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Ralph
Birkofer		  
Nickname: Lefty
 
Bats: Left
Throws: Left
Height: 5' 11''
Weight: 218
 
Born: November 5, 1908 in Usa, OH, CINCINNATI
 
Awards & Accomplishments
Gold Glove 1937   
All-Star Selections 1936    1939    1940   
Ratings - Pitching     Help
                                                   
  Stuff Control Movement
Year Age Tm Lg Salary Endurance vL vR OA vL vR OA vL vR OA
1933 24 SEM AL $ 300,000 9 6 5 5 6 5 6 7 7 7
1934 25 SEM AL $ 300,000 9 6 5 5 7 6 6 7 7 7
1935 26 SEM AL $ 300,000 9 6 5 5 6 5 6 7 7 7
1936 27 SEM AL $ 300,000 9 7 6 6 6 5 6 7 7 7
1937 28 SEM AL $ 3,514,286 9 7 6 7 6 5 6 7 7 7
1938 29 SEM AL $ 3,514,286 9 7 7 7 6 5 6 7 7 7
1939 30 SEM AL $ 3,514,286 9 9 8 8 6 5 5 7 7 7
1940 31 SEM AL $ 9,500,000 9 9 8 8 6 5 5 6 6 6
1941 32 SEM AL $ 9,500,000 9 9 8 8 6 5 5 7 6 6
1942 33 SEM AL $ 9,500,000 8 9 8 8 6 5 5 7 6 6
1943 34 NYG NL $ 9,500,000 8 8 8 8 6 5 5 7 6 6
1944 35 TAM AL $ 9,500,000 8 8 8 8 6 5 5 6 6 6
1945 36 TAM AL $ 9,500,000 8 7 6 6 4 4 4 4 4 4
OOTP6 Min Ratings $ 300,000 8 6 5 5 4 4 4 4 4 4
OOTP6 Max Ratings $ 9,500,000 9 9 8 8 7 6 6 7 7 7
Ratings - Batting     Help
                                             
