Ken Clay

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1977-1981)

Ken Clay was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1977 to 1981 for the New York Yankees, the Texas Rangers, and the Seattle Mariners, a span of 5 seasons. Across 111 career appearances, he went 10-24 with a 4.68 ERA and 129 strikeouts.

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 10–24
ERA 4.68
WHIP 1.50
SO 129
Pitcher PIV -6330.0
Position
Pitcher
Bats / Throws
R / R
Height / Weight
6'3" / 185 lb
Born
4/6/1954 in Lynchburg, VA, USA
MLB Debut
1977-06-07
Last Game
1981-10-02

Full name: Kenneth Earl Clay

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Career Pitching Statistics

Ken Clay — Career Pitching Statistics
W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
10 24 111 36 0 0 3 353.2 389 184 35 141 129 4.68 -6330.0

Career ERA 4.68 vs. league average 3.84 across their career seasons — 21.9% worse than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Ken Clay — Season-by-Season Pitching
Year Team Lg W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER BB SO ERA Lg ERA Pitcher PIV
1977 NYA AL 2 3 21 3 0 0 1 55.2 53 27 24 20 4.37 4.00 (-9%) -1070.8
1978 NYA AL 3 4 28 6 0 0 0 75.2 89 36 21 32 4.28 3.69 (-16%) 1000.2
1979 NYA AL 1 7 32 5 0 0 2 78.1 88 47 25 28 5.40 4.00 (-35%) -2038.2
1980 TEX AL 2 3 8 8 0 0 0 43.0 43 22 29 17 4.60 3.84 (-20%) -1678.8
1981 SEA AL 2 7 22 14 0 0 0 101.0 116 52 42 32 4.63 3.58 (-29%) -2542.3
Career · 5 seasons 10 24 111 36 0 0 3 353.2 389 184 141 129 4.68 — -6,330

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

Ken Clay — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
111 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 .000 0

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Ken Clay — Season-by-Season Batting
Year Team Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG Lg AVG Lg OBP Lg SLG Lg OPS PIV
1977 NYA AL 21 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1978 NYA AL 28 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1979 NYA AL 32 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1980 TEX AL 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1981 SEA AL 22 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
Career · 5 seasons 111 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 — — — — — 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

Ken Clay — Playoff Career Batting
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000

Playoff Batting by Year

Ken Clay — Playoff Batting by Year
Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1978 ALCS NYA 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1978 WS NYA 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1977 WS NYA 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000

Playoff Career Pitching

Ken Clay — Playoff Career Pitching
W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
0 0 4 0 1 9.2 6 4 6 4 3.72

Playoff Pitching by Year

Ken Clay — Playoff Pitching by Year
Year Round Team W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
1978 ALCS NYA 0 0 1 0 1 3.2 0 0 3 2 0.00
1978 WS NYA 0 0 1 0 0 2.1 4 3 2 2 11.57
1977 WS NYA 0 0 2 0 0 3.2 2 1 1 0 2.45

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (222 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Ken Clay — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home5400000—
Away5700000—

Pitching — Home / Away

Ken Clay — Pitching — Home / Away
SplitGIPHERBBSOERA
Home54166.21647162513.83
Away57187.022511379785.44

Last 10 Games — Pitching

Ken Clay — Last 10 Games — Pitching
DateTmOppDecIPHRERBBSOHR
1981-10-02 SEATOR W 7.0533341
1981-09-27 SEAKCR L 4.2844110
1981-09-22 SEATEX W 7.2622060
1981-09-16 SEACHW — 6.0211530
1981-09-10 SEATOR L 6.1922011
1981-09-05 SEABOS L 4.1785300
1981-08-31 SEABAL — 7.0633301
1981-08-23 SEABOS — 6.1841210
1981-08-18 SEACLE — 5.0522101
1981-08-12 SEALAA — 5.0311121

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Ken Clay — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
P 111 36 31 42 5 2

Season-by-Season Fielding

Ken Clay — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1977 NYA P 21 3 8 7 0 0
1978 NYA P 28 6 6 9 2 1
1979 NYA P 32 5 8 12 1 0
1980 TEX P 8 8 3 4 1 0
1981 SEA P 22 14 6 10 1 1

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Ken Clay — Career Games by Position
Position Games
Pitcher 111

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Ken Clay (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Bruce Cunningham
    13-24, 4.64 ERA
  2. 92
    Dick Conway
    15-24, 4.78 ERA
  3. 81
    Bob Kelly
    12-18, 4.50 ERA
  4. 78
    Ed Bagley
    16-27, 4.39 ERA
  5. 76
    Cy Moore
    16-26, 4.86 ERA
  6. 75
    Glenn Spencer
    23-31, 4.53 ERA

Ken Clay: the record in brief

Between the debut on June 7, 1977 and the final game on October 2, 1981, Ken Clay built the record summarized on this page. By club, Clay's seasons break down as the New York Yankees (1977 through 1979), the Texas Rangers (1980), and the Seattle Mariners (1981). Clay played primarily as a pitcher and batted and threw right-handed. Born on April 6, 1954, in Lynchburg, VA, USA, Clay was listed at 6-foot-3 and 185 pounds. The given name on file is Kenneth Earl Clay.

Clay went 10-24 with a 4.68 ERA in 111 games, 36 of them starts. Clay had 129 strikeouts. The league ERA over Clay's seasons was 3.84, so the 4.68 figure ran 21.9% worse than average. 1978 was Clay's sharpest full season, a 4.28 ERA against the league's 3.69.

The game-log section draws on 222 games of Retrosheet box scores for Clay.

Clay made 4 postseason pitching appearances, with a 0-0 record and 3.72 ERA. Those appearances came in 1977 and 1978.

Clay appears at one position only: pitcher, in 111 games. On the mound, Clay's fielding totals are 31 putouts, 42 assists and 5 errors.

The closest statistical comparisons on the page are Bruce Cunningham, Dick Conway, and Bob Kelly.

Frequently Asked Questions about Ken Clay

What years did Ken Clay play?
Ken Clay played in Major League Baseball from 1977 to 1981.
Was Ken Clay a pitcher?
Yes. Ken Clay pitched in the major leagues, recording 10 wins and 129 strikeouts.
What was Ken Clay's career ERA?
Ken Clay finished with a 4.68 career ERA, going 10-24 with 129 strikeouts.
How many strikeouts did Ken Clay have?
Ken Clay recorded 129 career strikeouts.
Is Ken Clay in the Hall of Fame?
No. Ken Clay has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
What teams did Ken Clay play for?
Ken Clay played for the New York Yankees, the Texas Rangers, and the Seattle Mariners.