1939–1963 · P

Early Wynn

6' 0", 190 lbs·Lived to 79·Bats B / Throws R

Hall of Fame · 1972Cy Young AwardAll-Star

The Almanac's Take

Here was a pitcher who treated every at-bat like a personal vendetta. Wynn famously said he'd knock down his own grandmother if she dug in at the plate, and that intimidating presence helped him become one of only 14 pitchers to reach 300 wins. His peak came remarkably late — he didn't win the Cy Young until age 39 in 1959, going 22-10 for the White Sox.

Wynn's 3.54 ERA across 25 seasons tells the story of remarkable durability rather than dominance. His 118 ERA+ shows he was consistently above average, never spectacular. The 2,334 strikeouts came the hard way, one batter at a time, in an era when power pitchers were rare.

What made Wynn special wasn't his stuff — it was his willingness to pitch inside and his refusal to give in. He threw 4,564 innings because hitters never felt comfortable against him, even when they knew what was coming.

Career Highs

2.28

Best ERA · 1963

Most W · 1954

184

Most K · 1957

1.138

Best WHIP · 1954

Career Arc · OPS

10 seasons

Career Arc · ERA

23 seasons

Statistical Comps

Joe Kelly

99%

2013 season

K/9 5.7 · BB/9 3.2 · HR/9 0.73 · RP

Anthony Swarzak

99%

2011 season

K/9 4.8 · BB/9 2.3 · HR/9 0.79 · RP

Garrett Richards

99%

2013 season

K/9 6.3 · BB/9 2.7 · HR/9 0.74 · RP

Career · Hitting

23 seasons

Year	Team	G	AB	HR	RBI	AVG	OPS	OPS+
1939	WS1	3	6	0	1	.167	—	—
1941	WS1	5	15	0	0	.133	—	—
1942	WS1	30	69	0	7	.217	—	—
1943	WS1	38	98	1	11	.296	—	—
1944	WS1	43	92	1	6	.207	—	—
1946	WS1	25	47	1	9	.319	—	—
1947	WS1	54	120	2	13	.275	—	—
1948	WS1	73	106	0	16	.217	—	—
1949	CLE	35	70	1	7	.143	—	—
1950	CLE	39	77	2	10	.234	—	—
1951	CLE	41	108	1	13	.185	—	—
1952	CLE	44	99	0	10	.222	—	—
1953	CLE	37	91	3	10	.275	—	—
1954	CLE	40	93	0	4	.183	.455	—
1955	CLE	34	84	1	7	.179	.483	—
1956	CLE	38	101	1	15	.228	.585	—
1957	CLE	40	86	0	4	.116	.331	—
1958	CWS	40	75	0	11	.200	.504	—
1959	CWS	37	90	2	8	.244	.706	—
1960	CWS	36	75	1	7	.200	.623	—
1961	CWS	17	37	0	2	.162	.387	—
1962	CWS	27	54	0	2	.130	.378	—
1963	CLE	20	11	0	0	.273	.657	—
Career		796	1704	17	173	.214	—	—

Career · Pitching

23 seasons

Year	Team	G	IP	W	L	ERA	ERA+	SO	WHIP
1939	WS1	3	20.3	0	2	5.75	74	1	1.770
1941	WS1	5	40.0	3	1	1.58	249	15	1.125
1942	WS1	30	190.0	10	16	5.12	70	58	1.679
1943	WS1	37	256.7	18	12	2.91	121	89	1.227
1944	WS1	33	207.7	8	17	3.38	106	65	1.387
1946	WS1	17	107.0	8	5	3.11	115	36	1.355
1947	WS1	33	247.0	17	15	3.64	109	73	1.381
1948	WS1	33	198.0	8	19	5.82	71	49	1.667
1949	CLE	26	164.7	11	7	4.15	99	62	1.476
1950	CLE	32	213.7	18	8	3.20	136	143	1.250
1951	CLE	37	274.3	20	13	3.02	134	133	1.217
1952	CLE	42	285.7	23	12	2.90	128	153	1.299
1953	CLE	36	251.7	17	12	3.93	105	138	1.355
1954	CLE	40	270.7	23	11	2.73	143	155	1.138
1955	CLE	32	230.0	17	11	2.82	142	122	1.248
1956	CLE	38	277.7	20	9	2.72	146	158	1.167
1957	CLE	40	263.0	14	17	4.31	89	184	1.422
1958	CWS	40	239.7	14	16	4.13	93	179	1.327
1959	CWS	37	255.7	22	10	3.17	123	179	1.256
1960	CWS	36	237.3	13	12	3.49	109	158	1.399
1961	CWS	17	110.3	8	2	3.51	115	64	1.224
1962	CWS	27	167.7	7	15	4.46	89	91	1.354
1963	CLE	20	55.3	1	2	2.28	152	29	1.175
Career		691	4564.2	300	244	—	—	2334	—

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