What years did Kelly Downs play?

Kelly Downs played in Major League Baseball from 1986 to 1993.

Was Kelly Downs a pitcher?

Yes. Kelly Downs pitched in the major leagues, recording 57 wins and 598 strikeouts.

How many home runs did Kelly Downs hit?

Kelly Downs hit 0 career home runs with 26 hits.

What teams did Kelly Downs play for?

Kelly Downs played for 2 teams: the San Francisco Giants (1986–1992) and the Oakland Athletics (1992–1993).

What were Kelly Downs's career stats?

In 237 games, Kelly Downs went 57-53 with a 3.86 ERA, 598 strikeouts, 963.2 innings pitched, and 1 saves. At the plate he had 26 hits and 0 home runs.

What was Kelly Downs's salary?

Kelly Downs's last recorded salary was $675,000, in 1993. His highest recorded salary was $925,000, in 1992, and his lowest was $60,000, in 1986. The Salary History table lists each season from 1986 to 1993.

What position did Kelly Downs play?

Kelly Downs played primarily as a pitcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.

How tall was Kelly Downs and how much did he weigh?

Kelly Downs was listed at 6 feet 4 inches and 195 pounds.

What was Kelly Downs's career ERA?

Kelly Downs finished with a 3.86 career ERA, going 57-53 with 598 strikeouts.

How many strikeouts did Kelly Downs have?

Kelly Downs recorded 598 career strikeouts.

Is Kelly Downs in the Hall of Fame?

No. Kelly Downs has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

Kelly Downs

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1986-1993)

Kelly Downs was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1986 to 1993 for the San Francisco Giants and the Athletics, a span of 8 seasons. Across 237 career appearances, he went 57-53 with a 3.86 ERA and 598 strikeouts. He also batted .123 with 0 home runs. His career Pitcher PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of pitching impact — is 3550.2.

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 15, 2026

W–L 57–53

ERA 3.86

WHIP 1.33

SO 598

Pitcher PIV 3550.2

Position: Pitcher
Bats / Throws: R / R
Height / Weight: 6'4" / 195 lb
Born: 10/25/1960 in Ogden, UT, USA
MLB Debut: 1986-07-29
Last Game: 1993-09-29

Full name: Kelly Robert Downs

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Career Pitching Statistics

Kelly Downs — Career Pitching Statistics
W	L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	SO	ERA	Pitcher PIV
57	53	237	135	11	6	1	963.2	912	413	73	373	598	3.86	3550.2

Career ERA 3.86 vs. league average 3.93 across their career seasons — near league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Kelly Downs Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year	Team	Lg	W	L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA	Lg ERA	Pitcher PIV
1986	SFN	NL	4	4	14	14	1	0	0	88.1	78	27	30	64	2.75	3.97 (+31%)	1785.1
1987	SFN	NL	12	9	41	28	4	3	1	186.0	185	75	67	137	3.63	4.29 (+15%)	3726.9
1988	SFN	NL	13	9	27	26	6	3	0	168.0	140	62	47	118	3.32	3.73 (+11%)	2717.3
1989	SFN	NL	4	8	18	15	0	0	0	82.2	82	44	26	49	4.79	3.71 (-29%)	110.0
1990	SFN	NL	3	2	13	9	0	0	0	63.0	56	24	20	31	3.43	3.86 (+11%)	920.2
1991	SFN	NL	10	4	45	11	0	0	0	111.2	99	52	53	62	4.19	3.91 (-7%)	-2053.4
1992	SFN	NL	1	2	19	7	0	0	0	62.1	65	24	24	33	3.47	3.75 (+7%)	-175.4
1992	OAK	AL	5	5	18	13	0	0	0	82.0	72	30	46	38	3.29	3.75 (+12%)	-1177.3
1993	OAK	AL	5	10	42	12	0	0	0	119.2	135	75	60	66	5.64	4.19 (-35%)	-2303.2
Career · 9 seasons			57	53	237	135	11	6	1	963.2	912	413	373	598	3.86	—	3,550

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

Kelly Downs — Career Batting Statistics
G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	PIV
238	211	14	26	3	1	0	11	0	7	76	.123	.150	.147	.297	-842

Career AVG .123 vs. league average .258 across their career seasons — 52.2% below league average.

