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Joe Ostrowski

Joseph Paul Ostrowski (Professor or Specs)

Position: Pitcher
Bats: Left, Throws: Left
Height: 6' 0", Weight: 180 lb.

Born: November 15, 1916 in West Wyoming, PA
High School: West Wyoming (West Wyoming, PA)
School: University of Scranton
Signed by the Boston Red Sox as an amateur free agent in 1941. (All Transactions)
Debut: July 18, 1948
Teams (by GP): Yankees/Browns 1948-1952

Final Game: August 20, 1952
Died: January 3, 2003 in Wilkes-Barre, PA
Buried: St. Joseph Church Cemetery, West Wyoming, PA
About biographical information

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Fan EloRater

Fine Details · Last Updated Dec 23, 2011, 9:12AM

All-Time Rank (among Pitchers): #1. Walter Johnson… #2. Cy Young… #3. Greg Maddux… #4. Christy Mathewson… #5. Pete Alexander… #6. Tom Seaver… #7. Randy Johnson…

All-Time Rank (among Pitchers): #1. Walter Johnson… #2. Cy Young… #3. Greg Maddux… #4. Christy Mathewson… #5. Pete Alexander… #6. Tom Seaver… #7. Randy Johnson…

Standard Pitching

More Stats

Year	Age	Tm	Lg	W	L	W-L%	ERA	G	GS	GF	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	SO	HBP	BK	WP	BF	ERA+	WHIP	H/9	HR/9	BB/9	SO/9	SO/BB	Awards
1941	24	BOS-min	D,C	12	7	.632	2.44	23						166.0	143	62	45		54							1.187	7.8		2.9			CTV,CAN · ESHL,MATL
1942	25	BOS-min	B	21	8	.724	1.65	35						256.0	209	69	47		49							1.008	7.3		1.7			GBO · PIED
1946	29	BOS-min	AAA	10	4	.714	2.87	24	11	9	6	1		116.0	123	48	37		35	54	0	0	1			1.362	9.5		2.7	4.2	1.54	LOU · AA
1947	30	BOS-min	AAA	13	11	.542	2.98	29	22	3	13	4		184.0	160	75	61		43	66	0	0	0			1.103	7.8		2.1	3.2	1.53	LOU · AA
1948	31	BAL-min	AAA	6	9	.400	4.54	19			8	0		115.0	129	65	58		22	51	1	0	0			1.313	10.1		1.7	4.0	2.32	TOL · AA
1948	31	SLB	AL	4	6	.400	5.97	26	9	11	3	0	3	78.1	108	54	52	6	17	20	0	1	1	347	76	1.596	12.4	0.7	2.0	2.3	1.18
1949	32	SLB	AL	8	8	.500	4.79	40	13	12	4	0	2	141.0	185	94	75	16	27	34	0	0	1	634	96	1.504	11.8	1.0	1.7	2.2	1.26
1950	33	TOT	AL	3	5	.375	3.65	30	11	11	3	0	3	101.0	107	48	41	13	22	30	0	0	0	422	129	1.277	9.5	1.2	2.0	2.7	1.36
1950	33	SLB	AL	2	4	.333	2.51	9	7	2	2	0	0	57.1	57	22	16	2	7	15	0	0	0	237	198	1.116	8.9	0.3	1.1	2.4	2.14
1950	33	NYY	AL	1	1	.500	5.15	21	4	9	1	0	3	43.2	50	26	25	11	15	15	0	0	0	185	84	1.489	10.3	2.3	3.1	3.1	1.00
1951	34	NYY	AL	6	4	.600	3.49	34	3	18	2	0	5	95.1	103	44	37	4	18	30	1	0	0	396	110	1.269	9.7	0.4	1.7	2.8	1.67
1952	35	NYY	AL	2	2	.500	5.63	20	1	8	0	0	2	40.0	56	31	25	5	14	17	1	0	0	190	60	1.750	12.6	1.1	3.2	3.8	1.21
1953	36	CHC-min	Opn	3	6	.333	2.97	28	3		0	0		72.2	77	36	24	6	14	16	2	0	1			1.252	9.5	0.7	1.7	2.0	1.14	LOS · PCL
5 Seasons				23	25	.479	4.54	150	37	60	12	0	15	455.2	559	271	230	44	98	131	2	1	2	1989	96	1.442	11.0	0.9	1.9	2.6	1.34
162 Game Avg.				8	9	.479	4.54	55	13	22	4	0	5	166	203	99	84	16	36	48	1	0	1	723	96	1.442	11.0	0.9	1.9	2.6	1.34

