Ken Forsch
Born: 9/8/1946 in Sacramento, CA, USA
MLB Debut: 1970-09-07 | Final Game: 1986-05-23
Bats: R | Throws: R | Height: 6'4" | Weight: 195 lbs
Full name: Kenneth Roth Forsch
Biography
Ken Forsch was a professional baseball pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1970 to 1986. Born in 1946, he made a significant impact on the game during an era characterized by a transition towards more powerful offensive play. Over his 16-year career, Forsch compiled a record of 114-113 with a commendable earned run average (ERA) of 3.37, showcasing his ability to keep runs off the board in a competitive environment. He recorded 1,047 strikeouts and notched 51 saves, demonstrating his versatility as both a starter and a relief pitcher.
Forsch was selected as an All-Star twice during his career, reflecting his status among the elite players of his time. Known for his sharp pitching and competitive spirit, he contributed to several teams, notably the Houston Astros, where he became a fan favorite. His performances were critical in helping his teams contend during the 1970s and 1980s, a period marked by significant changes in baseball dynamics. Ken Forsch's legacy in the sport is defined by his consistent performance and his role in shaping the pitching landscape of his era.
Career Pitching Statistics
| W | L | G | GS | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | ER | HR | BB | SO | ERA | Pitcher PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 114 | 113 | 521 | 241 | 70 | 18 | 51 | 2127.3 | 2071 | 796 | 155 | 586 | 1047 | 3.37 | 0 |
Season-by-Season Pitching
| Year | Team | Lg | W | L | G | GS | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA | Pitcher PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 | HOU | NL | 1 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 24.0 | 28 | 15 | 5 | 13 | 5.62 | 701.9 |
| 1971 | HOU | NL | 8 | 8 | 33 | 23 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 188.3 | 162 | 53 | 53 | 131 | 2.53 | 4639.1 |
| 1972 | HOU | NL | 6 | 8 | 30 | 24 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 156.3 | 163 | 68 | 62 | 113 | 3.91 | -1852.1 |
| 1973 | HOU | NL | 9 | 12 | 46 | 26 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 201.3 | 197 | 94 | 74 | 149 | 4.20 | 1761.2 |
| 1974 | HOU | NL | 8 | 7 | 70 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 103.3 | 98 | 32 | 37 | 48 | 2.79 | 1082.7 |
| 1975 | HOU | NL | 4 | 8 | 34 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 109.0 | 114 | 39 | 30 | 54 | 3.22 | 446.6 |
| 1976 | HOU | NL | 4 | 3 | 52 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 92.0 | 76 | 22 | 26 | 49 | 2.15 | 766.9 |
| 1977 | HOU | NL | 5 | 8 | 42 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 86.0 | 80 | 26 | 28 | 45 | 2.72 | 2096.5 |
| 1978 | HOU | NL | 10 | 6 | 52 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 7 | 133.3 | 136 | 40 | 37 | 71 | 2.70 | 3825.9 |
| 1979 | HOU | NL | 11 | 6 | 26 | 24 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 177.7 | 155 | 60 | 35 | 58 | 3.04 | 1415.2 |
| 1980 | HOU | NL | 12 | 13 | 32 | 32 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 222.3 | 230 | 79 | 41 | 84 | 3.20 | 1862.0 |
| 1981 | LAA | AL | 11 | 7 | 20 | 20 | 10 | 4 | 0 | 153.0 | 143 | 49 | 27 | 55 | 2.88 | - |
| 1982 | LAA | AL | 13 | 11 | 37 | 35 | 12 | 4 | 0 | 228.0 | 225 | 98 | 57 | 73 | 3.87 | - |
| 1983 | LAA | AL | 11 | 12 | 31 | 31 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 219.3 | 226 | 99 | 61 | 81 | 4.06 | - |
| 1984 | LAA | AL | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 16.3 | 14 | 4 | 3 | 10 | 2.20 | - |
| 1986 | LAA | AL | 0 | 1 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 17.0 | 24 | 18 | 10 | 13 | 9.53 | - |
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 | 0.136 | 0.170 | 0.151 | 0.322 | -2183.2 |
Season-by-Season Batting
| Year | Team | Lg | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 | HOU | NL | 4 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0.000 | 0.0 |
| 1971 | HOU | NL | 33 | 59 | 2 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 30 | 0.136 | -529.6 |
| 1972 | HOU | NL | 30 | 41 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 21 | 0.146 | 0.0 |
| 1973 | HOU | NL | 46 | 62 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 26 | 0.065 | -791.4 |
| 1974 | HOU | NL | 70 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0.000 | 0.0 |
| 1975 | HOU | NL | 34 | 22 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 7 | 0.045 | 0.0 |
| 1976 | HOU | NL | 52 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0.091 | 0.0 |
| 1977 | HOU | NL | 42 | 13 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 0.077 | 0.0 |
| 1978 | HOU | NL | 52 | 27 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0.185 | 0.0 |
| 1979 | HOU | NL | 26 | 58 | 4 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 22 | 0.138 | -501.9 |
| 1980 | HOU | NL | 32 | 77 | 3 | 18 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 33 | 0.234 | -360.3 |
| 1981 | LAA | AL | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0.0 |
| 1982 | LAA | AL | 37 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0.0 |
| 1983 | LAA | AL | 31 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0.0 |
| 1984 | LAA | AL | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0.0 |
| 1986 | LAA | AL | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0.0 |
Postseason Statistics
Playoff Career Batting
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 |
Playoff Batting by Year
| Year | Round | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | NLCS | HOU | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 |
Playoff Career Pitching
| W | L | G | GS | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 8.7 | 10 | 4 | 1 | 6 | 4.15 |
Playoff Pitching by Year
| Year | Round | Team | W | L | G | GS | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | NLCS | HOU | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 8.7 | 10 | 4 | 1 | 6 | 4.15 |
Fielding Statistics
Career Fielding Totals by Position
| Position | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | 521 | 241 | 134 | 305 | 26 | 24 |
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
| 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
| Year | Team | League | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | CAL | AL | $100,000 |
| 1985 | CAL | AL | $633,333 |
| Total Career Earnings | $733,333 | ||
College History
| School Name | City | State | Years Attended |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sacramento City College | Sacramento | CA | 1965, 1966 |
| Oregon State University | Corvallis | OR | 1967, 1968 |