Bill Campbell

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

Bill Campbell was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1973 to 1987 for 7 teams, including the Minnesota Twins, a span of 15 seasons. Across 700 career appearances, he went 83-68 with a 3.54 ERA, 864 strikeouts, and 126 saves. Bill Campbell was an All-Star and a 2-time Reliever of the Year. His career Pitcher PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of pitching impact — is 12230.5.

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 83–68
ERA 3.54
WHIP 1.33
SO 864
Pitcher PIV 12230.5
Position
Pitcher
Bats / Throws
R / R
Height / Weight
6'3" / 185 lb
Born
8/9/1948 in Highland Park, MI, USA
Died
1/6/2023 in Palatine, IL, USA
MLB Debut
1973-07-14
Last Game
1987-04-30
Awards
All-Star · 2× Reliever of the Year

Full name: William Richard Campbell

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Career Pitching Statistics

Bill Campbell — Career Pitching Statistics
W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
83 68 700 9 2 1 126 1229.1 1,139 484 82 495 864 3.54 12230.5

Career ERA 3.54 vs. league average 3.84 across their career seasons — 7.7% better than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Bill Campbell 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 MIN AL 3 3 28 2 0 0 7 51.2 44 18 20 42 3.14 3.75 (+16%) 429.1
1974 MIN AL 8 7 63 0 0 0 19 120.1 109 35 55 89 2.62 3.63 (+28%) 2081.3
1975 MIN AL 4 6 47 7 2 1 5 121.0 119 51 46 76 3.79 3.71 (-2%) -626.1
1976 MIN AL 17 5 78 0 0 0 20 167.2 145 56 62 115 3.01 3.51 (+14%) 1546.9
1977 BOS AL 13 9 69 0 0 0 31 140.0 112 46 60 114 2.96 4.00 (+26%) 1040.8
1978 BOS AL 7 5 29 0 0 0 4 50.2 62 22 17 47 3.91 3.69 (-6%) 1511.6
1979 BOS AL 3 4 41 0 0 0 9 54.2 55 26 23 25 4.28 4.00 (-7%) -439.5
1980 BOS AL 4 0 23 0 0 0 0 41.1 44 22 22 17 4.79 3.84 (-25%) 0.8
1981 BOS AL 1 1 30 0 0 0 7 48.1 45 17 20 37 3.17 3.58 (+12%) -86.9
1982 CHN NL 3 6 62 0 0 0 8 100.0 89 41 40 71 3.69 3.86 (+4%) 1496.0
1983 CHN NL 6 8 82 0 0 0 8 122.1 128 61 49 97 4.49 3.87 (-16%) 3298.1
1984 PHI NL 6 5 57 0 0 0 1 81.1 68 31 35 52 3.43 3.81 (+10%) 1469.5
1985 SLN NL 5 3 50 0 0 0 4 64.1 55 25 21 41 3.50 3.89 (+10%) 653.2
1986 DET AL 3 6 34 0 0 0 3 55.2 46 24 21 37 3.88 3.97 (+2%) 249.9
1987 MON NL 0 0 7 0 0 0 0 10.0 18 9 4 4 8.10 4.29 (-89%) -394.4
Career · 15 seasons 83 68 700 9 2 1 126 1,229.1 1,139 484 495 864 3.54 — 12,231

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

Bill Campbell — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
700 26 2 4 0 0 0 2 0 4 10 .154 .267 .154 .421 0

Career AVG .154 vs. league average .260 across their career seasons — 40.8% below league average.

Career OBP .267 vs. league average .325 across their career seasons — 18.0% below league average.

Career SLG .154 vs. league average .386 across their career seasons — 60.2% below league average.

Career OPS .421 vs. league average .711 across their career seasons — 40.9% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Bill Campbell 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 MIN AL 28 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1974 MIN AL 63 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1975 MIN AL 47 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000 — — — — 0.0
1976 MIN AL 78 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1977 BOS AL 69 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1978 BOS AL 29 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1979 BOS AL 41 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1980 BOS AL 23 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1981 BOS AL 30 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1982 CHN NL 62 7 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 .143 — — — — 0.0
1983 CHN NL 82 10 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 3 .100 — — — — 0.0
1984 PHI NL 57 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1985 SLN NL 50 6 2 2 0 0 0 1 0 3 2 .333 — — — — 0.0
1986 DET AL 34 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1987 MON NL 7 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 .000 — — — — 0.0
Career · 15 seasons 700 26 2 4 0 0 0 2 0 4 10 .154 — — — — 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.

