Duke Esper
Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1890-1898)
Duke Esper was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1890 to 1898 for 6 teams, including the Philadelphia Athletics, a span of 9 seasons. Across 236 career appearances, he went 101-100 with a 4.39 ERA and 453 strikeouts. He also batted .241 with 2 home runs. His career Pitcher PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of pitching impact — is 5004.9.
- 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
- — / L
- Height / Weight
- 5'11" / 185 lb
- Died
- 8/31/1910 in Philadelphia, PA, USA
- MLB Debut
- 1890-04-18
- Last Game
- 1898-07-12
Full name: Charles H. Esper
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1890 | PH4 | AA | 8 | 9 | 18 | 16 | 14 | 1 | 0 | 143.2 | 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 | 160.1 | 171 | 61 | 60 | 45 | 3.42 | 3.28 (-4%) | 446.3 |
| 1892 | PIT | NL | 2 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 18.1 | 18 | 11 | 12 | 5 | 5.40 | 3.28 (-64%) | -260.7 |
| 1893 | WAS | NL | 12 | 28 | 42 | 36 | 34 | 0 | 0 | 334.1 | 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 | 218.1 | 248 | 95 | 79 | 39 | 3.92 | 4.77 (+18%) | 1974.6 |
| 1896 | BLN | NL | 14 | 5 | 20 | 18 | 14 | 1 | 0 | 155.2 | 168 | 62 | 39 | 19 | 3.58 | 4.36 (+18%) | 1086.4 |
| 1897 | SLN | NL | 1 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 61.1 | 95 | 36 | 12 | 8 | 5.28 | 4.30 (-23%) | -686.2 |
| 1898 | SLN | NL | 3 | 5 | 10 | 8 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 64.2 | 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
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
| Split | G | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 5 | 13 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 4 | .385 |
| Away | 6 | 14 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 1 | .357 |
Pitching — Home / Away
| Split | G | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 5 | 31.2 | 42 | 24 | 9 | 6 | 6.82 |
| Away | 5 | 33.0 | 44 | 20 | 13 | 8 | 5.45 |
Last 10 Games — Batting
| Date | Tm | Opp | Res | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1898-07-12 | STL | NY1 | L | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1898-07-03 | STL | CIN | L | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1898-07-02 | STL | WSN | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1898-06-27 | STL | BLN | L | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1898-06-20 | STL | PHI | L | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 1898-06-15 | STL | CHC | L | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1898-06-10 | STL | PHI | W | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1898-06-09 | STL | PHI | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1898-05-31 | STL | WSN | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1898-05-28 | STL | BRO | W | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Last 10 Games — Pitching
| Date | Tm | Opp | Dec | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1898-07-12 | STL | NY1 | L | 8.0 | 6 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 3 | 0 |
| 1898-07-03 | STL | CIN | L | 5.0 | 12 | 8 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 1898-07-02 | STL | WSN | L | 3.0 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| 1898-06-27 | STL | BLN | — | 1.2 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 1898-06-20 | STL | PHI | L | 9.0 | 21 | 14 | 14 | 2 | 4 | 1 |
| 1898-06-15 | STL | CHC | L | 8.0 | 9 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 1898-06-10 | STL | PHI | W | 9.0 | 13 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 0 |
| 1898-05-31 | STL | WSN | — | 3.0 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| 1898-05-28 | STL | BRO | W | 9.0 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1898-05-20 | STL | NY1 | W | 9.0 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
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
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%.
Duke Esper (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.
Duke Esper: the record in brief
According to the bio, Duke Esper debuted on April 18, 1890 and played a final game on July 12, 1898. The team column moves through the Philadelphia Athletics (1890), the Pittsburg Alleghenys (1890), the Philadelphia Phillies (1890 to 1892), the Pittsburgh Pirates (1892), the Washington Senators (1893 through 1894), the Baltimore Orioles (1894 through 1896), and the St. Louis Browns (1897 to 1898). The bio lists Esper's primary position as pitcher. The recorded size is 5-foot-11 and 185 pounds. Esper was born on July 28, 1867, in Salem, NJ, USA. Esper died on August 31, 1910, in Philadelphia, PA, USA. The bio lists the given name Charles H.
Esper's career pitching line is 101 wins, 100 losses and a 4.39 ERA over 236 appearances. The same table counts 453 strikeouts and 152 complete games. Against a 4.11 league ERA for the same seasons, the 4.39 mark was 6.7% worse. 1891 brought Esper a season-high 20 wins.
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.
- What teams did Duke Esper play for?
- Duke Esper played for 6 teams: the Philadelphia Athletics (1890), the Pittsburgh Pirates (1890, 1892), the Philadelphia Phillies (1890–1892), the Washington Senators (1893–1894), the Baltimore Orioles (1894–1896), and the St. Louis Browns (1897–1898).
- What were Duke Esper's career stats?
- In 236 games, Duke Esper went 101-100 with a 4.39 ERA, 453 strikeouts, 1,727.2 innings pitched, and 5 saves. At the plate he had 178 hits and 2 home runs.
- What position did Duke Esper play?
- Duke Esper played primarily as a pitcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.
- How tall was Duke Esper and how much did he weigh?
- Duke Esper was listed at 5 feet 11 inches and 185 pounds.
- What was Duke Esper's career ERA?
- Duke Esper finished with a 4.39 career ERA, going 101-100 with 453 strikeouts.
- How many strikeouts did Duke Esper have?
- Duke Esper recorded 453 career strikeouts.
- Is Duke Esper in the Hall of Fame?
- No. Duke Esper has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.