Larry Christenson
Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1973-1983)
Larry Christenson was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1973 to 1983 for the Philadelphia Phillies, a span of 11 seasons. Across 243 career appearances, he went 83-71 with a 3.79 ERA and 781 strikeouts. He also batted .150 with 11 home runs. His career Pitcher PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of pitching impact — is 15002.9.
- 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
- Position
- Pitcher
- Bats / Throws
- R / R
- Height / Weight
- 6'4" / 215 lb
- MLB Debut
- 1973-04-13
- Last Game
- 1983-06-03
Full name: Larry Richard Christenson
Season-by-Season Pitching
Click a stat to plot it across every season.
| Year | Team | Lg | W | L | G | GS | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA | Lg ERA | Pitcher PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1973 | PHI | NL | 1 | 4 | 10 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 34.1 | 53 | 25 | 20 | 11 | 6.55 | 3.75 (-75%) | -986.9 |
| 1974 | PHI | NL | 1 | 1 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 23.0 | 20 | 11 | 15 | 18 | 4.30 | 3.63 (-19%) | -271.8 |
| 1975 | PHI | NL | 11 | 6 | 29 | 26 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 171.2 | 149 | 70 | 45 | 88 | 3.67 | 3.71 (+1%) | 1938.3 |
| 1976 | PHI | NL | 13 | 8 | 32 | 29 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 168.2 | 199 | 69 | 42 | 54 | 3.68 | 3.51 (-5%) | 612.9 |
| 1977 | PHI | NL | 19 | 6 | 34 | 34 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 219.1 | 229 | 99 | 69 | 118 | 4.06 | 4.00 (-2%) | 299.5 |
| 1978 | PHI | NL | 13 | 14 | 33 | 33 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 228.0 | 209 | 82 | 47 | 131 | 3.24 | 3.69 (+12%) | 4221.3 |
| 1979 | PHI | NL | 5 | 10 | 19 | 17 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 106.0 | 118 | 53 | 30 | 53 | 4.50 | 4.00 (-12%) | 705.2 |
| 1980 | PHI | NL | 5 | 1 | 14 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 73.2 | 62 | 33 | 27 | 49 | 4.03 | 3.84 (-5%) | 920.1 |
| 1981 | PHI | NL | 4 | 7 | 20 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 106.2 | 108 | 42 | 30 | 70 | 3.54 | 3.58 (+1%) | 1223.3 |
| 1982 | PHI | NL | 9 | 10 | 33 | 33 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 223.0 | 212 | 86 | 53 | 145 | 3.47 | 3.86 (+10%) | 4775.4 |
| 1983 | PHI | NL | 2 | 4 | 9 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 48.1 | 42 | 21 | 17 | 44 | 3.91 | 3.87 (-1%) | 1565.5 |
| Career · 11 seasons | 83 | 71 | 243 | 220 | 27 | 6 | 4 | 1,402.2 | 1,401 | 591 | 395 | 781 | 3.79 | — | 15,003 | ||
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
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 243 | 427 | 31 | 64 | 13 | 2 | 11 | 46 | 2 | 24 | 223 | .150 | .195 | .267 | .462 | -1,935 |
Career AVG .150 vs. league average .260 across their career seasons — 42.3% below league average.
Career OBP .195 vs. league average .325 across their career seasons — 40.1% below league average.
Career SLG .267 vs. league average .382 across their career seasons — 30.1% below league average.
Career OPS .462 vs. league average .707 across their career seasons — 34.7% below league average.
Season-by-Season Batting
Click a stat to plot it across every season.
| 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 | PHI | NL | 10 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 9 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1974 | PHI | NL | 10 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1975 | PHI | NL | 29 | 57 | 3 | 14 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 27 | .246 | .257 (-5%) | .327 (-13%) | .374 (+13%) | .701 (avg) | -18.7 |
| 1976 | PHI | NL | 32 | 51 | 5 | 10 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 0 | 3 | 28 | .196 | .255 (-23%) | .320 (-25%) | .360 (+9%) | .681 (-7%) | -76.3 |
| 1977 | PHI | NL | 34 | 74 | 4 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 13 | 0 | 4 | 38 | .135 | .264 (-49%) | .329 (-45%) | .401 (-36%) | .730 (-40%) | -487.6 |
| 1978 | PHI | NL | 33 | 67 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 35 | .075 | .257 (-71%) | .323 (-61%) | .378 (-65%) | .702 (-63%) | -659.7 |
| 1979 | PHI | NL | 19 | 31 | 4 | 9 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 13 | .290 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1980 | PHI | NL | 14 | 19 | 6 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 9 | .368 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1981 | PHI | NL | 20 | 30 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 16 | .100 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1982 | PHI | NL | 33 | 67 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 36 | .075 | .261 (-71%) | .324 (-69%) | .388 (-62%) | .712 (-65%) | -692.8 |
| 1983 | PHI | NL | 9 | 17 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 8 | .059 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| Career · 11 seasons | 243 | 427 | 31 | 64 | 13 | 2 | 11 | 46 | 2 | 24 | 223 | .150 | — | — | — | — | -1,935 | ||
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
Playoff Batting by Year
| Year | Round | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | NEDIV | PHI | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .000 |
| 1980 | NLCS | PHI | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .000 |
| 1980 | WS | PHI | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| 1978 | NLCS | PHI | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .000 |
| 1977 | NLCS | PHI | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | .000 |
Playoff Career Pitching
| W | L | G | GS | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 20.2 | 28 | 17 | 7 | 15 | 7.40 |
Playoff Pitching by Year
Game Log & Splits
View full game log (486 games) →Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).