Postseason Statistics

Playoff Career Batting

Bill Campbell — 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

Bill Campbell — Playoff Batting by Year
Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1985 NLCS SLN 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1985 WS SLN 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000

Playoff Career Pitching

Bill Campbell — Playoff Career Pitching
W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
0 0 6 0 0 6.1 7 1 2 7 1.42

Playoff Pitching by Year

Bill Campbell — Playoff Pitching by Year
Year Round Team W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
1985 NLCS SLN 0 0 3 0 0 2.1 3 0 0 2 0.00
1985 WS SLN 0 0 3 0 0 4.0 4 1 2 5 2.25

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (1400 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Bill Campbell — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home344130101.077
Away356132301.231

Pitching — Home / Away

Bill Campbell — Pitching — Home / Away
SplitGIPHERBBSOERA
Home344623.05592372224463.42
Away356606.15802472734183.67

Last 10 Games — Batting

Bill Campbell — Last 10 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1987-04-30 WSNNYNL 000000000
1987-04-29 WSNPHIL 000000000
1987-04-26 WSNCHCL 100000001
1987-04-24 WSNCHCL 000000000
1987-04-23 WSNPHIW 000000010
1987-04-17 WSNCHCL 000000000
1987-04-06 WSNCINL 000000000
1986-09-28 DETNYYL 000000000
1986-09-23 DETTORL 000000000
1986-09-20 DETNYYL 000000000

Last 10 Games — Pitching

Bill Campbell — Last 10 Games — Pitching
DateTmOppDecIPHRERBBSOHR
1987-04-30 WSNNYN — 1.0211110
1987-04-29 WSNPHI — 1.0110200
1987-04-26 WSNCHC — 2.2322101
1987-04-24 WSNCHC — 2.0311010
1987-04-23 WSNPHI — 1.1100010
1987-04-17 WSNCHC — 2.0542010
1987-04-06 WSNCIN — 0.0333001
1986-09-28 DETNYY — 2.0000110
1986-09-23 DETTOR — 0.1000100
1986-09-20 DETNYY — 2.0300100

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Bill Campbell — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
P 700 9 119 172 13 11

Season-by-Season Fielding

Bill Campbell — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1973 MIN P 28 2 2 8 1 0
1974 MIN P 63 0 10 16 2 3
1975 MIN P 47 7 12 18 1 2
1976 MIN P 78 0 12 20 1 1
1977 BOS P 69 0 19 20 1 2
1978 BOS P 29 0 10 6 1 0
1979 BOS P 41 0 10 11 0 1
1980 BOS P 23 0 3 2 0 0
1981 BOS P 30 0 4 7 1 0
1982 CHN P 62 0 10 23 0 1
1983 CHN P 82 0 15 24 2 0
1984 PHI P 57 0 6 5 0 0
1985 SLN P 50 0 0 6 1 0
1986 DET P 34 0 6 4 2 1
1987 MON P 7 0 0 2 0 0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Bill Campbell Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position Games
Pitcher 700

Awards & Honors

Bill Campbell — Awards & Honors
Year Award Notes
1977 Reliever of the Year Award
1977 TSN Fireman of the Year
1976 Reliever of the Year Award
1976 TSN Fireman of the Year
1974 Player of the Week Week of 1974-04-26

Salary History

Bill Campbell — Salary History
Year Team League Salary
1986 DET AL $200,000
1985 SLN NL $457,500
Total Career Earnings $657,500

Award Voting History

Bill Campbell — Award Voting History
Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
1977 Cy Young Award AL 5th 25.0 140 1
1977 Most Valuable Player AL 10th 65.0 392 0
1976 Cy Young Award AL 7th 7.0 120 0
1976 Most Valuable Player AL 8th 56.0 336 0

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Bill Campbell (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Dave LaRoche
    65-58, 3.53 ERA
  2. 91
    Al Worthington
    75-82, 3.39 ERA
  3. 85
    Grant Jackson
    86-75, 3.46 ERA
  4. 84
    Steve Bedrosian
    76-79, 3.38 ERA
  5. 83
    Terry Forster
    54-65, 3.23 ERA
  6. 75
    Darold Knowles
    66-74, 3.12 ERA

Bill Campbell: the record in brief

Bill Campbell's major league career runs from a debut on July 14, 1973 to a final game on April 30, 1987. Club by club, the record runs the Minnesota Twins (1973 through 1976), the Boston Red Sox (1977 to 1981), the Chicago Cubs (1982 through 1983), the Philadelphia Phillies (1984), the St. Louis Cardinals (1985), the Detroit Tigers (1986), and the Montreal Expos (1987). Campbell, born on August 9, 1948, in Highland Park, MI, USA, is listed as a pitcher and both batted and threw right-handed. Size on record: 6 feet, 3 inches and 185 pounds. Campbell died on January 6, 2023, in Palatine, IL, USA. The given name on file is William Richard Campbell.

Campbell pitched in 700 games, starting 9, and finished with a 83-68 record and 3.54 ERA. Also on Campbell's record: 864 strikeouts and 126 saves. Against a 3.84 league ERA for the same years, Campbell was 7.7% better. The best win total was 17, in 1976. Campbell saved 31 games in 1977, the season high.

Frequently Asked Questions about Bill Campbell

What years did Bill Campbell play?
Bill Campbell played in Major League Baseball from 1973 to 1987.
Was Bill Campbell a pitcher?
Yes. Bill Campbell pitched in the major leagues, recording 83 wins and 864 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Bill Campbell hit?
Bill Campbell hit 0 career home runs with 4 hits.
What was Bill Campbell's career batting average?
Bill Campbell batted .154 over his career, with 4 hits in 26 at bats.
How many RBI did Bill Campbell have?
Bill Campbell drove in 2 runs in his career.
What was Bill Campbell's career ERA?
Bill Campbell finished with a 3.54 career ERA, going 83-68 with 864 strikeouts.