Ray Burris

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1973-1987)

Ray Burris was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1973 to 1987 for 7 teams, including the Chicago Cubs, a span of 15 seasons. Across 480 career appearances, he went 108-134 with a 4.17 ERA and 1,065 strikeouts. He also batted .151 with 1 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

W–L 108–134
ERA 4.17
WHIP 1.40
SO 1,065
Pitcher PIV -19346.2
Position
Pitcher
Bats / Throws
R / R
Height / Weight
6'5" / 200 lb
Born
8/22/1950 in Idabel, OK, USA
MLB Debut
1973-04-08
Last Game
1987-09-27

Full name: Bertram Ray Burris

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Career Pitching Statistics

Ray Burris — Career Pitching Statistics
W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
108 134 480 302 47 10 4 2188.2 2,310 1,015 221 764 1,065 4.17 -19346.2

Career ERA 4.17 vs. league average 3.84 across their career seasons — 8.8% worse than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Ray Burris Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year Team Lg W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER BB SO ERA Lg ERA Pitcher PIV
1973 CHN NL 1 1 31 1 0 0 0 64.2 65 21 27 57 2.92 3.75 (+22%) 2110.9
1974 CHN NL 3 5 40 5 0 0 1 75.0 91 55 26 40 6.60 3.63 (-82%) -882.9
1975 CHN NL 15 10 36 35 8 2 0 238.1 259 109 73 108 4.12 3.71 (-11%) -1805.2
1976 CHN NL 15 13 37 36 10 4 0 249.0 251 86 70 112 3.11 3.51 (+12%) -1687.1
1977 CHN NL 14 16 39 39 5 1 0 221.0 270 116 67 105 4.72 4.00 (-18%) -2460.9
1978 CHN NL 7 13 40 32 4 1 1 199.0 210 105 79 94 4.75 3.69 (-29%) -1366.9
1979 CHN NL 0 0 14 0 0 0 0 21.2 23 15 15 14 6.23 4.00 (-56%) 188.7
1979 NYA AL 1 3 15 0 0 0 0 27.2 40 19 10 19 6.18 4.00 (-54%) -546.7
1979 NYN NL 0 2 4 4 0 0 0 21.2 21 8 6 10 3.32 4.00 (+17%) 12.9
1980 NYN NL 7 13 29 29 1 0 0 170.1 181 76 54 83 4.02 3.84 (-5%) -2060.8
1981 MON NL 9 7 22 21 4 0 0 135.2 117 46 41 52 3.05 3.58 (+15%) -290.1
1982 MON NL 4 14 37 15 2 0 2 123.2 143 65 53 55 4.73 3.86 (-22%) -2380.8
1983 MON NL 4 7 40 17 2 1 0 154.0 139 63 56 100 3.68 3.87 (+5%) 749.7
1984 OAK AL 13 10 34 28 5 1 0 211.2 193 74 90 93 3.15 3.81 (+17%) -2056.9
1985 ML4 AL 9 13 29 28 6 0 0 170.1 182 91 53 81 4.81 3.89 (-23%) -3126.0
1986 SLN NL 4 5 23 10 0 0 0 82.0 92 51 32 34 5.60 3.97 (-41%) -2762.0
1987 ML4 AL 2 2 10 2 0 0 0 23.0 33 15 12 8 5.87 4.29 (-37%) -982.1
Career · 17 seasons 108 134 480 302 47 10 4 2,188.2 2,310 1,015 764 1,065 4.17 — -19,346

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

Ray Burris — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
490 502 30 76 11 3 1 27 0 31 160 .151 .201 .191 .393 -2,656

Career AVG .151 vs. league average .260 across their career seasons — 41.7% below league average.

Career OBP .201 vs. league average .325 across their career seasons — 38.1% below league average.

Career SLG .191 vs. league average .386 across their career seasons — 50.5% below league average.

