What years did Rich Folkers play?

Rich Folkers played in Major League Baseball from 1970 to 1977.

Was Rich Folkers a pitcher?

Yes. Rich Folkers pitched in the major leagues, recording 19 wins and 242 strikeouts.

How many home runs did Rich Folkers hit?

Rich Folkers hit 0 career home runs with 11 hits.

What was Rich Folkers's career batting average?

Rich Folkers batted .143 over his career, with 11 hits in 77 at bats.

How many RBI did Rich Folkers have?

Rich Folkers drove in 5 runs in his career.

What was Rich Folkers's career ERA?

Rich Folkers finished with a 4.11 career ERA, going 19-23 with 242 strikeouts.

Rich Folkers

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1970-1977)

Rich Folkers was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1970 to 1977 for 4 teams, including the New York Mets, a span of 8 seasons. Across 195 career appearances, he went 19-23 with a 4.11 ERA and 242 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 September 9, 2026

W–L 19–23

ERA 4.11

WHIP 1.39

SO 242

Pitcher PIV -2205.4

Position: Pitcher
Bats / Throws: L / L
Height / Weight: 6'2" / 180 lb
Born: 10/17/1946 in Waterloo, IA, USA
MLB Debut: 1970-06-10
Last Game: 1977-06-08

Full name: Richard Nevin Folkers

📊 Compare This Player 📈 View Career Timeline

Career Pitching Statistics

Rich Folkers — Career Pitching Statistics
W	L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	SO	ERA	Pitcher PIV
19	23	195	28	5	0	7	423.0	416	193	40	170	242	4.11	-2205.4

Career ERA 4.11 vs. league average 3.68 across their career seasons — 11.5% worse than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Rich Folkers — Season-by-Season Pitching
Year	Team	Lg	W	L	G	GS	CG	SV	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA	Lg ERA	Pitcher PIV
1970	NYN	NL	0	2	16	1	0	2	29.3	36	21	25	15	6.44	3.89 (-66%)	-2160.2
1972	SLN	NL	1	0	9	0	0	0	13.3	12	5	5	7	3.38	3.26 (-3%)	264.1
1973	SLN	NL	4	4	34	9	1	3	82.3	74	33	34	44	3.61	3.75 (+4%)	-1395.5
1974	SLN	NL	6	2	55	0	0	2	90.0	65	30	38	57	3.00	3.63 (+17%)	927.3
1975	SDN	NL	6	11	45	15	4	0	142.0	155	66	39	87	4.18	3.71 (-13%)	2818.8
1976	SDN	NL	2	3	33	3	0	0	59.7	67	35	25	26	5.28	3.51 (-50%)	-2660.0
1977	ML4	AL	0	1	3	0	0	0	6.3	7	3	4	6	4.26	—	0.0
Career · 7 seasons			19	23	195	28	5	7	423.0	416	193	170	242	4.11	—	-2,205

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

Rich Folkers — Career Batting Statistics
G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	PIV
195	77	3	11	1	0	0	5	0	4	28	.143	.183	.156	.339	0

Career AVG .143 vs. league average .256 across their career seasons — 44.1% below league average.

Career OBP .183 vs. league average .323 across their career seasons — 43.4% below league average.

Career SLG .156 vs. league average .375 across their career seasons — 58.5% below league average.

Career OPS .339 vs. league average .699 across their career seasons — 51.5% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Rich Folkers — Season-by-Season Batting
Year	Team	Lg	G	AB	R	H	2B	RBI	BB	SO	AVG	Lg AVG	Lg OBP	Lg SLG	Lg OPS	PIV
1970	NYN	NL	16	6	1	2	0	0	0	4	.333	—	—	—	—	0.0
1972	SLN	NL	9	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1973	SLN	NL	34	20	0	2	0	1	0	6	.100	—	—	—	—	0.0
1974	SLN	NL	55	10	0	1	0	0	0	3	.100	—	—	—	—	0.0
1975	SDN	NL	45	36	2	6	1	4	4	14	.167	—	—	—	—	0.0
1976	SDN	NL	33	4	0	0	0	0	0	1	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1977	ML4	AL	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
Career · 7 seasons			195	77	3	11	1	5	4	28	.143	—	—	—	—	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 (390 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Rich Folkers — Batting — Home / Away
Split	G	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	AVG
Home	86	29	1	5	0	1	.172
Away	109	48	2	6	0	4	.125

Pitching — Home / Away

Rich Folkers — Pitching — Home / Away
Split	G	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
Home	86	184.2	185	88	77	103	4.29
Away	109	238.1	231	105	93	139	3.97

Last 10 Games — Batting

Rich Folkers — Last 10 Games — Batting
Date	Tm	Opp	Res	AB
1977-06-08	MIL	NYY	L	0
1977-05-27	MIL	TEX	W	0
1977-05-22	MIL	BOS	L	0
1976-09-26	SDP	ATL	L	0
1976-09-25	SDP	ATL	L	0
1976-09-21	SDP	CIN	L	0
1976-09-02	SDP	PIT	L	0
1976-08-17	SDP	STL	L	0
1976-08-13	SDP	WSN	L	0
1976-08-03	SDP	ATL	L	1

Last 10 Games — Pitching

Rich Folkers — Last 10 Games — Pitching
Date	Tm	Opp	Dec	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR
1977-06-08	MIL	NYY	—	5.0	2	1	1	2	5	1
1977-05-27	MIL	TEX	—	0.1	2	1	1	0	0	0
1977-05-22	MIL	BOS	L	1.0	3	5	1	2	1	1
1976-09-26	SDP	ATL	—	0.0	2	1	1	1	0	0
1976-09-25	SDP	ATL	—	1.2	1	0	0	2	0	0
1976-09-21	SDP	CIN	—	1.0	0	0	0	0	1	0
1976-09-02	SDP	PIT	—	2.0	1	0	0	0	2	0
1976-08-17	SDP	STL	—	2.0	2	3	3	2	2	0
1976-08-13	SDP	WSN	—	2.0	2	1	1	1	0	0
1976-08-03	SDP	ATL	L	2.2	5	7	5	2	2	2

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Rich Folkers — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
P	195	28	21	59	5	5

Season-by-Season Fielding

Rich Folkers — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year	Team	Pos	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
1970	NYN	P	16	1	0	10	0	2
1972	SLN	P	9	0	0	2	0	0
1973	SLN	P	34	9	4	11	1	1
1974	SLN	P	55	0	3	7	1	2
1975	SDN	P	45	15	10	20	3	0
1976	SDN	P	33	3	4	8	0	0
1977	ML4	P	3	0	0	1	0	0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Rich Folkers — Career Games by Position
Position	Games
Pitcher	195

College History

Rich Folkers — College History
School Name	City	State	Years Attended
Ellsworth College	Iowa Falls	IA	1965, 1966
Parsons College	Fairfield	IA	1967

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Rich Folkers (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

Frequently Asked Questions about Rich Folkers

What years did Rich Folkers play?: Rich Folkers played in Major League Baseball from 1970 to 1977.
Was Rich Folkers a pitcher?: Yes. Rich Folkers pitched in the major leagues, recording 19 wins and 242 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Rich Folkers hit?: Rich Folkers hit 0 career home runs with 11 hits.
What was Rich Folkers's career batting average?: Rich Folkers batted .143 over his career, with 11 hits in 77 at bats.
How many RBI did Rich Folkers have?: Rich Folkers drove in 5 runs in his career.
What was Rich Folkers's career ERA?: Rich Folkers finished with a 4.11 career ERA, going 19-23 with 242 strikeouts.