Vern Law was born on Wednesday, March 12, 1930, in Meridian, Idaho. Law was 20 years old when he broke into the big leagues on June 11, 1950, with the Pittsburgh Pirates. His biographical data, year-by-year hitting stats, fielding stats, pitching stats (where applicable), career totals, uniform numbers, salary data and miscellaneous items-of-interest are presented by Baseball Almanac on this comprehensive Vern Law baseball stats page.
"Experience is a hard teacher because she gives the test first, and the lesson afterwards." - Pittsburgh Pirates Pitcher Vern Law (David Nathan, The McFarland Baseball Quotations Dictionary, McFarland & Company Publishing, 05/2000, Page 232)
Vern LawVern 'Deacon' Law Autograph on a 1953 Topps Archives Baseball Card (#324) |
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Biographical Data | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Vern LawVern Law Pitching Stats |
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Year | Age | Team | G | GS | GF | W | L | PCT | ERA | CG | SHO | SV | IP | BFP | H | ER | R | HR | BB | IBB | SO | WP | HB | BK | HLD |
1950 | 20 | Pirates | 27 | 17 | 6 | 7 | 9 | .438 | 4.92 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 128.0 | 562 | 137 | 70 | 83 | 11 | 49 | 3 | 57 | 2 | 4 | 0 | - |
1951 | 21 | Pirates | 28 | 14 | 8 | 6 | 9 | .400 | 4.50 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 114.0 | 499 | 109 | 57 | 66 | 9 | 51 | 1 | 41 | 2 | 6 | 1 | - |
1954 | 24 | Pirates | 39 | 18 | 17 | 9 | 13 | .409 | 5.51 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 161.2 | 728 | 201 | 99 | 109 | 20 | 56 | 4 | 57 | 6 | 3 | 0 | - |
1955 | 25 | Pirates | 43 | 24 | 13 | 10 | 10 | .500 | 3.81 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 200.2 | 865 | 221 | 85 | 98 | 19 | 61 | 7 | 82 | 5 | 1 | 0 | - |
1956 | 26 | Pirates | 39 | 32 | 6 | 8 | 16 | .333 | 4.32 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 195.2 | 851 | 218 | 94 | 110 | 24 | 49 | 10 | 60 | 8 | 6 | 0 | - |
1957 | 27 | Pirates | 31 | 25 | 5 | 10 | 8 | .556 | 2.87 | 9 | 3 | 1 | 172.2 | 716 | 172 | 55 | 72 | 18 | 32 | 8 | 55 | 2 | 2 | 0 | - |
1958 | 28 | Pirates | 35 | 29 | 5 | 14 | 12 | .538 | 3.96 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 202.1 | 854 | 235 | 89 | 103 | 16 | 39 | 5 | 56 | 1 | 1 | 0 | - |
1959 | 29 | Pirates | 34 | 33 | 1 | 18 | 9 | .667 | 2.98 | 20 | 2 | 1 | 266.0 | 1,080 | 245 | 88 | 91 | 25 | 53 | 11 | 110 | 5 | 2 | 0 | - |
1960 | 30 | Pirates | 35 | 35 | 0 | 20 | 9 | .690 | 3.08 | 18 | 3 | 0 | 271.2 | 1,091 | 266 | 93 | 104 | 25 | 40 | 8 | 120 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 0 |
1961 | 31 | Pirates | 11 | 10 | 1 | 3 | 4 | .429 | 4.70 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 59.1 | 258 | 72 | 31 | 33 | 10 | 18 | 3 | 20 | 0 | 1 | 0 | - |
1962 | 32 | Pirates | 23 | 20 | 2 | 10 | 7 | .588 | 3.94 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 139.1 | 596 | 156 | 61 | 67 | 21 | 27 | 4 | 78 | 2 | 1 | 0 | - |
1963 | 33 | Pirates | 18 | 12 | 2 | 4 | 5 | .444 | 4.93 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 76.2 | 325 | 91 | 42 | 45 | 11 | 13 | 0 | 31 | 2 | 0 | 0 | - |
1964 | 34 | Pirates | 35 | 29 | 1 | 12 | 13 | .480 | 3.61 | 7 | 5 | 0 | 192.0 | 795 | 203 | 77 | 85 | 18 | 32 | 6 | 93 | 1 | 1 | 0 | - |
1965 | 35 | Pirates | 29 | 28 | 1 | 17 | 9 | .654 | 2.15 | 13 | 4 | 0 | 217.1 | 847 | 182 | 52 | 66 | 17 | 35 | 2 | 101 | 1 | 3 | 0 | - |
1966 | 36 | Pirates | 31 | 28 | 2 | 12 | 8 | .600 | 4.05 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 177.2 | 737 | 203 | 80 | 85 | 19 | 24 | 1 | 88 | 0 | 4 | 1 | - |
