Mel Harder Stats

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.

Baseball Almanac Top Quote

"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 Harder

Mel Harder Autograph on a 1989 Pacific Trading Baseball Card (#205)

Mel Harder Autograph on a 1989 Pacific Trading Baseball Card (#205)

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Birth Name:   Melvin Leroy Harder
Nickname:   Chief - Mel
Born On:   10-15-1909  (Libra)
Place of Birth Data Born In:   Beemer, Nebraska
Year of Death Data Died On:   10-20-2002 (1,000 Oldest Living)
Place of Death Data Died In:   Chardon, Ohio
Cemetery:   Cremated (Ashes Scattered at Mel Harder Field)
High School:   Technical High School (Omaha, NE)
College:   None Attended
Batting Stances Chart Bats:   Right   Throwing Arms Chart Throws:   Right
Player Height Chart Height:   6-01   Player Weight Chart Weight:   195
First Game:   04-24-1928 (Age 18)
Last Game:   09-07-1947
Draft:   Not Applicable

Mel Harder

Mel Harder Pitching Stats

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
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 Harder

Mel Harder Hitting Stats

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
20 Years 584 1,203 89 199 38 5 4 0 93 39 0 369 69 0 3 11 .165 .194 .215

Mel Harder

Mel Harder Fielding Stats

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
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 Harder

Mel Harder Miscellaneous Stats

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
20 Years 2 0 1.000 0 2 n/a 300.8 3.3 12.9 1.04 3.05 2.94

Mel Harder

Mel Harder Miscellaneous Items of Interest

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 - -

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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 Baseball Card

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]