You Are Here > Baseball-Reference.com > Encyclopedia of Players > N Listing > Don Newcombe Statistics and History

Don Newcombe
Donald Newcombe (Newk)
All-Star Player
Bats: Left , Throws: Right
Height: 6' 4" , Weight: 225 lb.

Born: June 14, 1926 in Madison, NJ
Signed
by the Brooklyn Dodgers as an amateur free agent in 1946. (All Transactions)
Debut: May 20, 1949
Final Game: October 1, 1960
    About biographical information

Redesign Note: Due to the increased amount of data available for each player, tables such as postseason stats, all-star stats, neutralized stats, and now much more have been moved to separate pages for batting, pitching and fielding, you can reach these pages by clicking on "Pitching", "Batting" or "Fielding" in the gray navigation bar just above the player's biographical summary at the top of the page or clicking on "More Stats" links just below or beside the table headers below.

Standard Pitching

More Stats

Glossary · Click headers to sort · CSV · PRE · Click rows to sum (Clear) · Hide Partial Seasons
Year Age Tm Lg W L W-L% ERA G GS GF CG SHO SV IP H R ER HR BB IBB SO HBP BK WP BF ERA+ WHIP H/9 HR/9 BB/9 SO/9 SO/BB Awards
1949 23 BRO NL 17 8 .680 3.17 38 31 5 19 5 1 244.1 223 89 86 17 73 149 3 2 4 1005 130 1.211 8.2 0.6 2.7 5.5 2.04 AS,MVP-8,RoY-1
1950 24 BRO NL 19 11 .633 3.70 40 35 4 20 4 3 267.1 258 120 110 22 75 130 2 1 1 1101 111 1.246 8.7 0.7 2.5 4.4 1.73 AS,MVP-18
1951 25 BRO NL 20 9 .690 3.28 40 36 2 18 3 0 272.0 235 115 99 19 91 164 6 0 7 1125 120 1.199 7.8 0.6 3.0 5.4 1.80 AS,MVP-22
1954 28 BRO NL 9 8 .529 4.55 29 25 2 6 0 0 144.1 158 81 73 24 49 82 5 0 0 640 90 1.434 9.9 1.5 3.1 5.1 1.67
1955 29 BRO NL 20 5 .800 3.20 34 31 1 17 1 0 233.2 222 103 83 35 38 1 143 1 0 0 943 128 1.113 8.6 1.3 1.5 5.5 3.76 AS,MVP-7
1956 30 BRO NL 27 7 .794 3.06 38 36 2 18 5 0 268.0 219 101 91 33 46 8 139 3 0 4 1052 132 0.989 7.4 1.1 1.5 4.7 3.02 CYA-1,MVP-1
1957 31 BRO NL 11 12 .478 3.49 28 28 0 12 4 0 198.2 199 86 77 28 33 4 90 1 0 0 815 119 1.168 9.0 1.3 1.5 4.1 2.73
1958 32 TOT NL 7 13 .350 4.67 31 26 4 8 0 1 167.2 212 98 87 31 36 5 69 1 0 2 734 89 1.479 11.4 1.7 1.9 3.7 1.92
1958 32 LAD NL 0 6 .000 7.86 11 8 2 1 0 0 34.1 53 37 30 11 8 1 16 0 0 0 163 52 1.777 13.9 2.9 2.1 4.2 2.00
1958 32 CIN NL 7 7 .500 3.85 20 18 2 7 0 1 133.1 159 61 57 20 28 4 53 1 0 2 571 108 1.403 10.7 1.4 1.9 3.6 1.89
1959 33 CIN NL 13 8 .619 3.16 30 29 1 17 2 1 222.0 216 87 78 25 27 3 100 5 0 4 899 129 1.095 8.8 1.0 1.1 4.1 3.70
1960 34 TOT 6 9 .400 4.48 36 17 13 1 0 1 136.2 160 76 68 18 22 0 63 3 0 0 577 85 1.332 10.5 1.2 1.4 4.1 2.86
1960 34 CIN NL 4 6 .400 4.57 16 15 0 1 0 0 82.2 99 48 42 12 14 0 36 3 0 0 354 84 1.367 10.8 1.3 1.5 3.9 2.57
1960 34 CLE AL 2 3 .400 4.33 20 2 13 0 0 1 54.0 61 28 26 6 8 0 27 0 0 0 223 87 1.278 10.2 1.0 1.3 4.5 3.38
10 Seasons 149 90 .623 3.56 344 294 34 136 24 7 2154.2 2102 956 852 252 490 21 1129 30 3 22 8891 114 1.203 8.8 1.1 2.0 4.7 2.30
162 Game Avg. 16 10 .623 3.56 37 31 4 14 3 1 230 224 102 91 27 52 120 3 0 2 948 114 1.203 8.8 1.1 2.0 4.7 2.30
LAD (8 yrs) 123 66 .651 3.51 258 230 18 111 22 4 1662.2 1567 732 649 189 413 14 913 21 3 16 6844 116 1.191 8.5 1.0 2.2 4.9 2.21
CIN (3 yrs) 24 21 .533 3.64 66 62 3 25 2 2 438.0 474 196 177 57 69 7 189 9 0 6 1824 111 1.240 9.7 1.2 1.4 3.9 2.74
CLE (1 yr) 2 3 .400 4.33 20 2 13 0 0 1 54.0 61 28 26 6 8 0 27 0 0 0 223 87 1.278 10.2 1.0 1.3 4.5 3.38
NL (10 yrs) 147 87 .628 3.54 324 292 21 136 24 6 2100.2 2041 928 826 246 482 21 1102 30 3 22 8668 115 1.201 8.7 1.1 2.1 4.7 2.29
AL (1 yr) 2 3 .400 4.33 20 2 13 0 0 1 54.0 61 28 26 6 8 0 27 0 0 0 223 87 1.278 10.2 1.0 1.3 4.5 3.38

