Tommy Byrne was born on Wednesday, December 31, 1919, in Baltimore, Maryland. Byrne was 23 years old when he broke into the big leagues on April 27, 1943, with the New York Yankees. 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 Tommy Byrne baseball stats page.
"The slow-working southpaw and $10,000 Yankee bonus baby sometimes enjoyed informing batters what pitch was coming. Good thing, since he led the league in hit batsmen five times. He paced the AL in walks in 1949, '50, and '51, but triumphed despite his wildness, thrice winning 15 or more and leading the league with a .762 winning percentage (16-5) in 1955. A fine hitter who manager Joe McCarthy tried to talk into converting to first base, Byrne amassed 14 homers and pinch hit 80 times." - Former SABR Director Tom Jozwik on Baseball Library (The Idea Logical Company, 2006, 'Tommy Byrne', Source)
Tommy ByrneTommy Byrne Autograph on a 1991 Topps Archives Baseball Card (#123 | Checklist) |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Biographical Data | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
Tommy ByrneTommy Byrne Pitching Stats |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 |
1943 | 24 | Yankees | 11 | 2 | 8 | 2 | 1 | .667 | 6.54 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 31.2 | 157 | 28 | 23 | 26 | 1 | 35 | 1 | 22 | 3 | 3 | 0 | - |
1946 | 27 | Yankees | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | .000 | 5.79 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9.1 | 45 | 7 | 6 | 8 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | - |
1947 | 28 | Yankees | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 4.15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.1 | 23 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - |
1948 | 29 | Yankees | 31 | 11 | 11 | 8 | 5 | .615 | 3.30 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 133.2 | 579 | 79 | 49 | 55 | 8 | 101 | 2 | 93 | 3 | 9 | 0 | - |
1949 | 30 | Yankees | 32 | 30 | 2 | 15 | 7 | .682 | 3.72 | 12 | 3 | 0 | 196.0 | 880 | 125 | 81 | 84 | 11 | 179 | 0 | 129 | 4 | 13 | 1 | - |
1950 | 31 | Yankees | 31 | 31 | 0 | 15 | 9 | .625 | 4.74 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 203.1 | 951 | 188 | 107 | 115 | 23 | 160 | 2 | 118 | 3 | 17 | 2 | 0 |
1951 | 32 | Yankees | 9 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | .667 | 6.86 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21.0 | 115 | 16 | 16 | 17 | 0 | 36 | 0 | 14 | 2 | 3 | 0 | - |
1951 | 32 | Browns | 19 | 17 | 2 | 4 | 10 | .286 | 3.82 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 122.2 | 577 | 104 | 52 | 56 | 5 | 114 | 0 | 57 | 2 | 12 | 0 | - |
1952 | 33 | Browns | 29 | 24 | 5 | 7 | 14 | .333 | 4.68 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 196.0 | 876 | 182 | 102 | 117 | 16 | 112 | 2 | 91 | 5 | 10 | 1 | - |
1953 | 34 | White Sox | 6 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1.000 | 10.13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16.0 | 89 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 0 | 26 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
1953 | 34 | Senators | 6 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | .000 | 4.28 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 33.2 | 155 | 35 | 16 | 17 | 3 | 22 | 0 | 22 | 0 | 1 | 0 | - |
1954 | 35 | Yankees | 5 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 2 | .600 | 2.70 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 40.0 | 169 | 36 | 12 | 13 | 1 | 19 | 0 | 24 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
1955 | 36 | Yankees | 27 | 22 | 4 | 16 | 5 | .762 | 3.15 | 9 | 3 | 2 | 160.0 | 689 | 137 | 56 | 69 | 12 | 87 | 3 | 76 | 3 | 7 | 0 | - |
1956 | 37 | Yankees | 37 | 8 | 18 | 7 | 3 | .700 | 3.36 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 109.2 | 493 | 108 | 41 | 50 | 9 | 72 | 5 | 52 | 0 | 2 | 0 | - |
1957 | 38 | Yankees | 30 | 4 | 16 | 4 | 6 | .400 | 4.36 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 84.2 | 383 | 70 | 41 | 41 | 8 | 60 | 2 | 57 | 3 | 7 | 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 | ||
13 Years | 281 | 170 | 72 | 85 | 69 | .552 | 4.11 | 65 | 12 | 12 | 1,362.0 | 6,181 | 1,138 | 622 | 688 | 98 | 1,037 | 17 | 766 | 28 | 85 | 4 | 0 |
Tommy ByrneTommy Byrne Hitting Stats |
|||||||||||||||||||||
Year | Age | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | GRSL | RBI | BB | IBB | SO | SH | SF | HBP | GIDP | AVG | OBP | SLG |
1943 | 24 | Yankees | 13 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .091 | .231 | .091 |
1946 | 27 | Yankees | 14 | 9 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .222 | .300 | .222 |
