Bob Bruce

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1959-1967)

Bob Bruce was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1959 to 1967 for the Detroit Tigers, the Houston Astros, and the Atlanta Braves, a span of 9 seasons. Across 219 career appearances, he went 49-71 with a 3.85 ERA and 733 strikeouts. He also batted .150 with 0 home runs. His career Pitcher PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of pitching impact — is 7944.5.

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 49–71
ERA 3.85
WHIP 1.32
SO 733
Pitcher PIV 7944.5
Position
Pitcher
Bats / Throws
R / R
Height / Weight
6'3" / 200 lb
Born
5/16/1933 in New York, NY, USA
Died
3/14/2017 in Plano, TX, USA
MLB Debut
1959-09-14
Last Game
1967-06-24

Full name: Robert James Bruce

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Career Pitching Statistics

Bob Bruce — Career Pitching Statistics
W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
49 71 219 167 26 6 1 1122.1 1,146 480 95 340 733 3.85 7944.5

Career ERA 3.85 vs. league average 3.66 across their career seasons — 5.2% worse than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Bob Bruce Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year Team Lg W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER BB SO ERA Lg ERA Pitcher PIV
1959 DET AL 0 1 2 1 0 0 0 2.0 2 2 3 1 9.00 — 0.0
1960 DET AL 4 7 34 15 1 0 0 130.0 127 54 56 76 3.74 3.82 (+2%) -1782.0
1961 DET AL 1 2 14 6 0 0 0 44.2 57 22 24 25 4.43 4.03 (-10%) -1028.2
1962 HOU NL 10 9 32 27 6 0 0 175.0 164 79 82 135 4.06 3.96 (-3%) 366.9
1963 HOU NL 5 9 30 25 1 1 0 170.1 162 68 60 123 3.59 3.46 (-4%) 3051.2
1964 HOU NL 15 9 35 29 9 4 0 202.1 191 62 33 135 2.76 3.58 (+23%) 6650.7
1965 HOU NL 9 18 35 34 7 1 0 229.2 241 95 38 145 3.72 3.50 (-6%) 2315.6
1966 HOU NL 3 13 25 23 1 0 0 129.2 160 77 29 71 5.34 3.52 (-52%) -1293.6
1967 ATL NL 2 3 12 7 1 0 1 38.2 42 21 15 22 4.89 3.30 (-48%) -336.1
Career · 9 seasons 49 71 219 167 26 6 1 1,122.1 1,146 480 340 733 3.85 — 7,944

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

Bob Bruce — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
223 346 25 52 7 1 0 17 0 28 102 .150 .220 .176 .396 -1,472

Career AVG .150 vs. league average .251 across their career seasons — 40.1% below league average.

Career OBP .220 vs. league average .316 across their career seasons — 30.6% below league average.

Career SLG .176 vs. league average .380 across their career seasons — 53.6% below league average.

Career OPS .396 vs. league average .696 across their career seasons — 43.1% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Bob Bruce Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year Team Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG Lg AVG Lg OBP Lg SLG Lg OPS PIV
1959 DET AL 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1960 DET AL 34 39 4 7 0 0 0 0 0 4 11 .179 — — — — 0.0
1961 DET AL 14 9 1 1 1 0 0 1 0 2 2 .111 — — — — 0.0
1962 HOU NL 32 55 8 11 1 0 0 7 0 12 14 .200 .257 (-22%) .326 (+5%) .393 (-45%) .719 (-22%) -141.6
1963 HOU NL 32 55 5 7 2 1 0 1 0 5 17 .127 .246 (-48%) .308 (-31%) .371 (-46%) .680 (-39%) -326.5
1964 HOU NL 37 63 1 12 1 0 0 1 0 2 14 .190 .250 (-24%) .312 (-24%) .377 (-45%) .690 (-36%) -329.0
1965 HOU NL 35 74 3 9 2 0 0 6 0 1 26 .122 .245 (-50%) .310 (-58%) .371 (-60%) .682 (-59%) -675.2
1966 HOU NL 25 39 2 3 0 0 0 1 0 1 14 .077 — — — — 0.0
1967 ATL NL 12 12 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 4 .167 — — — — 0.0
Career · 9 seasons 223 346 25 52 7 1 0 17 0 28 102 .150 — — — — -1,472