  Contact Power Gap Eye Ks
Year Age Tm Lg Salary   vL vR OA vL vR OA vL vR OA vL vR OA vL vR OA
1933 24 SEM AL $ 300,000   4 4 4 1 1 1 3 3 3 1 1 1 6 6 6
1934 25 SEM AL $ 300,000   4 4 4 1 1 1 3 3 3 1 1 1 6 6 6
1935 26 SEM AL $ 300,000   4 4 4 1 1 1 3 3 3 1 1 1 6 6 6
1936 27 SEM AL $ 300,000   4 4 4 1 1 1 3 3 3 1 1 1 6 6 6
1937 28 SEM AL $ 3,514,286   4 4 4 1 1 1 3 3 3 1 1 1 6 6 6
1938 29 SEM AL $ 3,514,286   4 4 4 1 1 1 3 3 3 1 1 1 6 6 6
1939 30 SEM AL $ 3,514,286   4 4 4 1 1 1 3 3 3 1 1 1 6 6 6
1940 31 SEM AL $ 9,500,000   4 4 4 1 1 1 3 3 3 1 1 1 6 6 6
1941 32 SEM AL $ 9,500,000   4 4 4 1 1 1 3 3 3 1 1 1 6 6 6
1942 33 SEM AL $ 9,500,000   4 4 4 1 1 1 3 3 3 1 1 1 6 6 6
1943 34 NYG NL $ 9,500,000   4 4 4 1 1 1 3 3 3 1 1 1 6 6 6
1944 35 TAM AL $ 9,500,000   4 4 4 1 1 1 3 3 3 1 1 1 6 6 6
1945 36 TAM AL $ 9,500,000   4 4 4 1 1 1 3 3 3 1 1 1 6 6 6
OOTP6 Min Ratings $ 300,000   4 4 4 1 1 1 3 3 3 1 1 1 6 6 6
OOTP6 Max Ratings $ 9,500,000   4 4 4 1 1 1 3 3 3 1 1 1 6 6 6
Pitching Stats     Help
Bold lines indicate player won Platinum Arm or Bronze Rookie.
Year Age Tm Lg W L Pct G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA OAVG OOBP OSLG OOPS PWS
1933 24 SEM AL 9 14 .391 28 28 11 0 0 206.7 253 129 15 63 71 5.62 .299 .350 .430 .781 6.1
    AAA   4 2 .667 8 8 0 0 0 54.3 67 37 6 22 36 6.13 .305 .368 .477 .845  
1934 25 SEM AL 21 8 .724 33 33 16 1 0 269.3 266 100 12 69 78 3.34 .257 .304 .356 .659 27.7
1935 26 SEM AL 19 14 .576 43 43 18 0 0 331.0 378 179 21 103 111 4.87 .286 .340 .406 .745 16.1
1936 27 SEM AL 24 11 .686 43 43 13 2 0 341.7 370 153 19 92 131 4.03 .277 .323 .391 .714 23.9
1937 28 SEM AL 15 16 .484 45 31 8 0 0 239.3 282 146 18 103 86 5.49 .297 .366 .451 .818 5.0
1938 29 SEM AL 3 3 .500 54 0 0 0 6 66.7 71 28 5 19 34 3.78 .278 .333 .400 .733 5.7
1939 30 SEM AL 22 12 .647 42 42 15 1 0 325.0 350 153 24 112 169 4.24 .278 .336 .407 .743 19.6
1940 31 SEM AL 24 11 .686 42 42 16 3 0 334.7 327 145 29 132 209 3.90 .256 .327 .388 .715 23.8
1941 32 SEM AL 15 18 .455 39 39 14 0 0 294.3 279 140 24 113 162 4.28 .248 .318 .381 .699 12.1
1942 33 SEM AL 13 15 .464 36 36 12 1 0 272.7 262 125 29 96 150 4.13 .251 .314 .402 .716 15.1
1943 34 SEM AL 9 8 .529 21 21 7 0 0 156.7 147 66 8 62 96 3.79 .247 .319 .348 .667 10.9
  NYG NL 7 11 .389 22 22 7 1 0 173.3 166 74 9 66 93 3.84 .251 .319 .352 .672 9.8
  TOT   16 19 .457 43 43 14 1 0 330.0 313 140 17 128 189 3.82 .249 .319 .351 .670 20.7
1944 35 NYG NL 8 8 .500 22 22 4 0 0 161.3 143 71 12 64 86 3.96 .241 .317 .359 .676 11.0
  TAM AL 10 5 .667 22 22 4 0 0 164.3 145 63 13 66 70 3.45 .240 .317 .363 .680 15.0
  TOT   18 13 .581 44 44 8 0 0 325.7 288 134 25 130 156 3.70 .241 .317 .361 .678 26.0
1945 36 TAM AL 0 0 .000 1 1 0 0 0 2.3 2 1 0 1 3 3.86 .222 .300 .222 .522 0.1
13 Years Sim 199 154 .564 493 425 145 9 6 3339.3 3441 1573 238 1161 1549 4.24 .267 .328 .391 .719 201.8
1 Years AAA 4 2 .667 8 8 0 0 0 54.3 67 37 6 22 36 6.13 .305 .368 .477 .845  
Season Average 15 11 .577 37 32 11 0 0 256.9 264 121 18 89 119 4.24 .267 .328 .391 .719  
Career Highs 24 19 .724 54 44 18 3 6 341.7 378 179 29 132 209 5.62 .299 .366 .451 .818  
Career Pitching Splits     Help
Click on a Category to view yearly stats.
Category W L Pct G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA OAVG OOBP OSLG OOPS
vs RH   2420 1069 176 835 1031   .273 .335 .400 .735
vs LH   1021 504 62 326 518   .253 .309 .372 .681
Home 98 78 .557 234 205 68 3 1 1623.0 1712 806 133 569 730 4.47 .271 .331 .405 .736
Away 101 76 .571 259 220 76 7 6 1716.3 1729 767 105 592 819 4.02 .262 .323 .378 .701
