Bill Dawley

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1983-1989)

Bill Dawley was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1983 to 1989 for 5 teams, including the Houston Astros, a span of 7 seasons. Across 275 career appearances, he went 27-30 with a 3.42 ERA, 292 strikeouts, and 25 saves. Bill Dawley was an All-Star. His career Pitcher PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of pitching impact — is 763.9.

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

W–L 27–30
ERA 3.42
WHIP 1.25
SO 292
Pitcher PIV 763.9
Position
Pitcher
Bats / Throws
R / R
Height / Weight
6'5" / 235 lb
Born
2/6/1958 in Norwich, CT, USA
MLB Debut
1983-04-15
Last Game
1989-07-04
Awards
All-Star

Full name: William Chester Dawley

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Career Pitching Statistics

Bill Dawley — Career Pitching Statistics
W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
27 30 275 0 0 0 25 470.2 420 179 49 166 292 3.42 763.9

Career ERA 3.42 vs. league average 3.90 across their career seasons — 12.2% better than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Bill Dawley — Season-by-Season Pitching
Year Team Lg W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER BB SO ERA Lg ERA Pitcher PIV
1983 HOU NL 6 6 48 0 0 0 14 79.2 51 25 22 60 2.82 3.87 (+27%) 584.8
1984 HOU NL 11 4 60 0 0 0 5 98.0 82 21 35 47 1.93 3.81 (+49%) 668.0
1985 HOU NL 5 3 49 0 0 0 2 81.0 76 32 37 48 3.56 3.89 (+9%) -201.5
1986 CHA AL 0 7 46 0 0 0 2 97.2 91 36 28 66 3.32 3.97 (+16%) 824.9
1987 SLN NL 5 8 60 0 0 0 2 96.2 93 48 38 65 4.47 4.29 (-4%) -1112.3
1988 PHI NL 0 2 8 0 0 0 0 8.2 16 13 4 3 13.50 — 0.0
1989 OAK AL 0 0 4 0 0 0 0 9.0 11 4 2 3 4.00 3.71 (-8%) 0.0
Career · 7 seasons 27 30 275 0 0 0 25 470.2 420 179 166 292 3.42 — 764

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 Dawley — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
275 42 4 9 0 1 0 5 0 3 11 .214 .267 .262 .529 0

Career AVG .214 vs. league average .258 across their career seasons — 17.0% below league average.

Career OBP .267 vs. league average .324 across their career seasons — 17.6% below league average.

Career SLG .262 vs. league average .390 across their career seasons — 32.8% below league average.

Career OPS .529 vs. league average .713 across their career seasons — 25.9% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Bill Dawley — 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
1983 HOU NL 48 9 0 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 3 .222 — — — — 0.0
1984 HOU NL 60 9 2 3 0 1 0 3 0 0 3 .333 — — — — 0.0
1985 HOU NL 49 10 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 3 .200 — — — — 0.0
1986 CHA AL 46 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1987 SLN NL 60 12 1 2 0 0 0 1 0 2 2 .167 — — — — 0.0
1988 PHI NL 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1989 OAK AL 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
Career · 7 seasons 275 42 4 9 0 1 0 5 0 3 11 .214 — — — — 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 (550 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Bill Dawley — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home140213302.143
Away135211603.286

Pitching — Home / Away

Bill Dawley — Pitching — Home / Away
SplitGIPHERBBSOERA
Home140246.221294811563.43
Away135224.020884851363.38

Last 10 Games — Pitching

Bill Dawley — Last 10 Games — Pitching
DateTmOppDecIPHRERBBSOHR
1989-07-04 OAKKCR — 0.2344010
1989-07-02 OAKCLE — 2.0110100
1989-06-27 OAKMIN — 2.0200010
1989-06-23 OAKTOR — 4.1500110
1988-09-13 PHICHC — 1.1111001
1988-09-05 PHICHC — 0.2100100
1988-09-02 PHISDP — 0.1000000
1988-05-10 PHICIN — 2.1655100
1988-05-05 PHICIN L 1.0111100
1988-05-04 PHICIN — 1.0100010

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Bill Dawley — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
P 275 0 32 56 3 5

Season-by-Season Fielding

Bill Dawley — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1983 HOU P 48 0 2 5 0 1
1984 HOU P 60 0 6 11 1 0
1985 HOU P 49 0 6 13 1 2
1986 CHA P 46 0 8 8 1 0
1987 SLN P 60 0 10 17 0 2
1988 PHI P 8 0 0 1 0 0
1989 OAK P 4 0 0 1 0 0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Bill Dawley — Career Games by Position
Position Games
Pitcher 275

Salary History

Bill Dawley's recorded salaries total $895,000 over 3 seasons, 1985 to 1987. This total is partial: the salary data covers 1985 to 2016, and Dawley's career ran from 1983 to 1989. His seasons before 1985 are not included, and no salary is recorded for 1988 and 1989.

