What years did Steve Busby play?

Steve Busby played in Major League Baseball from 1972 to 1980.

Was Steve Busby a pitcher?

Yes. Steve Busby pitched in the major leagues, recording 70 wins and 659 strikeouts.

How many home runs did Steve Busby hit?

Steve Busby hit 0 career home runs with 3 hits.

What teams did Steve Busby play for?

Steve Busby played for one team, the Kansas City Royals (1972–1976, 1978–1980).

Did Steve Busby win a Cy Young Award?

No. Steve Busby did not win the Cy Young Award.

What awards did Steve Busby win?

Steve Busby was selected to 2 All-Star Games.

What were Steve Busby's career stats?

In 167 games, Steve Busby went 70-54 with a 3.72 ERA, 659 strikeouts, and 1,060.2 innings pitched.

What position did Steve Busby play?

Steve Busby played primarily as a pitcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.

How tall was Steve Busby and how much did he weigh?

Steve Busby was listed at 6 feet 2 inches and 205 pounds.

What was Steve Busby's career ERA?

Steve Busby finished with a 3.72 career ERA, going 70-54 with 659 strikeouts.

How many strikeouts did Steve Busby have?

Steve Busby recorded 659 career strikeouts.

Is Steve Busby in the Hall of Fame?

No. Steve Busby has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

How many All-Star Games did Steve Busby make?

Steve Busby was selected to 2 All-Star Games.

Steve Busby

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1972-1980)

Steve Busby was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1972 to 1980 for the Kansas City Royals, a span of 9 seasons. Across 167 career appearances, he went 70-54 with a 3.72 ERA and 659 strikeouts. Steve Busby was a 2-time All-Star. His career Pitcher PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of pitching impact — is 4653.3.

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 October 15, 2026

W–L 70–54

ERA 3.72

WHIP 1.35

SO 659

Pitcher PIV 4653.3

Position: Pitcher
Bats / Throws: R / R
Height / Weight: 6'2" / 205 lb
Born: 9/29/1949 in Burbank, CA, USA
MLB Debut: 1972-09-08
Last Game: 1980-08-26
Awards: 2× All-Star

Full name: Steven Lee Busby

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Career Pitching Statistics

Steve Busby — Career Pitching Statistics
W	L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	SO	ERA	Pitcher PIV
70	54	167	150	53	7	0	1060.2	1,003	438	73	433	659	3.72	4653.3

Career ERA 3.72 vs. league average 3.68 across their career seasons — near league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Steve Busby Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year	Team	Lg	W	L	G	GS	CG	SHO	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA	Lg ERA	Pitcher PIV
1972	KCA	AL	3	1	5	5	3	0	40.0	28	7	8	31	1.57	3.26 (+52%)	1502.2
1973	KCA	AL	16	15	37	37	7	1	238.1	246	112	105	174	4.23	3.75 (-13%)	1634.3
1974	KCA	AL	22	14	38	38	20	3	292.1	284	110	92	198	3.39	3.63 (+7%)	5769.5
1975	KCA	AL	18	12	34	34	18	3	260.1	233	89	81	160	3.08	3.71 (+17%)	3332.2
1976	KCA	AL	3	3	13	13	1	0	71.2	58	35	49	29	4.40	3.51 (-25%)	-3145.5
1978	KCA	AL	1	0	7	5	0	0	21.1	24	18	15	10	7.59	3.69 (-106%)	-837.2
1979	KCA	AL	6	6	22	12	4	0	94.1	71	38	64	45	3.63	4.00 (+9%)	-2805.3
1980	KCA	AL	1	3	11	6	0	0	42.1	59	29	19	12	6.17	3.84 (-60%)	-797.0
Career · 8 seasons			70	54	167	150	53	7	1,060.2	1,003	438	433	659	3.72	—	4,653

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

Steve Busby — Career Batting Statistics
G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	PIV
167	15	0	3	1	0	0	4	0	0	3	.200	.200	.267	.467	0

Career AVG .200 vs. league average .258 across their career seasons — 22.4% below league average.

Career OBP .200 vs. league average .324 across their career seasons — 38.2% below league average.

Career SLG .267 vs. league average .376 across their career seasons — 29.0% below league average.

