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

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

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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 SHO SV IP H ER BB SO ERA Lg ERA Pitcher PIV
1970 NYN NL 0 2 16 1 0 0 2 29.1 36 21 25 15 6.44 3.89 (-66%) -2160.2
1972 SLN NL 1 0 9 0 0 0 0 13.1 12 5 5 7 3.38 3.26 (-3%) 264.1
1973 SLN NL 4 4 34 9 1 0 3 82.1 74 33 34 44 3.61 3.75 (+4%) -1395.5
1974 SLN NL 6 2 55 0 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 0 142.0 155 66 39 87 4.18 3.71 (-13%) 2818.8
1976 SDN NL 2 3 33 3 0 0 0 59.2 67 35 25 26 5.28 3.51 (-50%) -2660.0
1977 ML4 AL 0 1 3 0 0 0 0 6.1 7 3 4 6 4.26 — 0.0
Career · 7 seasons 19 23 195 28 5 0 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 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG Lg AVG Lg OBP Lg SLG Lg OPS PIV
1970 NYN NL 16 6 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 .333 — — — — 0.0
1972 SLN NL 9 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1973 SLN NL 34 20 0 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 6 .100 — — — — 0.0
1974 SLN NL 55 10 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 .100 — — — — 0.0
1975 SDN NL 45 36 2 6 1 0 0 4 0 4 14 .167 — — — — 0.0
1976 SDN NL 33 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000 — — — — 0.0
1977 ML4 AL 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
Career · 7 seasons 195 77 3 11 1 0 0 5 0 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
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home86291501.172
Away109482604.125

Pitching — Home / Away

Rich Folkers — Pitching — Home / Away
SplitGIPHERBBSOERA
Home86184.218588771034.29
Away109238.1231105931393.97

Last 10 Games — Batting

Rich Folkers — Last 10 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1977-06-08 MILNYYL 000000000
1977-05-27 MILTEXW 000000000
1977-05-22 MILBOSL 000000000
1976-09-26 SDPATLL 000000000
1976-09-25 SDPATLL 000000000
1976-09-21 SDPCINL 000000000
1976-09-02 SDPPITL 000000000
1976-08-17 SDPSTLL 000000000
1976-08-13 SDPWSNL 000000000
1976-08-03 SDPATLL 100000000

Last 10 Games — Pitching

Rich Folkers — Last 10 Games — Pitching
DateTmOppDecIPHRERBBSOHR
1977-06-08 MILNYY — 5.0211251
1977-05-27 MILTEX — 0.1211000
1977-05-22 MILBOS L 1.0351211
1976-09-26 SDPATL — 0.0211100
1976-09-25 SDPATL — 1.2100200
1976-09-21 SDPCIN — 1.0000010
1976-09-02 SDPPIT — 2.0100020
1976-08-17 SDPSTL — 2.0233220
1976-08-13 SDPWSN — 2.0211100
1976-08-03 SDPATL L 2.2575222

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.

  1. 98
    Bill Gogolewski
    15-24, 4.02 ERA
  2. 86
    Pete Filson
    15-18, 4.18 ERA
  3. 86
    Bob Stoddard
    18-27, 4.03 ERA
  4. 83
    Tom Acker
    19-13, 4.12 ERA
  5. 80
    Jim Davis
    24-26, 4.01 ERA
  6. 76
    Guy Hoffman
    17-17, 4.25 ERA

Rich Folkers: the record in brief

The profile opens with Rich Folkers's first major league game on June 10, 1970; the last one listed came on June 8, 1977. The season rows list, in order, the New York Mets (1970), the St. Louis Cardinals (1972 to 1974), the San Diego Padres (1975 to 1976), and the Milwaukee Brewers (1977). Folkers played primarily as a pitcher and batted and threw left-handed. The bio adds a birth date on October 17, 1946, in Waterloo, IA, USA and a listed size of 180 pounds on a 6-foot-2 frame. Folkers's full given name, per the bio, is Richard Nevin Folkers.

Folkers pitched in 195 games, starting 28, and finished with a 19-23 record and 4.11 ERA. The totals include 242 strikeouts. The league ERA over Folkers's seasons was 3.68, so the 4.11 figure ran 11.5% worse than average. 1974 brought Folkers a season-high 6 wins. Folkers struck out 87 batters in 1975, a career high. Among the heaviest workloads, the lowest ERA was 3.00 in 1974, when the league's was 3.63.

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 teams did Rich Folkers play for?
Rich Folkers played for 4 teams: the New York Mets (1970), the St. Louis Cardinals (1972–1974), the San Diego Padres (1975–1976), and the Milwaukee Brewers (1977).
What were Rich Folkers's career stats?
In 195 games, Rich Folkers went 19-23 with a 4.11 ERA, 242 strikeouts, 423.0 innings pitched, and 7 saves.
What position did Rich Folkers play?
Rich Folkers played primarily as a pitcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.
How tall was Rich Folkers and how much did he weigh?
Rich Folkers was listed at 6 feet 2 inches and 180 pounds.
What was Rich Folkers's career ERA?
Rich Folkers finished with a 4.11 career ERA, going 19-23 with 242 strikeouts.
How many strikeouts did Rich Folkers have?
Rich Folkers recorded 242 career strikeouts.
Is Rich Folkers in the Hall of Fame?
No. Rich Folkers has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.