Jim Bunning

Pitcher · Career Stats, Hall of Fame Bio & Records (1955-1971)

⭐ Hall of Fame 1996
W–L 224–184
ERA 3.27
WHIP 1.18
SO 2,855
Pitcher PIV 44928.5
Position
Pitcher
Bats / Throws
R / R
Height / Weight
6'3" / 190 lb
Born
10/23/1931 in Southgate, KY, USA
Died
5/26/2017 in Edgewood, KY, USA
MLB Debut
1955-07-20
Last Game
1971-09-03
Hall of Fame
Inducted 1996 (BBWAA)
Awards
7× All-Star

Full name: James Paul David Bunning

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Career Pitching Statistics

W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
224 184 591 519 151 40 16 3760.3 3,433 1,366 372 1,000 2,855 3.27 44928.5

Career ERA 3.27 vs. league average 3.66 across their career seasons — 10.8% better than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

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
1955 DET AL 3 5 15 8 0 0 1 51.0 59 36 32 37 6.35 4.00 (-59%) -1296.2
1956 DET AL 5 1 15 3 0 0 1 53.3 55 22 28 34 3.71 3.96 (+6%) -223.1
1957 DET AL 20 8 45 30 14 1 1 267.3 214 80 72 182 2.69 3.83 (+30%) 1427.4
1958 DET AL 14 12 35 34 10 3 0 219.7 188 86 79 177 3.52 3.86 (+9%) 714.2
1959 DET AL 17 13 40 35 14 1 1 249.7 220 108 75 201 3.89 3.90 (avg) 73.5
1960 DET AL 11 14 36 34 10 3 0 252.0 217 78 64 201 2.79 3.82 (+27%) 6383.2
1961 DET AL 17 11 38 37 12 4 1 268.0 232 95 71 194 3.19 4.03 (+21%) 5598.6
1962 DET AL 19 10 41 35 12 2 6 258.0 262 103 74 184 3.59 3.96 (+9%) 2322.7
1963 DET AL 12 13 39 35 6 2 1 248.3 245 107 69 196 3.88 3.46 (-12%) -2016.3
1964 PHI NL 19 8 41 39 13 5 2 284.3 248 83 46 219 2.63 3.58 (+27%) 6255.6
1965 PHI NL 19 9 39 39 15 7 0 291.0 253 84 62 268 2.60 3.50 (+26%) 7966.3
1966 PHI NL 19 14 43 41 16 5 1 314.0 260 84 55 252 2.41 3.52 (+32%) 6582.4
1967 PHI NL 17 15 40 40 16 6 0 302.3 241 77 73 253 2.29 3.30 (+31%) 6508.9
1968 PIT NL 4 14 27 26 3 1 0 160.0 168 69 48 95 3.88 2.98 (-30%) -1612.3
1969 PIT NL 10 9 25 25 4 0 0 156.0 147 66 49 124 3.81 3.61 (-5%) 3232.1
1969 LAN NL 3 1 9 9 1 0 0 56.3 65 21 10 33 3.36 3.61 (+7%) 763.9
1970 PHI NL 10 15 34 33 4 0 0 219.0 233 100 56 147 4.11 3.89 (-6%) 3349.3
1971 PHI NL 5 12 29 16 1 0 1 110.0 126 67 37 58 5.48 3.47 (-58%) -1101.7
Career · 18 seasons 224 184 591 519 151 40 16 3,760.1 3,433 1,366 1,000 2,855 3.27 — 44,929

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
601 1,275 82 213 21 4 7 75 0 34 362 .167 .188 .206 .395 -8,223

Career AVG .167 vs. league average .251 across their career seasons — 33.5% below league average.

Career OBP .188 vs. league average .318 across their career seasons — 40.8% below league average.

Career SLG .206 vs. league average .379 across their career seasons — 45.5% below league average.

Career OPS .395 vs. league average .697 across their career seasons — 43.4% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

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
1955 DET AL 15 15 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 .200 — — — — 0.0
1956 DET AL 15 18 4 6 2 0 0 1 0 0 5 .333 — — — — 0.0
1957 DET AL 45 94 10 20 2 1 1 4 0 5 29 .213 .257 (-17%) .323 (-22%) .391 (-27%) .715 (-25%) -370.0
1958 DET AL 36 75 7 14 2 0 0 3 0 3 24 .187 .257 (-28%) .324 (-33%) .394 (-46%) .719 (-40%) -473.9
1959 DET AL 40 89 7 17 0 1 1 7 0 5 25 .191 .256 (-26%) .323 (-28%) .392 (-37%) .715 (-33%) -461.8
1960 DET AL 38 81 2 13 1 0 0 4 0 3 22 .160 .255 (-37%) .323 (-42%) .387 (-55%) .711 (-49%) -634.4
1961 DET AL 38 100 6 13 1 0 0 4 0 2 30 .130 .258 (-50%) .328 (-55%) .399 (-65%) .727 (-61%) -967.1
1962 DET AL 43 95 9 23 2 1 1 5 0 1 19 .242 .257 (-6%) .326 (-22%) .393 (-20%) .719 (-21%) -334.5
1963 DET AL 41 84 4 13 1 1 0 5 0 4 15 .155 .246 (-37%) .308 (-37%) .371 (-49%) .680 (-44%) -555.1
1964 PHI NL 41 99 4 12 2 0 0 8 0 0 29 .121 .250 (-52%) .312 (-62%) .377 (-63%) .690 (-62%) -952.5
1965 PHI NL 39 103 6 22 1 0 1 4 0 1 25 .214 .245 (-13%) .310 (-29%) .371 (-32%) .682 (-31%) -481.9
1966 PHI NL 43 106 10 19 3 0 0 5 0 3 39 .179 .248 (-28%) .309 (-35%) .376 (-45%) .685 (-41%) -662.8
1967 PHI NL 40 104 8 17 3 0 2 12 0 1 33 .163 .242 (-33%) .306 (-44%) .357 (-30%) .663 (-37%) -581.7
1968 PIT NL 27 51 0 5 1 0 0 3 0 0 17 .098 .236 (-59%) .298 (-67%) .340 (-65%) .638 (-66%) -483.6
1969 PIT NL 25 47 3 2 0 0 0 1 0 3 12 .043 — — — — -570.1
1969 LAN NL 9 18 0 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 6 .111 — — — — -570.1
1970 PHI NL 35 71 1 9 0 0 0 6 0 2 18 .127 .253 (-50%) .325 (-54%) .385 (-67%) .711 (-61%) -693.1
1971 PHI NL 31 25 1 3 0 0 1 2 0 1 9 .120 — — — — 0.0
Career · 18 seasons 601 1,275 82 213 21 4 7 75 0 34 362 .167 — — — — -8,793

