Kirtley Baker

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1890-1899)

Kirtley Baker was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1890 to 1899 for the Pittsburgh Pirates, the Baltimore Orioles, and the Washington Nationals, a span of 10 seasons. Across 58 career appearances, he went 9-38 with a 6.28 ERA and 115 strikeouts.

W (Wins):
Games credited to a pitcher whose team took a lead it never surrendered while he was the pitcher of record.
ERA (Earned Run Average):
Earned runs allowed per nine innings pitched: (ER × 9) ÷ IP. The primary measure of pitching effectiveness.
SO (Strikeouts):
For a batter, times retired on a third strike; for a pitcher, batters retired on a third strike.
WHIP (Walks and Hits per Inning Pitched):
Baserunners allowed per inning: (BB + H) ÷ IP. Under 1.00 is elite.

Data updated

W–L 9–38
ERA 6.28
WHIP 1.80
SO 115
Pitcher PIV -7106.4
Position
Pitcher
Bats / Throws
R / R
Height / Weight
5'9" / 160 lb
Born
6/24/1869 in Aurora, IN, USA
Died
4/13/1927 in Covington, KY, USA
MLB Debut
1890-05-07
Last Game
1899-06-14
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Career Pitching Statistics

Kirtley Baker — Career Pitching Statistics
W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
9 38 58 44 34 2 0 371.0 483 259 20 186 115 6.28 -7106.4

Career ERA 6.28 vs. league average 4.17 across their career seasons — 50.6% worse than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Kirtley Baker — Season-by-Season Pitching
Year Team Lg W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER BB SO ERA Lg ERA Pitcher PIV
1890 PIT NL 3 19 25 21 19 2 0 178.1 209 111 86 76 5.60 3.88 (-44%) -3412.4
1893 BLN NL 3 8 15 12 8 0 0 91.2 138 86 58 26 8.44 4.66 (-81%) -1803.3
1894 BLN NL 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0.0 1 5 2 0 0.00 — 0.0
1898 WAS NL 2 3 6 5 4 0 0 47.0 56 16 18 7 3.06 3.59 (+15%) -345.1
1899 WAS NL 1 7 11 6 3 0 0 54.0 79 41 22 6 6.83 3.85 (-78%) -1545.5
Career · 5 seasons 9 38 58 44 34 2 0 371.0 483 259 186 115 6.28 — -7,106

Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.

Career Batting Statistics

Kirtley Baker — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
65 166 19 35 1 2 0 10 2 22 23 .211 .311 .241 .551 -352

Career AVG .211 vs. league average .277 across their career seasons — 23.9% below league average.

Career OBP .311 vs. league average .348 across their career seasons — 10.6% below league average.

Career SLG .241 vs. league average .371 across their career seasons — 35.1% below league average.

Career OPS .551 vs. league average .719 across their career seasons — 23.3% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Kirtley Baker — Season-by-Season Batting
Year Team Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG Lg AVG Lg OBP Lg SLG Lg OPS PIV
1890 PIT NL 26 68 6 10 0 0 0 0 1 10 6 .147 .260 (-43%) .336 (-18%) .351 (-58%) .687 (-39%) -369.0
1893 BLN NL 19 57 9 17 1 1 0 6 1 8 6 .298 .279 (+7%) .356 (+8%) .379 (-8%) .735 (avg) 17.3
1894 BLN NL 2 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000 — — — — 0.0
1898 WAS NL 6 18 3 5 0 1 0 3 0 3 4 .278 — — — — 0.0
1899 WAS NL 12 19 1 3 0 0 0 1 0 1 6 .158 — — — — 0.0
Career · 5 seasons 65 166 19 35 1 2 0 10 2 22 23 .211 — — — — -352

Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (36 games) →

Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).