Mar/Apr 31 22 .585 73 65 19 0 2 481.6 490 218 28 169 226 4.07 .262 .323 .371 .694
May 36 31 .537 87 76 25 1 0 599.6 644 317 43 201 277 4.76 .276 .333 .404 .737
June 32 24 .571 80 74 25 2 1 567.0 580 277 50 217 282 4.40 .264 .331 .406 .737
July 31 25 .554 84 71 22 3 1 558.0 594 268 43 215 246 4.32 .274 .340 .399 .739
August 37 21 .638 84 67 24 2 1 545.3 541 224 42 174 243 3.70 .260 .317 .391 .708
Sep/Oct 32 31 .508 85 72 32 2 2 587.6 592 269 32 185 275 4.12 .262 .318 .373 .691
Batting Stats     Help
Bold lines indicate player won Silver Slugger or Bronze Rookie.
Year Age Tm Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS XR OWS
1933 24 SEM AL 28 76 4 15 2 0 0 3 0 0 0 14 .197 .195 .224 .418 3.0 0.0
1934 25 SEM AL 33 98 12 33 3 1 0 10 0 0 2 14 .337 .350 .388 .738 12.5 1.8
1935 26 SEM AL 43 124 18 32 0 0 1 18 0 0 3 18 .258 .276 .282 .558 9.9 0.1
1936 27 SEM AL 43 124 14 28 2 0 0 14 0 0 1 27 .226 .230 .242 .472 6.4 0.0
1937 28 SEM AL 45 81 7 22 3 0 0 10 0 0 0 17 .272 .268 .309 .577 7.1 0.4
1938 29 SEM AL 54 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 .000 -0.3 0.0
1939 30 SEM AL 42 119 12 26 3 0 0 8 0 0 5 26 .218 .248 .244 .492 7.6 0.0
1940 31 SEM AL 42 123 14 30 2 0 0 16 0 0 5 19 .244 .273 .260 .533 9.7 0.0
1941 32 SEM AL 39 108 6 16 2 0 0 7 0 0 1 22 .148 .155 .167 .321 0.7 0.0
1942 33 SEM AL 36 95 5 14 0 0 0 5 0 0 2 27 .147 .173 .147 .321 1.0 0.0
1943 34 SEM AL 21 64 3 18 2 1 0 12 0 0 1 11 .281 .288 .344 .632 6.2 0.3
  NYG NL 22 62 3 9 1 0 0 1 0 0 2 12 .145 .172 .161 .333 0.6 0.0
  TOT   43 126 6 27 3 1 0 13 0 0 3 23 .214 .231 .254 .485 6.8 0.3
1944 35 NYG NL 22 58 5 20 0 0 0 6 0 0 0 15 .345 .345 .345 .690 6.8 0.7
  TAM AL 22 60 2 15 2 0 0 9 0 0 0 20 .250 .262 .283 .546 4.4 0.0
  TOT   44 118 7 35 2 0 0 15 0 0 0 35 .297 .303 .314 .616 11.3 0.7
1945 36 TAM AL 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000 .000 .000 .000 -0.1 0.0
13 Years Sim 493 1196 105 278 22 2 1 120 0 0 22 243 .232 .246 .257 .503 75.7 3.3
162 Game Average 393 34 91 7 0 0 39 0 0 7 79 .232 .246 .257 .503 24.9  
Career Highs 54 126 18 35 3 1 1 18 0 0 5 35 .337 .350 .388 .738 12.5  
Career Batting Splits     Help
Click on a Category to view yearly stats.
Category G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS XR
vs RH   833 76 194 15 2 1 92 0 0 14 168 .233 .246 .259 .505 45.7
vs LH   363 29 84 7 0 0 28 0 0 8 75 .231 .248 .251 .499 19.5
Home 234 528 48 119 10 1 0 55 0 0 12 109 .225 .242 .248 .490 27.1
Away 224 668 57 159 12 1 1 65 0 0 10 134 .238 .250 .263 .513 38.2
RISP   340 0 82 3 1 0 118 0 0 4 72 .241 .248 .256 .504 18.8
Close/Late   89 9 21 3 0 0 7 0 0 1 18 .236 .242 .270 .511 5.0
Mar/Apr 65 166 18 35 1 0 0 10 0 0 3 36 .211 .228 .217 .445 6.2
May 87 213 23 63 2 2 1 27 0 0 4 33 .296 .307 .338 .645 20.9
June 74 216 16 56 3 0 0 31 0 0 5 40 .259 .272 .273 .545 15.0
July 84 205 20 38 2 0 0 19 0 0 3 32 .185 .196 .195 .391 4.4
August 75 188 13 41 8 0 0 18 0 0 4 53 .218 .235 .261 .495 9.5
Sep/Oct 78 208 15 45 6 0 0 15 0 0 3 49 .216 .231 .245 .476 9.2
Fielding Stats     Help
Bold lines indicate player won Gold Glove.
Year Age Tm Lg Pos G GS IP PO A E DP FPct RF    
1933 24 SEM AL P 28 28 206.7 18 40 6 2 .906 2.53    
1934 25 SEM AL P 33 33 269.3 27 64 1 2 .989 3.04    
1935 26 SEM AL P 43 43 331.0 19 69 6 8 .936 2.39    
1936 27 SEM AL P 43 43 341.7 23 64 4 6 .956 2.29    
1937 28 SEM AL P 45 31 239.3 15 67 0 6 1.000 3.08    
1938 29 SEM AL P 54 0 66.7 3 11 1 2 .933 1.89    
1939 30 SEM AL P 42 42 325.0 16 68 1 2 .988 2.33    
1940 31 SEM AL P 42 42 334.7 22 68 1 3 .989 2.42    
1941 32 SEM AL P 39 39 294.3 15 58 3 3 .961 2.23    
1942 33 SEM AL P 36 36 272.7 19 48 0 2 1.000 2.21    
