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 League shutout leader
* Three times received MVP votes. (1949, 1951, 1952)

Kenneth David (Ken) Raffensberger (August 8, 1917 - November 10, 2002) was a starting pitcher in Major League Baseball. From 1939 through 1954, he played for the St. 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 in York, Pennsylvania.

Career

In a 15-season career, Raffensberger posted a win-loss record of 119-154 with 806 strikeouts and a 3.60 ERA in 2151.2 innings 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 dependable forkball to complement his fastball, 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 in shutouts (1949, five - 1952, six)
*Led NL in games started (1949, 38)
*Led NL in saves (1946, six)
*Led NL in WHIP (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 in home 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 Famer Stan 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