Career OBP .150 vs. league average .325 across their career seasons — 53.8% below league average.

Career SLG .147 vs. league average .389 across their career seasons — 62.3% below league average.

Career OPS .297 vs. league average .714 across their career seasons — 58.4% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Kelly Downs Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year	Team	Lg	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	RBI	BB	SO	AVG	Lg AVG	Lg OBP	Lg SLG	Lg OPS	PIV
1986	SFN	NL	15	29	1	5	0	0	0	1	13	.172	—	—	—	—	0.0
1987	SFN	NL	41	56	1	8	1	0	6	1	23	.143	.262 (-46%)	.331 (-53%)	.415 (-61%)	.746 (-58%)	-540.6
1988	SFN	NL	27	54	7	9	2	1	3	3	17	.167	.254 (-34%)	.317 (-34%)	.377 (-36%)	.695 (-35%)	-301.4
1989	SFN	NL	18	22	2	2	0	0	0	0	9	.091	—	—	—	—	0.0
1990	SFN	NL	13	13	0	0	0	0	1	1	4	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1991	SFN	NL	45	23	3	2	0	0	1	1	5	.087	—	—	—	—	0.0
1992	SFN	NL	19	14	0	0	0	0	0	0	5	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1992	OAK	AL	18	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1993	OAK	AL	42	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
Career · 9 seasons			238	211	14	26	3	1	11	7	76	.123	—	—	—	—	-842

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

Kelly Downs — Playoff Career Batting
G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	AVG
8	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	.000

Playoff Batting by Year

Kelly Downs — Playoff Batting by Year
Year	Round	Team	G	AB	SO	AVG
1992	ALCS	OAK	2	0	0	.000
1989	NLCS	SFN	2	3	1	.000
1989	WS	SFN	3	0	0	.000
1987	NLCS	SFN	1	0	0	.000

Playoff Career Pitching

Kelly Downs — Playoff Career Pitching
W	L	G	GS	SV	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
1	1	8	0	0	17.0	15	8	9	10	4.24

Playoff Pitching by Year

Kelly Downs — Playoff Pitching by Year
Year	Round	Team	W	L	G	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
1992	ALCS	OAK	0	1	2	2.1	3	1	1	0	3.86
1989	NLCS	SFN	1	0	2	8.2	8	3	6	6	3.12
1989	WS	SFN	0	0	3	4.2	3	4	2	4	7.71
1987	NLCS	SFN	0	0	1	1.1	1	0	0	0	0.00

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (475 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Kelly Downs — Batting — Home / Away
Split	G	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	AVG
Home	116	94	5	8	0	3	.085
Away	122	117	9	18	0	8	.154

Pitching — Home / Away

Kelly Downs — Pitching — Home / Away
Split	G	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
Home	116	479.0	404	187	184	309	3.51
Away	121	484.2	508	226	189	289	4.20

Last 10 Games — Pitching

Kelly Downs — Last 10 Games — Pitching
Date	Tm	Opp	Dec	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR
1993-09-29	OAK	TEX	L	2.2	8	8	8	2	2	1
1993-09-25	OAK	SEA	—	1.0	1	0	0	0	2	0
1993-09-21	OAK	KCR	W	4.0	2	1	1	0	2	1
1993-09-16	OAK	MIN	—	2.0	1	0	0	0	2	0
1993-09-15	OAK	MIN	—	2.1	1	0	0	0	0	0
1993-09-10	OAK	BAL	W	2.2	1	0	0	3	1	0
1993-09-05	OAK	BAL	—	3.0	3	1	1	0	3	0
1993-09-01	OAK	TOR	—	1.0	0	0	0	0	1	0
1993-08-30	OAK	TOR	—	1.0	0	0	0	0	0	0
1993-08-27	OAK	DET	—	1.0	2	1	1	2	0	0

