Johnny Groth

Position: Centerfielder

Bats: Right • Throws: Right

6-0, 182lb (183cm, 82kg)

Born: July 23, 1926 in Chicago, IL us

Died: August 7, 2021 in Palm Beach, FL

Buried: Our Lady Queen of Peace Cemetery, Royal Palm Beach, FL

High School: Latin School of Chicago (Chicago, IL)

Debut: September 5, 1946 (Age 20-044d, 10,168th in major league history)
vs. CLE 0 AB, 0 H, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 0 SB

Last Game: July 28, 1960 (Age 34-005d)
vs. WSH 1 AB, 0 H, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 0 SB

Rookie Status: Exceeded rookie limits during 1949 season

Full Name: John Thomas Groth

Pronunciation: \GROWTH\

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View Player Bio from the SABR BioProject

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SUMMARY

Career

WAR

5.8

3808

1064

.279

480

RBI

486

OBP

.352

SLG

.395

OPS

.746

OPS+

Many detailed statistics are based on play-by-play accounts accumulated by Retrosheet. These totals may be incomplete (3.6% of all plays from 1912 to 1968 are missing or have incomplete accounts, click link for year and team summary of data completeness) for some players prior to 1969 and even complete seasons may not match the official totals due to errors in both the official totals and the play-by-play accounts.

Summary of 60 Home Runs

(For more accurate walk-off HR totals, see the Batting Event Finder)

4 leading off, 0 walk-off, 6 tying, 20 go ahead

5 Tms
DET	34
SLB	10
CHW	9
KCA	5
WSH	2

Platoon
vs RHP	39
vs LHP	21

Home/Road
Away	32
Home	28

Outs
1	25
0	18
2	17

8 Opps
PHA/KCA	11
BOS	9
BAL/SLB	8
CLE	7
DET	7
CHW	7
WSH	6
NYY	5

45 Pitchers
Early Wynn	3
Marion Fricano	3
Alex Kellner	3
Al Gettel	2
Joe Dobson	2
Eddie Lopat	2
Bob Wiesler	2
Bobby Shantz	2
Ned Garver	2
Connie Grob	2
Allie Reynolds	2
Leo Kiely	2
Hank Wyse	1
Billy Loes	1
Ralph Winegarner	1
Mickey McDermott	1
Ben Flowers	1
Dick Starr	1
Dave Hoskins	1
Carl Scheib	1
Billy Hoeft	1
Hal Griggs	1
Bob Lemon	1
Spec Shea	1
Mel Parnell	1
Ellis Kinder	1
Fred Sanford	1
Ed Klieman	1
Ray Scarborough	1
Jack Urban	1
Ted Gray	1
Paul Foytack	1
Ike Delock	1
Bob Miller	1
Ralph Branca	1
Duke Markell	1
Bob Feller	1
Randy Gumpert	1
Whitey Ford	1
Mickey Haefner	1
Mickey Harris	1
Cliff Fannin	1
Gene Bearden	1
Hal Brown	1
Bill Wight	1

10 Parks
Tiger Stad (DET)	27
GriffithStad (WAS)	6
ConnieMackSt (PHI)	6
Fenway Pk (BOS)	5
Busch Stad 1 (STL)	5
ClevelandStd (CLE)	4
Munic. Stad (KAN)	2
Yankee Stad (NYC)	2
ComiskeyPk 1 (CHI)	2
Memor. Stad (BAL)	1

Where Hit
7	38
9	7
8	3
78	2

1 Inside the Park

General field locations
when available.

Game Totals
1·HR gms	52
2·HR gms	4

Gms w/ this # = 0
are not shown.