NYY (3 yrs)				9	7	.563	4.37	75	8	35	3	0	10	179.0	209	101	87	20	47	62	2	0	0	771	88	1.430	10.5	1.0	2.4	3.1	1.32
SLB (3 yrs)				14	18	.438	4.65	75	29	25	9	0	5	276.2	350	170	143	24	51	69	0	1	2	1218	100	1.449	11.4	0.8	1.7	2.2	1.35

Player Value--Pitchers

WAR: 8+ MVP, 5+ A-S, 2+ Strtr, 0-2 Sub, < 0 Repl.

Year	Age	Tm	Lg	IP	GS	R	Rrep	Rdef	aLI	RAR	WAR	Salary
1948	31	SLB	AL	78.1	9	54	48	-2	1.0	-6	-0.1	$
1949	32	SLB	AL	141.0	13	94	87	-8	1.0	-7	0.8	$
1950	33	SLB	AL	57.1	7	22	38	-3	1.0	16	2.0	$
1950	33	NYY	AL	43.2	4	26	29	0	1.0	3	0.1	$
1951	34	NYY	AL	95.1	3	44	58	1	1.0	14	0.9	$
1952	35	NYY	AL	40.0	1	31	22	1	1.0	-9	-1.5	$
5 Seasons				455.2	37	271	282	-11	1.0	11	2.2	$

NYY (3 yrs)				179.0	8	101	109	2	1.0	8	-0.5	$
SLB (3 yrs)				276.2	29	170	173	-13	1.0	3	2.7	$

Postseason Pitching

Postseason Gamelog

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
1951	34	NYY	AL	WS	W	NYG	0	0		0.00	1	0	1	0	0	0	2.0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	6	0.500	4.5	0.0	0.0	4.5
1 WS							0	0		0.00	1	0	1	0	0	0	2.0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	6	0.500	4.5	0.0	0.0	4.5

Standard Batting

More Stats

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	Pos
1941	24	BOS-min	D,C	33	65	65		10	0	1	0						.154	.154	.138	.292		9				CTV,CAN · ESHL,MATL
1942	25	BOS-min	B	39	85	85		9	1	0	0						.106	.106	.118	.224		10				GBO · PIED
1946	29	BOS-min	AAA	28	46	39	8	7	2	0	0	4	0		6	13	.179	.289	.231	.520		9	1	0	1	LOU · AA
1947	30	BOS-min	AAA	32	72	51	9	10	1	0	0	7	0		17	18	.196	.406	.216	.621		11	1	1	3	LOU · AA
1948	31	BAL-min	AAA	19	44	35	1	7	0	1	0	5	0		6	6	.200	.317	.257	.574		9		0	3	TOL · AA
1948	31	SLB	AL	26	25	18	2	4	0	0	0	2	0	0	4	5	.222	.364	.222	.586	56	4	0	0	3	1
1949	32	SLB	AL	40	48	37	3	7	2	0	0	3	0	0	11	9	.189	.375	.243	.618	62	9	0	0	0	1
1950	33	TOT	AL	30	34	27	4	5	3	0	0	5	0	0	6	8	.185	.333	.296	.630	61	8	0	0	1	1
1950	33	SLB	AL	9	22	18	2	4	3	0	0	4	0	0	4	7	.222	.364	.389	.753	90	7	0	0	0	/1
1950	33	NYY	AL	21	12	9	2	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	2	1	.111	.273	.111	.384	2	1	0	0	1	1
1951	34	NYY	AL	34	31	28	2	3	0	0	0	1	0	0	3	7	.107	.194	.107	.301	-16	3	1	0	0	1
1952	35	NYY	AL	20	10	8	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	.000	.000	.000	.000	-100	0	1	0	2	1
1953	36	CHC-min	Opn	28	21	18	1	1	0	0	0	0	0		2	6	.056	.150	.056	.206		1	0	0	1	LOS · PCL
5 Seasons				150	148	118	11	19	5	0	0	11	0	0	24	31	.161	.303	.203	.506	35	24	2	0	6
162 Game Avg.				162	160	127	12	21	5	0	0	12	0	0	26	33	.161	.303	.203	.506	35	26	2	0	6