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Kelly Downs — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
P	237	135	66	105	9	6

Season-by-Season Fielding

Kelly Downs — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year	Team	Pos	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
1986	SFN	P	14	14	6	13	1	0
1987	SFN	P	41	28	11	10	3	0
1988	SFN	P	27	26	15	22	1	2
1989	SFN	P	18	15	7	8	1	1
1990	SFN	P	13	9	6	12	1	0
1991	SFN	P	45	11	9	19	1	1
1992	SFN	P	19	7	4	3	0	0
1992	OAK	P	18	13	5	8	1	0
1993	OAK	P	42	12	3	10	0	2

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Kelly Downs Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position	Games
Pitcher	237

Salary History

Kelly Downs's recorded salaries total $3,160,000 over 8 seasons, 1986 to 1993. Downs's career, 1986 to 1993, falls within 1985 to 2016, the years the salary data covers.

Kelly Downs — Salary History
Year	Team	League	Salary
1993	OAK	AL	$675,000
1992	SFN	NL	$925,000
1991	SFN	NL	$525,000
1990	SFN	NL	$425,000
1989	SFN	NL	$315,000
1988	SFN	NL	$160,000
1987	SFN	NL	$75,000
1986	SFN	NL	$60,000
Total recorded salary			$3,160,000

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Kelly Downs (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

Kelly Downs: the record in brief

Between the debut on July 29, 1986 and the final game on September 29, 1993, Kelly Downs built the record summarized on this page. The season rows list, in order, the San Francisco Giants (1986 to 1992) and the Oakland Athletics (1992 through 1993). Downs, born on October 25, 1960, in Ogden, UT, USA, is listed as a pitcher and batted and threw right-handed. Downs's listed size is 6 feet, 4 inches and 195 pounds. Kelly Downs was the playing name; the full given name is Kelly Robert.

Across 237 games (135 starts), Downs recorded 57 wins against 53 losses with a 3.86 ERA. The totals include 598 strikeouts, 11 complete games, and 6 shutouts. Downs's 3.86 ERA was close to the 3.93 league figure for those seasons. 1988 brought Downs a season-high 13 wins. Downs struck out 137 batters in 1987, a career high. In 1988, one of the busiest seasons, Downs posted a 3.32 ERA; the league figure that year was 3.73.

Frequently Asked Questions about Kelly Downs

What years did Kelly Downs play?: Kelly Downs played in Major League Baseball from 1986 to 1993.
Was Kelly Downs a pitcher?: Yes. Kelly Downs pitched in the major leagues, recording 57 wins and 598 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Kelly Downs hit?: Kelly Downs hit 0 career home runs with 26 hits.
What teams did Kelly Downs play for?: Kelly Downs played for 2 teams: the San Francisco Giants (1986–1992) and the Oakland Athletics (1992–1993).
What were Kelly Downs's career stats?: In 237 games, Kelly Downs went 57-53 with a 3.86 ERA, 598 strikeouts, 963.2 innings pitched, and 1 saves. At the plate he had 26 hits and 0 home runs.
How much did Kelly Downs earn in his career?: Kelly Downs's recorded salaries total $3,160,000 over 8 seasons, 1986 to 1993. Downs's career, 1986 to 1993, falls within 1985 to 2016, the years the salary data covers.
What was Kelly Downs's salary?: Kelly Downs's last recorded salary was $675,000, in 1993. His highest recorded salary was $925,000, in 1992, and his lowest was $60,000, in 1986. The Salary History table lists each season from 1986 to 1993.
What position did Kelly Downs play?: Kelly Downs played primarily as a pitcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.
How tall was Kelly Downs and how much did he weigh?: Kelly Downs was listed at 6 feet 4 inches and 195 pounds.
What was Kelly Downs's career ERA?: Kelly Downs finished with a 3.86 career ERA, going 57-53 with 598 strikeouts.
How many strikeouts did Kelly Downs have?: Kelly Downs recorded 598 career strikeouts.
Is Kelly Downs in the Hall of Fame?: No. Kelly Downs has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.