What years did Joe Decker play?

Joe Decker played in Major League Baseball from 1969 to 1979.

Was Joe Decker a pitcher?

Yes. Joe Decker pitched in the major leagues, recording 36 wins and 458 strikeouts.

How many home runs did Joe Decker hit?

Joe Decker hit 1 career home runs with 8 hits.

What was Joe Decker's career batting average?

Joe Decker batted .174 over his career, with 8 hits in 46 at bats.

How many RBI did Joe Decker have?

Joe Decker drove in 3 runs in his career.

What was Joe Decker's career ERA?

Joe Decker finished with a 4.17 career ERA, going 36-44 with 458 strikeouts.

Joe Decker

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1969-1979)

Joe Decker was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1969 to 1979 for the Chicago Cubs, the Minnesota Twins, and the Seattle Mariners, a span of 11 seasons. Across 152 career appearances, he went 36-44 with a 4.17 ERA and 458 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 October 12, 2026

W–L 36–44

ERA 4.17

WHIP 1.52

SO 458

Pitcher PIV -5445.0

Position: Pitcher
Bats / Throws: R / R
Height / Weight: 6'0" / 180 lb
Born: 6/16/1947 in Storm Lake, IA, USA
Died: 3/2/2003 in Fraser, MI, USA
MLB Debut: 1969-09-18
Last Game: 1979-07-07

Full name: George Henry Decker

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Career Pitching Statistics

Joe Decker — Career Pitching Statistics
W	L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	SO	ERA	Pitcher PIV
36	44	152	105	19	4	0	710.0	702	329	58	377	458	4.17	-5445.0

Career ERA 4.17 vs. league average 3.65 across their career seasons — 14.2% worse than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Joe Decker Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year	Team	Lg	W	L	G	GS	CG	SHO	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA	Lg ERA	Pitcher PIV
1969	CHN	NL	1	0	4	1	0	0	12.1	10	4	6	13	2.92	3.61 (+19%)	541.9
1970	CHN	NL	2	7	24	17	1	0	108.2	108	56	56	79	4.64	3.89 (-19%)	-1061.0
1971	CHN	NL	3	2	21	4	0	0	45.2	62	24	25	37	4.73	3.47 (-36%)	491.3
1972	CHN	NL	1	0	5	1	0	0	12.2	9	3	4	7	2.13	3.26 (+35%)	-1.1
1973	MIN	AL	10	10	29	24	6	3	170.1	167	79	88	109	4.17	3.75 (-11%)	-323.7
1974	MIN	AL	16	14	37	37	11	1	248.2	234	91	97	158	3.29	3.63 (+9%)	-803.1
1975	MIN	AL	1	3	10	7	1	0	26.1	25	25	36	8	8.54	3.71 (-130%)	-2210.3
1976	MIN	AL	2	7	13	12	0	0	58.0	60	34	51	35	5.28	3.51 (-50%)	-1846.7
1979	SEA	AL	0	1	9	2	0	0	27.1	27	13	14	12	4.28	4.00 (-7%)	-232.3
Career · 9 seasons			36	44	152	105	19	4	710.0	702	329	377	458	4.17	—	-5,445

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

Joe Decker — Career Batting Statistics
G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	PIV
153	46	5	8	2	0	1	3	0	3	22	.174	.224	.283	.507	0

Career AVG .174 vs. league average .254 across their career seasons — 31.6% below league average.

Career OBP .224 vs. league average .322 across their career seasons — 30.4% below league average.

Career SLG .283 vs. league average .373 across their career seasons — 24.2% below league average.

