Ken Forsch
Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1970-1986)
Ken Forsch was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1970 to 1986 for the Houston Astros and the California Angels, a span of 17 seasons. Across 521 career appearances, he went 114-113 with a 3.37 ERA, 1,047 strikeouts, and 51 saves. He also batted .136 with 0 home runs. Ken Forsch was a 2-time All-Star. His career Pitcher PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of pitching impact — is 13222.2.
- 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
- R / R
- Height / Weight
- 6'4" / 195 lb
- MLB Debut
- 1970-09-07
- Last Game
- 1986-05-23
- Awards
- 2× All-Star
Full name: Kenneth Roth Forsch
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 | HOU | NL | 1 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 24.0 | 28 | 15 | 5 | 13 | 5.62 | 3.89 (-45%) | 701.9 |
| 1971 | HOU | NL | 8 | 8 | 33 | 23 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 188.1 | 162 | 53 | 53 | 131 | 2.53 | 3.47 (+27%) | 4639.1 |
| 1972 | HOU | NL | 6 | 8 | 30 | 24 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 156.1 | 163 | 68 | 62 | 113 | 3.91 | 3.26 (-20%) | -1794.3 |
| 1973 | HOU | NL | 9 | 12 | 46 | 26 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 201.1 | 197 | 94 | 74 | 149 | 4.20 | 3.75 (-12%) | 1761.2 |
| 1974 | HOU | NL | 8 | 7 | 70 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 103.1 | 98 | 32 | 37 | 48 | 2.79 | 3.63 (+23%) | 1082.7 |
| 1975 | HOU | NL | 4 | 8 | 34 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 109.0 | 114 | 39 | 30 | 54 | 3.22 | 3.71 (+13%) | 446.6 |
| 1976 | HOU | NL | 4 | 3 | 52 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 92.0 | 76 | 22 | 26 | 49 | 2.15 | 3.51 (+39%) | 766.9 |
| 1977 | HOU | NL | 5 | 8 | 42 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 86.0 | 80 | 26 | 28 | 45 | 2.72 | 4.00 (+32%) | 2096.5 |
| 1978 | HOU | NL | 10 | 6 | 52 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 7 | 133.1 | 136 | 40 | 37 | 71 | 2.70 | 3.69 (+27%) | 3825.9 |
| 1979 | HOU | NL | 11 | 6 | 26 | 24 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 177.2 | 155 | 60 | 35 | 58 | 3.04 | 4.00 (+24%) | 1415.2 |
| 1980 | HOU | NL | 12 | 13 | 32 | 32 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 222.1 | 230 | 79 | 41 | 84 | 3.20 | 3.84 (+17%) | 1862.0 |
| 1981 | CAL | AL | 11 | 7 | 20 | 20 | 10 | 4 | 0 | 153.0 | 143 | 49 | 27 | 55 | 2.88 | 3.58 (+20%) | 1971.1 |
| 1982 | CAL | AL | 13 | 11 | 37 | 35 | 12 | 4 | 0 | 228.0 | 225 | 98 | 57 | 73 | 3.87 | 3.86 (avg) | -3040.8 |
| 1983 | CAL | AL | 11 | 12 | 31 | 31 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 219.1 | 226 | 99 | 61 | 81 | 4.06 | 3.87 (-5%) | -1523.3 |
| 1984 | CAL | AL | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 16.1 | 14 | 4 | 3 | 10 | 2.20 | 3.81 (+42%) | 51.0 |
| 1986 | CAL | AL | 0 | 1 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 17.0 | 24 | 18 | 10 | 13 | 9.53 | 3.97 (-140%) | -1039.4 |
| Career · 16 seasons | 114 | 113 | 521 | 241 | 70 | 18 | 51 | 2,127.1 | 2,071 | 796 | 586 | 1,047 | 3.37 | — | 13,222 | ||
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 521 | 383 | 16 | 52 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 1 | 16 | 163 | .136 | .170 | .151 | .322 | -2,047 |
Career AVG .136 vs. league average .258 across their career seasons — 47.3% below league average.
Career OBP .170 vs. league average .324 across their career seasons — 47.4% below league average.
