a triple play on May 22. He threw two one-hitters in 1953. Oddly, this season was not his lone All-Star season.
In fact, 1954 was. He posted a mediocre 13 and 15 record, leading the league in hits allowed with 249. He did lead the league in complete games with 21, but obviously 1953 was far more All-Star worthy than 1954. In his appearance in the All-Star Game, he allowed one home run to Ted Kluszewski.
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