Mel Harder was born on Friday, October 15, 1909, in Beemer, Nebraska. Harder was 18 years old when he broke into the big leagues on April 24, 1928, with the Cleveland Indians. 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 Mel Harder baseball stats page.
"I didn't have much of a curveball until I got to professional ball. I also had to learn a change-up when I made it to the pros. I got a lot of batters out with that fastball sinker. But over the years, I had to mix it up more." - Mel Harder on ESPN SportsZone (ESPN Live Broadcast: July 22, 1998)
Mel HarderMel Harder Autograph on a 1989 Pacific Trading Baseball Card (#205) |
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Biographical Data | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Mel HarderMel Harder 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 |
1928 | 19 | Indians | 23 | 1 | 12 | 0 | 2 | .000 | 6.61 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 49.0 | 241 | 64 | 36 | 42 | 4 | 32 | - | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - |
1929 | 20 | Indians | 11 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | 5.60 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17.2 | 84 | 24 | 11 | 15 | 2 | 5 | - | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | - |
1930 | 21 | Indians | 36 | 19 | 9 | 11 | 10 | .524 | 4.21 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 175.1 | 793 | 205 | 82 | 108 | 9 | 68 | - | 44 | 5 | 4 | 0 | - |
1931 | 22 | Indians | 40 | 24 | 8 | 13 | 14 | .481 | 4.36 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 194.0 | 880 | 229 | 94 | 119 | 8 | 72 | - | 63 | 3 | 6 | 1 | - |
1932 | 23 | Indians | 39 | 32 | 4 | 15 | 13 | .536 | 3.75 | 17 | 1 | 0 | 254.2 | 1,106 | 277 | 106 | 125 | 9 | 68 | - | 90 | 1 | 3 | 0 | - |
1933 | 24 | Indians | 43 | 31 | 10 | 15 | 17 | .469 | 2.95 | 14 | 2 | 4 | 253.0 | 1,073 | 254 | 83 | 113 | 10 | 67 | - | 81 | 2 | 3 | 0 | - |
1934 | 25 | Indians | 44 | 29 | 12 | 20 | 12 | .625 | 2.61 | 17 | 6 | 4 | 255.1 | 1,072 | 246 | 74 | 97 | 6 | 81 | - | 91 | 2 | 7 | 0 | - |
1935 | 26 | Indians | 42 | 35 | 7 | 22 | 11 | .667 | 3.29 | 17 | 4 | 2 | 287.1 | 1,206 | 313 | 105 | 120 | 6 | 53 | - | 95 | 1 | 0 | 0 | - |
1936 | 27 | Indians | 36 | 30 | 6 | 15 | 15 | .500 | 5.17 | 13 | 0 | 1 | 224.2 | 1,031 | 294 | 129 | 155 | 13 | 71 | - | 84 | 4 | 6 | 0 | - |
1937 | 28 | Indians | 38 | 30 | 7 | 15 | 12 | .556 | 4.28 | 13 | 0 | 2 | 233.2 | 1,038 | 269 | 111 | 127 | 9 | 86 | - | 95 | 2 | 4 | 0 | - |
1938 | 29 | Indians | 38 | 29 | 6 | 17 | 10 | .630 | 3.83 | 15 | 2 | 4 | 240.0 | 1,026 | 257 | 102 | 115 | 16 | 62 | - | 102 | 1 | 5 | 0 | - |
1939 | 30 | Indians | 29 | 26 | 3 | 15 | 9 | .625 | 3.50 | 12 | 1 | 1 | 208.0 | 877 | 213 | 81 | 89 | 15 | 64 | - | 67 | 1 | 3 | 0 | - |
1940 | 31 | Indians | 31 | 25 | 2 | 12 | 11 | .522 | 4.06 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 186.1 | 797 | 200 | 84 | 96 | 16 | 59 | - | 76 | 2 | 5 | 0 | - |
1941 | 32 | Indians | 15 | 10 | 1 | 5 | 4 | .556 | 5.24 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 68.2 | 317 | 76 | 40 | 43 | 8 | 37 | - | 21 | 1 | 2 | 0 | - |
1942 | 33 | Indians | 29 | 29 | 0 | 13 | 14 | .481 | 3.44 | 13 | 4 | 0 | 198.2 | 842 | 179 | 76 | 83 | 8 | 82 | - | 74 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
1943 | 34 | Indians | 19 | 18 | 0 | 8 | 7 | .533 | 3.06 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 135.1 | 571 | 126 | 46 | 57 | 7 | 61 | - | 40 | 0 | 1 | 0 | - |
1944 | 35 | Indians | 30 | 27 | 0 | 12 | 10 | .545 | 3.71 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 196.1 | 843 | 211 | 81 | 95 | 5 | 69 | - | 64 | 3 | 3 | 0 | - |
1945 | 36 | Indians | 11 | 11 | 0 | 3 | 7 | .300 | 3.67 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 76.0 | 335 | 93 | 31 | 37 | 3 | 23 | - | 16 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
1946 | 37 | Indians | 13 | 12 | 1 | 5 | 4 | .556 | 3.41 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 92.1 | 382 | 85 | 35 | 37 | 4 | 31 | - | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - |
