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Johnny Sain
John Franklin Sain
All-Star Player
Bats: Right , Throws: Right
Height: 6' 2" , Weight: 200 lb.

Born: September 25, 1917 in Havana, AR
Signed by the Detroit Tigers as an amateur free agent in 1936. (All Transactions)
Debut: April 24, 1942
Final Game: July 15, 1955
Died: November 7, 2006 in Downers Grove, IL
    About biographical information

Standard Pitching

More Stats

Glossary · Click headers to sort · SHARE  · CSV · PRE · LINK · 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
1942 24 BSN NL 4 7 .364 3.90 40 3 24 0 0 6 97.0 79 54 42 8 63 68 5 1 4 423 85 1.464 7.3 0.7 5.8 6.3 1.08
1946 28 BSN NL 20 14 .588 2.21 37 34 2 24 3 2 265.0 225 80 65 8 87 129 2 2 3 1086 156 1.177 7.6 0.3 3.0 4.4 1.48 MVP-5
1947 29 BSN NL 21 12 .636 3.52 38 35 3 22 3 1 266.0 265 117 104 19 79 132 4 0 3 1131 111 1.293 9.0 0.6 2.7 4.5 1.67 AS,MVP-16
1948 30 BSN NL 24 15 .615 2.60 42 39 3 28 4 1 314.2 297 105 91 19 83 137 5 0 2 1313 147 1.208 8.5 0.5 2.4 3.9 1.65 AS,MVP-2
1949 31 BSN NL 10 17 .370 4.81 37 36 1 16 1 0 243.0 285 150 130 15 75 73 4 0 1 1072 79 1.481 10.6 0.6 2.8 2.7 0.97
1950 32 BSN NL 20 13 .606 3.94 37 37 0 25 3 0 278.1 294 139 122 34 70 96 2 3 5 1178 98 1.308 9.5 1.1 2.3 3.1 1.37 MVP-21
1951 33 TOT MLB 7 14 .333 4.20 33 26 4 7 1 2 197.1 236 105 92 21 53 84 3 0 0 866 88 1.465 10.8 1.0 2.4 3.8 1.58
1951 33 BSN NL 5 13 .278 4.21 26 22 2 6 1 1 160.1 195 88 75 16 45 63 3 0 0 711 87 1.497 10.9 0.9 2.5 3.5 1.40
1951 33 NYY AL 2 1 .667 4.14 7 4 2 1 0 1 37.0 41 17 17 5 8 21 0 0 0 155 93 1.324 10.0 1.2 1.9 5.1 2.63
1952 34 NYY AL 11 6 .647 3.46 35 16 15 8 0 7 148.1 149 70 57 15 38 57 2 0 0 620 97 1.261 9.0 0.9 2.3 3.5 1.50 MVP-29
1953 35 NYY AL 14 7 .667 3.00 40 19 19 10 1 9 189.0 189 68 63 16 45 84 3 1 2 780 124 1.238 9.0 0.8 2.1 4.0 1.87 AS
1954 36 NYY AL 6 6 .500 3.16 45 0 39 0 0 22 77.0 66 27 27 11 15 33 0 1 0 310 109 1.052 7.7 1.3 1.8 3.9 2.20
1955 37 TOT AL 2 5 .286 5.58 28 0 14 0 0 1 50.0 60 32 31 14 11 4 17 0 0 0 219 74 1.420 10.8 2.5 2.0 3.1 1.55
1955 37 NYY AL 0 0 6.75 3 0 1 0 0 0 5.1 6 4 4 4 1 0 5 0 0 0 22 56 1.313 10.1 6.8 1.7 8.4 5.00
1955 37 KCA AL 2 5 .286 5.44 25 0 13 0 0 1 44.2 54 28 27 10 10 4 12 0 0 0 197 76 1.433 10.9 2.0 2.0 2.4 1.20
11 Seasons 139 116 .545 3.49 412 245 124 140 16 51 2125.2 2145 947 824 180 619 4 910 30 8 20 8998 106 1.300 9.1 0.8 2.6 3.9 1.47
162 Game Avg. 14 12 .545 3.49 43 25 13 14 2 5 220 222 98 85 19 64 94 3 1 2 931 106 1.300 9.1 0.8 2.6 3.9 1.47
BSN (7 yrs) 104 91 .533 3.49 257 206 35 121 15 11 1624.1 1640 733 629 119 502 698 25 6 18 6914 107 1.319 9.1 0.7 2.8 3.9 1.39
NYY (5 yrs) 33 20 .623 3.31 130 39 76 19 1 39 456.2 451 186 168 51 107 0 200 5 2 2 1887 107 1.222 8.9 1.0 2.1 3.9 1.87
KCA (1 yr) 2 5 .286 5.44 25 0 13 0 0 1 44.2 54 28 27 10 10 4 12 0 0 0 197 76 1.433 10.9 2.0 2.0 2.4 1.20
AL (5 yrs) 35 25 .583 3.50 155 39 89 19 1 40 501.1 505 214 195 61 117 4 212 5 2 2 2084 103 1.241 9.1 1.1 2.1 3.8 1.81
NL (7 yrs) 104 91 .533 3.49 257 206 35 121 15 11 1624.1 1640 733 629 119 502 698 25 6 18 6914 107 1.319 9.1 0.7 2.8 3.9 1.39

