Pete Burnside

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1955-1963)

Pete Burnside was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1955 to 1963 for 5 teams, including the New York Giants, a span of 9 seasons. Across 196 career appearances, he went 19-36 with a 4.81 ERA and 303 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 19–36
ERA 4.81
WHIP 1.48
SO 303
Pitcher PIV -8383.6
Position
Pitcher
Bats / Throws
R / L
Height / Weight
6'2" / 180 lb
Born
7/2/1930 in Evanston, IL, USA
Died
8/26/2022 in Wilmette, IL, USA
MLB Debut
1955-09-20
Last Game
1963-09-27

Full name: Peter Willits Burnside

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Career Pitching Statistics

Pete Burnside — Career Pitching Statistics
W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
19 36 196 64 14 3 7 567.1 607 303 73 230 303 4.81 -8383.6

Career ERA 4.81 vs. league average 3.85 across their career seasons — 24.9% worse than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Pete Burnside Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year Team Lg W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER BB SO ERA Lg ERA Pitcher PIV
1955 NY1 NL 1 0 2 2 1 0 0 12.2 10 4 9 2 2.84 4.00 (+29%) -383.7
1957 NY1 NL 1 4 10 9 1 1 0 30.2 47 30 13 18 8.80 3.83 (-130%) -719.7
1958 SFN NL 0 0 6 1 0 0 0 10.2 20 8 5 4 6.75 3.86 (-75%) -780.6
1959 DET AL 1 3 30 0 0 0 1 62.0 55 26 25 49 3.77 3.90 (+3%) 263.0
1960 DET AL 7 7 31 15 2 0 2 113.2 122 54 50 71 4.28 3.82 (-12%) -1383.8
1961 WS2 AL 4 9 33 16 4 2 2 113.1 106 57 51 56 4.53 4.03 (-12%) -709.9
1962 WS2 AL 5 11 40 20 6 0 2 149.2 152 74 51 74 4.45 3.96 (-13%) -1768.3
1963 BAL AL 0 1 6 0 0 0 0 7.1 11 4 2 6 4.91 — 0.0
1963 WS2 AL 0 1 38 1 0 0 0 67.1 84 46 24 23 6.15 3.46 (-78%) -2900.5
Career · 9 seasons 19 36 196 64 14 3 7 567.1 607 303 230 303 4.81 — -8,384

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

Pete Burnside — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
196 132 6 10 0 0 0 4 0 8 54 .076 .129 .076 .204 0

Career AVG .076 vs. league average .256 across their career seasons — 70.4% below league average.

Career OBP .129 vs. league average .324 across their career seasons — 60.3% below league average.

Career SLG .076 vs. league average .390 across their career seasons — 80.6% below league average.

Career OPS .204 vs. league average .714 across their career seasons — 71.4% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Pete Burnside 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
1955 NY1 NL 2 5 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 .200 — — — — 0.0
1957 NY1 NL 10 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 .000 — — — — 0.0
1958 SFN NL 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1959 DET AL 30 10 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 5 .000 — — — — 0.0
1960 DET AL 31 27 2 4 0 0 0 1 0 2 6 .148 — — — — 0.0
1961 WS2 AL 33 34 1 2 0 0 0 1 0 1 15 .059 — — — — 0.0
1962 WS2 AL 40 35 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 19 .057 — — — — 0.0
1963 BAL AL 6 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000 — — — — 0.0
1963 WS2 AL 38 11 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 1 5 .091 — — — — 0.0
Career · 9 seasons 196 132 6 10 0 0 0 4 0 8 54 .076 — — — — 0

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 (392 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Pete Burnside — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home105644301.047
Away91672703.104

Pitching — Home / Away

Pete Burnside — Pitching — Home / Away
SplitGIPHERBBSOERA
Home105290.13041471211484.56
Away91277.03031561091555.07