Postseason Pitching

Glossary · Click headers to sort · CSV · PRE · Hide Partial Seasons
Year Age Tm Lg Series Rslt Opp W L W-L% ERA G GS GF CG SHO SV IP H R ER HR BB IBB SO HBP BK WP BF WHIP H/9 HR/9 BB/9 SO/9 SO/BB
1949 23 BRO NL WS L NYY 0 2 .000 3.09 2 2 0 1 0 0 11.2 10 4 4 1 3 0 11 0 0 0 47 1.114 7.7 0.8 2.3 8.5 3.67
1955 29 BRO NL WS W NYY 0 1 .000 9.53 1 1 0 0 0 0 5.2 8 6 6 3 2 0 4 0 0 0 25 1.765 12.7 4.8 3.2 6.4 2.00
1956 30 BRO NL WS L NYY 0 1 .000 21.21 2 2 0 0 0 0 4.2 11 11 11 4 3 0 4 0 0 0 28 3.000 21.2 7.7 5.8 7.7 1.33
3 Seasons (3 Series) 0 4 .000 8.59 5 5 0 1 0 0 22.0 29 21 21 8 8 0 19 0 0 0 100 1.682 11.9 3.3 3.3 7.8 2.38
3 WS 0 4 .000 8.59 5 5 0 1 0 0 22.0 29 21 21 8 8 0 19 0 0 0 100 1.682 11.9 3.3 3.3 7.8 2.38
Redesign Note: Due to the increased amount of data available for each player, tables such as postseason stats, all-star stats, neutralized stats, and now much more have been moved to separate pages. You can reach these pages by clicking on "Pitching", "Batting" or "Fielding" in the gray navigation bar just above the player's biographical summary at the top of the page or clicking on "More Stats" links just below or beside the table headers below.