Postseason Pitching

Glossary · Click headers to sort · SHARE  · CSV · PRE · LINK · 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
1948 30 BSN NL WS L CLE 1 1 .500 1.06 2 2 0 2 1 0 17.0 9 2 2 1 0 0 9 0 0 0 61 0.529 4.8 0.5 0.0 4.8
1951 33 NYY AL WS W NYG 0 0 9.00 1 0 0 0 0 0 2.0 4 2 2 0 2 0 2 0 0 0 12 3.000 18.0 0.0 9.0 9.0 1.00
1952 34 NYY AL WS W BRO 0 1 .000 3.00 1 0 1 0 0 0 6.0 6 2 2 0 3 2 3 1 0 0 28 1.500 9.0 0.0 4.5 4.5 1.00
1953 35 NYY AL WS W BRO 1 0 1.000 4.76 2 0 1 0 0 0 5.2 8 3 3 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 26 1.588 12.7 1.6 1.6 1.6 1.00
4 Seasons (4 Series) 2 2 .500 2.64 6 2 2 2 1 0 30.2 27 9 9 2 6 2 15 1 0 0 127 1.076 7.9 0.6 1.8 4.4 2.50
4 WS 2 2 .500 2.64 6 2 2 2 1 0 30.2 27 9 9 2 6 2 15 1 0 0 127 1.076 7.9 0.6 1.8 4.4 2.50

Standard Batting

More Stats

Glossary · Click headers to sort · SHARE  · CSV · PRE · LINK · 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
1942 24 BSN NL 40 30 27 0 2 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 .074 .107 .074 .181 -46 2 1 0 2 1
1946 28 BSN NL 40 104 94 6 28 2 1 0 17 0 0 0 .298 .298 .340 .638 80 32 2 0 10 1 MVP-5
1947 29 BSN NL 40 118 107 13 37 7 0 0 18 0 3 1 .346 .364 .411 .775 107 44 2 0 8 1 AS,MVP-16
1948 30 BSN NL 43 132 115 11 25 3 1 0 16 0 1 3 .217 .224 .261 .485 31 30 4 0 16 1 AS,MVP-2
1949 31 BSN NL 39 102 97 10 20 3 0 0 3 0 2 2 .206 .222 .237 .459 26 23 2 0 3 1
1950 32 BSN NL 37 116 102 9 21 2 0 1 15 0 6 3 .206 .257 .255 .512 39 26 2 1 7 1 MVP-21
1951 33 TOT MLB 33 72 66 7 15 3 0 1 4 0 0 1 3 .227 .250 .318 .568 56 21 7 1 4 1
1951 33 BSN NL 26 58 52 4 11 2 0 1 4 0 0 1 3 .212 .241 .308 .548 51 16 6 1 4 1
1951 33 NYY AL 7 14 14 3 4 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .286 .286 .357 .643 76 5 1 0 0 /1
1952 34 NYY AL 47 75 71 4 19 4 1 1 14 0 0 3 5 .268 .297 .394 .692 96 28 1 0 1 1 MVP-29
1953 35 NYY AL 41 77 68 8 17 3 1 0 8 0 0 5 1 .250 .301 .324 .625 71 22 4 0 4 1 AS
1954 36 NYY AL 45 20 17 1 6 1 0 0 5 0 0 2 1 .353 .421 .412 .833 133 7 0 0 1 0 1
1955 37 TOT AL 28 10 10 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 .000 -100 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
1955 37 NYY AL 3 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 .000 -100 0 0 0 0 0 0 /1
1955 37 KCA AL 25 8 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 .000 -100 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
11 Seasons 433 856 774 69 190 28 4 3 101 0 0 24 20 .245 .270 .304 .574 58 235 25 2 56 0 0
162 Game Avg. 162 320 290 26 71 10 1 1 38 0 9 7 .245 .270 .304 .574 58 88 9 1 21
BSN (7 yrs) 265 660 594 53 144 19 2 2 74 0 0 14 13 .242 .262 .291 .554 52 173 19 2 50
NYY (5 yrs) 143 188 172 16 46 9 2 1 27 0 0 10 7 .267 .308 .360 .668 86 62 6 0 6 0 0
KCA (1 yr) 25 8 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 .000 -100 0 0 0 0 0 0
AL (5 yrs) 168 196 180 16 46 9 2 1 27 0 0 10 7 .256 .295 .344 .639 78 62 6 0 6 0 0
NL (7 yrs) 265 660 594 53 144 19 2 2 74 0 0 14 13 .242 .262 .291 .554 52 173 19 2 50