1947 | 38 | Indians | 15 | 15 | 0 | 6 | 4 | .600 | 4.50 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 80.0 | 348 | 91 | 40 | 41 | 3 | 27 | - | 17 | 0 | 1 | 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 | ||
20 Years | 582 | 433 | 95 | 223 | 186 | .545 | 3.80 | 181 | 25 | 23 | 3,426.1 | 14,862 | 3,706 | 1,447 | 1,714 | 161 | 1,118 | - | 1,160 | 33 | 59 | 2 | 0 |
Mel HarderMel Harder 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 |
1928 | 19 | Indians | 23 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | .000 | .000 | .000 |
1929 | 20 | Indians | 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
1930 | 21 | Indians | 36 | 63 | 8 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | - | 28 | 2 | - | 0 | - | .143 | .169 | .206 |
1931 | 22 | Indians | 40 | 75 | 7 | 19 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 2 | - | 24 | 4 | - | 0 | - | .253 | .273 | .307 |
1932 | 23 | Indians | 39 | 94 | 11 | 17 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 5 | - | 25 | 2 | - | 0 | - | .181 | .222 | .277 |
1933 | 24 | Indians | 44 | 84 | 2 | 16 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 2 | - | 26 | 2 | - | 0 | - | .190 | .209 | .262 |
1934 | 25 | Indians | 44 | 87 | 9 | 14 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 3 | - | 24 | 9 | - | 0 | - | .161 | .189 | .230 |
1935 | 26 | Indians | 42 | 102 | 11 | 21 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 10 | 2 | - | 29 | 7 | - | 0 | - | .206 | .221 | .275 |
1936 | 27 | Indians | 36 | 80 | 3 | 11 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 6 | - | 1 | - | .138 | .148 | .188 |
1937 | 28 | Indians | 38 | 86 | 5 | 15 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 5 | - | 33 | 7 | - | 0 | - | .174 | .220 | .221 |
1938 | 29 | Indians | 39 | 88 | 3 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 4 | - | 31 | 2 | - | 0 | - | .114 | .152 | .136 |
1939 | 30 | Indians | 29 | 72 | 8 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 3 | - | 17 | 6 | - | 2 | 2 | .139 | .195 | .208 |
1940 | 31 | Indians | 31 | 62 | 4 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 | - | 17 | 5 | - | 0 | 0 | .177 | .227 | .194 |
1941 | 32 | Indians | 15 | 25 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .080 | .080 | .080 |
1942 | 33 | Indians | 29 | 67 | 3 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | - | 19 | 3 | - | 0 | 0 | .119 | .145 | .119 |
1943 | 34 | Indians | 19 | 47 | 2 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | - | 11 | 4 | - | 0 | 0 | .213 | .245 | .277 |
1944 | 35 | Indians | 30 | 74 | 9 | 16 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 2 | - | 0 | 2 | .216 | .216 | .257 |
1945 | 36 | Indians | 11 | 25 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | .080 | .080 | .120 |
1946 | 37 | Indians | 13 | 35 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | - | 14 | 0 | - | 0 | 2 | .086 | .111 | .086 |
1947 | 38 | Indians | 15 | 28 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | - | 10 | 5 | - | 0 | 1 | .179 | .233 | .214 |
Career | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | GRSL | RBI | BB | IBB | SO | SH | SF | HBP | GIDP | AVG | OBP | SLG | ||
20 Years | 584 | 1,203 | 89 | 199 | 38 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 93 | 39 | 0 | 369 | 69 | 0 | 3 | 11 | .165 | .194 | .215 |
Mel HarderMel Harder Fielding Stats |
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Team | POS | G | GS | OUTS | TC | TC/G | CH | PO | A | E | DP | PB | CASB | CACS | FLD% | RF |
1928 Indians | P | 23 | 1 | 147 | 10 | 0.4 | 8 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .800 | 1.47 |
1929 Indians | P | 11 | 0 | 53 | 4 | 0.4 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .750 | 1.53 |
1930 Indians | P | 36 | 19 | 526 | 48 | 1.3 | 41 | 9 | 32 | 7 | 3 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .854 | 2.10 |
