Bert Blyleven vs Rick Reuschel: Career Stats Comparison

Bert Blyleven (1970–1992) and Rick Reuschel (1972–1991) — both came up during the 1970s, so the matchup is a direct one. Bert Blyleven compiled 287 wins and 3,701 strikeouts; Rick Reuschel put up 214 wins and 2,015 strikeouts. The numbers below run them through identical career and rate-stat lenses.

Bert Blyleven

Pitcher · 1970–1992
Wins
287
Losses
250
Strikeouts
3,701
ERA
3.31
WHIP
1.20
IP
4,970
View Bert Blyleven's full profile →

Rick Reuschel

Pitcher · 1972–1991
Wins
214
Losses
191
Strikeouts
2,015
ERA
3.37
WHIP
1.27
IP
3,548
View Rick Reuschel's full profile →

Career Stats Side-by-Side

Every cell below is a career total or career rate. Cells highlighted in green mark the player who leads that line. For pitchers, lower ERA, WHIP, and BB/9 lead; higher K/9 leads.

Statistic Bert Blyleven Rick Reuschel
Wins 287 214
Losses 250 191
Games 692 557
Games Started 685 529
Complete Games 242 102
Shutouts 60 26
Saves 0 5
Strikeouts 3,701 2,015
Walks 1,322 935
Hits Allowed 4,632 3,588
Home Runs Allowed 430 221
Innings Pitched 4,970 3,548
ERA 3.31 3.37
WHIP 1.20 1.27
K/9 6.70 5.11
BB/9 2.39 2.37

PIV Comparison

By PIV (Player Impact Value), Bert Blyleven outpaces Rick Reuschel 74,910 to 52,650 — a gap driven primarily by per-season impact (3,121 vs 2,507 per year). PIV adjusts each season to league baselines, so it's the cleanest way to compare careers across eras.

Bert Blyleven
74,910
Career Pitcher PIV · 3,121 per season (24 seasons)
Rick Reuschel
52,650
Career Pitcher PIV · 2,507 per season (21 seasons)

How PIV is calculated →

Peak Seasons

The best single seasons each player produced, ranked by ERA among qualified workloads (120+ innings).

Bert Blyleven — top 3 seasons by ERA (lower is better)

19732.52 ERA20-17, 258 K in 325 IP
19742.66 ERA17-17, 249 K in 281 IP
19772.72 ERA14-12, 182 K in 234 IP

Rick Reuschel — top 3 seasons by ERA (lower is better)

19852.27 ERA14-8, 138 K in 194 IP
19872.75 ERA8-6, 80 K in 177 IP
19772.79 ERA20-10, 166 K in 252 IP

Verdict

On the head-to-head card, Bert Blyleven leads in wins, strikeouts, ERA, and WHIP, while Rick Reuschel owns no headline categories. That doesn't settle the era debate, but on the raw scoreboard the edge goes to Bert Blyleven. PIV agrees: Bert Blyleven grades out higher across their careers. Click through to each profile for the full season-by-season breakdown.

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