Standard Batting

More Stats

Glossary · Click headers to sort · CSV · PRE · Click rows to sum (Clear) · Hide Partial Seasons
Year Age Tm Lg G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS OPS+ TB GDP HBP SH SF IBB Pos Awards
1949 23 BRO NL 39 102 96 8 22 4 0 0 10 0 5 16 .229 .267 .271 .538 42 26 4 0 1 1 AS,MVP-8,RoY-1
1950 24 BRO NL 40 110 97 8 24 3 1 1 8 0 10 19 .247 .318 .330 .648 69 32 3 0 3 1 AS,MVP-18
1951 25 BRO NL 40 114 103 11 23 3 1 0 8 0 0 8 9 .223 .286 .272 .558 50 28 0 1 2 1 AS,MVP-22
1954 28 BRO NL 31 55 47 6 15 1 0 0 4 0 0 4 6 .319 .365 .340 .706 83 16 0 0 3 1 1
1955 29 BRO NL 57 125 117 18 42 9 1 7 23 1 0 6 18 .359 .395 .632 1.028 165 74 1 1 1 0 0 1 AS,MVP-7
1956 30 BRO NL 52 128 111 13 26 6 0 2 16 1 0 12 18 .234 .312 .342 .654 70 38 4 1 3 1 0 1 CYA-1,MVP-1
1957 31 BRO NL 34 86 74 8 17 2 0 1 7 0 1 11 11 .230 .329 .297 .627 65 22 4 0 1 0 0 1
1958 32 TOT NL 50 83 72 11 26 1 0 1 9 0 0 10 12 .361 .434 .417 .850 122 30 0 0 0 1 0 1
1958 32 LAD NL 11 14 12 2 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 .417 .500 .417 .917 143 5 0 0 0 0 0 1
1958 32 CIN NL 39 69 60 9 21 1 0 1 9 0 0 8 10 .350 .420 .417 .837 118 25 0 0 0 1 0 1
1959 33 CIN NL 61 123 105 10 32 2 0 3 21 0 0 17 23 .305 .402 .410 .811 114 43 1 0 1 0 1 1
1960 34 TOT 48 62 56 1 11 2 0 0 2 0 0 4 15 .196 .250 .232 .482 33 13 0 0 2 0 0 1
1960 34 CIN NL 24 41 36 0 5 1 0 0 1 0 0 3 8 .139 .205 .167 .372 3 6 0 0 2 0 0 1
1960 34 CLE AL 24 21 20 1 6 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 7 .300 .333 .350 .683 88 7 0 0 0 0 0 1
10 Seasons 452 988 878 94 238 33 3 15 108 2 1 87 147 .271 .338 .367 .705 85 322 17 3 17 3 1
162 Game Avg. 162 354 315 34 85 12 1 5 39 1 31 53 .271 .338 .367 .705 85 115 6 1 6
LAD (8 yrs) 304 734 657 74 174 28 3 11 76 2 1 58 99 .265 .326 .367 .693 81 241 16 3 14 2 0
CIN (3 yrs) 124 233 201 19 58 4 0 4 31 0 0 28 41 .289 .374 .368 .742 97 74 1 0 3 1 1
CLE (1 yr) 24 21 20 1 6 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 7 .300 .333 .350 .683 88 7 0 0 0 0 0
NL (10 yrs) 428 967 858 93 232 32 3 15 107 2 1 86 140 .270 .338 .367 .705 85 315 17 3 17 3 1
AL (1 yr) 24 21 20 1 6 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 7 .300 .333 .350 .683 88 7 0 0 0 0 0

Postseason Batting

Glossary · Click headers to sort · CSV · PRE · Hide Partial Seasons
Year Age Tm Lg Series Opp Rslt G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS TB GDP HBP SH SF IBB
1949 23 BRO NL WS NYY L 2 4 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 .000 .000 .000 .000 0 0 0 0 0 0
1955 29 BRO NL WS NYY W 1 3 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 .000 0 0 0 0 0 0
1956 30 BRO NL WS NYY L 2 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 .000 0 0 0 0 0 0
3 Seasons (3 Series) 5 8 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 .000 .000 .000 .000 0 0 0 0 0 0
3 WS 5 8 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 .000 .000 .000 .000 0 0 0 0 0 0
Redesign Note: Due to the increased amount of data available for each player, tables such as postseason stats, all-star stats, neutralized stats, and now much more have been moved to separate pages. You can reach these pages by clicking on "Pitching", "Batting" or "Fielding" in the gray navigation bar just above the player's biographical summary at the top of the page or clicking on "More Stats" links just below or beside the table headers below.