Career OPS .393 vs. league average .711 across their career seasons — 44.8% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Ray Burris 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
1973 CHN NL 31 7 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 3 .143 — — — — 0.0
1974 CHN NL 41 13 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 4 .077 — — — — 0.0
1975 CHN NL 38 82 10 15 2 0 0 4 0 7 24 .183 .257 (-29%) .327 (-24%) .374 (-45%) .701 (-35%) -439.3
1976 CHN NL 39 81 4 9 0 0 0 1 0 1 28 .111 .255 (-57%) .320 (-62%) .360 (-69%) .681 (-66%) -817.3
1977 CHN NL 40 69 4 12 2 1 1 8 0 4 22 .174 .264 (-34%) .329 (-30%) .401 (-31%) .730 (-31%) -349.7
1978 CHN NL 41 61 3 7 1 2 0 2 0 2 13 .115 .257 (-56%) .323 (-56%) .378 (-48%) .702 (-52%) -509.2
1979 CHN NL 14 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1979 NYA AL 15 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1979 NYN NL 4 6 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 .167 — — — — 0.0
1980 NYN NL 29 51 1 5 0 0 0 0 0 2 18 .098 .264 (-63%) .326 (-60%) .387 (-75%) .714 (-68%) -540.4
1981 MON NL 22 37 4 7 0 0 0 2 0 4 12 .189 — — — — 0.0
1982 MON NL 37 28 0 5 1 0 0 1 0 3 10 .179 — — — — 0.0
1983 MON NL 40 39 2 9 2 0 0 2 0 4 15 .231 — — — — 0.0
1984 OAK AL 37 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1985 ML4 AL 29 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1986 SLN NL 23 27 0 4 3 0 0 7 0 0 9 .148 — — — — 0.0
1987 ML4 AL 10 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
Career · 17 seasons 490 502 30 76 11 3 1 27 0 31 160 .151 — — — — -2,656

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.

Postseason Statistics

Playoff Career Batting

Ray Burris — Playoff Career Batting
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
3 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 .000

Playoff Batting by Year

Ray Burris — Playoff Batting by Year
Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1981 NEDIV MON 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 .000
1981 NLCS MON 2 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 .000

Playoff Career Pitching

Ray Burris — Playoff Career Pitching
W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
1 1 3 3 0 22.1 17 4 7 8 1.61

Playoff Pitching by Year

Ray Burris — Playoff Pitching by Year
Year Round Team W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
1981 NEDIV MON 0 1 1 1 0 5.1 7 3 4 4 5.06
1981 NLCS MON 1 0 2 2 0 17.0 10 1 3 4 0.53

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (970 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Ray Burris — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home2612461536020.146
Away229256154017.156

Pitching — Home / Away

Ray Burris — Pitching — Home / Away
SplitGIPHERBBSOERA
Home2551168.212275393925614.15
Away2251020.010834763725044.20

Last 10 Games — Pitching

Ray Burris — Last 10 Games — Pitching
DateTmOppDecIPHRERBBSOHR
1987-09-27 MILBOS W 2.0200100
1987-09-09 MILTOR — 0.1200000
1987-08-29 MILMIN — 1.0233201
1987-08-25 MILCLE — 1.1222001
1987-08-22 MILKCR — 2.0100310
1987-08-20 MILCLE — 2.0100020
1987-08-18 MILCLE L 0.2210110
1987-08-12 MILTEX L 5.0966010
1987-08-08 MILCHW W 5.2733312
1987-07-31 MILCHW — 3.0511220

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Ray Burris — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
P 480 302 157 300 23 16

Season-by-Season Fielding

Ray Burris — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1973 CHN P 31 1 0 14 1 2
1974 CHN P 40 5 4 9 0 0
1975 CHN P 36 35 16 16 2 0
1976 CHN P 37 36 15 42 5 3
1977 CHN P 39 39 16 46 1 1
1978 CHN P 40 32 23 38 4 2
1979 CHN P 14 0 3 4 0 0
1979 NYA P 15 0 2 3 0 0
1979 NYN P 4 4 4 3 1 0
1980 NYN P 29 29 13 22 2 1
1981 MON P 22 21 8 17 3 2
1982 MON P 37 15 11 16 2 1
1983 MON P 40 17 12 23 0 1
1984 OAK P 34 28 5 16 0 2
1985 ML4 P 29 28 18 19 2 0
1986 SLN P 23 10 4 9 0 1
1987 ML4 P 10 2 3 3 0 0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Ray Burris Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position Games
Pitcher 480
Designated Hitter 3

Awards & Honors

Ray Burris — Awards & Honors
Year Award Notes
1976 Pitcher of the Month August

Salary History

Ray Burris's recorded salaries total $681,250 over 2 seasons, 1985 to 1987. This total is partial: the salary data covers 1985 to 2016, and Burris's career ran from 1973 to 1987. His seasons before 1985 are not included, and no salary is recorded for 1986.

