Duke Esper

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1890-1898)

W–L 101–100
ERA 4.39
WHIP 1.57
SO 453
Pitcher PIV 5004.9
Position
Pitcher
Bats / Throws
— / L
Height / Weight
5'11" / 185 lb
Born
7/28/1867 in Salem, NJ, USA
Died
8/31/1910 in Philadelphia, PA, USA
MLB Debut
1890-04-18
Last Game
1898-07-12

Full name: Charles H. Esper

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Career Pitching Statistics

W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
101 100 236 198 152 4 5 1727.7 2,048 842 46 669 453 4.39 5004.9

Career ERA 4.39 vs. league average 4.11 across their career seasons — 6.7% 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
1890 PH4 AA 8 9 18 16 14 1 0 143.7 176 78 67 61 4.89 3.88 (-26%) 826.6
1890 PIT NL 0 2 2 2 2 0 0 17.0 18 10 10 9 5.29 3.88 (-36%) 36.2
1890 PHI NL 5 0 5 5 4 0 0 41.0 40 14 16 18 3.07 3.88 (+21%) 370.1
1891 PHI NL 20 15 39 36 25 1 1 296.0 302 117 121 108 3.56 3.52 (-1%) 623.8
1892 PHI NL 11 6 21 18 14 0 1 160.3 171 61 60 45 3.42 3.28 (-4%) 446.3
1892 PIT NL 2 0 3 3 1 0 0 18.3 18 11 12 5 5.40 3.28 (-64%) -260.7
1893 WAS NL 12 28 42 36 34 0 0 334.3 442 175 156 78 4.71 4.66 (-1%) -1408.5
1894 WAS NL 5 10 18 14 7 0 0 116.0 177 96 39 24 7.45 5.33 (-40%) -91.8
1894 BLN NL 10 2 16 9 8 0 2 101.0 107 44 36 25 3.92 5.33 (+26%) 2013.7
1895 BLN NL 10 12 34 25 16 1 1 218.3 248 95 79 39 3.92 4.77 (+18%) 1974.6
1896 BLN NL 14 5 20 18 14 1 0 155.7 168 62 39 19 3.58 4.36 (+18%) 1086.4
1897 SLN NL 1 6 8 8 7 0 0 61.3 95 36 12 8 5.28 4.30 (-23%) -686.2
1898 SLN NL 3 5 10 8 6 0 0 64.7 86 43 22 14 5.98 3.59 (-67%) 74.3
Career · 13 seasons 101 100 236 198 152 4 5 1,727.2 2,048 842 669 453 4.39 — 5,005

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
240 739 87 178 26 9 2 83 3 40 95 .241 .284 .309 .592 -1,757

Career AVG .241 vs. league average .275 across their career seasons — 12.3% below league average.

Career OBP .284 vs. league average .345 across their career seasons — 17.9% below league average.

Career SLG .309 vs. league average .369 across their career seasons — 16.4% below league average.

Career OPS .592 vs. league average .714 across their career seasons — 17.1% below league average.