1931 Indians | P | 40 | 24 | 582 | 56 | 1.4 | 52 | 14 | 38 | 4 | 4 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .929 | 2.41 |
1932 Indians | P | 39 | 32 | 764 | 85 | 2.2 | 83 | 18 | 65 | 2 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .976 | 2.93 |
1933 Indians | P | 43 | 31 | 759 | 112 | 2.6 | 109 | 22 | 87 | 3 | 4 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .973 | 3.88 |
1934 Indians | P | 44 | 29 | 766 | 78 | 1.8 | 71 | 10 | 61 | 7 | 2 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .910 | 2.50 |
1935 Indians | P | 42 | 35 | 862 | 103 | 2.5 | 99 | 18 | 81 | 4 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .961 | 3.10 |
1936 Indians | P | 36 | 30 | 674 | 54 | 1.5 | 51 | 13 | 38 | 3 | 3 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .944 | 2.04 |
1937 Indians | P | 38 | 30 | 701 | 61 | 1.6 | 60 | 12 | 48 | 1 | 3 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .984 | 2.31 |
1938 Indians | P | 38 | 29 | 720 | 71 | 1.9 | 70 | 21 | 49 | 1 | 2 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .986 | 2.63 |
1939 Indians | P | 29 | 26 | 624 | 41 | 1.4 | 40 | 14 | 26 | 1 | 1 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .976 | 1.73 |
1940 Indians | P | 31 | 25 | 559 | 49 | 1.6 | 47 | 9 | 38 | 2 | 4 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .959 | 2.27 |
1941 Indians | P | 15 | 10 | 206 | 24 | 1.6 | 23 | 7 | 16 | 1 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .958 | 3.01 |
1942 Indians | P | 29 | 29 | 596 | 61 | 2.1 | 58 | 14 | 44 | 3 | 5 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .951 | 2.63 |
1943 Indians | P | 19 | 18 | 406 | 33 | 1.7 | 33 | 6 | 27 | 0 | 2 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 2.19 |
1944 Indians | P | 30 | 27 | 589 | 47 | 1.6 | 45 | 11 | 34 | 2 | 3 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .957 | 2.06 |
1945 Indians | P | 11 | 11 | 228 | 25 | 2.3 | 25 | 6 | 19 | 0 | 1 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 2.96 |
1946 Indians | P | 13 | 12 | 277 | 14 | 1.1 | 14 | 5 | 9 | 0 | 1 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 1.36 |
1947 Indians | P | 15 | 15 | 240 | 12 | 0.8 | 11 | 0 | 11 | 1 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .917 | 1.24 |
Career | POS | G | GS | OUTS | TC | TC/G | CH | PO | A | E | DP | PB | CASB | CACS | FLD% | RF |
P Totals | 582 | 433 | 10,279 | 988 | 1.7 | 943 | 209 | 734 | 45 | 38 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .954 | 2.48 | |
20 Years | 582 | 433 | 10,279 | 988 | 1.7 | 943 | 209 | 734 | 45 | 38 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .954 | 2.48 |
Mel HarderMel Harder 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 |
1928 Indians | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 0.0 | 1.3 | 0.0 | 0.47 | 2.76 | 5.88 |
1929 Indians | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 0.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.80 | 2.04 | 2.55 |
1930 Indians | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 0.0 | 2.3 | 15.8 | 0.65 | 2.26 | 3.49 |
1931 Indians | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 0.0 | 3.1 | 7.5 | 0.88 | 2.92 | 3.34 |
1932 Indians | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 0.0 | 3.8 | 7.2 | 1.32 | 3.18 | 2.40 |
1933 Indians | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 1 | n/a | 84.0 | 3.2 | 16.8 | 1.21 | 2.88 | 2.38 |
1934 Indians | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 0.0 | 3.6 | 17.4 | 1.12 | 3.21 | 2.86 |
1935 Indians | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 51.0 | 3.5 | 10.2 | 1.79 | 2.98 | 1.66 |
1936 Indians | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 0.0 | 4.2 | 26.7 | 1.18 | 3.36 | 2.84 |
1937 Indians | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 0.0 | 2.6 | 8.6 | 1.10 | 3.66 | 3.31 |
1938 Indians | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 1 | n/a | 0.0 | 2.8 | 14.7 | 1.65 | 3.83 | 2.33 |