1967 | 37 | Pirates | 25 | 10 | 7 | 2 | 6 | .250 | 4.18 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 97.0 | 427 | 122 | 45 | 57 | 5 | 18 | 9 | 43 | 0 | 1 | 0 | - |
Career | G | GS | GF | W | L | PCT | ERA | CG | SHO | SV | IP | BFP | H | ER | R | HR | BB | IBB | SO | WP | HB | BK | HLD | ||
16 Years | 483 | 364 | 77 | 162 | 147 | .524 | 3.77 | 119 | 28 | 13 | 2,672.0 | 11,231 | 2,833 | 1,118 | 1,274 | 268 | 597 | 82 | 1,092 | 39 | 40 | 3 | 0 |
Vern LawVern Law Hitting Stats |
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Year | Age | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | GRSL | RBI | BB | IBB | SO | SH | SF | HBP | GIDP | AVG | OBP | SLG |
1950 | 20 | Pirates | 27 | 41 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | .073 | .136 | .122 |
1951 | 21 | Pirates | 28 | 32 | 5 | 11 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .344 | .400 | .563 |
1954 | 24 | Pirates | 50 | 52 | 10 | 12 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 13 | 5 | 0 | 8 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 4 | .231 | .310 | .385 |
1955 | 25 | Pirates | 44 | 63 | 8 | 16 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 16 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .254 | .299 | .349 |
1956 | 26 | Pirates | 39 | 57 | 3 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 16 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | .175 | .226 | .246 |
1957 | 27 | Pirates | 34 | 63 | 3 | 12 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .190 | .215 | .238 |
1958 | 28 | Pirates | 36 | 62 | 11 | 12 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 12 | 9 | 0 | 10 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 4 | .194 | .288 | .371 |
1959 | 29 | Pirates | 38 | 96 | 6 | 16 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 20 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 4 | .167 | .192 | .219 |
1960 | 30 | Pirates | 35 | 94 | 10 | 17 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 19 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1 | .181 | .196 | .309 |
1961 | 31 | Pirates | 11 | 19 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | .263 | .318 | .316 |
1962 | 32 | Pirates | 23 | 45 | 6 | 14 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | .311 | .313 | .444 |
1963 | 33 | Pirates | 21 | 23 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .217 | .217 | .217 |
1964 | 34 | Pirates | 36 | 61 | 9 | 19 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 11 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 3 | .311 | .354 | .410 |
1965 | 35 | Pirates | 34 | 82 | 9 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 3 | .244 | .244 | .280 |
1966 | 36 | Pirates | 34 | 66 | 11 | 16 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 11 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .242 | .275 | .333 |
1967 | 37 | Pirates | 26 | 27 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .111 | .143 | .185 |
Career | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | GRSL | RBI | BB | IBB | SO | SH | SF | HBP | GIDP | AVG | OBP | SLG | ||
16 Years | 516 | 883 | 96 | 191 | 35 | 7 | 11 | 0 | 90 | 41 | 0 | 179 | 63 | 7 | 6 | 24 | .216 | .254 | .309 |
Vern LawVern Law Fielding Stats |
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Team | POS | G | GS | OUTS | TC | TC/G | CH | PO | A | E | DP | PB | CASB | CACS | FLD% | RF |
1950 Pirates | P | 27 | 17 | 384 | 22 | 0.8 | 20 | 5 | 15 | 2 | 1 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .909 | 1.41 |
1951 Pirates | P | 28 | 14 | 342 | 27 | 1.0 | 25 | 10 | 15 | 2 | 2 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .926 | 1.97 |