Last 10 Games — Batting

Pete Burnside — Last 10 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1963-09-27 TEXCHWL 000000000
1963-09-22 TEXBALL 000000000
1963-09-09 TEXDETL 200000000
1963-09-08 TEXCLEL 000000000
1963-09-07 TEXCLEL 000000000
1963-09-02 TEXCLEL 100000000
1963-08-29 TEXMINL 100000001
1963-08-29 TEXMINL 000000000
1963-08-26 TEXMINL 000000000
1963-08-23 TEXLAAL 100000000

Last 10 Games — Pitching

Pete Burnside — Last 10 Games — Pitching
DateTmOppDecIPHRERBBSOHR
1963-09-27 TEXCHW — 0.0233100
1963-09-22 TEXBAL — 0.0321000
1963-09-09 TEXDET — 5.1411100
1963-09-08 TEXCLE — 0.1222000
1963-09-07 TEXCLE — 1.0433011
1963-09-02 TEXCLE — 3.2344202
1963-08-29 TEXMIN — 2.1533002
1963-08-29 TEXMIN — 2.0211001
1963-08-26 TEXMIN — 1.1100000
1963-08-23 TEXLAA — 2.1422000

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Pete Burnside — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
P 196 64 21 74 7 5

Season-by-Season Fielding

Pete Burnside — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1955 NY1 P 2 2 0 2 0 1
1957 NY1 P 10 9 1 5 1 0
1958 SFN P 6 1 0 2 0 0
1959 DET P 30 0 3 11 0 1
1960 DET P 31 15 3 14 1 1
1961 WS2 P 33 16 2 17 2 1
1962 WS2 P 40 20 11 16 2 0
1963 BAL P 6 0 0 0 0 0
1963 WS2 P 38 1 1 7 1 1

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Pete Burnside Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position Games
Pitcher 196

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Pete Burnside (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Brad Havens
    24-37, 4.81 ERA
  2. 82
    Jason Davis
    22-26, 4.82 ERA
  3. 79
    Bob Scanlan
    20-34, 4.63 ERA
  4. 78
    John Montague
    24-26, 4.76 ERA
  5. 75
    Brad Hennessey
    17-23, 4.69 ERA
  6. 75
    Chris Peters
    19-25, 4.81 ERA

Pete Burnside: the record in brief

Between the debut on September 20, 1955 and the final game on September 27, 1963, Pete Burnside built the record summarized on this page. The team column moves through the New York Giants (1955 through 1957), the San Francisco Giants (1958), the Detroit Tigers (1959 to 1960), the Washington Senators (1961 to 1963), and the Baltimore Orioles (1963). Burnside played primarily as a pitcher and batted right-handed and threw left-handed. The bio adds a birth date on July 2, 1930, in Evanston, IL, USA and a listed size of 6'2" and 180 pounds. The bio records the death on August 26, 2022, in Wilmette, IL, USA. Pete Burnside was the playing name; the full given name is Peter Willits.

Burnside went 19-36 with a 4.81 ERA in 196 games, 64 of them starts. The totals include 303 strikeouts and 14 complete games. Against a 3.85 league ERA for the same seasons, the 4.81 mark was 24.9% worse. The best win total was 7, in 1960. The strikeout high was 74 in 1962.

Frequently Asked Questions about Pete Burnside

What years did Pete Burnside play?
Pete Burnside played in Major League Baseball from 1955 to 1963.
Was Pete Burnside a pitcher?
Yes. Pete Burnside pitched in the major leagues, recording 19 wins and 303 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Pete Burnside hit?
Pete Burnside hit 0 career home runs with 10 hits.
What was Pete Burnside's career batting average?
Pete Burnside batted .076 over his career, with 10 hits in 132 at bats.
How many RBI did Pete Burnside have?
Pete Burnside drove in 4 runs in his career.
What was Pete Burnside's career ERA?
Pete Burnside finished with a 4.81 career ERA, going 19-36 with 303 strikeouts.