1939 Indians | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 72.0 | 4.2 | 8.0 | 1.05 | 2.90 | 2.77 |
1940 Indians | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 0.0 | 3.6 | 15.5 | 1.29 | 3.67 | 2.85 |
1941 Indians | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 0.0 | 3.6 | 0.0 | 0.57 | 2.75 | 4.85 |
1942 Indians | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 0.0 | 3.5 | 33.5 | 0.90 | 3.35 | 3.71 |
1943 Indians | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 0.0 | 4.3 | 11.8 | 0.66 | 2.66 | 4.06 |
1944 Indians | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 0.0 | 3.9 | 12.3 | 0.93 | 2.93 | 3.16 |
1945 Indians | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 0.0 | 2.8 | 0.0 | 0.70 | 1.89 | 2.72 |
1946 Indians | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 0.0 | 2.5 | 35.0 | 0.68 | 2.05 | 3.02 |
1947 Indians | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 0.0 | 2.8 | 28.0 | 0.63 | 1.91 | 3.04 |
Career | SB | CS | SB% | PH | PR | DH | AB/HR | AB/K | AB/RBI | K/BB | K/9 | BB/9 |
20 Years | 2 | 0 | 1.000 | 0 | 2 | n/a | 300.8 | 3.3 | 12.9 | 1.04 | 3.05 | 2.94 |
Mel HarderMel Harder Miscellaneous Items of Interest |
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Team | Roster | Uniform Numbers | Salary | All-Star | World Series |
1928 Cleveland Indians | n/a | $2,100.00 | n/a | - |
1929 Cleveland Indians | 49 | Undetermined | n/a | - |
1930 Cleveland Indians | 18 | Undetermined | n/a | - |
1931 Cleveland Indians | 18 | Undetermined | n/a | - |
1932 Cleveland Indians | 18 | Undetermined | n/a | - |
1933 Cleveland Indians | 18 | Undetermined | - | - |
1934 Cleveland Indians | 18 | Undetermined | Stats | - |
1935 Cleveland Indians | 18 | $11,000.00 | Stats | - |
1936 Cleveland Indians | 18 | $13,500.00 | Stats | - |
1937 Cleveland Indians | 18 | $13,500.00 | Stats | - |
1938 Cleveland Indians | 18 | $12,000.00 | - | - |
1939 Cleveland Indians | 18 | Undetermined | - | - |
1940 Cleveland Indians | 18 | Undetermined | - | - |
1941 Cleveland Indians | 18 | Undetermined | - | - |
1942 Cleveland Indians | 18 | Undetermined | - | - |
1943 Cleveland Indians | 18 | Undetermined | - | - |
1944 Cleveland Indians | 18 | Undetermined | - | - |
1945 Cleveland Indians | 18 | Undetermined | n/a | - |
1946 Cleveland Indians | 18 | Undetermined | - | - |
1947 Cleveland Indians | 18 | Undetermined | - | - |
Mel Harder Stats by Baseball Almanac |
Did you know that Mel Harder was named one of the 100 Greatest Cleveland Indians Players ever? As part of the club’s 100th Anniversary Celebration in 2001, a panel of veteran baseball writers, historians and executives selected a roster of the Top 100 Greatest Indians and Harder was named one of the thirty-six pitchers.
Did you know that Mel Harder is one-of-eighteen players in baseball history to spend at least twenty years in the majors, and only play for one franchise his entire career? From that set, the only one not in the Hall of Fame is Mel Harder.
Mel Harder Rookie Card | 1934 Goudey Baseball Card (#66) | Baseball Almanac Collection
Mel Harder was the starting pitcher when the Cleveland Indians played their first game at Cleveland Stadium on July 31, 1932, a 1-0 loss to Lefty Grove of the Philadelphia Athletics in front of a crowd of more than 70,000. Sixty one years later, he also threw out the ceremonial first pitch at the ballpark's final game on October 3, 1993. Harder made the All-Star team four times. Over his career, he pitched 13 innings in the All-Star Game and never gave up an earned run - an All-Star Game Pitching Record that still stands to this day!
When Mel Harder stepped off the mound on September 7, 1947, he held Indians' records for most games started, most innings pitched, and most wins. He still holds team records for most games pitched and most games lost (MLB.com Sortable Stats). Do you know what Hall of Famer broke his records in Cleveland? [Answer]