1954 Pirates | P | 39 | 18 | 485 | 35 | 0.9 | 34 | 11 | 23 | 1 | 2 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .971 | 1.89 |
1954 Pirates | RF | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1.0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 9.00 |
1955 Pirates | P | 43 | 24 | 602 | 53 | 1.2 | 49 | 14 | 35 | 4 | 3 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .925 | 2.20 |
1956 Pirates | P | 39 | 32 | 587 | 43 | 1.1 | 43 | 12 | 31 | 0 | 3 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 1.98 |
1957 Pirates | P | 31 | 25 | 518 | 38 | 1.2 | 36 | 13 | 23 | 2 | 2 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .947 | 1.88 |
1958 Pirates | P | 35 | 29 | 607 | 47 | 1.3 | 47 | 16 | 31 | 0 | 3 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 2.09 |
1959 Pirates | P | 34 | 33 | 798 | 68 | 2.0 | 67 | 20 | 47 | 1 | 5 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .985 | 2.27 |
1960 Pirates | P | 35 | 35 | 815 | 80 | 2.3 | 78 | 28 | 50 | 2 | 6 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .975 | 2.58 |
1961 Pirates | P | 11 | 10 | 178 | 20 | 1.8 | 20 | 7 | 13 | 0 | 1 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 3.03 |
1962 Pirates | P | 23 | 20 | 418 | 36 | 1.6 | 34 | 7 | 27 | 2 | 3 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .944 | 2.20 |
1963 Pirates | P | 18 | 12 | 230 | 25 | 1.4 | 25 | 5 | 20 | 0 | 1 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 2.93 |
1964 Pirates | P | 35 | 29 | 576 | 53 | 1.5 | 52 | 16 | 36 | 1 | 3 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .981 | 2.44 |
1965 Pirates | P | 29 | 28 | 652 | 66 | 2.3 | 65 | 29 | 36 | 1 | 2 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .985 | 2.69 |
1966 Pirates | P | 31 | 28 | 533 | 47 | 1.5 | 47 | 11 | 36 | 0 | 4 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 2.38 |
1967 Pirates | P | 25 | 10 | 291 | 24 | 1.0 | 23 | 8 | 15 | 1 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .958 | 2.13 |
Career | POS | G | GS | OUTS | TC | TC/G | CH | PO | A | E | DP | PB | CASB | CACS | FLD% | RF |
P Totals | 483 | 364 | 8,016 | 684 | 1.4 | 665 | 212 | 453 | 19 | 41 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .972 | 2.24 | |
RF Totals | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1.0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 9.00 | |
16 Years | 484 | 365 | 8,019 | 685 | 1.4 | 666 | 213 | 453 | 19 | 41 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .972 | 2.24 |
Vern LawVern Law Miscellaneous Stats |
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Baserunning Statistics | Other Positions | Common Hitting Ratios | Common Pitching Ratios | |||||||||
Team | SB | CS | SB% | PH | PR | DH | AB/HR | AB/K | AB/RBI | K/BB | K/9 | BB/9 |
1950 Pirates | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 0.0 | 2.9 | 41.0 | 1.16 | 4.01 | 3.45 |
1951 Pirates | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 32.0 | 5.3 | 8.0 | 0.80 | 3.24 | 4.03 |
1954 Pirates | 0 | 0 | .000 | 6 | 7 | n/a | 52.0 | 6.5 | 4.0 | 1.02 | 3.17 | 3.12 |
1955 Pirates | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | 0 | 1 | n/a | 63.0 | 3.9 | 7.9 | 1.34 | 3.68 | 2.74 |
1956 Pirates | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 57.0 | 3.6 | 7.1 | 1.22 | 2.76 | 2.25 |
1957 Pirates | 0 | 0 | .000 | 3 | 0 | n/a | 0.0 | 5.7 | 10.5 | 1.72 | 2.87 | 1.67 |
1958 Pirates | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 1 | n/a | 31.0 | 6.2 | 5.2 | 1.44 | 2.49 | 1.73 |
1959 Pirates | 0 | 0 | .000 | 1 | 3 | n/a | 96.0 | 4.8 | 12.0 | 2.08 | 3.72 | 1.79 |
1960 Pirates | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 94.0 | 4.9 | 13.4 | 3.00 | 3.98 | 1.33 |
