Pat Dobson
Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1967-1977)
Pat Dobson was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1967 to 1977 for 6 teams, including the Detroit Tigers, a span of 11 seasons. Across 414 career appearances, he went 122-129 with a 3.54 ERA and 1,301 strikeouts. He also batted .123 with 0 home runs. Pat Dobson was an All-Star. His career Pitcher PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of pitching impact — is 4543.6.
- 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
- 6'3" / 190 lb
- Died
- 11/22/2006 in San Diego, CA, USA
- MLB Debut
- 1967-05-31
- Last Game
- 1977-09-19
- Awards
- All-Star
Full name: Patrick Edward Dobson
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1967 | DET | AL | 1 | 2 | 28 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 49.1 | 38 | 16 | 27 | 34 | 2.92 | 3.30 (+12%) | -1482.2 |
| 1968 | DET | AL | 5 | 8 | 47 | 10 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 125.0 | 89 | 37 | 48 | 93 | 2.66 | 2.98 (+11%) | -1459.6 |
| 1969 | DET | AL | 5 | 10 | 49 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 105.0 | 100 | 42 | 39 | 64 | 3.60 | 3.61 (avg) | -151.3 |
| 1970 | SDN | NL | 14 | 15 | 40 | 34 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 251.0 | 257 | 105 | 78 | 185 | 3.76 | 3.89 (+3%) | 1922.2 |
| 1971 | BAL | AL | 20 | 8 | 38 | 37 | 18 | 4 | 1 | 282.1 | 248 | 91 | 63 | 187 | 2.90 | 3.47 (+16%) | 4081.5 |
| 1972 | BAL | AL | 16 | 18 | 38 | 36 | 13 | 3 | 0 | 268.1 | 220 | 79 | 69 | 161 | 2.65 | 3.26 (+19%) | 4381.9 |
| 1973 | ATL | NL | 3 | 7 | 12 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 57.2 | 73 | 32 | 19 | 23 | 4.99 | 3.75 (-33%) | 1038.8 |
| 1973 | NYA | AL | 9 | 8 | 22 | 21 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 142.1 | 150 | 66 | 34 | 70 | 4.17 | 3.75 (-11%) | -2149.9 |
| 1974 | NYA | AL | 19 | 15 | 39 | 39 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 281.0 | 282 | 96 | 75 | 157 | 3.07 | 3.63 (+15%) | 1925.2 |
| 1975 | NYA | AL | 11 | 14 | 33 | 30 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 207.2 | 205 | 94 | 83 | 129 | 4.07 | 3.71 (-10%) | -841.6 |
| 1976 | CLE | AL | 16 | 12 | 35 | 35 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 217.1 | 226 | 84 | 65 | 117 | 3.48 | 3.51 (+1%) | 1452.1 |
| 1977 | CLE | AL | 3 | 12 | 33 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 133.1 | 155 | 91 | 65 | 81 | 6.14 | 4.00 (-54%) | -4173.4 |
| Career · 12 seasons | 122 | 129 | 414 | 279 | 74 | 14 | 19 | 2,120.1 | 2,043 | 833 | 665 | 1,301 | 3.54 | — | 4,544 | ||
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 414 | 317 | 13 | 39 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 11 | 102 | .123 | .155 | .136 | .291 | -2,077 |
Career AVG .123 vs. league average .252 across their career seasons — 51.2% below league average.
Career OBP .155 vs. league average .319 across their career seasons — 51.4% below league average.
Career SLG .136 vs. league average .370 across their career seasons — 63.3% below league average.
Career OPS .291 vs. league average .689 across their career seasons — 57.8% 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1967 | DET | AL | 28 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1968 | DET | AL | 47 | 28 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 7 | .143 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1969 | DET | AL | 49 | 22 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | .091 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1970 | SDN | NL | 40 | 71 | 5 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 17 | .141 | .253 (-45%) | .325 (-36%) | .385 (-60%) | .711 (-49%) | -538.5 |
| 1971 | BAL | AL | 38 | 91 | 3 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 28 | .110 | .249 (-56%) | .316 (-56%) | .365 (-70%) | .682 (-64%) | -872.2 |
| 1972 | BAL | AL | 38 | 85 | 3 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 39 | .141 | .243 (-42%) | .310 (-51%) | .353 (-53%) | .664 (-52%) | -666.0 |
| 1973 | ATL | NL | 12 | 15 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | .067 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1973 | NYA | AL | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1974 | NYA | AL | 39 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1975 | NYA | AL | 33 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1976 | CLE | AL | 35 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1977 | CLE | AL | 33 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| Career · 12 seasons | 414 | 317 | 13 | 39 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 11 | 102 | .123 | — | — | — | — | -2,077 | ||
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 (828 games) →Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).