Postseason Batting

Glossary · Click headers to sort · SHARE  · CSV · PRE · LINK · 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
1948 30 BSN NL WS CLE L 2 6 5 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .200 .200 .200 .400 1 0 0 1 0 0
1951 33 NYY AL WS NYG W 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 .000 0 0 0 0 0 0
1952 34 NYY AL WS BRO W 2 3 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 .000 0 0 0 0 0 0
1953 35 NYY AL WS BRO W 2 2 2 1 1 1 0 0 2 0 0 0 1 .500 .500 1.000 1.500 2 0 0 0 0 0
4 Seasons (4 Series) 7 12 11 1 2 1 0 0 2 0 0 0 1 .182 .182 .273 .455 3 0 0 1 0 0
4 WS 7 12 11 1 2 1 0 0 2 0 0 0 1 .182 .182 .273 .455 3 0 0 1 0 0

Standard Fielding

More Stats

Glossary · Click headers to sort · SHARE  · CSV · PRE · LINK · Hide Partial Seasons
Year Tm Lg Age Pos G GS Inn Ch PO A E DP Fld% RF/9 RF/G lgFld% lgRF9 lgRFG Awards
1942 BSN NL 24 P 40 26 1 25 0 0 1.000 0.65 .965 1.17
1946 BSN NL 28 P 37 82 20 61 1 4 .988 2.19 .959 1.01 MVP-5
1947 BSN NL 29 P 38 69 11 55 3 1 .957 1.74 .967 0.91 AS,MVP-16
1948 BSN NL 30 P 42 71 21 48 2 3 .972 1.64 .962 0.91 AS,MVP-2
1949 BSN NL 31 P 37 52 14 35 3 2 .942 1.32 .954 0.91
1950 BSN NL 32 P 37 60 14 42 4 3 .933 1.51 .962 0.97 MVP-21
1951 TOT MLB 33 P 33 53 14 38 1 4 .981 1.58 .960 0.97
1951 BSN NL 33 P 26 42 13 28 1 3 .976 1.58 .962 0.96
1951 NYY AL 33 P 7 11 1 10 0 1 1.000 1.57 .955 0.99
1952 NYY AL 34 P 35 36 15 18 3 0 .917 0.94 .967 1.03 MVP-29
1953 NYY AL 35 P 40 42 8 32 2 1 .952 1.00 .957 0.88 AS
1954 NYY AL 36 P 45 0 77.0 17 6 11 0 0 1.000 1.99 0.38 .959 2.01 0.93
1955 TOT AL 37 P 28 0 50.0 9 3 6 0 0 1.000 1.62 0.32 .956 2.00 0.83
1955 NYY AL 37 P 3 0 5.1 1 0 1 0 0 1.000 1.69 0.33 1.000 2.02 0.83
1955 KCA AL 37 P 25 0 44.2 8 3 5 0 0 1.000 1.61 0.32 .950 1.99 0.83
11 Seasons P 412 0 127.0 517 127 371 19 18 .963 35.29 1.21 .961 2.01 0.96
11 Seasons TOT 412 0 127.0 517 127 371 19 18 .963 35.29 1.21 .924 2.01 0.96