1961 Pirates | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 0.0 | 4.8 | 3.8 | 1.11 | 3.03 | 2.73 |
1962 Pirates | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 0.0 | 6.4 | 9.0 | 2.89 | 5.04 | 1.74 |
1963 Pirates | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 3 | n/a | 0.0 | 23.0 | 0.0 | 2.38 | 3.64 | 1.53 |
1964 Pirates | 0 | 0 | .000 | 1 | 0 | n/a | 61.0 | 5.5 | 20.3 | 2.91 | 4.36 | 1.50 |
1965 Pirates | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 5 | n/a | 82.0 | 4.3 | 13.7 | 2.89 | 4.18 | 1.45 |
1966 Pirates | 0 | 0 | .000 | 1 | 2 | n/a | 66.0 | 6.0 | 22.0 | 3.67 | 4.46 | 1.22 |
1967 Pirates | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 1 | n/a | 0.0 | 4.5 | 27.0 | 2.39 | 3.99 | 1.67 |
Career | SB | CS | SB% | PH | PR | DH | AB/HR | AB/K | AB/RBI | K/BB | K/9 | BB/9 |
16 Years | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | 12 | 23 | n/a | 80.3 | 4.9 | 9.8 | 1.83 | 3.68 | 2.01 |
Vern LawVern Law Miscellaneous Items of Interest |
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Team | Roster | Uniform Numbers | Salary | All-Star | World Series |
1950 Pittsburgh Pirates | 20 | $5,000.00 | - | - |
1951 Pittsburgh Pirates | 20 | $10,000.00 | - | - |
1954 Pittsburgh Pirates | 32 | Undetermined | - | - |
1955 Pittsburgh Pirates | 32 | Undetermined | - | - |
1956 Pittsburgh Pirates | 32 | Undetermined | - | - |
1957 Pittsburgh Pirates | 32 | Undetermined | - | - |
1958 Pittsburgh Pirates | 32 | Undetermined | - | - |
1959 Pittsburgh Pirates | 32 | $35,000.00 | - | - |
1960 Pittsburgh Pirates | 32 | $50,000.00 | Stats | Stats |
1961 Pittsburgh Pirates | 32 | Undetermined | - | - |
1962 Pittsburgh Pirates | 32 | Undetermined | - | - |
1963 Pittsburgh Pirates | 32 | Undetermined | - | - |
1964 Pittsburgh Pirates | 32 | Undetermined | - | - |
1965 Pittsburgh Pirates | 32 | Undetermined | - | - |
1966 Pittsburgh Pirates | 32 | Undetermined | - | - |
1967 Pittsburgh Pirates | 32 | Undetermined | - | - |
Vern Law Stats by Baseball Almanac |
What did "Preacher" think of the Major Leagues after his career? In Baseball Digest, 'What Some Old-Timers Think of the Major Leagues Today' (November 1995, Rick Van Blair, Page 51) he said, "Some of the desire to win seems to be lacking in today's game. It seems like some players have their eye on the pocketbook rather than the ball. I don't think many of them are having the fun playing the game like we did. Teammates don't seem to be as close to each other as they were in my day."
The Cy Young Award was given to exactly one pitcher, the best one in Major League Baseball, from 1956 through 1966. In 1960, Vern Law won the Cy Young - the most outstanding pitcher by the Baseball Writers Association of America and Deacon became the first Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher to receive the prestigious honor.
Vern Law pitched his entire big league career with the Pittsburgh Pirates and is one of only four Bucs' pitchers with 350+ games started, joining Bob Friend (477 GS / #1), Wilbur Cooper (369 GS / #2) and Babe Adams (353 GS #4). Only five Pirates pitchers have ever won more games than Law (Wilbur Cooper, 202 wins, #1; Babe Adams, 194 wins, #2; Sam Leever, 194 wins, #3; Bob Friend, 191 wins, #4; Deacon Phillippe, 168 wins, #5) and only four have struck out more hitters (Bob Friend, 1,682 strikeouts, #1; Bob Veale, 1,652 strikeouts, #2; Wilbur Cooper, 1,191 strikeouts, #3; John Candelaria, 1,159 strikeouts, #4)! Deacon is also top ten in team history in bases on balls (5th), earned runs (2nd), games pitched (4th), hits allowed (3rd), home runs allowed (2nd), innings pitched (4th) and runs allowed (2nd).