Batting — Home / Away
| Split | G | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 209 | 165 | 8 | 22 | 0 | 6 | .133 |
| Away | 205 | 152 | 5 | 17 | 0 | 6 | .112 |
Pitching — Home / Away
| Split | G | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 209 | 1122.1 | 1059 | 416 | 361 | 718 | 3.34 |
| Away | 205 | 998.0 | 984 | 417 | 304 | 583 | 3.76 |
Last 10 Games — Pitching
| Date | Tm | Opp | Dec | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1977-09-19 | CLE | DET | L | 0.2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1977-09-17 | CLE | TOR | SV | 0.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1977-09-11 | CLE | BAL | L | 3.0 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| 1977-09-06 | CLE | NYY | — | 0.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1977-09-04 | CLE | LAA | — | 3.1 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 1 |
| 1977-09-02 | CLE | LAA | — | 0.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1977-08-31 | CLE | BOS | — | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1977-08-24 | CLE | LAA | — | 3.2 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 1977-08-14 | CLE | MIL | — | 2.1 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| 1977-08-05 | CLE | MIN | — | 3.0 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Fielding Statistics
Career Fielding Totals by Position
Season-by-Season Fielding
| Year | Team | Pos | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1967 | DET | P | 28 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 1968 | DET | P | 47 | 10 | 12 | 22 | 1 | 0 |
| 1969 | DET | P | 49 | 9 | 8 | 16 | 1 | 1 |
| 1970 | SDN | P | 40 | 34 | 17 | 31 | 0 | 2 |
| 1971 | BAL | P | 38 | 37 | 11 | 42 | 2 | 1 |
| 1972 | BAL | P | 38 | 36 | 15 | 33 | 2 | 2 |
| 1973 | ATL | P | 12 | 10 | 1 | 12 | 1 | 0 |
| 1973 | NYA | P | 22 | 21 | 15 | 20 | 3 | 1 |
| 1974 | NYA | P | 39 | 39 | 22 | 32 | 3 | 4 |
| 1975 | NYA | P | 33 | 30 | 14 | 27 | 1 | 0 |
| 1976 | CLE | P | 35 | 35 | 14 | 28 | 3 | 3 |
| 1977 | CLE | P | 33 | 17 | 9 | 22 | 2 | 0 |
Career Games by Position
Circle size = games played at each position.
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| Pitcher | 414 |
Award Voting History
| Year | Award | League | Finish | Points Won | Points Max | Votes First |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1974 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 34th | 1.0 | 336 | 0 |
| 1971 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 17th | 9.0 | 336 | 0 |
Most Similar Players
Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.
Pat Dobson (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.
Pat Dobson: the record in brief
May 31, 1967 and September 19, 1977 bracket Pat Dobson's time in the majors: the debut and the last game on record. Club by club, the record runs the Detroit Tigers (1967 through 1969), the San Diego Padres (1970), the Baltimore Orioles (1971 to 1972), the Atlanta Braves (1973), the New York Yankees (1973 through 1975), and the Cleveland Indians (1976 to 1977). The bio lists Dobson as a pitcher who both batted and threw right-handed. Height and weight on file: 6 feet, 3 inches and 190 pounds. Dobson was born on February 12, 1942, in Buffalo, NY, USA. Dobson's death is recorded on November 22, 2006, in San Diego, CA, USA. The given name on file is Patrick Edward Dobson.
Dobson went 122-129 with a 3.54 ERA in 414 games, 279 of them starts. The same table counts 1,301 strikeouts, 74 complete games, 14 shutouts, and 19 saves. Dobson's 3.54 ERA was close to the 3.57 league figure for those seasons. No season topped the 20 wins of 1971.
Frequently Asked Questions about Pat Dobson
- What years did Pat Dobson play?
- Pat Dobson played in Major League Baseball from 1967 to 1977.
- Was Pat Dobson a pitcher?
- Yes. Pat Dobson pitched in the major leagues, recording 122 wins and 1301 strikeouts.
- How many home runs did Pat Dobson hit?
- Pat Dobson hit 0 career home runs with 39 hits.
- What was Pat Dobson's career batting average?
- Pat Dobson batted .123 over his career, with 39 hits in 317 at bats.
- How many RBI did Pat Dobson have?
- Pat Dobson drove in 12 runs in his career.
- What was Pat Dobson's career ERA?
- Pat Dobson finished with a 3.54 career ERA, going 122-129 with 1,301 strikeouts.