What years did Joe Edelen play?

Joe Edelen played in Major League Baseball from 1981 to 1982.

Was Joe Edelen a pitcher?

Yes. Joe Edelen pitched in the major leagues, recording 2 wins and 26 strikeouts.

How many home runs did Joe Edelen hit?

Joe Edelen hit 0 career home runs with 2 hits.

What teams did Joe Edelen play for?

Joe Edelen played for 2 teams: the St. Louis Cardinals (1981) and the Cincinnati Reds (1981–1982).

What were Joe Edelen's career stats?

In 27 games, Joe Edelen went 2-0 with a 6.75 ERA, 26 strikeouts, and 45.1 innings pitched.

What position did Joe Edelen play?

Joe Edelen played primarily as a pitcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.

How tall was Joe Edelen and how much did he weigh?

Joe Edelen was listed at 6 feet and 165 pounds.

What was Joe Edelen's career ERA?

Joe Edelen finished with a 6.75 career ERA, going 2-0 with 26 strikeouts.

How many strikeouts did Joe Edelen have?

Joe Edelen recorded 26 career strikeouts.

Is Joe Edelen in the Hall of Fame?

No. Joe Edelen has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

Joe Edelen

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1981-1982)

Joe Edelen was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1981 to 1982 for the St. Louis Cardinals and the Cincinnati Reds, a span of 2 seasons. Across 27 career appearances, he went 2-0 with a 6.75 ERA and 26 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 15, 2026

W–L 2–0

ERA 6.75

WHIP 1.48

SO 26

Pitcher PIV -47.5

Position: Pitcher
Bats / Throws: R / R
Height / Weight: 6'0" / 165 lb
Born: 9/16/1955 in Durant, OK, USA
MLB Debut: 1981-04-18
Last Game: 1982-05-15

Full name: Benny Joe Edelen

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Career Pitching Statistics

Joe Edelen — Career Pitching Statistics
W	L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	SO	ERA	Pitcher PIV
2	0	27	0	0	0	0	45.1	56	34	5	11	26	6.75	-47.5

Career ERA 6.75 vs. league average 3.75 across their career seasons — 79.9% worse than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Joe Edelen — Season-by-Season Pitching
Year	Team	Lg	W	G	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA	Lg ERA	Pitcher PIV
1981	SLN	NL	1	13	17.1	29	18	3	10	9.35	3.58 (-161%)	-23.9
1981	CIN	NL	1	5	12.2	5	1	0	5	0.71	3.58 (+80%)	237.0
1982	CIN	NL	0	9	15.1	22	15	8	11	8.80	3.86 (-128%)	-260.6
Career · 3 seasons			2	27	45.1	56	34	11	26	6.75	—	-48

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 Edelen — Career Batting Statistics
G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	PIV
27	7	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	.286	.286	.286	.571	0

Career AVG .286 vs. league average .259 across their career seasons — +10.3% above league average.

Career OBP .286 vs. league average .322 across their career seasons — 11.4% below league average.

Career SLG .286 vs. league average .381 across their career seasons — 25.0% below league average.

Career OPS .571 vs. league average .703 across their career seasons — 18.7% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Joe Edelen — Season-by-Season Batting
Year	Team	Lg	G	AB	H	SO	AVG	Lg AVG	Lg OBP	Lg SLG	Lg OPS	PIV
1981	SLN	NL	13	3	1	1	.333	—	—	—	—	0.0
1981	CIN	NL	5	2	0	1	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1982	CIN	NL	9	2	1	0	.500	—	—	—	—	0.0
Career · 3 seasons			27	7	2	2	.286	—	—	—	—	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 (54 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Joe Edelen — Batting — Home / Away
Split	G	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	AVG
Home	17	3	0	1	0	0	.333
Away	10	4	0	1	0	0	.250

Pitching — Home / Away

Joe Edelen — Pitching — Home / Away
Split	G	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
Home	17	25.0	35	23	9	11	8.28
Away	10	20.1	21	11	2	15	4.87