Career SLG .151 vs. league average .381 across their career seasons — 60.2% below league average.
Career OPS .322 vs. league average .704 across their career seasons — 54.3% 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 | HOU | NL | 4 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1971 | HOU | NL | 33 | 59 | 2 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 30 | .136 | .249 (-46%) | .316 (-53%) | .365 (-58%) | .682 (-56%) | -499.1 |
| 1972 | HOU | NL | 30 | 41 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 21 | .146 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1973 | HOU | NL | 46 | 62 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 26 | .065 | .256 (-75%) | .325 (-71%) | .378 (-79%) | .703 (-75%) | -729.2 |
| 1974 | HOU | NL | 70 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1975 | HOU | NL | 34 | 22 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 7 | .045 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1976 | HOU | NL | 52 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | .091 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1977 | HOU | NL | 42 | 13 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | .077 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1978 | HOU | NL | 52 | 27 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 9 | .185 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1979 | HOU | NL | 26 | 58 | 4 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 22 | .138 | .265 (-48%) | .329 (-41%) | .397 (-61%) | .727 (-52%) | -478.8 |
| 1980 | HOU | NL | 32 | 77 | 3 | 18 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 33 | .234 | .264 (-12%) | .326 (-25%) | .387 (-30%) | .714 (-28%) | -340.2 |
| 1981 | CAL | AL | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1982 | CAL | AL | 37 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1983 | CAL | AL | 31 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1984 | CAL | AL | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1986 | CAL | AL | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| Career · 16 seasons | 521 | 383 | 16 | 52 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 1 | 16 | 163 | .136 | — | — | — | — | -2,047 | ||
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 (1042 games) →Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).
Batting — Home / Away
| Split | G | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 258 | 180 | 10 | 31 | 0 | 10 | .172 |
| Away | 263 | 203 | 6 | 21 | 0 | 7 | .103 |
Pitching — Home / Away
| Split | G | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 258 | 1082.1 | 1022 | 361 | 278 | 550 | 3.00 |
| Away | 263 | 1044.2 | 1049 | 435 | 308 | 497 | 3.75 |
Last 10 Games — Pitching
| Date | Tm | Opp | Dec | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1986-05-23 | LAA | NYY | — | 4.2 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 1 |
| 1986-05-14 | LAA | BOS | — | 0.1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1986-05-09 | LAA | MIL | — | 2.1 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 1986-05-05 | LAA | BOS | — | 0.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1986-05-01 | LAA | TOR | — | 0.1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1986-04-25 | LAA | MIN | — | 2.2 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 1986-04-18 | LAA | MIN | — | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1986-04-14 | LAA | SEA | — | 2.2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| 1986-04-11 | LAA | OAK | SV | 3.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 1986-04-08 | LAA | SEA | L | 0.2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
Fielding Statistics
Career Fielding Totals by Position
Season-by-Season Fielding
| Year | Team | Pos | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 | HOU | P | 4 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| 1971 | HOU | P | 33 | 23 | 8 | 19 | 2 | 1 |
| 1972 | HOU | P | 30 | 24 | 9 | 9 | 2 | 1 |
| 1973 | HOU | P | 46 | 26 | 15 | 16 | 0 | 1 |
| 1974 | HOU | P | 70 | 0 | 9 | 14 | 2 | 1 |
| 1975 | HOU | P | 34 | 9 | 6 | 14 | 2 | 3 |
| 1976 | HOU | P | 52 | 0 | 4 | 17 | 0 | 0 |
| 1977 | HOU | P | 42 | 5 | 10 | 15 | 1 | 1 |
| 1978 | HOU | P | 52 | 6 | 9 | 24 | 2 | 0 |
| 1979 | HOU | P | 26 | 24 | 10 | 37 | 1 | 5 |
| 1980 | HOU | P | 32 | 32 | 11 | 45 | 3 | 2 |
| 1981 | CAL | P | 20 | 20 | 18 | 24 | 2 | 2 |
| 1982 | CAL | P | 37 | 35 | 13 | 29 | 5 | 2 |
| 1983 | CAL | P | 31 | 31 | 9 | 31 | 3 | 2 |
| 1984 | CAL | P | 2 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 1 |
| 1986 | CAL | P | 10 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 1 |
Career Games by Position
Circle size = games played at each position.