1947 | 28 | Yankees | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 1.000 | .000 |
1948 | 29 | Yankees | 31 | 46 | 8 | 15 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .326 | .354 | .500 |
1949 | 30 | Yankees | 35 | 83 | 8 | 16 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 2 | 0 | 20 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .193 | .212 | .289 |
1950 | 31 | Yankees | 34 | 81 | 14 | 22 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 16 | 4 | 0 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | .272 | .322 | .407 |
1951 | 32 | Yankees | 9 | 9 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .222 | .222 | .556 |
1951 | 32 | Browns | 34 | 57 | 7 | 16 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 12 | 4 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | .281 | .328 | .386 |
1952 | 33 | Browns | 40 | 84 | 9 | 21 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 12 | 5 | 1 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .250 | .292 | .369 |
1953 | 34 | White Sox | 18 | 18 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .167 | .250 | .333 |
1953 | 34 | Senators | 14 | 17 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .059 | .200 | .059 |
1954 | 35 | Yankees | 7 | 19 | 2 | 7 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .368 | .368 | .684 |
1955 | 36 | Yankees | 45 | 78 | 6 | 16 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 8 | 0 | 15 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | .205 | .273 | .282 |
1956 | 37 | Yankees | 44 | 52 | 8 | 14 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 10 | 2 | 1 | 11 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .269 | .296 | .500 |
1957 | 38 | Yankees | 35 | 37 | 5 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .189 | .250 | .486 |
Career | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | GRSL | RBI | BB | IBB | SO | SH | SF | HBP | GIDP | AVG | OBP | SLG | ||
13 Years | 377 | 601 | 73 | 143 | 26 | 8 | 14 | 2 | 98 | 38 | 3 | 126 | 11 | 2 | 3 | 11 | .238 | .286 | .378 |
Tommy ByrneTommy Byrne Fielding Stats |
||||||||||||||||
Team | POS | G | GS | OUTS | TC | TC/G | CH | PO | A | E | DP | PB | CASB | CACS | FLD% | RF |
1943 Yankees | P | 11 | 2 | 95 | 11 | 1.0 | 10 | 2 | 8 | 1 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .909 | 2.84 |
1946 Yankees | P | 4 | 1 | 28 | 3 | 0.8 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 2.89 |
1947 Yankees | P | 4 | 1 | 13 | 1 | 0.3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 2.08 |
1948 Yankees | P | 31 | 11 | 401 | 19 | 0.6 | 19 | 2 | 17 | 0 | 2 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 1.28 |
1949 Yankees | P | 32 | 30 | 588 | 29 | 0.9 | 26 | 7 | 19 | 3 | 4 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .897 | 1.19 |
1950 Yankees | P | 31 | 31 | 610 | 32 | 1.0 | 32 | 9 | 23 | 0 | 2 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 1.42 |
1951 Yankees | P | 9 | 3 | 63 | 3 | 0.3 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 1.29 |
1951 Browns | P | 19 | 17 | 368 | 24 | 1.3 | 23 | 5 | 18 | 1 | 2 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .958 | 1.69 |
1952 Browns | P | 29 | 24 | 588 | 27 | 0.9 | 25 | 10 | 15 | 2 | 1 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .926 | 1.15 |
1953 White Sox | P | 6 | 6 | 48 | 6 | 1.0 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 3.38 |
1953 Senators | P | 6 | 5 | 101 | 11 | 1.8 | 9 | 1 | 8 | 2 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .818 | 2.41 |
1954 Yankees | P | 5 | 5 | 120 | 9 | 1.8 | 8 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 1 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .889 | 1.80 |
1955 Yankees | P | 27 | 22 | 480 | 28 | 1.0 | 26 | 4 | 22 | 2 | 3 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .929 | 1.46 |
1956 Yankees | P | 37 | 8 | 329 | 27 | 0.7 | 26 | 8 | 18 | 1 | 4 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .963 | 2.13 |
1957 Yankees | P | 30 | 4 | 254 | 16 | 0.5 | 15 | 6 | 9 | 1 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .938 | 1.59 |
Career | POS | G | GS | OUTS | TC | TC/G | CH | PO | A | E | DP | PB | CASB | CACS | FLD% | RF |
P Totals | 281 | 170 | 4,086 | 246 | 0.9 | 232 | 59 | 173 | 14 | 19 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .943 | 1.53 | |
13 Years | 281 | 170 | 4,086 | 246 | 0.9 | 232 | 59 | 173 | 14 | 19 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .943 | 1.53 |
Tommy ByrneTommy Byrne Miscellaneous Stats |
||||||||||||
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 |