Last 10 Games — Batting

Joe Edelen — Last 10 Games — Batting
Date	Tm	Opp	Res	AB	H
1982-05-15	CIN	PIT	L	0	0
1982-05-08	CIN	PIT	L	0	0
1982-05-05	CIN	HOU	L	0	0
1982-05-02	CIN	STL	L	0	0
1982-04-28	CIN	CHC	L	0	0
1982-04-23	CIN	HOU	L	1	1
1982-04-13	CIN	ATL	L	0	0
1982-04-12	CIN	ATL	L	0	0
1982-04-11	CIN	SFG	L	1	0
1981-10-02	CIN	ATL	L	0	0

Last 10 Games — Pitching

Joe Edelen — Last 10 Games — Pitching
Date	Tm	Opp	Dec	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR
1982-05-15	CIN	PIT	—	2.1	7	6	6	1	4	1
1982-05-08	CIN	PIT	—	0.1	0	0	0	0	0	0
1982-05-05	CIN	HOU	—	0.1	1	1	1	1	0	0
1982-05-02	CIN	STL	—	2.1	2	1	1	1	2	1
1982-04-28	CIN	CHC	—	2.0	3	2	2	1	1	0
1982-04-23	CIN	HOU	—	3.1	4	1	1	0	2	0
1982-04-13	CIN	ATL	—	2.0	2	1	1	1	1	0
1982-04-12	CIN	ATL	—	0.2	1	0	0	0	1	0
1982-04-11	CIN	SFG	—	2.0	2	3	3	3	0	0
1981-10-02	CIN	ATL	—	2.0	3	0	0	0	0	0

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Joe Edelen — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
P	27	0	3	3	0	0

Season-by-Season Fielding

Joe Edelen — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year	Team	Pos	G	PO	A
1981	SLN	P	13	1	2
1981	CIN	P	5	0	0
1982	CIN	P	9	2	1

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Joe Edelen — Career Games by Position
Position	Games
Pitcher	27

Joe Edelen: the record in brief

The profile opens with Joe Edelen's first major league game on April 18, 1981; the last one listed came on May 15, 1982. Club by club, the record runs the St. Louis Cardinals (1981) and the Cincinnati Reds (1981 through 1982). Edelen, a pitcher by primary position, threw and hit right-handed. Edelen is listed at 6-foot-0 and 165 pounds. Edelen was born on September 16, 1955, in Durant, OK, USA. The bio lists the given name Benny Joe.

Across 27 games (0 starts), Edelen recorded 2 wins against 0 losses with a 6.75 ERA. Also on Edelen's record: 26 strikeouts. The league ERA over Edelen's seasons was 3.75, so the 6.75 figure ran 79.9% worse than average. In 1981, one of the busiest seasons, Edelen posted a 0.71 ERA; the league figure that year was 3.58.

The game-log section draws on 54 games of Retrosheet box scores for Edelen.

Every defensive appearance on record for Edelen, 27 games, came at pitcher. On the mound, the fielding record shows 0 errors alongside 3 putouts and 3 assists.

Frequently Asked Questions about Joe Edelen

What years did Joe Edelen play?: Joe Edelen played in Major League Baseball from 1981 to 1982.
Was Joe Edelen a pitcher?: Yes. Joe Edelen pitched in the major leagues, recording 2 wins and 26 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Joe Edelen hit?: Joe Edelen hit 0 career home runs with 2 hits.
What teams did Joe Edelen play for?: Joe Edelen played for 2 teams: the St. Louis Cardinals (1981) and the Cincinnati Reds (1981–1982).
What were Joe Edelen's career stats?: In 27 games, Joe Edelen went 2-0 with a 6.75 ERA, 26 strikeouts, and 45.1 innings pitched.
What position did Joe Edelen play?: Joe Edelen played primarily as a pitcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.
How tall was Joe Edelen and how much did he weigh?: Joe Edelen was listed at 6 feet and 165 pounds.
What was Joe Edelen's career ERA?: Joe Edelen finished with a 6.75 career ERA, going 2-0 with 26 strikeouts.
How many strikeouts did Joe Edelen have?: Joe Edelen recorded 26 career strikeouts.
Is Joe Edelen in the Hall of Fame?: No. Joe Edelen has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.