Bases
---	28
1--	14
-2-	7
12-	3
123	3
-23	3
--3	1
1-3	1

105 RBI
RISP	18
0 on	28
1 on	22
2 on	7
3 on	3
Any on	32

Inning
1	6
2	9
3	7
4	5
5	5
6	2
7	12
8	7
9	6
Extra	1

1-3	22
4-6	12
7-end	26

RelScore
+4..	10
+3	3
+2	5
+1	5
Tied	13
-1	10
-2	4
-3	3
-4..	7

Ahead	23
Tied	13
Behind	24

Before event,
for batter

DefPos
CF	55
RF	2
LF	2
PH	1

OrderPos
6th	21
7th	11
1st	11
5th	10
8th	3
2nd	2
3rd	1
4th	1

Leverage
High Lev	9
Medium Lev	18
Low Lev	24

Play By Play

WE and WPA Explanation

Play By Play
1948	#car	#yr	#gm	Date	@Bat			Pitcher	Score	Inn	Out	RoB	RBI	BOP	Pos	WPA	bWE	Notes	Play Description
1	1	1	1	1948-09-28	DET		SLB	Fred Sanford	tied 0-0	b 1	2	1--	2	4	8
1949	#car	#yr	#gm	Date	@Bat			Pitcher	Score	Inn	Out	RoB	RBI	BOP	Pos	WPA	bWE	Notes	Play Description
2	2	1	1	1949-04-19	DET		CHW	Al Gettel	ahead 2-1	b 5	1	---	1	7	8	0.110	79%	IPHR	Inside-the-park Home Run to 2B (Fly Ball to RF Line)
3	3	2	2	1949-04-19	DET		CHW	Al Gettel	ahead 3-1	b 7	2	---	1	7	8	0.064	93%		Home Run (Fly Ball to Deep LF)
4	4	3	1	1949-04-20	DET		CHW	Randy Gumpert	behind 1-2	b 8	1	123	4	7	8	0.409	97%		Home Run (Deep LF); E. Lake Scores; H. Evers Scores; A. Robinson Scores
5	5	4	1	1949-04-28	DET		SLB	Ned Garver	tied 1-1	b 3	2	123	4	7	8
6	6	5	1	1949-05-03	DET		BOS	Ellis Kinder	behind 0-4	b 2	0	---	1	7	8	0.072	26%		Home Run (Deep LF)
7	7	6	1	1949-05-24	DET	@	BOS	Mickey Harris	behind 0-1	t 2	1	1--	2	6	8	0.170	57%		Home Run (Deep LF-CF); H. Evers Scores
8	8	7	1	1949-07-18	DET		PHA	Alex Kellner	behind 2-8	b 6	1	12-	3	6	8
9	9	8	2	1949-07-18	DET		PHA	Carl Scheib	behind 5-8	b 7	1	12-	3	6	8
10	10	9	1	1949-08-07	DET	@	BOS	Mickey McDermott	ahead 3-1	t 3	1	1--	2	5	8	0.133	83%		Home Run (Deep LF); V. Wertz Scores
11	11	10	1	1949-08-09	DET		CHW	Ed Klieman	ahead 8-5	b 7	1	-23	3	5	8	0.031	99%		Home Run (Deep LF); G. Kell Scores; V. Wertz Scores
12	12	11	1	1949-08-13	DET		SLB	Ralph Winegarner	ahead 9-5	b 7	1	-2-	2	2	8
1950	#car	#yr	#gm	Date	@Bat			Pitcher	Score	Inn	Out	RoB	RBI	BOP	Pos	WPA	bWE	Notes	Play Description
13	13	1	1	1950-04-21	DET		CHW	Mickey Haefner	behind 0-1	b 7	1	---	1	6	8	0.217	55%		Home Run (Deep LF)
14	14	2	1	1950-04-25	DET	@	SLB	Dick Starr	ahead 4-0	t 5	0	---	1	6	8
15	15	3	1	1950-05-14	DET		SLB	Cliff Fannin	behind 1-7	b 7	2	-2-	2	6	8
16	16	4	1	1950-05-19	DET		PHA	Hank Wyse	behind 0-1	b 2	0	---	1	6	8	0.100	55%		Home Run (Deep LF)
17	17	5	1	1950-05-30 (2)	DET		CLE	Gene Bearden	ahead 2-0	b 6	2	--3	2	6	8	0.108	93%		Home Run; G. Kell Scores
18	18	6	1	1950-06-02 (2)	DET	@	PHA	Alex Kellner	ahead 6-1	t 3	0	-2-	2	6	8	0.039	96%		Home Run (Deep LF); H. Evers Scores
19	19	7	1	1950-07-01	DET	@	CLE	Early Wynn	behind 3-6	t 8	1	---	1	6	8	0.053	11%		Home Run
20	20	8	1	1950-08-14	DET	@	CLE	Early Wynn	behind 0-1	t 9	1	1--	2	6	8	0.629	81%		Home Run; H. Evers Scores