Appearances on Leader Boards, Awards, and Honors

Stats are Year-Value-Rank, Glossary

Hall of Fame
1962 BBWAA ( 0.6%)
1964 BBWAA ( 1.5%)
1968 BBWAA ( 2.5%)
1969 BBWAA ( 2.4%)
1970 BBWAA ( 3.0%)
1971 BBWAA ( 3.1%)
1972 BBWAA ( 5.3%)
1973 BBWAA (12.4%)
1974 BBWAA (14.0%)
1975 BBWAA (34.0%)

All-Star Games
1947 *
1948 *
1953

Awards (yr lg award)
1948 NL TSN Pitcher of the Year

MVP (yr lg (rk, shr))
1946 NL (5, 28%)
1947 NL (16, 6%)
1948 NL (2, 66%)
1950 NL (21, 4%)
1952 AL (29, 1%)
1.05 Career Shares (227th)

Earned Run Average s c a p y
1946 NL  2.208 (2nd)
1948 NL  2.603 (3rd)
1953 AL  3.000 (4th)

Wins s c a p y
1946 NL  20 (2nd)
1947 NL  21 (2nd)
1948 NL  24 (1st)
1950 NL  20 (2nd)

Win-Loss % s c a p y
1946 NL  .588 (6th)
1947 NL  .636 (6th)
1948 NL  .615 (8th)
1950 NL  .606 (10th)
1952 AL  .647 (7th)
1953 AL  .667 (6th)

Walks & Hits per IP s c a p y
1946 NL  1.177 (4th)
1947 NL  1.293 (10th)
1948 NL  1.208 (4th)
1953 AL  1.238 (4th)

Hits per 9 IP s c a p y
1946 NL  7.641 (5th)
1948 NL  8.495 (10th)

Bases On Balls per 9 IP s c a p y
1947 NL  2.673 (8th)
1948 NL  2.374 (6th)
1950 NL  2.264 (3rd)
1951 NL  2.526 (5th)
1953 AL  2.143 (2nd)

Strikeouts per 9 IP s c a p y
1946 NL  4.381 (6th)
1947 NL  4.466 (5th)

Games Played s c a p y
1942 NL  40 (7th)
1948 NL  42 (9th)
1954 AL  45 (7th)

Saves s c a p y
1942 NL  6 (4th)
1952 AL  7 (3rd)
1953 AL  9 (5th)
1954 AL  22 (1st)

Innings Pitched s c a p y
1946 NL  265.0 (3rd)
1947 NL  266.0 (4th)
1948 NL  314.7 (1st)
1949 NL  243.0 (6th)
1950 NL  278.3 (4th)

Strikeouts s c a p y
1946 NL  129 (3rd)
1947 NL  132 (3rd)
1948 NL  137 (3rd)

Games Started s c a p y
1946 NL  34 (2nd)
1947 NL  35 (2nd)
1948 NL  39 (1st)
1949 NL  36 (3rd)
1950 NL  37 (4th)

Complete Games s c a p y
1946 NL  24 (1st)
1947 NL  22 (2nd)
1948 NL  28 (1st)
1949 NL  16 (6th)
1950 NL  25 (2nd)

Shutouts s c a p y
1946 NL  3 (6th)
1947 NL  3 (6th)
1948 NL  4 (2nd)
1950 NL  3 (7th)

Home Runs s c a p y
1947 NL  19 (7th)
1948 NL  19 (7th)
1950 NL  34 (1st)
1952 AL  15 (8th)

Bases on Balls s c a p y
1946 NL  87 (7th)

Hits s c a p y
1946 NL  225 (3rd)
1947 NL  265 (1st)
1948 NL  297 (1st)
1949 NL  285 (2nd)
1950 NL  294 (1st)

Strikeouts / Base On Balls s c a p y
1946 NL  1.483 (5th)
1947 NL  1.671 (5th)
1948 NL  1.651 (5th)
1951 NL  1.400 (9th)
1953 AL  1.867 (1st)