1943 34 SEM AL P 21 21 156.7 7 30 2 2 .949 2.13    
  NYG NL P 22 22 173.3 8 33 2 3 .953 2.13    
  TOT   P 43 43 330.0 15 63 4 5 .951 2.13    
1944 35 NYG NL P 22 22 161.3 9 29 2 2 .950 2.12    
  TAM AL P 22 22 164.3 10 30 2 3 .952 2.19    
  TOT   P 44 44 325.7 19 59 4 5 .951 2.16    
1945 36 TAM AL P 1 1 2.3 1 1 0 0 1.000 7.73    
Career Totals   493 425 3339.3 212 680 31 46 .966 2.40    
Career Highs   54 44 341.7 27 69 6 8 1.000 7.73    
Post-Season Pitching Stats     Help
Bold lines indicate player won Post Season MVP Award.
Year Age Tm Lg W L Pct G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA OAVG OOBP OSLG OOPS
1934 25 SEM AL 2 1 .667 3 3 1 0 0 24.3 29 15 3 6 2 5.55 .290 .330 .480 .810
1935 26 SEM AL 1 1 .500 4 4 0 0 0 28.3 36 14 2 13 5 4.45 .319 .389 .496 .884
1936 27 SEM AL 0 0 .000 1 1 0 0 0 7.7 10 3 0 6 2 3.52 .323 .432 .387 .820
1938 29 SEM AL 2 0 1.000 6 0 0 0 1 8.3 4 0 0 0 3 0.00 .133 .133 .133 .267
1939 30 SEM AL 2 1 .667 3 3 1 0 0 21.0 12 11 2 23 10 4.71 .171 .376 .314 .691
1940 31 SEM AL 2 1 .667 4 4 0 0 0 29.3 36 20 2 17 14 6.14 .298 .384 .438 .822
1941 32 SEM AL 1 0 1.000 1 1 0 0 0 8.0 6 2 0 4 5 2.25 .207 .303 .379 .682
1944 35 TAM AL 1 2 .333 4 4 1 0 0 27.3 26 13 6 14 11 4.28 .252 .342 .485 .827
Career Post-Season Pitching 11 6 .647 26 20 3 0 1 154.3 159 78 15 83 52 4.55 .266 .356 .429 .785
Post-Season Batting Stats     Help
Bold lines indicate player won Post Season MVP Award.
Year Age Tm Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS
1934 25 SEM AL 3 7 3 6 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 1 .857 .857 1.143 2.000
1935 26 SEM AL 4 10 2 3 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 .300 .300 .300 .600
1936 27 SEM AL 1 2 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 .500 .333 .500 .833
1939 30 SEM AL 3 8 0 2 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 3 .250 .250 .250 .500
1940 31 SEM AL 4 12 1 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .250 .250 .250 .500
1941 32 SEM AL 1 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 .000
1944 35 TAM AL 4 7 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 2 .143 .143 .143 .286
Career Post-Season Batting 20 50 6 16 0 1 0 6 0 0 0 8 .320 .314 .360 .674
Pitching Leaderboards     Help
Top 10 finishes. Stats are Year-Rank-Value. League leaders are in bold.
Season Rankings are League Based.
ERA
1934-2-3.34
1936-8-4.03
1944-4-3.45
 Wins
1934-4-21
1935-6-19
1936-2-24
1939-2-22
1940-1-24
 Losses
1937-9-16
1941-6-18
1942-10-15
 Winning Pct
1934-2-.724
1936-1-.686
1939-5-.647
1940-1-.686
 Saves
1938-9-6
 Games Pitched
1937-9-45
Games Started
1935-7-43
1936-6-43
1939-6-42
1940-8-42
 Complete Games
1934-9-16
1935-6-18
1939-9-15
1940-6-16
1941-10-14
1942-9-12
CAR-46-145
 Shutouts
1936-4-2
1940-2-3
1942-8-1
 Innings Pitched
1935-5-331.0
1936-4-341.7
1939-7-325.0
1940-7-334.7
 Hits Allowed
1935-4-378
1936-5-370
1939-7-350
1940-6-327
 Homeruns Allowed
1939-4-24
1940-3-29
1941-6-24
1942-3-29
Strikeouts
1936-7-131
1939-6-169
1940-3-209
1941-5-162
1942-4-150
 Walks Allowed
1935-10-103
1940-5-132
1941-7-113
 Walks per 9IP
1934-9-2.3
1936-9-2.4
 Hits per 9IP
1934-4-8.9
1940-9-8.8
1941-6-8.5
1942-7-8.6
1943-6-8.6
1944-4-7.9
 Strikeouts per 9IP
1939-8-4.7
1940-3-5.6
1941-4-5.0
1942-4-5.0
1943-5-4.8
 WHiP
1934-5-1.24
1936-8-1.35
1942-10-1.31
1944-4-1.28
OAVG
1934-3-.257
1940-9-.256
1941-6-.248
1942-6-.251
1943-6-.251
1944-5-.240
 OOBP
1934-5-.304
1936-10-.323
1942-9-.314
1944-7-.317
 OSLG
1934-3-.356
1943-4-.352
1944-7-.363
 OOPS
1934-2-.659
1941-10-.699
1943-9-.672
1944-5-.680
    