21	21	9	1	1950-08-15	DET	@	CLE	Bob Lemon	tied 0-0	t 1	2	123	4	6	8	0.278	80%		Home Run; G. Kell Scores/unER; V. Wertz Scores/unER; H. Evers Scores/unER; J. Groth Scores/unER
22	22	10	1	1950-08-19	DET		SLB	Ned Garver	ahead 4-0	b 8	1	-2-	2	6	8	0.010	100%		Home Run; V. Wertz Scores; J. Groth Scores/unER
23	23	11	1	1950-08-22	DET	@	NYY	Allie Reynolds	behind 2-10	t 8	0	-23	3	6	8	0.010	2%		Home Run (Deep RF); V. Wertz Scores; H. Evers Scores
24	24	12	1	1950-08-28	DET	@	PHA	Bobby Shantz	behind 2-4	t 9	2	---	1	6	8	0.027	4%		Home Run (Deep LF)
1951	#car	#yr	#gm	Date	@Bat			Pitcher	Score	Inn	Out	RoB	RBI	BOP	Pos	WPA	bWE	Notes	Play Description
25	25	1	1	1951-07-21	DET		BOS	Ray Scarborough	behind 2-6	b 9	1	---	1	6	8	0.011	2%		Home Run (Deep RF)
26	26	2	1	1951-08-04	DET	@	BOS	Leo Kiely	behind 0-1	t 9	0	1--	2	5	8	0.530	82%		Home Run (Deep LF); B. Souchock Scores
27	27	3	1	1951-09-27	DET	@	SLB	Duke Markell	tied 0-0	t 2	1	---	1	6	8
1952	#car	#yr	#gm	Date	@Bat			Pitcher	Score	Inn	Out	RoB	RBI	BOP	Pos	WPA	bWE	Notes	Play Description
28	28	1	1	1952-05-10	DET		CHW	Joe Dobson	behind 0-5	b 8	0	---	1	6	8	0.020	4%		Home Run (Deep LF)
29	29	2	1	1952-06-04	DET	@	PHA	Bobby Shantz	behind 0-2	t 4	0	1--	2	6	8	0.191	50%		Home Run (Deep LF); W. Dropo Scores
30	30	3	1	1952-07-27 (1)	DET		NYY	Allie Reynolds	tied 3-3	b 5	1	-23	3	5	8	0.204	89%		Home Run (Deep LF); F. Hatfield Scores; P. Mullin Scores
31	31	4	1	1952-08-13	DET		CHW	Joe Dobson	behind 0-2	b 1	0	---	1	1	8	0.101	44%	Lead-Off	Home Run (Deep LF)
1953	#car	#yr	#gm	Date	@Bat			Pitcher	Score	Inn	Out	RoB	RBI	BOP	Pos	WPA	bWE	Notes	Play Description
32	32	1	1	1953-05-19	SLB	@	BOS	Hal Brown	tied 0-0	t 3	2	---	1	1	8	0.117	57%		Home Run (Deep LF)
33	33	2	1	1953-05-30 (1)	SLB	@	DET	Ted Gray	tied 0-0	t 1	0	---	1	1	8	0.100	60%	Lead-Off	Home Run (Deep LF)
34	34	3	1	1953-05-30 (2)	SLB	@	DET	Bill Wight	ahead 6-1	t 8	1	---	1	1	8	0.009	99%		Home Run (Deep LF)
35	35	4	1	1953-06-07 (2)	SLB		NYY	Whitey Ford	tied 0-0	b 1	0	---	1	1	8			Lead-Off
36	36	5	1	1953-07-07	SLB		CLE	Early Wynn	behind 1-3	b 7	2	1--	2	1	8	0.346	52%		Home Run (Deep LF); D. Kryhoski Scores
37	37	6	1	1953-07-12 (2)	SLB	@	DET	Ralph Branca	tied 0-0	t 1	0	---	1	1	8	0.100	60%	Lead-Off	Home Run (Deep LF)
38	38	7	1	1953-07-30	SLB	@	PHA	Marion Fricano	behind 0-5	t 3	0	---	1	7	8	0.047	14%		Home Run (Deep LF)
39	39	8	1	1953-09-03	SLB		NYY	Eddie Lopat	tied 0-0	b 2	1	12-	3	7	8	0.220	81%		Home Run (Deep LF); V. Stephens Scores; L. Moss Scores
40	40	9	1	1953-09-07 (2)	SLB	@	CLE	Dave Hoskins	behind 0-1	t 3	2	1--	2	1	8	0.226	58%		Home Run (Deep LF); S. Paige Scores
41	41	10	1	1953-09-22	SLB	@	DET	Bob Miller	tied 1-1	t 4	0	---	1	5	8	0.128	63%		Home Run (Deep LF)
1954	#car	#yr	#gm	Date	@Bat			Pitcher	Score	Inn	Out	RoB	RBI	BOP	Pos	WPA	bWE	Notes	Play Description
