What years did Mike Caldwell play?

Mike Caldwell played in Major League Baseball from 1971 to 1984.

Was Mike Caldwell a pitcher?

Yes. Mike Caldwell pitched in the major leagues, recording 137 wins and 939 strikeouts.

How many home runs did Mike Caldwell hit?

Mike Caldwell hit 0 career home runs with 34 hits.

What teams did Mike Caldwell play for?

Mike Caldwell played for 4 teams: the San Diego Padres (1971–1973), the San Francisco Giants (1974–1976), the Cincinnati Reds (1977), and the Milwaukee Brewers (1977–1984).

What were Mike Caldwell's career stats?

In 475 games, Mike Caldwell went 137-130 with a 3.81 ERA, 939 strikeouts, 2,408.2 innings pitched, and 18 saves. At the plate he had 34 hits and 0 home runs.

What position did Mike Caldwell play?

Mike Caldwell played primarily as a pitcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.

How tall was Mike Caldwell and how much did he weigh?

Mike Caldwell was listed at 6 feet and 185 pounds.

What was Mike Caldwell's career ERA?

Mike Caldwell finished with a 3.81 career ERA, going 137-130 with 939 strikeouts.

How many strikeouts did Mike Caldwell have?

Mike Caldwell recorded 939 career strikeouts.

Is Mike Caldwell in the Hall of Fame?

No. Mike Caldwell has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

Mike Caldwell

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1971-1984)

Mike Caldwell was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1971 to 1984 for 4 teams, including the San Diego Padres, a span of 14 seasons. Across 475 career appearances, he went 137-130 with a 3.81 ERA and 939 strikeouts. He also batted .157 with 0 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 October 15, 2026

W–L 137–130

ERA 3.81

WHIP 1.32

SO 939

Pitcher PIV -4813.4

Position: Pitcher
Bats / Throws: R / L
Height / Weight: 6'0" / 185 lb
Born: 1/22/1949 in Tarboro, NC, USA
MLB Debut: 1971-09-04
Last Game: 1984-09-25

Full name: Ralph Michael Caldwell

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Career Pitching Statistics

Mike Caldwell — Career Pitching Statistics
W	L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	SO	ERA	Pitcher PIV
137	130	475	307	98	23	18	2408.2	2,581	1,020	218	597	939	3.81	-4813.4

Career ERA 3.81 vs. league average 3.72 across their career seasons — near league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Mike Caldwell Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year	Team	Lg	W	L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA	Lg ERA	Pitcher PIV
1971	SDN	NL	1	0	6	0	0	0	0	6.2	4	0	3	5	0.00	—	0.0
1972	SDN	NL	7	11	42	20	4	2	2	163.2	183	73	49	102	4.01	3.26 (-23%)	1461.8
1973	SDN	NL	5	14	55	13	3	1	10	149.0	146	62	53	86	3.74	3.75 (avg)	2032.2
1974	SFN	NL	14	5	31	27	6	2	0	189.1	176	62	63	83	2.95	3.63 (+19%)	-1434.3
1975	SFN	NL	7	13	38	21	4	0	1	163.1	194	87	48	57	4.79	3.71 (-29%)	-1737.0
1976	SFN	NL	1	7	50	9	0	0	2	107.1	145	58	20	55	4.86	3.51 (-38%)	1881.2
1977	CIN	NL	0	0	14	0	0	0	1	24.2	25	11	8	11	4.01	4.00 (avg)	404.3
1977	ML4	AL	5	8	21	12	2	0	0	94.1	101	48	36	38	4.58	4.00 (-15%)	74.0
1978	ML4	AL	22	9	37	34	23	6	1	293.1	258	77	54	131	2.36	3.69 (+36%)	5839.6
1979	ML4	AL	16	6	30	30	16	4	0	235.0	252	86	39	89	3.29	4.00 (+18%)	2972.5
1980	ML4	AL	13	11	34	33	11	2	1	225.1	248	101	56	74	4.03	3.84 (-5%)	-3937.8
1981	ML4	AL	11	9	24	23	3	0	0	144.1	151	63	38	41	3.93	3.58 (-10%)	-3177.1
1982	ML4	AL	17	13	35	34	12	3	0	258.0	269	112	58	75	3.91	3.86 (-1%)	-2956.0
1983	ML4	AL	12	11	32	32	10	2	0	228.1	269	115	51	58	4.53	3.87 (-17%)	-5996.9
1984	ML4	AL	6	13	26	19	4	1	0	126.0	160	65	21	34	4.64	3.81 (-22%)	-240.2
Career · 15 seasons			137	130	475	307	98	23	18	2,408.2	2,581	1,020	597	939	3.81	—	-4,813

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

Mike Caldwell — Career Batting Statistics
G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	PIV
476	216	11	34	7	0	0	8	0	4	62	.157	.172	.190	.362	-972

Career AVG .157 vs. league average .258 across their career seasons — 39.0% below league average.