Standard Fielding

More Stats

Glossary · Click headers to sort · CSV · PRE · Hide Partial Seasons
Year Tm Lg Age Pos G GS Inn Ch PO A E DP Fld% Rtot Rtot/yr RF/9 RF/G lgFld% lgRF9 lgRFG Awards
1949 BRO NL 23 P 38 57 17 40 0 2 1.000 1.50 .951 0.91 AS,MVP-8,RoY-1
1950 BRO NL 24 P 40 64 19 43 2 3 .969 1.55 .961 0.97 AS,MVP-18
1951 BRO NL 25 P 40 72 24 45 3 3 .958 1.73 .962 0.96 AS,MVP-22
1954 BRO NL 28 P 29 25 144.1 29 11 16 2 2 .931 0.0 0.0 1.68 0.93 .962 2.07 0.87
1955 BRO NL 29 P 34 31 233.2 43 15 24 4 5 .907 0.0 0.0 1.50 1.15 .951 2.04 0.83 AS,MVP-7
1956 BRO NL 30 P 38 36 268.0 65 25 39 1 5 .985 0.0 0.0 2.15 1.68 .965 2.05 0.83 CYA-1,MVP-1
1957 BRO NL 31 P 28 28 198.2 56 13 41 2 1 .964 0.0 0.0 2.45 1.93 .962 2.06 0.82
1958 TOT NL 32 P 31 26 167.2 30 11 19 0 2 1.000 0.0 0.0 1.61 0.97 .953 1.97 0.77
1958 LAD NL 32 P 11 8 34.1 8 2 6 0 0 1.000 0.0 0.0 2.10 0.73 .950 1.97 0.77
1958 CIN NL 32 P 20 18 133.1 22 9 13 0 2 1.000 0.0 0.0 1.48 1.10 .955 1.97 0.77
1959 CIN NL 33 P 30 29 222.0 46 14 31 1 4 .978 0.0 0.0 1.82 1.50 .952 1.99 0.82
1960 TOT 34 P 36 17 136.2 28 10 15 3 0 .893 0.0 0.0 1.65 0.69 .964 2.04 0.82
1960 CIN NL 34 P 16 15 82.2 19 6 11 2 0 .895 0.0 0.0 1.85 1.06 .963 2.09 0.87
1960 CLE AL 34 P 20 2 54.0 9 4 4 1 0 .889 0.0 0.0 1.33 0.40 .967 1.97 0.78
10 Seasons P 344 192 1371.0 490 159 313 18 27 .963 0.0 0.0 3.10 1.37 .959 2.03 0.87
10 Seasons TOT 344 192 1371.0 490 159 313 18 27 .963 0.0 0.0 3.10 1.37 .922 2.03 0.87

Appearances on Leader Boards, Awards, and Honors

Stats are Year-Value-Rank, Glossary

All-Star Games
1949 *
1950 *
1951 *
1955 *

Awards (yr-lg-award)
1949-NL-Rookie of the Year
1956-ML-Cy Young
1956-NL-MVP
1956-NL-TSN Pitcher of the Year

MVP (yr-lg-rk-shr)
1949-NL-8-16%
1950-NL-18-4%
1951-NL-22-1%
1955-NL-7-26%
1956-NL-1-66%
1 MVP
1.13 Career Shares (206th)

Cy Young (yr-lg-rk-shr)
1956-ML--1--62%
1 Cy Young
0.62 Career Shares (79th)

Earned Run Average s c a p y
1949 NL--3.168--8th
1955 NL--3.197--2nd
1956 NL--3.056--5th
1959 NL--3.162--10th

Wins s c a p y
1949 NL--17--4th
1950 NL--19--4th
1951 NL--20--6th
1955 NL--20--2nd
1956 NL--27--1st
Career--149--238th