Ray Burris — Salary History
Year Team League Salary
1987 ML4 AL $100,000
1985 ML4 AL $581,250
Total recorded salary (partial) $681,250

College History

Ray Burris — College History
School Name City State Years Attended
Southwestern Oklahoma State University Weatherford OK 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Ray Burris (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Dick Ruthven
    123-127, 4.14 ERA
  2. 95
    Milt Wilcox
    119-113, 4.07 ERA
  3. 92
    Jon Garland
    136-125, 4.37 ERA
  4. 91
    Walt Terrell
    111-124, 4.22 ERA
  5. 90
    Rick Mahler
    96-111, 3.99 ERA
  6. 89
    Danny Jackson
    112-131, 4.01 ERA

Ray Burris: the record in brief

The profile opens with Ray Burris's first major league game on April 8, 1973; the last one listed came on September 27, 1987. Club by club, the record runs the Chicago Cubs (1973 through 1979), the New York Yankees (1979), the New York Mets (1979 through 1980), the Montreal Expos (1981 to 1983), the Oakland Athletics (1984), the Milwaukee Brewers (1985 to 1987), and the St. Louis Cardinals (1986). At 200 pounds on a 6-foot-5 frame, Burris is listed as a pitcher. The bio says Burris batted and threw right-handed. Burris was born on August 22, 1950, in Idabel, OK, USA. Ray Burris was the playing name; the full given name is Bertram Ray.

Burris went 108-134 with a 4.17 ERA in 480 games, 302 of them starts. The totals include 1,065 strikeouts, 47 complete games, and 10 shutouts. The league ERA over Burris's seasons was 3.84, so the 4.17 figure ran 8.8% worse than average. Burris won 15 games in 1975, the most of any season listed.

Frequently Asked Questions about Ray Burris

What years did Ray Burris play?
Ray Burris played in Major League Baseball from 1973 to 1987.
Was Ray Burris a pitcher?
Yes. Ray Burris pitched in the major leagues, recording 108 wins and 1065 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Ray Burris hit?
Ray Burris hit 1 career home run with 76 hits.
What teams did Ray Burris play for?
Ray Burris played for 7 teams: the Chicago Cubs (1973–1979), the New York Yankees (1979), the New York Mets (1979–1980), the Montreal Expos (1981–1983), the Oakland Athletics (1984), the Milwaukee Brewers (1985, 1987), and the St. Louis Cardinals (1986).
What were Ray Burris's career stats?
In 480 games, Ray Burris went 108-134 with a 4.17 ERA, 1,065 strikeouts, 2,188.2 innings pitched, and 4 saves. At the plate he had 76 hits and 1 home runs.
How much did Ray Burris earn in his career?
Ray Burris's recorded salaries total $681,250 over 2 seasons, 1985 to 1987. This total is partial: the salary data covers 1985 to 2016, and Burris's career ran from 1973 to 1987. His seasons before 1985 are not included, and no salary is recorded for 1986.
What was Ray Burris's salary?
Ray Burris's last recorded salary was $100,000, in 1987. His highest recorded salary was $581,250, in 1985, and his lowest was $100,000, in 1987. The Salary History table lists each season from 1985 to 1987.
What position did Ray Burris play?
Ray Burris played primarily as a pitcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.
How tall was Ray Burris and how much did he weigh?
Ray Burris was listed at 6 feet 5 inches and 200 pounds.
What was Ray Burris's career ERA?
Ray Burris finished with a 4.17 career ERA, going 108-134 with 1,065 strikeouts.
How many strikeouts did Ray Burris have?
Ray Burris recorded 1,065 career strikeouts.
Is Ray Burris in the Hall of Fame?
No. Ray Burris has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.