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
1890 PH4 AA 18 61 11 18 2 2 0 11 1 2 0 .295 .260 (+13%) .336 (-6%) .351 (+12%) .687 (+3%) -0.5
1890 PIT NL 2 7 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 .143 — — — — -0.5
1890 PHI NL 5 19 2 3 1 0 0 2 0 0 10 .158 — — — — -0.5
1891 PHI NL 39 123 18 27 4 1 0 9 1 7 19 .220 .254 (-14%) .331 (-21%) .343 (-22%) .675 (-22%) -423.9
1892 PHI NL 23 70 8 17 2 0 1 11 1 2 18 .243 .244 (-1%) .316 (-14%) .327 (-4%) .644 (-9%) -102.5
1892 PIT NL 3 9 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 .000 — — — — -102.5
1893 WAS NL 42 143 15 41 6 3 0 24 0 14 12 .287 .279 (+3%) .356 (-1%) .379 (-2%) .735 (-1%) -42.1
1894 WAS NL 19 54 7 14 3 1 1 4 0 4 7 .259 .309 (-16%) .379 (-18%) .435 (-6%) .814 (-12%) -129.9
1894 BLN NL 16 45 9 10 3 1 0 6 0 4 1 .222 — — — — -129.9
1895 BLN NL 34 90 7 16 2 0 0 2 0 4 12 .178 .296 (-40%) .361 (-37%) .399 (-50%) .761 (-44%) -657.3
1896 BLN NL 20 66 7 13 3 1 0 5 0 1 8 .197 .290 (-32%) .354 (-41%) .387 (-30%) .741 (-35%) -400.5
1897 SLN NL 8 25 2 8 0 0 0 3 0 1 2 .320 — — — — 0.0
1898 SLN NL 11 27 1 10 0 0 0 5 0 1 2 .370 — — — — 0.0
Career · 13 seasons 240 739 87 178 26 9 2 83 3 40 95 .241 — — — — -1,990

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 (21 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home5131504.385
Away6140501.357

Pitching — Home / Away

SplitGIPHERBBSOERA
Home531.24224966.82
Away533.044201385.45

Last 10 Games — Batting

DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1898-07-12 STLNY1L 301000100
1898-07-03 STLCINL 200000000
1898-07-02 STLWSNL 100000000
1898-06-27 STLBLNL 101000100
1898-06-20 STLPHIL 402000200
1898-06-15 STLCHCL 402000001
1898-06-10 STLPHIW 302000000
1898-06-09 STLPHIL 100000000
1898-05-31 STLWSNL 100000000
1898-05-28 STLBROW 401000000

Last 10 Games — Pitching

DateTmOppDecIPHRERBBSOHR
1898-07-12 STLNY1 L 8.0675630
1898-07-03 STLCIN L 5.01288200
1898-07-02 STLWSN L 3.0644310
1898-06-27 STLBLN — 1.2444300
1898-06-20 STLPHI L 9.0211414241
1898-06-15 STLCHC L 8.0944200
1898-06-10 STLPHI W 9.01311140
1898-05-31 STLWSN — 3.0422210
1898-05-28 STLBRO W 9.0531010
1898-05-20 STLNY1 W 9.0621100

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position G GS PO A E DP
OF 2 0 0 1 0 0
P 236 0 67 381 26 8

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1890 PH4 P 18 0 5 34 2 2
1890 PIT P 2 0 5 3 0 0
1890 PHI P 5 0 2 9 1 1
1891 PHI P 39 0 4 67 4 2
1892 PHI OF 1 0 0 1 0 0
1892 PHI P 21 0 7 33 1 1
1892 PIT P 3 0 1 3 0 0
1893 WAS P 42 0 14 79 9 0
1894 WAS OF 1 0 0 0 0 0
1894 WAS P 18 0 5 21 1 1
1894 BLN P 16 0 8 21 0 1
1895 BLN P 34 0 5 43 6 0
1896 BLN P 20 0 4 32 1 0
1897 SLN P 8 0 5 19 0 0
1898 SLN P 10 0 2 17 1 0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Position Games
Pitcher 236
Left Field 1
Right Field 1

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Duke Esper (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    George Hemming
    91-82, 4.53 ERA
  2. 81
    Bill Hart
    66-120, 4.65 ERA
  3. 80
    Ad Gumbert
    123-102, 4.27 ERA
  4. 78
    George Haddock
    95-87, 4.07 ERA
  5. 76
    Frank Foreman
    96-93, 3.97 ERA
  6. 70
    Ed Stein
    109-78, 3.97 ERA

Frequently Asked Questions about Duke Esper

What years did Duke Esper play?
Duke Esper played in Major League Baseball from 1890 to 1898.
Was Duke Esper a pitcher?
Yes. Duke Esper pitched in the major leagues, recording 101 wins and 453 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Duke Esper hit?
Duke Esper hit 2 career home runs with 178 hits.