Bobby Bolin
Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1961-1973)
Bobby Bolin was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1961 to 1973 for the San Francisco Giants, the Milwaukee Brewers, and the Boston Red Sox, a span of 13 seasons. Across 495 career appearances, he went 88-75 with a 3.40 ERA, 1,175 strikeouts, and 50 saves. He also batted .163 with 6 home runs.
- 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
- Position
- Pitcher
- Bats / Throws
- R / R
- Height / Weight
- 6'4" / 185 lb
- Died
- 6/2/2023 in Easley, SC, USA
- MLB Debut
- 1961-04-18
- Last Game
- 1973-09-30
Full name: Bobby Donald Bolin
Season-by-Season Pitching
Click a stat to plot it across every season.
| Year | Team | Lg | W | L | G | GS | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA | Lg ERA | Pitcher PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1961 | SFN | NL | 2 | 2 | 37 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 48.0 | 37 | 17 | 37 | 48 | 3.19 | 4.03 (+21%) | -807.1 |
| 1962 | SFN | NL | 7 | 3 | 41 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 92.0 | 84 | 37 | 35 | 74 | 3.62 | 3.96 (+8%) | 537.6 |
| 1963 | SFN | NL | 10 | 6 | 47 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 137.1 | 128 | 50 | 57 | 134 | 3.28 | 3.46 (+5%) | 1068.8 |
| 1964 | SFN | NL | 6 | 9 | 38 | 23 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 174.2 | 143 | 63 | 77 | 146 | 3.25 | 3.58 (+9%) | -164.9 |
| 1965 | SFN | NL | 14 | 6 | 45 | 13 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 163.0 | 125 | 50 | 56 | 135 | 2.76 | 3.50 (+21%) | 749.4 |
| 1966 | SFN | NL | 11 | 10 | 36 | 34 | 10 | 4 | 1 | 224.1 | 174 | 72 | 70 | 143 | 2.89 | 3.52 (+18%) | -1557.5 |
| 1967 | SFN | NL | 6 | 8 | 37 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 120.0 | 120 | 65 | 50 | 69 | 4.88 | 3.30 (-48%) | -3431.8 |
| 1968 | SFN | NL | 10 | 5 | 34 | 19 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 176.2 | 128 | 39 | 46 | 126 | 1.99 | 2.98 (+33%) | 2343.7 |
| 1969 | SFN | NL | 7 | 7 | 30 | 22 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 146.1 | 149 | 72 | 49 | 102 | 4.43 | 3.61 (-23%) | -585.3 |
| 1970 | ML4 | AL | 5 | 11 | 32 | 20 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 132.0 | 131 | 72 | 67 | 81 | 4.91 | 3.89 (-26%) | -3658.4 |
| 1970 | BOS | AL | 2 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 8.0 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 8 | 0.00 | — | 0.0 |
| 1971 | BOS | AL | 5 | 3 | 52 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 69.2 | 74 | 33 | 24 | 51 | 4.26 | 3.47 (-23%) | 250.8 |
| 1972 | BOS | AL | 0 | 1 | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 30.2 | 24 | 10 | 11 | 27 | 2.93 | 3.26 (+10%) | 139.0 |
| 1973 | BOS | AL | 3 | 4 | 39 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 53.1 | 45 | 16 | 13 | 31 | 2.70 | 3.75 (+28%) | 453.7 |
| Career · 14 seasons | 88 | 75 | 495 | 164 | 32 | 10 | 50 | 1,576.0 | 1,364 | 596 | 597 | 1,175 | 3.40 | — | -4,662 | ||
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
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 496 | 423 | 39 | 69 | 9 | 1 | 6 | 35 | 1 | 35 | 166 | .163 | .232 | .232 | .464 | -1,420 |
Career AVG .163 vs. league average .249 across their career seasons — 34.5% below league average.
Career OBP .232 vs. league average .316 across their career seasons — 26.5% below league average.
Career SLG .232 vs. league average .372 across their career seasons — 37.7% below league average.
Career OPS .464 vs. league average .688 across their career seasons — 32.6% below league average.
Season-by-Season Batting
Click a stat to plot it across every season.
| Year | Team | Lg | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | Lg AVG | Lg OBP | Lg SLG | Lg OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1961 | SFN | NL | 37 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .286 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1962 | SFN | NL | 41 | 23 | 3 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 9 | .261 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1963 | SFN | NL | 47 | 35 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 17 | .143 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1964 | SFN | NL | 39 | 50 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 21 | .100 | .250 (-60%) | .312 (-33%) | .377 (-68%) | .690 (-52%) | -383.4 |
| 1965 | SFN | NL | 45 | 54 | 5 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 16 | .167 | .245 (-32%) | .310 (-37%) | .371 (-40%) | .682 (-39%) | -314.8 |
| 1966 | SFN | NL | 36 | 76 | 7 | 13 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 6 | 25 | .171 | .248 (-31%) | .309 (-25%) | .376 (-23%) | .685 (-24%) | -283.7 |
| 1967 | SFN | NL | 37 | 33 | 4 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 12 | .242 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1968 | SFN | NL | 34 | 55 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 26 | .091 | .236 (-62%) | .298 (-44%) | .340 (-68%) | .638 (-57%) | -438.5 |
| 1969 | SFN | NL | 30 | 39 | 6 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 8 | 18 | .154 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1970 | ML4 | AL | 32 | 36 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 17 | .194 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1970 | BOS | AL | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1971 | BOS | AL | 52 | 12 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | .250 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1972 | BOS | AL | 21 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1973 | BOS | AL | 39 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| Career · 14 seasons | 496 | 423 | 39 | 69 | 9 | 1 | 6 | 35 | 1 | 35 | 166 | .163 | — | — | — | — | -1,420 | ||
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 (989 games) →Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).