Bill Dawley — Salary History
Year Team League Salary
1987 SLN NL $275,000
1986 HOU NL $325,000
1985 HOU NL $295,000
Total recorded salary (partial) $895,000

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

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

  1. 98
    Manny Sarmiento
    26-22, 3.49 ERA
  2. 95
    Bob Humphreys
    27-21, 3.36 ERA
  3. 91
    Doug Corbett
    24-30, 3.32 ERA
  4. 88
    Todd Burns
    21-23, 3.47 ERA
  5. 77
    Mike Perez
    24-16, 3.56 ERA
  6. 75
    Steve Foucault
    35-36, 3.21 ERA

Bill Dawley: the record in brief

According to the bio, Bill Dawley debuted on April 15, 1983 and played a final game on July 4, 1989. Club by club, the record runs the Houston Astros (1983 through 1985), the Chicago White Sox (1986), the St. Louis Cardinals (1987), the Philadelphia Phillies (1988), and the Oakland Athletics (1989). Dawley is listed as a pitcher at 235 pounds on a 6-foot-5 frame. Dawley both batted and threw right-handed, per the bio block. Dawley was born on February 6, 1958, in Norwich, CT, USA. On the record, Bill Dawley was born William Chester Dawley.

Dawley pitched in 275 games, starting 0, and finished with a 27-30 record and 3.42 ERA. Also on Dawley's record: 292 strikeouts and 25 saves. That 3.42 ERA compares with a 3.90 league average across the same seasons, 12.2% better. The best win total was 11, in 1984. The strikeout high was 66 in 1986. The most saves in one season was 14, in 1983.

Frequently Asked Questions about Bill Dawley

What years did Bill Dawley play?
Bill Dawley played in Major League Baseball from 1983 to 1989.
Was Bill Dawley a pitcher?
Yes. Bill Dawley pitched in the major leagues, recording 27 wins and 292 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Bill Dawley hit?
Bill Dawley hit 0 career home runs with 9 hits.
What teams did Bill Dawley play for?
Bill Dawley played for 5 teams: the Houston Astros (1983–1985), the Chicago White Sox (1986), the St. Louis Cardinals (1987), the Philadelphia Phillies (1988), and the Oakland Athletics (1989).
Did Bill Dawley win a Cy Young Award?
No. Bill Dawley did not win the Cy Young Award.
What awards did Bill Dawley win?
Bill Dawley was selected to 1 All-Star Game.
What were Bill Dawley's career stats?
In 275 games, Bill Dawley went 27-30 with a 3.42 ERA, 292 strikeouts, 470.2 innings pitched, and 25 saves.
How much did Bill Dawley earn in his career?
Bill Dawley's recorded salaries total $895,000 over 3 seasons, 1985 to 1987. This total is partial: the salary data covers 1985 to 2016, and Dawley's career ran from 1983 to 1989. His seasons before 1985 are not included, and no salary is recorded for 1988 and 1989.
What was Bill Dawley's salary?
Bill Dawley's last recorded salary was $275,000, in 1987. His highest recorded salary was $325,000, in 1986, and his lowest was $275,000, in 1987. The Salary History table lists each season from 1985 to 1987.
What position did Bill Dawley play?
Bill Dawley played primarily as a pitcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.
How tall was Bill Dawley and how much did he weigh?
Bill Dawley was listed at 6 feet 5 inches and 235 pounds.
What was Bill Dawley's career ERA?
Bill Dawley finished with a 3.42 career ERA, going 27-30 with 292 strikeouts.
How many strikeouts did Bill Dawley have?
Bill Dawley recorded 292 career strikeouts.
Is Bill Dawley in the Hall of Fame?
No. Bill Dawley has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.