Home Runs per 9 IP s c a p y
1946 NL  .272 (5th)
1948 NL  .543 (10th)
1949 NL  .556 (9th)

Losses s c a p y
1946 NL  14 (6th)
1947 NL  12 (8th)
1948 NL  15 (3rd)
1949 NL  17 (3rd)
1951 NL  13 (10th)

Earned Runs s c a p y
1947 NL  104 (2nd)
1948 NL  91 (7th)
1949 NL  130 (1st)
1950 NL  122 (2nd)

Wild Pitches s c a p y
1942 NL  4 (9th)
1950 NL  5 (8th)

Hit By Pitch s c a p y
1942 NL  5 (5th)
1947 NL  4 (6th)
1948 NL  5 (4th)

Batters Faced s c a p y
1946 NL  1086 (2nd)
1947 NL  1131 (3rd)
1948 NL  1313 (1st)
1949 NL  1072 (4th)
1950 NL  1178 (4th)

Games Finished s c a p y
1942 NL  24 (5th)
1953 AL  19 (10th)
1954 AL  39 (1st)

Adjusted ERA+ s c a p y
1946 NL  156 (2nd)
1948 NL  147 (5th)
1953 AL  124 (7th)

Sacrifice Hits s c a p y
1948 NL  16 (1st)

             

Hall Of Fame Statistics

Player rank in (·)

Black InkPitching - 15 (143), Average HOFer ≈ 40
Gray InkPitching - 121 (152), Average HOFer ≈ 185
Hall of Fame MonitorPitching - 55 (226), Likely HOFer ≈ 100
Hall of Fame StandardsPitching - 17 (393), Average HOFer ≈ 50

Similarity Scores

Explanation of Similarity Scores
Similar Pitchers 
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 Compare Stats to Similars
  1. Dock Ellis (947)
  2. Frank Lary (947)
  3. Steve Gromek (946)
  4. Harry Gumbert (946)
  5. Nelson Briles (945)
  6. Howie Pollet (943)
  7. Harvey Haddix (932)
  8. Rip Sewell (932)
  9. Joe Dobson (931)
  10. Bob Purkey (929)
Most Similar by Ages 
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  1. Slow Joe Doyle (977)  2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 C
  2. Marius Russo (979)  2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 C
  3. Sam Leever (969)  2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 C
  4. Ed Figueroa (967)  2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 C
  5. Ed Lopat (967)  2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 C
  6. Claude Passeau (961)  2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 C
  7. Bob Forsch (960)  2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 C
  8. Bob Forsch (956)  2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 C
  9. Steve Gromek (949)  2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 C
  10. Steve Gromek (946)  2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 C
* - Signifies Hall of Famer
Similar Batters 
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  1. Pete Donohue (985)
  2. Vern Kennedy (984)
  3. Duke Esper (975)
  4. Joe Shaute (968)
  5. Fred Heimach (967)
  6. Rick Rhoden (967)
  7. Livan Hernandez (967)
  8. George Earnshaw (967)
  9. Frank Kitson (965)
  10. Sherry Smith (963)
Most Similar by Ages 
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  1. Ed Lopat (983)  2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 C
  2. Ed Lopat (978)  2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 C
  3. Murry Dickson (987)  2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 C
  4. Murry Dickson (982)  2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 C
  5. Dolf Luque (976)  2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 C
  6. Vern Kennedy (979)  2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 C
* - Signifies Hall of Famer

Transactions

Before 1936 Season: Signed by the Detroit Tigers as an amateur free agent.

January 14, 1940: Granted Free Agency.

March, 1940: Signed as a Free Agent with Nashville (Southern Association). (Date given is approximate. Exact date is uncertain.)

April 8, 1942: Purchased by the Boston Braves from Nashville (Southern Association).

August 29, 1951: Traded by the Boston Braves to the New York Yankees for Lew Burdette and $50,000.

May 11, 1955: Traded by the New York Yankees with Enos Slaughter to the Kansas City Athletics for Sonny Dixon and cash.

July 16, 1955: Released by the Kansas City Athletics.

The transaction information used here was obtained free of charge from and is copyrighted by RetroSheet. Last transaction is September 30, 2009.

Other Resources & Links

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Viewed 92,190 times through December 22, 2009.
Name and misspellings: John Franklin jonny jonnie johny Johnny johnnie johney john johhny Sain

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