Richard Dotson

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1979-1990)

W–L 111–113
ERA 4.23
WHIP 1.41
SO 973
Pitcher PIV -21040.3
Position
Pitcher
Bats / Throws
R / R
Height / Weight
6'1" / 190 lb
Born
1/10/1959 in Cincinnati, OH, USA
MLB Debut
1979-09-04
Last Game
1990-06-05
Awards
All-Star

Full name: Richard Elliott Dotson

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Career Pitching Statistics

W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
111 113 305 295 55 11 0 1857.3 1,884 872 194 740 973 4.23 -21040.3

Career ERA 4.23 vs. league average 3.88 across their career seasons — 9.0% worse than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

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
1979 CHA AL 2 0 5 5 1 1 0 24.3 28 10 6 13 3.70 4.00 (+8%) 977.4
1980 CHA AL 12 10 33 32 8 0 0 198.0 185 94 87 109 4.27 3.84 (-11%) -2632.2
1981 CHA AL 9 8 24 24 5 4 0 141.0 145 59 49 73 3.77 3.58 (-5%) -1084.0
1982 CHA AL 11 15 34 31 3 1 0 196.7 219 84 73 109 3.84 3.86 (avg) -938.8
1983 CHA AL 22 7 35 35 8 1 0 240.0 209 86 106 137 3.23 3.87 (+17%) -1171.1
1984 CHA AL 14 15 32 32 14 1 0 245.7 216 98 103 120 3.59 3.81 (+6%) -3645.5
1985 CHA AL 3 4 9 9 0 0 0 52.3 53 26 17 33 4.47 3.89 (-15%) 108.1
1986 CHA AL 10 17 34 34 3 1 0 197.0 226 120 69 110 5.48 3.97 (-38%) -1707.7
1987 CHA AL 11 12 31 31 7 2 0 211.3 201 98 86 114 4.17 4.29 (+3%) -1034.6
1988 NYA AL 12 9 32 29 4 0 0 171.0 178 95 72 77 5.00 3.73 (-34%) -6501.1
1989 NYA AL 2 5 11 9 1 0 0 51.7 69 32 17 14 5.57 3.71 (-50%) -2026.2
1989 CHA AL 3 7 17 17 1 0 0 99.7 112 43 41 55 3.88 3.71 (-5%) -564.2
1990 KCA AL 0 4 8 7 0 0 0 28.7 43 27 14 9 8.48 3.86 (-120%) -820.4
Career · 13 seasons 111 113 305 295 55 11 0 1,857.1 1,884 872 740 973 4.23 — -21,040

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
312 0 1 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.

Year Team Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG Lg AVG Lg OBP Lg SLG Lg OPS PIV
1979 CHA AL 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1980 CHA AL 36 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1981 CHA AL 27 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1982 CHA AL 34 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1983 CHA AL 35 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1984 CHA AL 33 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1985 CHA AL 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1986 CHA AL 34 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1987 CHA AL 31 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1988 NYA AL 32 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1989 NYA AL 11 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1989 CHA AL 17 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1990 KCA AL 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
Career · 13 seasons 312 0 1 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

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000

Playoff Batting by Year

Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1983 ALCS CHA 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000

Playoff Career Pitching

W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
0 1 1 1 0 5.0 6 6 3 3 10.80

Playoff Pitching by Year

Year Round Team W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
1983 ALCS CHA 0 1 1 1 0 5.0 6 6 3 3 10.80

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (617 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home15601000—
Away15600000—

Pitching — Home / Away

SplitGIPHERBBSOERA
Home152957.29204163875073.91
Away153899.29644563534664.56

Last 10 Games — Pitching

DateTmOppDecIPHRERBBSOHR
1990-06-05 KCRLAA L 1.2544111
1990-06-02 KCROAK — 2.0322010
1990-05-22 KCRDET — 2.0555111
1990-05-12 KCRCHW L 2.2953110
1990-05-05 KCRCHW L 4.0644110
1990-04-29 KCRTEX — 4.2522300
1990-04-24 KCRMIL L 6.0555321
1990-04-17 KCRCLE — 5.2522420
1989-10-01 CHWCLE L 8.0511290
1989-09-25 CHWMIN W 7.01022330

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position G GS PO A E DP
P 305 295 116 269 11 25

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1979 CHA P 5 5 1 4 0 0
1980 CHA P 33 32 13 33 1 0
1981 CHA P 24 24 7 20 0 4
1982 CHA P 34 31 13 24 1 1
1983 CHA P 35 35 20 48 1 8
1984 CHA P 32 32 8 36 1 3
1985 CHA P 9 9 3 5 0 0
1986 CHA P 34 34 13 23 3 0
1987 CHA P 31 31 14 38 2 4
1988 NYA P 32 29 17 14 0 1
1989 NYA P 11 9 1 5 0 1
1989 CHA P 17 17 4 16 2 2
1990 KCA P 8 7 2 3 0 1

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Position Games
Pitcher 305
Designated Hitter 3

Awards & Honors

Year Award Notes
1983 Pitcher of the Month September
1981 Player of the Week Week of 1981-05-08

Salary History

Year Team League Salary
1990 KCA AL $550,000
1989 NYA AL $68,000
1988 NYA AL $900,000
1987 CHA AL $1,075,000
1986 CHA AL $975,000
1985 CHA AL $900,000
Total Career Earnings $4,468,000

Award Voting History

Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
1983 Cy Young Award AL 4th 9.0 140 0
1983 Most Valuable Player AL 20th 3.0 392 0
1980 Rookie of the Year AL 7th 1.0 140 0

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Richard Dotson (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Walt Terrell
    111-124, 4.22 ERA
  2. 75
    Ken Hill
    117-109, 4.06 ERA
  3. 75
    Jim Abbott
    87-108, 4.25 ERA
  4. 74
    Dick Ruthven
    123-127, 4.14 ERA
  5. 70
    Danny Jackson
    112-131, 4.01 ERA
  6. 66
    Alex Kellner
    101-112, 4.41 ERA

Frequently Asked Questions about Richard Dotson

What years did Richard Dotson play?
Richard Dotson played in Major League Baseball from 1979 to 1990.
Was Richard Dotson a pitcher?
Yes. Richard Dotson pitched in the major leagues, recording 111 wins and 973 strikeouts.