Win-Loss % s c a p y
1949 NL--.680--4th
1950 NL--.633--7th
1951 NL--.690--3rd
1955 NL--.800--1st
1956 NL--.794--1st
1959 NL--.619--7th
Career--.623--58th

Walks & Hits per IP s c a p y
1949 NL--1.212--4th
1950 NL--1.246--9th
1951 NL--1.199--5th
1955 NL--1.113--1st
1956 NL--.989--1st
1957 NL--1.168--4th
1959 NL--1.095--2nd
Career--1.203--134th

Hits per 9 IP s c a p y
1949 NL--8.214--3rd
1951 NL--7.776--2nd
1955 NL--8.551--10th
1956 NL--7.355--2nd

Bases On Balls per 9 IP s c a p y
1950 NL--2.525--7th
1955 NL--1.464--1st
1956 NL--1.545--2nd
1957 NL--1.495--1st
1958 NL--1.932--5th
1959 NL--1.095--1st
Career--2.047--99th

Strikeouts per 9 IP s c a p y
1949 NL--5.488--1st
1951 NL--5.427--3rd
1955 NL--5.508--5th

Saves s c a p y
1950 NL--3--10th

Innings Pitched s c a p y
1949 NL--244.3--5th
1950 NL--267.3--6th
1951 NL--272.0--6th
1955 NL--233.7--7th
1956 NL--268.0--4th

Strikeouts s c a p y
1949 NL--149--2nd
1950 NL--130--7th
1951 NL--164--1st
1955 NL--143--4th
1956 NL--139--7th

Games Started s c a p y
1949 NL--31--8th
1950 NL--35--5th
1951 NL--36--3rd
1955 NL--31--9th
1956 NL--36--4th

Complete Games s c a p y
1949 NL--19--3rd
1950 NL--20--6th
1951 NL--18--6th
1955 NL--17--2nd
1956 NL--18--4th
1957 NL--12--8th
1959 NL--17--5th

Shutouts s c a p y
1949 NL--5--1st
1950 NL--4--5th
1951 NL--3--7th
1956 NL--5--2nd
1957 NL--4--2nd
Career--24--187th

Home Runs s c a p y
1954 NL--24--7th
1955 NL--35--3rd
1956 NL--33--2nd
1957 NL--28--3rd
1958 NL--31--1st
1959 NL--25--7th
Career--252--91st

Bases on Balls s c a p y
1951 NL--91--5th

Hits s c a p y
1950 NL--258--7th
1951 NL--235--10th
1955 NL--222--6th
1956 NL--219--8th
1958 NL--212--10th

Strikeouts / Base On Balls s c a p y
1949 NL--2.041--3rd
1950 NL--1.733--6th
1951 NL--1.802--5th
1955 NL--3.763--1st
1956 NL--3.022--2nd
1957 NL--2.727--3rd
1958 NL--1.917--10th
1959 NL--3.704--2nd
Career--2.304--130th

Home Runs per 9 IP s c a p y
1951 NL--.629--9th

Losses s c a p y
1958 NL--13--7th

Earned Runs s c a p y
1950 NL--110--6th
1951 NL--99--5th
1956 NL--91--9th

Wild Pitches s c a p y
1951 NL--7--5th

Hit By Pitch s c a p y
1951 NL--6--6th
1954 NL--5--8th

Batters Faced s c a p y
1949 NL--1005--7th
1950 NL--1101--6th
1951 NL--1125--6th
1955 NL--943--9th
1956 NL--1052--6th

Adjusted ERA+ s c a p y
1949 NL--130--7th
1951 NL--120--10th
1955 NL--128--2nd
1956 NL--132--2nd
1957 NL--119--7th
1959 NL--129--5th
Career--114--224th

Hall Of Fame Statistics

Player rank in (·)