 
   Black Ink Test: 10    (Avg Pitcher in HOF ~ 64)
   Gray Ink Test: 125    (Avg Pitcher in HOF ~ 278)
   Hall of Fame Standards: 34    (Avg Pitcher in HOF ~ 95)
 
Similar Pitchers     What are Similarity Scores?

  1. Red Embree (935)
  2. Whit Wyatt (931)
  3. Marius Russo (928)
  4. Hugh Mulcahy (923)
  5. Monte Pearson (922)
  6. Wes Ferrell (919)
  7. Dick Drago (918)
  8. Frank Tanana (912)
  9. Curt Simmons (898)
  10. Preacher Roe (897)
Similar Batters     What are Similarity Scores?

  1. Don Newcombe (991)
  2. Johnny Sain (986)
  3. Fred Hutchinson (982)
  4. Ralph Winegarner (980)
  5. Clay Bryant (980)
  6. Dave Ferriss (979)
  7. Schoolboy Rowe (974)
  8. Ted Lyons (969)
  9. Jack Salveson (966)
  10. Murry Dickson (966)
History
Drafted in 2nd round, 22nd overall pick, by Seattle (M) in 1933
Had first career hit on 5/25/1933, off Jack Russell (OAK)
Earned first career win on 5/31/1933
Injured on 6/17/1933 with a Strained Back, out for one week
Hit first career homerun on 5/17/1935, off Ted Lyons (DET)
Was selected to the 1936 Allstar game
Won Pitcher of the Month award on 9/1/1936, going 7-0, 2.51
2/1/1937: Gets a new one-year contract worth $3,514,286 through salary arbitration
Won Gold Glove at Pitcher in 1937
2/1/1938: Gets a new one-year contract worth $3,514,286 through salary arbitration
Won World Series with Seattle (M) in 1938
2/1/1939: Gets a new one-year contract worth $3,514,286 through salary arbitration
Was selected to the 1939 Allstar game
9/1/1939: Signed a contract extension with Seattle (M), $9,500,000 per year, for 5 years
Won World Series with Seattle (M) in 1939
Was selected to the 1940 Allstar game
Injured on 4/8/1942 with a Strained Back Muscle, out for 3 weeks
Traded from Seattle to New York (N) on 7/1/1943 (Going to NYG: P Ralph Birkofer. Going to SEM: LF Eddie Waitkus, C Al Lopez, P Al Benton)
Traded from New York (N) to Tampa Bay on 7/1/1944 (Going to NYG: P Bob Muncrief, P Mace Brown, C Willard Hershberger, RF Ben Chapman, P Lefty Mills. Going to TAM: P Ralph Birkofer, P Claude Passeau, C Buddy Rosar)
10/3/1944: Signed a contract extension with Tampa Bay, $9,500,000 per year, for 4 years
Won World Series with Tampa Bay in 1944
Injured on 4/2/1945 with a Torn Rotator Cuff Muscle, out for full season
 
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