Career OBP .172 vs. league average .323 across their career seasons — 46.8% below league average.

Career SLG .190 vs. league average .379 across their career seasons — 49.9% below league average.

Career OPS .362 vs. league average .703 across their career seasons — 48.5% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Mike Caldwell Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year	Team	Lg	G	AB	R	H	2B	RBI	BB	SO	AVG	Lg AVG	Lg OBP	Lg SLG	Lg OPS	PIV
1971	SDN	NL	6	1	0	1	1	0	0	0	1.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1972	SDN	NL	42	50	1	7	0	3	0	20	.140	.243 (-43%)	.310 (-56%)	.353 (-60%)	.664 (-58%)	-441.9
1973	SDN	NL	56	35	2	5	0	0	1	12	.143	—	—	—	—	0.0
1974	SFN	NL	31	63	4	9	0	2	2	15	.143	.256 (-44%)	.324 (-48%)	.369 (-61%)	.693 (-55%)	-529.8
1975	SFN	NL	38	44	2	7	3	3	0	11	.159	—	—	—	—	0.0
1976	SFN	NL	50	19	1	3	1	0	0	4	.158	—	—	—	—	0.0
1977	CIN	NL	14	4	1	2	2	0	1	0	.500	—	—	—	—	0.0
1977	ML4	AL	21	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1978	ML4	AL	37	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1979	ML4	AL	30	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1980	ML4	AL	34	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1981	ML4	AL	24	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1982	ML4	AL	35	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1983	ML4	AL	32	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1984	ML4	AL	26	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
Career · 15 seasons			476	216	11	34	7	8	4	62	.157	—	—	—	—	-972

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

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

Playoff Batting by Year

Mike Caldwell — Playoff Batting by Year
Year	Round	Team	G	AVG
1982	ALCS	ML4	1	.000
1982	WS	ML4	3	.000
1981	AEDIV	ML4	2	.000

Playoff Career Pitching

Mike Caldwell — Playoff Career Pitching
W	L	G	GS	SV	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
2	2	6	4	0	29.0	35	13	4	12	4.03

Playoff Pitching by Year

Mike Caldwell — Playoff Pitching by Year
Year	Round	Team	W	L	G	GS	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
1982	ALCS	ML4	0	1	1	1	3.0	7	5	1	2	15.00
1982	WS	ML4	2	0	3	2	17.2	19	4	3	6	2.04
1981	AEDIV	ML4	0	1	2	1	8.1	9	4	0	4	4.32

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (952 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Mike Caldwell — Batting — Home / Away
Split	G	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	AVG
Home	241	101	7	21	0	4	.208
Away	236	115	4	13	0	4	.113

Pitching — Home / Away

Mike Caldwell — Pitching — Home / Away
Split	G	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
Home	241	1277.1	1329	497	312	508	3.50
Away	234	1131.1	1252	523	285	431	4.16

Last 10 Games — Pitching

Mike Caldwell — Last 10 Games — Pitching
Date	Tm	Opp	Dec	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR
1984-09-25	MIL	DET	—	3.1	4	2	1	1	3	0
1984-09-18	MIL	DET	—	1.1	1	1	1	0	1	1
1984-09-07	MIL	BAL	—	2.0	3	0	0	0	0	0
1984-09-01	MIL	TEX	L	4.1	7	6	6	0	2	1
1984-08-27	MIL	CLE	L	6.0	7	5	5	1	0	3
1984-08-22	MIL	MIN	L	9.0	8	5	5	1	2	1
1984-08-15	MIL	MIN	W	6.0	8	3	3	2	1	0
1984-08-10	MIL	CHW	W	8.0	6	2	2	1	2	1
1984-08-05	MIL	CHW	L	1.0	7	5	5	1	0	0
1984-07-30	MIL	NYY	L	5.2	8	4	3	2	1	0