Black InkPitching - 21 (83), Average HOFer ≈ 40
Gray InkPitching - 136 (124), Average HOFer ≈ 185
Hall of Fame MonitorPitching - 78 (143), Likely HOFer ≈ 100
Hall of Fame StandardsBatting - 5 (2504), Average HOFer ≈ 50
Pitching - 28 (164), Average HOFer ≈ 50

Similar Pitchers 
 View Player Links in Pop-up
 Compare Stats to Similars
  1. Ray Kremer (945)
  2. Dizzy Dean (936) *
  3. Schoolboy Rowe (936)
  4. Dennis Leonard (936)
  5. Tim Hudson (933)
  6. Preacher Roe (925)
  7. Nig Cuppy (921)
  8. Rip Sewell (920)
  9. Mike Garcia (920)
  10. Denny McLain (919)
* - Signifies Hall of Famer
Most Similar by Ages 
 View Player Links in Pop-up
 Hold mouse over #'s to see names
  1. Dixie Walker (984)  2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 C
  2. Juan Marichal (986) * 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 C
  3. Dave Ferriss (982)  2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 C
  4. Dave Ferriss (975)  2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 C
  5. Matt Morris (965)  2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 C
  6. Roy Halladay (952)  2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 C
  7. Roy Halladay (945)  2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 C
  8. Lew Burdette (947)  2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 C
  9. Dizzy Dean (947) * 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 C
  10. Jimmy Key (956)  2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 C
* - Signifies Hall of Famer
Similar Batters 
 View Player Links in Pop-up
 Compare Stats to Similars
  1. Schoolboy Rowe (971)
  2. Jack Scott (967)
  3. Carl Mays (967)
  4. Sloppy Thurston (961)
  5. Dutch Ruether (958)
  6. Ben Sanders (954)
  7. Claude Hendrix (954)
  8. Ad Gumbert (954)
  9. Chubby Dean (953)
  10. Mickey McDermott (951)
Most Similar by Ages 
 View Player Links in Pop-up
 Hold mouse over #'s to see names
  1. Jim Tobin (977)  2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 C
  2. Mickey McDermott (978)  2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 C
  3. Schoolboy Rowe (975)  2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 C
  4. Schoolboy Rowe (975)  2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 C
  5. Schoolboy Rowe (965)  2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 C

Before 1946 Season: Signed by the Brooklyn Dodgers as an amateur free agent.

June 15, 1958: Traded by the Los Angeles Dodgers to the Cincinnati Redlegs for Steve Bilko and Johnny Klippstein. The Cincinnati Redlegs sent Art Fowler (June 23, 1958) and Charlie Rabe (June 23, 1958) to the Los Angeles Dodgers to complete the trade.

July 29, 1960: Purchased by the Cleveland Indians from the Cincinnati Reds.

January 19, 1961: Released by the Cleveland Indians.

The transaction information used here was obtained free of charge from and is copyrighted by RetroSheet. Last transaction is September 30, 2008.

Other Resources & Links

Error?     Compare     Search SABR's Baseball Index     Other Links@google.com     Baseball-Almanac.com     Retrosheet     The Baseball Cube     The Baseball Page     WhatIfSports: Don Newcombe    

Viewed 143,038 times through July 4, 2009.
Name and misspellings: dave Don Donald Newk Newcombe newcome


Player Page Tricks and Tips

Sum any set of rows by clicking anywhere (not red or blue) on the first and last rows of your selection. We will then compute the totals for the player between and including those two seasons.
Default Setting for this feature: Turn On / Turn Off
Summation of season totals only works for the initial case when the table is in year order. On a sorted table the results may get a bit goofy.

HIGHLIGHTING: Adding a range or series of player's career seasons (like '#1972', '#1970-1980-sum', or '#1998,1999,2001,2002,sum') onto the end of a player page url causes the seasons to the highlighted and summed. After changing address bar, reload the page to see highlighting. This will work even in links e-mailed to others. Note that for tables with multiple pages the first table is the default. If you want to create a sum for a table other than the first one, select the rows and after the summation window appears click on "permanent link" link.

The play-by-play information both shown and used to create certain data sets was obtained free of charge from and is copyrighted by RetroSheet.