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| Pitcher | 521 |
Awards & Honors
| Year | Award | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1979 | Pitcher of the Month | April |
| 1979 | Player of the Week | Week of 1979-04-06 |
Salary History
Ken Forsch's recorded salaries total $733,333 over 2 seasons, 1985 to 1986. This total is partial: the salary data covers 1985 to 2016, and Forsch's career ran from 1970 to 1986. His seasons before 1985 are not included.
| Year | Team | League | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | CAL | AL | $100,000 |
| 1985 | CAL | AL | $633,333 |
| Total recorded salary (partial) | $733,333 | ||
College History
| School Name | City | State | Years Attended |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sacramento City College | Sacramento | CA | 1965, 1966 |
| Oregon State University | Corvallis | OR | 1967, 1968 |
Most Similar Players
Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.
Ken Forsch (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.
Compare Ken Forsch
Ken Forsch: the record in brief
Ken Forsch's major league career runs from a debut on September 7, 1970 to a final game on May 23, 1986. The team column moves through the Houston Astros (1970 to 1980) and the California Angels (1981 through 1986). Listed as a pitcher, Forsch both batted and threw right-handed. The recorded size is 6'4" and 195 pounds. The birth record reads September 8, 1946, in Sacramento, CA, USA. The given name on file is Kenneth Roth Forsch.
Across 521 games (241 starts), Forsch recorded 114 wins against 113 losses with a 3.37 ERA. Also on Forsch's record: 1,047 strikeouts, 70 complete games, 18 shutouts, and 51 saves. Against a 3.75 league ERA for the same years, Forsch was 10.2% better. 1982 brought Forsch a season-high 13 wins. Forsch struck out 149 batters in 1973, a career high. The most saves in one season was 19, in 1976. In 1971, one of the busiest seasons, Forsch posted a 2.53 ERA; the league figure that year was 3.47.
Frequently Asked Questions about Ken Forsch
- What years did Ken Forsch play?
- Ken Forsch played in Major League Baseball from 1970 to 1986.
- Was Ken Forsch a pitcher?
- Yes. Ken Forsch pitched in the major leagues, recording 114 wins and 1047 strikeouts.
- How many home runs did Ken Forsch hit?
- Ken Forsch hit 0 career home runs with 52 hits.
- What teams did Ken Forsch play for?
- Ken Forsch played for 2 teams: the Houston Astros (1970–1980) and the California Angels (1981–1984, 1986).
- Did Ken Forsch win a Cy Young Award?
- No. Ken Forsch did not win the Cy Young Award.
- What awards did Ken Forsch win?
- Ken Forsch was selected to 2 All-Star Games.
- What were Ken Forsch's career stats?
- In 521 games, Ken Forsch went 114-113 with a 3.37 ERA, 1,047 strikeouts, 2,127.1 innings pitched, and 51 saves. At the plate he had 52 hits and 0 home runs.
- How much did Ken Forsch earn in his career?
- Ken Forsch's recorded salaries total $733,333 over 2 seasons, 1985 to 1986. This total is partial: the salary data covers 1985 to 2016, and Forsch's career ran from 1970 to 1986. His seasons before 1985 are not included.
- What was Ken Forsch's salary?
- Ken Forsch's last recorded salary was $100,000, in 1986. His highest recorded salary was $633,333, in 1985, and his lowest was $100,000, in 1986. The Salary History table lists each season from 1985 to 1986.
- What position did Ken Forsch play?
- Ken Forsch played primarily as a pitcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.
- How tall was Ken Forsch and how much did he weigh?
- Ken Forsch was listed at 6 feet 4 inches and 195 pounds.
- What was Ken Forsch's career ERA?
- Ken Forsch finished with a 3.37 career ERA, going 114-113 with 1,047 strikeouts.
- How many strikeouts did Ken Forsch have?
- Ken Forsch recorded 1,047 career strikeouts.
- Is Ken Forsch in the Hall of Fame?
- No. Ken Forsch has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.