Career OPS .467 vs. league average .699 across their career seasons — 33.3% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Steve Busby — Season-by-Season Batting
Year	Team	Lg	G	AB	H	2B	RBI	SO	AVG	Lg AVG	Lg OBP	Lg SLG	Lg OPS	PIV
1972	KCA	AL	5	15	3	1	4	3	.200	—	—	—	—	0.0
1973	KCA	AL	37	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1974	KCA	AL	38	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1975	KCA	AL	34	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1976	KCA	AL	13	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1978	KCA	AL	7	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1979	KCA	AL	22	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1980	KCA	AL	11	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
Career · 8 seasons			167	15	3	1	4	3	.200	—	—	—	—	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 (334 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Steve Busby — Batting — Home / Away
Split	G	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	AVG
Home	80	7	0	0	0	1	.000
Away	87	8	0	3	0	3	.375

Pitching — Home / Away

Steve Busby — Pitching — Home / Away
Split	G	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
Home	80	533.0	508	211	192	335	3.56
Away	87	527.2	495	227	241	324	3.87

Last 10 Games — Pitching

Steve Busby — Last 10 Games — Pitching
Date	Tm	Opp	Dec	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR
1980-08-26	KCR	MIL	W	6.0	7	5	4	1	1	1
1980-08-21	KCR	CLE	L	6.0	7	4	4	2	1	1
1980-08-09	KCR	TOR	—	6.1	8	2	2	0	2	1
1980-08-04	KCR	DET	—	4.0	6	3	3	3	0	0
1980-07-30	KCR	BOS	L	8.1	10	3	3	1	4	0
1980-07-22	KCR	CHW	L	4.2	9	6	6	3	2	0
1980-05-16	KCR	LAA	—	3.0	4	0	0	1	0	0
1980-05-14	KCR	NYY	—	1.1	2	2	2	3	1	0
1980-05-08	KCR	CHW	—	2.0	4	2	2	2	1	0
1980-04-21	KCR	TOR	—	0.1	0	0	0	0	0	0

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Steve Busby — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
P	167	150	76	198	23	8

Season-by-Season Fielding

Steve Busby — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year	Team	Pos	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
1972	KCA	P	5	5	1	4	1	0
1973	KCA	P	37	37	10	47	6	3
1974	KCA	P	38	38	24	53	8	2
1975	KCA	P	34	34	22	52	3	2
1976	KCA	P	13	13	10	9	3	0
1978	KCA	P	7	5	0	5	1	0
1979	KCA	P	22	12	4	24	0	1
1980	KCA	P	11	6	5	4	1	0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Steve Busby — Career Games by Position
Position	Games
Pitcher	167

Awards & Honors

Steve Busby — Awards & Honors
Year	Award	Notes
1974	Player of the Week	Week of 1974-06-21
1973	TSN Rookie Pitcher of the Year

College History

Steve Busby — College History
School Name	City	State	Years Attended
University of Southern California	Los Angeles	CA	1970, 1971

Award Voting History

Steve Busby — Award Voting History
Year	Award	League	Finish	Points Won	Points Max	Votes First
1974	Most Valuable Player	AL	30th	3.0	336	0
1973	Rookie of the Year	AL	3rd	2.0	24	2

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Steve Busby (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

Steve Busby: the record in brief

Between the debut on September 8, 1972 and the final game on August 26, 1980, Steve Busby built the record summarized on this page. Every season row on the page belongs to the Kansas City Royals, from 1972 through 1980. Busby, a pitcher by primary position, threw and hit right-handed. The recorded size is 6 feet, 2 inches and 205 pounds. Busby was born on September 29, 1949, in Burbank, CA, USA. The given name on file is Steven Lee Busby.

Across 167 games (150 starts), Busby recorded 70 wins against 54 losses with a 3.72 ERA. Busby had 659 strikeouts, 53 complete games, and 7 shutouts. Busby's 3.72 ERA was close to the 3.68 league figure for those seasons. 1974 brought Busby a season-high 22 wins. Among the heaviest workloads, the lowest ERA was 3.08 in 1975, when the league's was 3.71. Pitcher PIV, the site's era-adjusted run-prevention measure, totals 4,653.3 for Busby's career.

Frequently Asked Questions about Steve Busby

What years did Steve Busby play?: Steve Busby played in Major League Baseball from 1972 to 1980.
Was Steve Busby a pitcher?: Yes. Steve Busby pitched in the major leagues, recording 70 wins and 659 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Steve Busby hit?: Steve Busby hit 0 career home runs with 3 hits.
What teams did Steve Busby play for?: Steve Busby played for one team, the Kansas City Royals (1972–1976, 1978–1980).
Did Steve Busby win a Cy Young Award?: No. Steve Busby did not win the Cy Young Award.
What awards did Steve Busby win?: Steve Busby was selected to 2 All-Star Games.
What were Steve Busby's career stats?: In 167 games, Steve Busby went 70-54 with a 3.72 ERA, 659 strikeouts, and 1,060.2 innings pitched.
What position did Steve Busby play?: Steve Busby played primarily as a pitcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.
How tall was Steve Busby and how much did he weigh?: Steve Busby was listed at 6 feet 2 inches and 205 pounds.
What was Steve Busby's career ERA?: Steve Busby finished with a 3.72 career ERA, going 70-54 with 659 strikeouts.
How many strikeouts did Steve Busby have?: Steve Busby recorded 659 career strikeouts.
Is Steve Busby in the Hall of Fame?: No. Steve Busby has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
How many All-Star Games did Steve Busby make?: Steve Busby was selected to 2 All-Star Games.