Career OPS .507 vs. league average .695 across their career seasons — 27.1% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Joe Decker Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year	Team	Lg	G	AB	R	H	2B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	AVG	Lg AVG	Lg OBP	Lg SLG	Lg OPS	PIV
1969	CHN	NL	4	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1970	CHN	NL	24	34	3	6	1	1	3	2	16	.176	—	—	—	—	0.0
1971	CHN	NL	22	8	1	2	1	0	0	1	5	.250	—	—	—	—	0.0
1972	CHN	NL	5	2	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1973	MIN	AL	29	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1974	MIN	AL	37	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1975	MIN	AL	10	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1976	MIN	AL	13	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1979	SEA	AL	9	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
Career · 9 seasons			153	46	5	8	2	1	3	3	22	.174	—	—	—	—	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 (305 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Joe Decker — Batting — Home / Away
Split	G	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	AVG
Home	77	21	3	4	0	2	.190
Away	76	25	2	4	1	1	.160

Pitching — Home / Away

Joe Decker — Pitching — Home / Away
Split	G	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
Home	77	342.2	362	174	190	225	4.57
Away	75	367.2	340	155	187	233	3.79

Last 10 Games — Pitching

Joe Decker — Last 10 Games — Pitching
Date	Tm	Opp	Dec	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR
1979-07-07	SEA	BOS	—	1.2	1	0	0	2	1	0
1979-07-02	SEA	MIN	—	5.1	6	2	2	3	1	0
1979-06-30	SEA	MIL	—	2.0	2	1	1	2	1	0
1979-06-22	SEA	MIL	—	0.2	0	2	2	2	0	0
1979-06-21	SEA	CHW	L	1.0	3	5	4	1	0	1
1979-06-16	SEA	CLE	—	5.0	5	2	2	2	2	0
1979-06-11	SEA	TOR	—	7.0	5	0	0	0	4	0
1979-06-02	SEA	TOR	—	3.1	3	1	1	1	3	1
1979-05-15	SEA	KCR	—	1.1	2	1	1	1	0	0
1976-06-23	MIN	CHW	L	1.1	1	2	2	6	2	0

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Joe Decker — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
P	152	105	58	87	8	3

Season-by-Season Fielding

Joe Decker — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year	Team	Pos	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
1969	CHN	P	4	1	1	0	0	0
1970	CHN	P	24	17	4	14	3	0
1971	CHN	P	21	4	0	11	0	0
1972	CHN	P	5	1	1	0	0	0
1973	MIN	P	29	24	24	20	3	0
1974	MIN	P	37	37	19	20	1	2
1975	MIN	P	10	7	1	3	0	0
1976	MIN	P	13	12	4	13	0	0
1979	SEA	P	9	2	4	6	1	1

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Joe Decker Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position	Games
Pitcher	152

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Joe Decker (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

Joe Decker: the record in brief

Between the debut on September 18, 1969 and the final game on July 7, 1979, Joe Decker built the record summarized on this page. Club by club, the record runs the Chicago Cubs (1969 to 1972), the Minnesota Twins (1973 to 1976), and the Seattle Mariners (1979). At 6'0" and 180 pounds, Decker is listed as a pitcher. The bio says Decker threw and hit right-handed. Decker was born on June 16, 1947, in Storm Lake, IA, USA. Decker's death is recorded on March 2, 2003, in Fraser, MI, USA. On the record, Joe Decker was born George Henry Decker.

Decker pitched in 152 games, starting 105, and finished with a 36-44 record and 4.17 ERA. Also on Decker's record: 458 strikeouts and 19 complete games. Against a 3.65 league ERA for the same seasons, the 4.17 mark was 14.2% worse. 1974 brought Decker a season-high 16 wins. Among the heaviest workloads, the lowest ERA was 3.29 in 1974, when the league's was 3.63.

Frequently Asked Questions about Joe Decker

What years did Joe Decker play?: Joe Decker played in Major League Baseball from 1969 to 1979.
Was Joe Decker a pitcher?: Yes. Joe Decker pitched in the major leagues, recording 36 wins and 458 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Joe Decker hit?: Joe Decker hit 1 career home runs with 8 hits.
What was Joe Decker's career batting average?: Joe Decker batted .174 over his career, with 8 hits in 46 at bats.
How many RBI did Joe Decker have?: Joe Decker drove in 3 runs in his career.
What was Joe Decker's career ERA?: Joe Decker finished with a 4.17 career ERA, going 36-44 with 458 strikeouts.