Batting — Home / Away
| Split | G | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 114 | 196 | 14 | 25 | 3 | 20 | .128 |
| Away | 129 | 231 | 17 | 39 | 8 | 26 | .169 |
Pitching — Home / Away
| Split | G | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 114 | 670.0 | 662 | 275 | 196 | 396 | 3.69 |
| Away | 129 | 732.2 | 739 | 316 | 199 | 385 | 3.88 |
Last 10 Games — Batting
| Date | Tm | Opp | Res | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1983-06-03 | PHI | SDP | L | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1983-05-29 | PHI | WSN | W | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 1983-05-24 | PHI | LAD | L | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1983-05-13 | PHI | CHC | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1983-05-07 | PHI | WSN | L | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 1983-05-01 | PHI | HOU | W | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1983-04-26 | PHI | ATL | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1983-04-17 | PHI | ATL | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1983-04-08 | PHI | SFG | L | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1982-09-28 | PHI | CHC | W | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Last 10 Games — Pitching
| Date | Tm | Opp | Dec | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1983-06-03 | PHI | SDP | — | 5.1 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 1983-05-29 | PHI | WSN | W | 6.2 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 0 |
| 1983-05-24 | PHI | LAD | L | 7.0 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 0 |
| 1983-05-13 | PHI | CHC | L | 3.2 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 0 |
| 1983-05-07 | PHI | WSN | — | 7.1 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 1 |
| 1983-05-01 | PHI | HOU | W | 7.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 7 | 0 |
| 1983-04-26 | PHI | ATL | L | 1.0 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 1983-04-17 | PHI | ATL | — | 3.1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 0 |
| 1983-04-08 | PHI | SFG | L | 7.0 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 0 |
| 1982-09-28 | PHI | CHC | W | 8.0 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 10 | 1 |
Fielding Statistics
Career Fielding Totals by Position
| Position | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | 243 | 220 | 85 | 177 | 24 | 6 |
Season-by-Season Fielding
| Year | Team | Pos | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1973 | PHI | P | 10 | 9 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| 1974 | PHI | P | 10 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 1975 | PHI | P | 29 | 26 | 14 | 12 | 2 | 1 |
| 1976 | PHI | P | 32 | 29 | 9 | 14 | 3 | 1 |
| 1977 | PHI | P | 34 | 34 | 14 | 28 | 8 | 1 |
| 1978 | PHI | P | 33 | 33 | 8 | 37 | 3 | 1 |
| 1979 | PHI | P | 19 | 17 | 4 | 15 | 0 | 0 |
| 1980 | PHI | P | 14 | 14 | 5 | 16 | 3 | 0 |
| 1981 | PHI | P | 20 | 15 | 8 | 13 | 2 | 0 |
| 1982 | PHI | P | 33 | 33 | 16 | 26 | 2 | 2 |
| 1983 | PHI | P | 9 | 9 | 4 | 9 | 1 | 0 |
Career Games by Position
Circle size = games played at each position.
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| Pitcher | 243 |
Awards & Honors
| Year | Award | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1978 | Player of the Week | Week of 1978-04-07 |
| 1977 | Pitcher of the Month | September |
Most Similar Players
Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.
Larry Christenson (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.
Larry Christenson: the record in brief
Larry Christenson's major league career runs from a debut on April 13, 1973 to a final game on June 3, 1983. Christenson spent the whole of the career shown here with one club, the Philadelphia Phillies. Christenson, born on November 10, 1953, in Everett, WA, USA, is listed as a pitcher and threw and hit right-handed. Christenson's listed size is 6-foot-4 and 215 pounds. The bio lists the given name Larry Richard.
Christenson pitched in 243 games, starting 220, and finished with a 83-71 record and 3.79 ERA. Christenson had 781 strikeouts, 27 complete games, and 6 shutouts. Christenson's 3.79 ERA was close to the 3.78 league figure for those seasons. The best win total was 19, in 1977. Christenson struck out 145 batters in 1982, a career high. In 1978, one of the busiest seasons, Christenson posted a 3.24 ERA; the league figure that year was 3.69. By Pitcher PIV, Baseball Data Hub's measure of run prevention relative to each season's league, Christenson's career adds up to 15,002.9.
Frequently Asked Questions about Larry Christenson
- What years did Larry Christenson play?
- Larry Christenson played in Major League Baseball from 1973 to 1983.
- Was Larry Christenson a pitcher?
- Yes. Larry Christenson pitched in the major leagues, recording 83 wins and 781 strikeouts.
- How many home runs did Larry Christenson hit?
- Larry Christenson hit 11 career home runs with 64 hits.
- What teams did Larry Christenson play for?
- Larry Christenson played for one team, the Philadelphia Phillies (1973–1983).
- What were Larry Christenson's career stats?
- In 243 games, Larry Christenson went 83-71 with a 3.79 ERA, 781 strikeouts, 1,402.2 innings pitched, and 4 saves. At the plate he had 64 hits and 11 home runs.
- What position did Larry Christenson play?
- Larry Christenson played primarily as a pitcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.
- How tall was Larry Christenson and how much did he weigh?
- Larry Christenson was listed at 6 feet 4 inches and 215 pounds.
- What was Larry Christenson's career ERA?
- Larry Christenson finished with a 3.79 career ERA, going 83-71 with 781 strikeouts.
- How many strikeouts did Larry Christenson have?
- Larry Christenson recorded 781 career strikeouts.
- Is Larry Christenson in the Hall of Fame?
- No. Larry Christenson has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.