42	42	1	1	1954-04-19	CHW	@	DET	Billy Hoeft	ahead 1-0	t 2	0	---	1	6	8	0.100	71%		Home Run (Deep LF)
43	43	2	1	1954-04-29	CHW	@	NYY	Eddie Lopat	behind 2-3	t 4	1	1--	2	7	8	0.242	61%		Home Run (Deep RF); C. Michaels Scores
44	44	3	1	1954-06-09	CHW	@	PHA	Alex Kellner	ahead 1-0	t 4	2	-2-	2	8	8	0.190	81%		Home Run (Deep LF); J. Rivera Scores/unER; J. Groth Scores/unER
45	45	4	1	1954-06-15	CHW		PHA	Marion Fricano	behind 2-3	b 2	1	---	1	8	8	0.115	53%		Home Run (Deep LF)
46	46	5	1	1954-08-08 (2)	CHW		WSH	Spec Shea	ahead 2-0	b 8	0	---	1	5	8	0.032	97%		Home Run (Deep LF)
47	47	6	1	1954-08-27	CHW	@	PHA	Marion Fricano	ahead 5-0	t 3	2	1-3	3	8	7	0.062	98%		Home Run (Deep LF); J. Rivera Scores; F. Marsh Scores
48	48	7	1	1954-09-01 (2)	CHW	@	BOS	Mel Parnell	ahead 2-0	t 4	1	1--	2	6	9	0.137	87%		Home Run (Deep LF); G. Kell Scores
1955	#car	#yr	#gm	Date	@Bat			Pitcher	Score	Inn	Out	RoB	RBI	BOP	Pos	WPA	bWE	Notes	Play Description
49	49	1	1	1955-05-28	CHW	@	DET	Ben Flowers	ahead 10-3	t 7	2	---	1	1	8	0.004	100%		Home Run (Deep LF)
50	50	2	2	1955-05-28	CHW	@	DET	Paul Foytack	ahead 11-4	t 9	1	-2-	2	1	8	0.001	100%		Home Run (Deep LF); W. Dropo Scores
51	51	3	1	1955-06-15	WSH		CLE	Bob Feller	tied 0-0	b 2	1	---	1	5	8	0.114	64%		Home Run (Deep LF)
52	52	4	1	1955-06-29	WSH		BOS	Ike Delock	behind 4-7	b 9	0	---	1	5	8	0.048	9%		Home Run (Deep CF)
1956	#car	#yr	#gm	Date	@Bat			Pitcher	Score	Inn	Out	RoB	RBI	BOP	Pos	WPA	bWE	Notes	Play Description
53	53	1	1	1956-05-06 (2)	KCA	@	WSH	Bob Wiesler	ahead 7-1	t 7	1	1--	2	2	8	0.011	100%		Home Run (Deep LF); S. Jacobs Scores
54	54	2	1	1956-05-22	KCA		WSH	Bob Wiesler	ahead 5-1	b 7	2	---	1	5	9	0.018	98%		Home Run (Deep CF)
55	55	3	1	1956-06-11 (1)	KCA	@	WSH	Connie Grob	behind 0-1	t 5	1	1--	2	7	8	0.253	62%		Home Run (Deep LF); J. Ginsberg Scores
56	56	4	2	1956-06-11 (1)	KCA	@	WSH	Connie Grob	ahead 2-1	t 7	2	---	1	7	8	0.140	79%		Home Run (Deep CF)
57	57	5	1	1956-08-22	KCA	@	BAL	Billy Loes	ahead 5-2	t 11	2	-2-	2	3	7	0.026	99%		Home Run (Deep LF); V. Power Scores
1958	#car	#yr	#gm	Date	@Bat			Pitcher	Score	Inn	Out	RoB	RBI	BOP	Pos	WPA	bWE	Notes	Play Description
58	58	1	1	1958-06-06	DET	@	WSH	Hal Griggs	tied 0-0	t 2	2	1--	2	7	8	0.210	68%		Home Run (Deep LF); G. Harris Scores
59	59	2	1	1958-09-01 (2)	DET	@	KCA	Jack Urban	ahead 2-1	t 5	1	---	1	1	8	0.123	75%		Home Run (Deep RF)
1959	#car	#yr	#gm	Date	@Bat			Pitcher	Score	Inn	Out	RoB	RBI	BOP	Pos	WPA	bWE	Notes	Play Description
60	60	1	1	1959-05-05	DET		BOS	Leo Kiely	ahead 6-3	b 7	0	1--	2	5	PH	0.036	99%		Home Run; A. Kaline Scores

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Johnny Groth

Summary of 60 Home Runs

4 leading off, 0 walk-off, 6 tying, 20 go ahead

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