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Mike Caldwell — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
P	475	308	116	499	15	39

Season-by-Season Fielding

Mike Caldwell — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year	Team	Pos	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
1971	SDN	P	6	0	1	2	0	0
1972	SDN	P	42	20	9	47	2	3
1973	SDN	P	55	13	12	29	2	1
1974	SFN	P	31	27	11	48	0	7
1975	SFN	P	38	21	10	33	1	2
1976	SFN	P	50	9	8	22	1	2
1977	CIN	P	14	0	0	4	0	0
1977	ML4	P	21	12	7	27	0	3
1978	ML4	P	37	34	14	50	0	2
1979	ML4	P	30	31	7	64	2	3
1980	ML4	P	34	33	8	37	1	5
1981	ML4	P	24	23	5	26	0	0
1982	ML4	P	35	34	13	48	1	5
1983	ML4	P	32	32	4	38	2	4
1984	ML4	P	26	19	7	24	3	2

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Mike Caldwell Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position	Games
Pitcher	476

Awards & Honors

Mike Caldwell — Awards & Honors
Year	Award	Notes
1984	Player of the Week	Week of 1984-04-13
1978	Player of the Week	Week of 1978-08-18
1978	Player of the Week	Week of 1978-09-22
1978	TSN Comeback Player of the Year

College History

Mike Caldwell — College History
School Name	City	State	Years Attended
North Carolina State University	Raleigh	NC	1968, 1969, 1970, 1971

Award Voting History

Mike Caldwell — Award Voting History
Year	Award	League	Finish	Points Won	Points Max	Votes First
1978	Cy Young Award	AL	2nd	76.0	140	0
1978	Most Valuable Player	AL	12th	41.0	392	0

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Mike Caldwell (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

Mike Caldwell: the record in brief

The profile opens with Mike Caldwell's first major league game on September 4, 1971; the last one listed came on September 25, 1984. The team column moves through the San Diego Padres (1971 through 1973), the San Francisco Giants (1974 to 1976), the Cincinnati Reds (1977), and the Milwaukee Brewers (1977 through 1984). Caldwell played primarily as a pitcher and hit right-handed while throwing left-handed. Born on January 22, 1949, in Tarboro, NC, USA, Caldwell was listed at 6-foot-0 and 185 pounds. The bio lists the given name Ralph Michael.

Caldwell went 137-130 with a 3.81 ERA in 475 games, 307 of them starts. Also on Caldwell's record: 939 strikeouts, 98 complete games, 23 shutouts, and 18 saves. Caldwell's 3.81 ERA was close to the 3.72 league figure for those seasons. No season topped the 22 wins of 1978. The most saves in one season was 10, in 1973. 1978 was Caldwell's sharpest full season, a 2.36 ERA against the league's 3.69.

Frequently Asked Questions about Mike Caldwell

What years did Mike Caldwell play?: Mike Caldwell played in Major League Baseball from 1971 to 1984.
Was Mike Caldwell a pitcher?: Yes. Mike Caldwell pitched in the major leagues, recording 137 wins and 939 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Mike Caldwell hit?: Mike Caldwell hit 0 career home runs with 34 hits.
What teams did Mike Caldwell play for?: Mike Caldwell played for 4 teams: the San Diego Padres (1971–1973), the San Francisco Giants (1974–1976), the Cincinnati Reds (1977), and the Milwaukee Brewers (1977–1984).
What were Mike Caldwell's career stats?: In 475 games, Mike Caldwell went 137-130 with a 3.81 ERA, 939 strikeouts, 2,408.2 innings pitched, and 18 saves. At the plate he had 34 hits and 0 home runs.
What position did Mike Caldwell play?: Mike Caldwell played primarily as a pitcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.
How tall was Mike Caldwell and how much did he weigh?: Mike Caldwell was listed at 6 feet and 185 pounds.
What was Mike Caldwell's career ERA?: Mike Caldwell finished with a 3.81 career ERA, going 137-130 with 939 strikeouts.
How many strikeouts did Mike Caldwell have?: Mike Caldwell recorded 939 career strikeouts.
Is Mike Caldwell in the Hall of Fame?: No. Mike Caldwell has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.