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 (442 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Bob Bruce — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home112172825013.145
Away111174172704.155

Pitching — Home / Away

Bob Bruce — Pitching — Home / Away
SplitGIPHERBBSOERA
Home110591.15642031754153.09
Away109531.05822761653184.68

Last 10 Games — Batting

Bob Bruce — Last 10 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1967-06-24 ATLNYNL 000000000
1967-06-17 ATLHOUL 000000000
1967-06-14 ATLPHIW 111000000
1967-06-08 ATLLADW 000000000
1967-06-03 ATLCINL 100000000
1967-05-17 ATLNYNW 200000000
1967-05-11 ATLPITW 400000004
1967-05-06 ATLCINL 201000000
1967-04-30 ATLPHIW 200000010
1967-04-28 ATLPHIW 000000000

Last 10 Games — Pitching

Bob Bruce — Last 10 Games — Pitching
DateTmOppDecIPHRERBBSOHR
1967-06-24 ATLNYN L 2.2551020
1967-06-17 ATLHOU L 0.0111001
1967-06-14 ATLPHI SV 1.2000010
1967-06-08 ATLLAD — 1.1433110
1967-06-03 ATLCIN — 1.2744000
1967-05-17 ATLNYN — 5.1833410
1967-05-11 ATLPIT W 9.0322240
1967-05-06 ATLCIN L 7.0733341
1967-04-30 ATLPHI W 6.0433251
1967-04-28 ATLPHI — 1.0100010

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Bob Bruce — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
P 219 167 95 164 8 7

Season-by-Season Fielding

Bob Bruce — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1959 DET P 2 1 0 0 0 0
1960 DET P 34 15 9 23 1 2
1961 DET P 14 6 5 1 1 0
1962 HOU P 32 27 14 26 1 2
1963 HOU P 30 25 13 21 1 1
1964 HOU P 35 29 11 35 1 0
1965 HOU P 35 34 25 36 3 1
1966 HOU P 25 23 15 18 0 1
1967 ATL P 12 7 3 4 0 0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Bob Bruce Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position Games
Pitcher 219

College History

Bob Bruce — College History
School Name City State Years Attended
Alma College Alma MI 1952

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Bob Bruce (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Tom Bradley
    55-61, 3.72 ERA
  2. 87
    Miguel Gonzalez
    52-57, 4.06 ERA
  3. 86
    Brett Anderson
    67-74, 4.07 ERA
  4. 85
    Britt Burns
    70-60, 3.66 ERA
  5. 84
    Ed Halicki
    55-66, 3.62 ERA
  6. 81
    Donovan Osborne
    49-46, 4.03 ERA

Bob Bruce: the record in brief

Bob Bruce's major league career runs from a debut on September 14, 1959 to a final game on June 24, 1967. The team column moves through the Detroit Tigers (1959 to 1961), the Houston Colt .45's (1962 to 1964), the Houston Astros (1965 to 1966), and the Atlanta Braves (1967). Bruce is listed as a pitcher at 200 pounds on a 6-foot-3 frame. The bio says Bruce both batted and threw right-handed. Bruce was born on May 16, 1933, in New York, NY, USA. The bio records the death on March 14, 2017, in Plano, TX, USA. The given name on file is Robert James Bruce.

Bruce's career pitching line is 49 wins, 71 losses and a 3.85 ERA over 219 appearances. Also on Bruce's record: 733 strikeouts, 26 complete games, and 6 shutouts. The league ERA over Bruce's seasons was 3.66, so the 3.85 figure ran 5.2% worse than average. The best win total was 15, in 1964. Bruce struck out 145 batters in 1965, a career high.

Frequently Asked Questions about Bob Bruce

What years did Bob Bruce play?
Bob Bruce played in Major League Baseball from 1959 to 1967.
Was Bob Bruce a pitcher?
Yes. Bob Bruce pitched in the major leagues, recording 49 wins and 733 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Bob Bruce hit?
Bob Bruce hit 0 career home runs with 52 hits.
What was Bob Bruce's career batting average?
Bob Bruce batted .150 over his career, with 52 hits in 346 at bats.
How many RBI did Bob Bruce have?
Bob Bruce drove in 17 runs in his career.
What was Bob Bruce's career ERA?
Bob Bruce finished with a 3.85 career ERA, going 49-71 with 733 strikeouts.