NYY (3 yrs)				75	53	45	4	4	0	0	0	2	0	0	5	10	.089	.180	.089	.269	-25	4	2	0	3
SLB (3 yrs)				75	95	73	7	15	5	0	0	9	0	0	19	21	.205	.370	.274	.644	68	20	0	0	3

Player Value--Batters

WAR: 8+ MVP, 5+ A-S, 2+ Strtr, 0-2 Sub, < 0 Repl.

Year	Age	Tm	Lg	PA	Rbat	Rbaser	Rroe	Rdp	Rfield	Rpos	Rrep	RAR	WAR	oRAR	oWAR	dWAR	Salary	Pos
1948	31	SLB	AL	25	-1	0	0	0	0	2	1	2	0.2	2	0.2	0.0	$	1
1949	32	SLB	AL	48	-2	0	0	0	0	4	1	3	0.3	3	0.3	0.0	$	1
1950	33	SLB	AL	22	0	0	0	0	0	2	1	3	0.3	3	0.3	0.0	$	/1
1950	33	NYY	AL	12	-1	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0.0	0	0.0	0.0	$	1
1951	34	NYY	AL	31	-5	0	0	0	0	2	1	-2	-0.2	-2	-0.2	0.0	$	1
1952	35	NYY	AL	10	-2	0	0	0	0	1	0	-1	-0.1	-1	-0.1	0.0	$	1
5 Seasons				148	-11	0	0	0	0	12	4	5	0.5	5	0.5	0.0	$

NYY (3 yrs)				53	-8	0	0	0	0	4	1	-3	-0.3	-3	-0.3	0.0	$
SLB (3 yrs)				95	-3	0	0	0	0	8	3	8	0.8	8	0.8	0.0	$

Postseason Batting

Postseason Gamelog

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
1951	34	NYY	AL	WS	NYG	W	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0					0	0	0	0	0
1 WS							1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0					0	0	0	0	0

Standard Fielding

More Stats

Year	Tm	Lg	Age	Pos	G	GS	CG	Inn	Ch	PO	A	E	DP	Fld%	RF/9	RF/G	lgFld%	lgRF9	lgRFG	SB	CS	CS%	PO
1948	SLB	AL	31	P	26	9	3	78.1	28	5	23	0	0	1.000	3.22	1.08	.963	2.02	1.99
1949	SLB	AL	32	P	40	13	4	141.0	31	8	22	1	0	.968	1.91	0.75	.962	2.12	2.09
1950	TOT	AL	33	P	30	11	3	101.0	21	4	16	1	1	.952	1.78	0.67	.950	2.03	1.99	1	1	50%	0
1950	SLB	AL	33	P	9	7	2	57.1	11	2	8	1	0	.909	1.57	1.11	.950	2.02	1.99	1	0	0%	0
1950	NYY	AL	33	P	21	4	1	43.2	10	2	8	0	1	1.000	2.06	0.48	.950	2.04	1.99	0	1	100%	0
1951	NYY	AL	34	P	34	3	2	95.1	19	5	14	0	2	1.000	1.79	0.56	.953	2.07	2.06	5	2	29%	0
1952	NYY	AL	35	P	20	1	0	40.0	5	2	3	0	1	1.000	1.12	0.25	.966	2.09	2.10	1	1	50%	1
	5 Seasons			P	150	37	12	455.2	104	24	78	2	4	.981	2.01	0.68	.958	2.07	2.05	7	4	36%	1
	5 Seasons			TOT	150	37	12	455.2	104	24	78	2	4	.981	2.01	0.68	.958	2.07	2.05	7	4	36%	1

Note: Fielding stats are a combination of official records and RetroSheet records. Both are likely to have substantial errors and will not match perfectly.

