- Ken Raffensberger
Infobox MLB retired
name=Ken Raffensberger
position=Pitcher
bgcolor1=black
bgcolor2=#c6011f
textcolor1=white
textcolor2=white
bats=Right
throws=Left
birthdate=August 8 ,1917
city-state|York|Pennsylvania
deathdate=death date and age|2002|11|10|1917|8|8
city-state|York|Pennsylvania
debutdate=April 25
debutyear= 1939
debutteam=St. Louis Cardinals
finaldate=June 2
finalyear=1954
finalteam= Cincinnati Redlegs
stat1label=Pitching record
stat1value=119-154
stat2label=Earned run average
stat2value=3.60
stat3label=Strikeouts
stat3value=806
teams=
*St. Louis Cardinals (1939)
*Chicago Cubs (1940-1941)
* Philadelphia Blue Jays/Phillies (1943-1947)
* Cincinnati Reds/Redlegs (1947-1954)
highlights=
* National League All-Star: 1944
* 2-time National Leagueshutout leader
* Three times received MVP votes. (1949, 1951, 1952)Kenneth David (Ken) Raffensberger (
August 8 ,1917 -November 10 ,2002 ) was astarting pitcher inMajor League Baseball . From 1939 through 1954, he played for theSt. Louis Cardinals (1939),Chicago Cubs (1940-41), Philadelphia Blue Jays/Phillies (1943-47), and Cincinnati Reds/Redlegs (1947-1954). Raffensberger batted right-handed and threw left-handed. He was born inYork, Pennsylvania .Career
In a 15-season career, Raffensberger posted a win-loss record of 119-154 with 806
strikeout s and a 3.60 ERA in 2151.2innings pitched . His career winning percentage was .463, despite being an all-star and having an above average career ERA (3.60).He started his career as a
fastball pitcher, particularly gaining success with his rising fastball. Towards the later end of his career, however, starting in the early 40s, he developed a dependableforkball to complement hisfastball , slow curve, and change. He had one of the widest ranges of deliveries in the majors, ranging from underhand to overhand and a variety of side arm and three-quarter deliveries in between. [The Neyer/James Guide to Pitchers: An Historical Compendium of Pitching,Pitchers, and Pitches. Bill James and Rob Neyer. 2004.] Stan Musial said in 1964 of Raffensberger::"Raffy had nothing except slow stuff, and a forkball, but, with changing speeds and control, he made those pitches seem so fat when they weren't... I stbbornly tried to slug with him and didn't have much success." Raffensberger died in York, PA, at age 85.Leaderboards and Awards appearances
*Made National League All-Star team (1944)
*Twice led NL inshutout s (1949, five - 1952, six)
*Led NL ingames started (1949, 38)
*Led NL in saves (1946, six)
*Led NL inWHIP (1951, 1.086)
*Led NL in SO to Walk (1944, 3.02)
*3-time appeared in National League MVP vote (1949, 1951-52)
*Twice led NL in losses (1944, 20 - 1951, 17)
*Led NL inhome runs allowed (1950, 34)
*Led NL in hits allowed (1949, 289)Quotations
*"I didn't go along with it... I never believed in throwing at a guy", Raffensberger said, after Phillies manager Ben Chapman had instructed his pitchers to throw the ball at
Jackie Robinson when there were two strikes in the count.
*St. Louis Cardinals Hall of FamerStan Musial said on an "Ed Sullivan Show " appearance that Raffensberger was the toughest left-handed pitcher he had ever faced and dubbed him "Crafty Raffy."ee also
*
List of Major League Baseball saves champions ources
* [http://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/player.php?p=raffeke01 Baseball Almanac]
* [http://www.baseballlibrary.com/baseballlibrary/ballplayers/R/Raffensberger_Ken.stm Baseball Library]
* [http://www.baseball-reference.com/r/raffeke01.shtml Baseball Reference]
* [http://64.233.161.104/search?q=cache:UELNcnmhq8kJ:baseballspot.org/article.php%3Fsid%3D192+Associated+Press+Raffensberger&hl=en&lr=lang_en|lang_es&ie=UTF-8 Baseball Spot]
*cite news|url=http://www.cincypost.com/2002/11/11/sreport11-11-2002.html|title=Former Reds' pitcher dies at 85|work=The Cincinnati Post |publisher=E. W. Scripps Company |date=2002-11-11|archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20050217235015/http://www.cincypost.com/2002/11/11/sreport11-11-2002.html|archivedate=2005-02-17
* [http://www.thedeadballera.com/Obits/Raffensberger.Ken.Obit.html The Deadball Era]
* [http://www.historicbaseball.com/players/r/raffensberger_ken.html Historic Baseball]
* [http://yorkpa.wikispaces.com/Ken+Raffensberger York Wiki]References
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