Batting — Home / Away

Kirtley Baker — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home9203602.300
Away9181202.111

Pitching — Home / Away

Kirtley Baker — Pitching — Home / Away
SplitGIPHERBBSOERA
Home959.072332185.03
Away942.263281955.91

Last 10 Games — Batting

Kirtley Baker — Last 10 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1899-06-14 WSNBLNL 101000000
1899-06-09 WSNPHIL 100000000
1899-06-01 WSNPITL 100000000
1899-05-30 WSNPITL 000000000
1899-05-28 WSNCHCW 111000000
1899-05-23 WSNCL4L 300000000
1899-05-19 WSNPITL 300000000
1899-05-13 WSNBROL 300000100
1899-05-09 WSNNY1L 100000000
1899-05-02 WSNBROL 301000000

Last 10 Games — Pitching

Kirtley Baker — Last 10 Games — Pitching
DateTmOppDecIPHRERBBSOHR
1899-06-14 WSNBLN — 2.0230010
1899-06-09 WSNPHI — 3.11164100
1899-06-01 WSNPIT L 4.0101010400
1899-05-30 WSNPIT L 0.1210100
1899-05-28 WSNCHC SV 1.0000000
1899-05-23 WSNCL4 L 6.0842201
1899-05-19 WSNPIT L 9.012116211
1899-05-13 WSNBRO L 8.0876400
1899-05-09 WSNNY1 L 2.0885200
1899-05-02 WSNBRO L 8.0772211

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Kirtley Baker — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
OF 4 0 11 4 1 0
P 58 0 23 96 14 3

Season-by-Season Fielding

Kirtley Baker — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1890 PIT P 25 0 11 32 6 2
1893 BLN OF 3 0 8 3 1 0
1893 BLN P 15 0 8 32 3 1
1894 BLN OF 1 0 3 1 0 0
1894 BLN P 1 0 0 0 1 0
1898 WAS P 6 0 3 8 0 0
1899 WAS P 11 0 1 24 4 0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Kirtley Baker — Career Games by Position
Position Games
Pitcher 58
Left Field 3
Right Field 1

Most Similar Players

Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.

Career Spans

Kirtley Baker (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Mike McDermott
    11-33, 6.17 ERA
  2. 79
    Con Lucid
    23-23, 6.02 ERA
  3. 55
    George Grant
    15-20, 5.65 ERA
  4. 51
    Otis Stocksdale
    15-31, 6.20 ERA
  5. 50
    Lou Koupal
    10-21, 5.58 ERA
  6. 44
    Crazy Schmit
    7-36, 5.45 ERA

Kirtley Baker: the record in brief

The profile opens with Kirtley Baker's first major league game on May 7, 1890; the last one listed came on June 14, 1899. The season rows list, in order, the Pittsburg Alleghenys (1890), the Baltimore Orioles (1893 through 1894), and the Washington Senators (1898 to 1899). Listed as a pitcher, Baker both batted and threw right-handed. Baker is listed at 5 feet, 9 inches and 160 pounds. Baker was born on June 24, 1869, in Aurora, IN, USA. Baker's death is recorded on April 13, 1927, in Covington, KY, USA.

Baker pitched in 58 games, starting 44, and finished with a 9-38 record and 6.28 ERA. Also on Baker's record: 115 strikeouts and 34 complete games. The league ERA over Baker's seasons was 4.17, so the 6.28 figure ran 50.6% worse than average. 1890 was Baker's sharpest full season, a 5.60 ERA against the league's 3.88.

Frequently Asked Questions about Kirtley Baker

What years did Kirtley Baker play?
Kirtley Baker played in Major League Baseball from 1890 to 1899.
Was Kirtley Baker a pitcher?
Yes. Kirtley Baker pitched in the major leagues, recording 9 wins and 115 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Kirtley Baker hit?
Kirtley Baker hit 0 career home runs with 35 hits.
What teams did Kirtley Baker play for?
Kirtley Baker played for 3 teams: the Pittsburg Alleghenys (1890), the Baltimore Orioles (1893–1894), and the Washington Senators (1898–1899).
What were Kirtley Baker's career stats?
In 58 games, Kirtley Baker went 9-38 with a 6.28 ERA, 115 strikeouts, and 371.0 innings pitched.
What position did Kirtley Baker play?
Kirtley Baker played primarily as a pitcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.
How tall was Kirtley Baker and how much did he weigh?
Kirtley Baker was listed at 5 feet 9 inches and 160 pounds.
What was Kirtley Baker's career ERA?
Kirtley Baker finished with a 6.28 career ERA, going 9-38 with 115 strikeouts.
How many strikeouts did Kirtley Baker have?
Kirtley Baker recorded 115 career strikeouts.
Is Kirtley Baker in the Hall of Fame?
No. Kirtley Baker has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.