View Complete Notes on Fielding Data

Leagues historically made no effort to balance team, league, and player fielding stats. Since 1990 or so, computers have made this feasible, but prior to that there are hundreds or thousands of discrepancies each year in games played (even whether a player played a position), putouts, assists, double plays and errors.

Pre-1950 SB & CS data for catchers is estimated from catcher assists, games started and opposition stolen bases.
From 1950 on SB, CS, Pickoff, & WP data for catchers and pitchers is taken from play-by-play accounts in the retrosheet files. There are several hundred games without pbp from 1950 to 1973 and for those we may not have any data.
CG & GS come from the retrosheet data and should be complete and pretty accurate from 1919 on.
Innings played (like SB and CS) come from the retrosheet play-by-play data and should be considered mostly complete from 1950 to 1973 and complete from then on.
Stats (PO,A,G, etc) for LF-CF-RF positions (since 1919) is taken from play-by-play or box score data as available.
Stats (PO,A,G,etc) for C,P,1B,2B,3B,SS,OF positions is taken from the official reported totals and may have been corrected at various times since their publication.
For detailed information on which games retrosheet is missing play-by-play from 1950 to 1973, please see their most wanted games list
For detailed information on the availability of data on this site by year, see our data coverage page

Appearances on Leader Boards, Awards, and Honors

Stats are Year-Value-Rank · Glossary

Saves s c a p y 1951 AL 5 (6th)	Games Finished s c a p y 1951 AL 18 (9th)	Range Factor/9Inn as P† s c a p y 1948 AL 3.22 (2nd)	Fielding % as P s c a p y 1951 AL 1.000 (1st)

Saves s c a p y
1951 AL 5 (6th)

Games Finished s c a p y
1951 AL 18 (9th)

Range Factor/9Inn as P† s c a p y
1948 AL 3.22 (2nd)

Fielding % as P s c a p y
1951 AL 1.000 (1st)

Hall Of Fame Statistics

Player rank in (·)

Gray Ink	Pitching - 3 (2106), Average HOFer ≈ 185
Hall of Fame Monitor	Pitching - 1 (1948), Likely HOFer ≈ 100

Similarity Scores

Explanation of Similarity Scores

Similar Pitchers

Compare Stats to Similars

Most Similar by Ages

Hold mouse over #'s to see names

Emilio Palmero (973) 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 C
Fred Fussell (982) 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 C
Mike Jeffcoat (958) 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 C
Wally Hebert (966) 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 C

Transactions

Before 1941 Season: Signed by the Boston Red Sox as an amateur free agent.
November 17, 1947: Traded by the Boston Red Sox with Pete Layden, Roy Partee, Eddie Pellagrini, Al Widmar, Jim Wilson and $310,000 to the St. Louis Browns for Jack Kramer and Vern Stephens.
June 15, 1950: Traded by the St. Louis Browns with Tom Ferrick and Leo Thomas to the New York Yankees for Jim Delsing, Don Johnson, Duane Pillette, Snuffy Stirnweiss and $50,000.

The transaction information used here was obtained free of charge from and is copyrighted by RetroSheet. We attempt to update transactions throughout the season.

Other Resources & Links

Error? Compare Search SABR's Baseball Index Other Links@google.com Baseball Library Baseball-Almanac.com DeadBallEra Obituary Retrosheet The Baseball Cube The Baseball Page WhatIfSports: Joe Ostrowski

Viewed 5,296 times through February 12, 2012.
Name and misspellings: Joseph Joe jose joseph Paul Professor Professor,Specs Specs Ostrowski

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