Batting — Home / Away
| Split | G | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 239 | 189 | 18 | 29 | 3 | 15 | .153 |
| Away | 256 | 235 | 21 | 40 | 3 | 20 | .170 |
Pitching — Home / Away
| Split | G | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 238 | 798.2 | 642 | 283 | 292 | 626 | 3.19 |
| Away | 256 | 776.1 | 722 | 312 | 303 | 546 | 3.62 |
Last 10 Games — Pitching
| Date | Tm | Opp | Dec | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1973-09-30 | BOS | MIL | SV | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 1973-09-25 | BOS | CLE | SV | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 1973-09-22 | BOS | DET | — | 1.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1973-09-14 | BOS | CLE | SV | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1973-09-10 | BOS | BAL | SV | 2.1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1973-09-05 | BOS | BAL | SV | 2.1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1973-09-03 | BOS | BAL | — | 0.2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 1973-08-31 | BOS | MIL | L | 3.1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 1973-08-29 | BOS | OAK | SV | 1.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1973-08-22 | BOS | TEX | SV | 1.1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Fielding Statistics
Career Fielding Totals by Position
Season-by-Season Fielding
| Year | Team | Pos | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1961 | SFN | P | 37 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 |
| 1962 | SFN | P | 41 | 5 | 3 | 10 | 0 | 0 |
| 1963 | SFN | P | 47 | 12 | 4 | 11 | 1 | 0 |
| 1964 | SFN | P | 38 | 23 | 13 | 22 | 1 | 4 |
| 1965 | SFN | P | 45 | 13 | 9 | 16 | 0 | 1 |
| 1966 | SFN | P | 36 | 34 | 13 | 30 | 5 | 0 |
| 1967 | SFN | P | 37 | 15 | 12 | 15 | 1 | 0 |
| 1968 | SFN | P | 34 | 19 | 10 | 23 | 2 | 0 |
| 1969 | SFN | P | 30 | 22 | 7 | 19 | 0 | 0 |
| 1970 | ML4 | P | 32 | 20 | 5 | 17 | 1 | 0 |
| 1970 | BOS | P | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1971 | BOS | P | 52 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 1 | 1 |
| 1972 | BOS | P | 21 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 0 |
| 1973 | BOS | P | 39 | 0 | 8 | 11 | 1 | 0 |
Career Games by Position
Circle size = games played at each position.
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| Pitcher | 495 |
Most Similar Players
Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.
Bobby Bolin (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.
Bobby Bolin: the record in brief
Bobby Bolin's major league career runs from a debut on April 18, 1961 to a final game on September 30, 1973. The team column moves through the San Francisco Giants (1961 to 1969), the Milwaukee Brewers (1970), and the Boston Red Sox (1970 through 1973). Bolin played primarily as a pitcher and both batted and threw right-handed. Born on January 29, 1939, in Hickory Grove, SC, USA, Bolin was listed at 185 pounds on a 6-foot-4 frame. The bio records the death on June 2, 2023, in Easley, SC, USA. Bobby Bolin was the playing name; the full given name is Bobby Donald.
The pitching table credits Bolin with a 88-75 record and a 3.40 ERA in 495 games. Also on Bolin's record: 1,175 strikeouts, 32 complete games, 10 shutouts, and 50 saves. Bolin's 3.40 ERA was close to the 3.56 league figure for those seasons. The best win total was 14, in 1965. 1964 produced Bolin's most strikeouts, 146. Bolin saved 15 games in 1973, the season high.
Frequently Asked Questions about Bobby Bolin
- What years did Bobby Bolin play?
- Bobby Bolin played in Major League Baseball from 1961 to 1973.
- Was Bobby Bolin a pitcher?
- Yes. Bobby Bolin pitched in the major leagues, recording 88 wins and 1175 strikeouts.
- How many home runs did Bobby Bolin hit?
- Bobby Bolin hit 6 career home runs with 69 hits.
- What was Bobby Bolin's career batting average?
- Bobby Bolin batted .163 over his career, with 69 hits in 423 at bats.
- How many RBI did Bobby Bolin have?
- Bobby Bolin drove in 35 runs in his career.
- What was Bobby Bolin's career ERA?
- Bobby Bolin finished with a 3.40 career ERA, going 88-75 with 1,175 strikeouts.