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 (1192 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home3036024199029.164
Away29867341114746.169

Pitching — Home / Away

SplitGIPHERBBSOERA
Home2991904.0173671149414873.36
Away2921856.0169765450613683.17

Last 10 Games — Batting

DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1971-09-03 PHINYNL 000000000
1971-08-29 PHISFGL 000000000
1971-08-25 PHISDPL 000000000
1971-08-17 PHISFGL 000000000
1971-08-12 PHILADW 100000001
1971-08-10 PHILADL 000000000
1971-07-27 PHIHOUL 000000000
1971-07-21 PHISTLL 000000000
1971-07-18 PHIHOUL 000000000
1971-07-15 PHICHCL 000000000

Last 10 Games — Pitching

DateTmOppDecIPHRERBBSOHR
1971-09-03 PHINYN — 2.0211110
1971-08-29 PHISFG — 3.0200240
1971-08-25 PHISDP — 1.0100010
1971-08-17 PHISFG — 2.0000010
1971-08-10 PHILAD — 3.0433220
1971-07-27 PHIHOU — 1.0422110
1971-07-21 PHISTL — 1.0322000
1971-07-18 PHIHOU L 1.0744000
1971-07-15 PHICHC L 2.1311130
1971-07-11 PHIWSN — 2.0200000

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position G GS PO A E DP
P 591 519 206 372 23 20

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1955 DET P 15 8 4 8 1 1
1956 DET P 15 3 2 6 0 0
1957 DET P 45 30 12 19 0 0
1958 DET P 35 34 9 16 0 0
1959 DET P 40 35 11 16 3 1
1960 DET P 36 34 11 31 0 0
1961 DET P 38 37 21 29 3 6
1962 DET P 41 35 17 13 0 1
1963 DET P 39 35 18 25 1 1
1964 PHI P 41 39 10 31 3 2
1965 PHI P 39 39 29 40 3 2
1966 PHI P 43 41 18 30 2 0
1967 PHI P 40 40 16 33 1 1
1968 PIT P 27 26 6 17 2 1
1969 PIT P 25 25 4 9 1 2
1969 LAN P 9 9 1 6 0 0
1970 PHI P 34 33 12 27 2 1
1971 PHI P 29 16 5 16 1 1

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Position Games
Pitcher 591

Awards & Honors

Year Award Notes
1964 TSN All-Star P
1957 TSN All-Star P

Award Voting History

Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
1967 Cy Young Award NL 2nd 1.0 20 1
1967 Most Valuable Player NL 22th 5.0 280 0
1964 Most Valuable Player NL 13th 23.0 280 0
1962 Most Valuable Player AL 21th 8.0 280 0
1960 Most Valuable Player AL 24th 3.0 336 0
1957 Most Valuable Player AL 9th 46.0 336 0

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Jim Bunning (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Mickey Lolich
    217-191, 3.44 ERA
  2. 92
    Luis Tiant
    229-172, 3.30 ERA
  3. 81
    Jerry Koosman
    222-209, 3.36 ERA
  4. 74
    Don Drysdale HOF
    209-166, 2.95 ERA
  5. 63
    Bob Gibson HOF
    251-174, 2.91 ERA
  6. 62
    Zack Greinke
    225-156, 3.49 ERA

Compare Jim Bunning

Side-by-side career stat comparisons against Bunning's closest peers by position and era.

vs Nolan Ryan
vs Tom Seaver
vs Gaylord Perry
vs Satchel Paige
vs Steve Carlton
vs Bob Gibson

Browse all MLB player comparisons →

See Jim Bunning in Another Era

What would Bunning's 1967 season look like in a different era's run environment? Try the cross-era translation with a live slider.

Translate Jim Bunning's peak season across eras →

Frequently Asked Questions about Jim Bunning

What years did Jim Bunning play?
Jim Bunning played in Major League Baseball from 1955 to 1971.
Was Jim Bunning a pitcher?
Yes. Jim Bunning pitched in the major leagues, recording 224 wins and 2855 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Jim Bunning hit?
Jim Bunning hit 7 career home runs with 213 hits.
Is Jim Bunning in the Hall of Fame?
Yes. Jim Bunning was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1996.