1943 Yankees | 0 | 0 | .000 | 2 | 0 | n/a | 0.0 | 3.7 | 0.0 | 0.63 | 6.25 | 9.95 |
1946 Yankees | 0 | 0 | .000 | 6 | 4 | n/a | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.63 | 4.82 | 7.71 |
1947 Yankees | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.33 | 4.15 | 12.46 |
1948 Yankees | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 46.0 | 6.6 | 6.6 | 0.92 | 6.26 | 6.80 |
1949 Yankees | 0 | 0 | .000 | 1 | 2 | n/a | 0.0 | 4.2 | 6.4 | 0.72 | 5.92 | 8.22 |
1950 Yankees | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | 1 | 2 | n/a | 40.5 | 5.4 | 5.1 | 0.74 | 5.22 | 7.08 |
1951 Yankees | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 9.0 | 4.5 | 3.0 | 0.39 | 6.00 | 15.43 |
1951 Browns | 0 | 0 | .000 | 15 | 1 | n/a | 57.0 | 7.1 | 4.8 | 0.50 | 4.18 | 8.36 |
1952 Browns | 0 | 0 | .000 | 10 | 1 | n/a | 84.0 | 4.7 | 7.0 | 0.81 | 4.18 | 5.14 |
1953 White Sox | 0 | 0 | .000 | 12 | 0 | n/a | 18.0 | 3.0 | 3.6 | 0.15 | 2.25 | 14.63 |
1953 Senators | 0 | 0 | .000 | 9 | 0 | n/a | 0.0 | 2.4 | 0.0 | 1.00 | 5.88 | 5.88 |
1954 Yankees | 0 | 0 | .000 | 2 | 0 | n/a | 0.0 | 6.3 | 3.2 | 1.26 | 5.40 | 4.28 |
1955 Yankees | 0 | 0 | .000 | 18 | 0 | n/a | 78.0 | 5.2 | 13.0 | 0.87 | 4.28 | 4.89 |
1956 Yankees | 0 | 0 | .000 | 9 | 0 | n/a | 17.3 | 4.7 | 5.2 | 0.72 | 4.27 | 5.91 |
1957 Yankees | 0 | 0 | .000 | 7 | 0 | n/a | 12.3 | 3.4 | 4.6 | 0.95 | 6.06 | 6.38 |
Career | SB | CS | SB% | PH | PR | DH | AB/HR | AB/K | AB/RBI | K/BB | K/9 | BB/9 |
13 Years | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | 92 | 10 | n/a | 42.9 | 4.8 | 6.1 | 0.74 | 5.06 | 6.85 |
Tommy ByrneTommy Byrne Miscellaneous Items of Interest |
||||
Team | Roster | Uniform Numbers | Salary | All-Star | World Series |
1943 New York Yankees | 11 | $5,000.00 | - | - |
1946 New York Yankees | 39, 28 | $7,000.00 | - | - |
1947 New York Yankees | 28 | $6,000.00 | - | - |
1948 New York Yankees | 28 | $9,000.00 | - | - |
1949 New York Yankees | 28 | $9,000.00 | - | Stats |
1950 New York Yankees | 28 | $13,000.00 | Stats | - |
1951 New York Yankees | 28 | $18,000.00 | - | - |
1951 St. Louis Browns | 47 | " " | - | - |
1952 St. Louis Browns | 15 | $19,250.00 | - | - |
1953 Chicago White Sox | 27 | $17,250.00 | - | - |
1953 Washington Senators | 27, 30 | " " | - | - |
1954 New York Yankees | 28 | $12,000.00 | - | - |
1955 New York Yankees | 23 | $12,000.00 | - | Stats |
1956 New York Yankees | 23 | $21,250.00 | - | Stats |
1957 New York Yankees | 23 | $18,000.00 | - | Stats |
Tommy Byrne Stats by Baseball Almanac |
Did you know that Tommy Byrne led the American League in hit batsmen five times (1948, 1949, 1950, 1951, 1952) during his career? No pitcher in Major League history has matched his record for Most Consecutive Seasons Leading The League in Hit by Pitch (5), the next closest is National League record holder Don Drysdale, who led the senior circuit four times, from 1958 through 1961.
Tommy Byrne pinch hit ninety-two times during his career, had his final hit during Game 7 of the 1957 World Series, hit his first home run on July 11, 1948, an inside the park homer off Walt Masterson, and hit two grand slams - one after being asked to go up there and hit us a home run:
After posting a 7-14 record in 1952, the Browns traded Byrne to the Chicago White Sox with shortstop Joe DeMaestri for outfielder Hank Edwards and shortstop Willie Miranda. His tenure with the White Sox was brief, but he did have one shining moment. On May 16, White Sox manager Paul Richards summoned him from the bullpen to pinch-hit for infielder Vern Stephens with the bases loaded and two men out in the ninth inning. Right-handed pitcher Ewell Blackwell had just entered the game for New York.
Byrne recalled: “Richards asked me, ‘You ever hit this guy?’ ‘Yeah,’ I said, ‘about 11 years ago.’ ‘Well,’ said Richards, ‘How about going up and hitting one out of here?’ So I go up there and, after getting the count to 2-2, I don’t even remember swinging the bat, but I hit a line drive, 20 rows back in right field.” The grand slam won the game. During his career, Byrne batted .238 with 14 home runs, 98 RBIs, and a .378 slugging percentage.
Source: Jimmy Keenan. SABR Baseball Biography Project. Tommy Bryne. Link.
On August 22, 1951, Tommy Byrne pitched 12.2 innings of a 13-inning game, threw 248 pitches, and walked 16 batters - the American League (and Major League) record for most bases on balls in an extra inning game. Eight of the nine Boston Red Sox starters walked that day, 22 men were left on base, only Billy Goodman missed out, and Dom DiMaggio led the pack with four bases on balls.