Fred Gladding

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1961-1973)

Fred Gladding was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1961 to 1973 for the Detroit Tigers and the Houston Astros, a span of 13 seasons. Across 450 career appearances, he went 48-34 with a 3.13 ERA, 394 strikeouts, and 109 saves. His career Pitcher PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of pitching impact — is 3751.2.

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

W–L 48–34
ERA 3.13
WHIP 1.31
SO 394
Pitcher PIV 3751.2
Position
Pitcher
Bats / Throws
L / R
Height / Weight
6'1" / 220 lb
Born
6/28/1936 in Flat Rock, MI, USA
Died
5/21/2015 in Columbia, SC, USA
MLB Debut
1961-07-01
Last Game
1973-06-02

Full name: Fred Earl Gladding

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Career Pitching Statistics

Fred Gladding — Career Pitching Statistics
W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
48 34 450 1 0 0 109 601.0 566 209 38 223 394 3.13 3751.2

Career ERA 3.13 vs. league average 3.56 across their career seasons — 12.1% better than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Fred Gladding Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year Team Lg W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER BB SO ERA Lg ERA Pitcher PIV
1961 DET AL 1 0 8 0 0 0 0 16.1 18 6 11 11 3.31 4.03 (+18%) -156.9
1962 DET AL 0 0 6 0 0 0 0 5.0 3 0 2 4 0.00 — 0.0
1963 DET AL 1 1 22 0 0 0 7 27.1 19 6 14 24 1.98 3.46 (+43%) 497.4
1964 DET AL 7 4 42 0 0 0 7 67.1 57 23 27 59 3.07 3.58 (+14%) 144.2
1965 DET AL 6 2 46 0 0 0 5 70.0 63 22 29 43 2.83 3.50 (+19%) -557.2
1966 DET AL 5 0 51 0 0 0 2 74.0 62 27 29 57 3.28 3.52 (+7%) 443.7
1967 DET AL 6 4 42 1 0 0 12 77.0 62 17 19 64 1.99 3.30 (+40%) 1012.3
1968 HOU NL 0 0 7 0 0 0 2 4.1 8 7 3 2 14.54 — 0.0
1969 HOU NL 4 8 57 0 0 0 29 72.2 83 34 27 40 4.21 3.61 (-17%) 1274.8
1970 HOU NL 7 4 63 0 0 0 18 71.0 84 32 24 46 4.06 3.89 (-4%) 1206.6
1971 HOU NL 4 5 48 0 0 0 12 51.1 51 12 22 17 2.10 3.47 (+39%) -19.1
1972 HOU NL 5 6 42 0 0 0 14 48.2 38 15 12 18 2.77 3.26 (+15%) 583.2
1973 HOU NL 2 0 16 0 0 0 1 16.0 18 8 4 9 4.50 3.75 (-20%) -677.9
Career · 13 seasons 48 34 450 1 0 0 109 601.0 566 209 223 394 3.13 — 3,751

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

Fred Gladding — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
450 63 1 1 0 0 0 3 0 0 40 .016 .016 .016 .031 0

Career AVG .016 vs. league average .249 across their career seasons — 93.6% below league average.

Career OBP .016 vs. league average .316 across their career seasons — 95.1% below league average.

Career SLG .016 vs. league average .372 across their career seasons — 95.7% below league average.

Career OPS .031 vs. league average .688 across their career seasons — 95.4% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Fred Gladding Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year Team Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG Lg AVG Lg OBP Lg SLG Lg OPS PIV
1961 DET AL 8 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 .000 — — — — 0.0
1962 DET AL 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1963 DET AL 22 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1964 DET AL 42 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 .000 — — — — 0.0
1965 DET AL 46 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 .000 — — — — 0.0
1966 DET AL 51 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000 — — — — 0.0
1967 DET AL 42 18 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 9 .000 — — — — 0.0
1968 HOU NL 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1969 HOU NL 57 10 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 8 .100 — — — — 0.0
1970 HOU NL 63 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 .000 — — — — 0.0
1971 HOU NL 48 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000 — — — — 0.0
1972 HOU NL 42 5 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 4 .000 — — — — 0.0
1973 HOU NL 16 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
Career · 13 seasons 450 63 1 1 0 0 0 3 0 0 40 .016 — — — — 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 (900 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Fred Gladding — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home227280000.000
Away223351103.029

Pitching — Home / Away

Fred Gladding — Pitching — Home / Away
SplitGIPHERBBSOERA
Home227307.1269911052082.66
Away223293.12971181181873.62

Last 10 Games — Pitching

Fred Gladding — Last 10 Games — Pitching
DateTmOppDecIPHRERBBSOHR
1973-06-02 HOUSTL — 0.1111001
1973-05-31 HOUCHC — 2.0111031
1973-05-29 HOUCHC — 1.0211100
1973-05-26 HOUPIT — 1.0100000
1973-05-22 HOUCIN — 1.0211100
1973-05-14 HOUATL — 1.2111031
1973-05-06 HOUNYN — 0.1000000
1973-05-04 HOUNYN SV 1.0100010
1973-04-28 HOUWSN W 0.1000000
1973-04-17 HOULAD — 2.0200100

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Fred Gladding — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
P 450 1 33 87 9 2

Season-by-Season Fielding

Fred Gladding — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1961 DET P 8 0 1 1 1 0
1962 DET P 6 0 0 2 0 0
1963 DET P 22 0 1 6 0 0
1964 DET P 42 0 5 12 0 0
1965 DET P 46 0 2 9 1 0
1966 DET P 51 0 1 11 2 0
1967 DET P 42 1 5 9 1 1
1968 HOU P 7 0 1 0 0 0
1969 HOU P 57 0 5 12 0 0
1970 HOU P 63 0 7 15 1 1
1971 HOU P 48 0 3 3 2 0
1972 HOU P 42 0 1 4 1 0
1973 HOU P 16 0 1 3 0 0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Fred Gladding Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position Games
Pitcher 450

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Fred Gladding (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Jack Aker
    47-45, 3.28 ERA
  2. 95
    Tom Niedenfuer
    36-46, 3.29 ERA
  3. 91
    Ed Roebuck
    52-31, 3.35 ERA
  4. 90
    Cecil Upshaw
    34-36, 3.13 ERA
  5. 89
    Joe Hoerner
    39-34, 2.99 ERA
  6. 88
    Wayne Granger
    35-35, 3.14 ERA

Fred Gladding: the record in brief

According to the bio, Fred Gladding debuted on July 1, 1961 and played a final game on June 2, 1973. Gladding played for the Detroit Tigers (1961 to 1967) and the Houston Astros (1968 through 1973). At 6-foot-1 and 220 pounds, Gladding is listed as a pitcher. Gladding batted left-handed and threw right-handed, per the bio block. The recorded birth is June 28, 1936, in Flat Rock, MI, USA. Gladding's death is recorded on May 21, 2015, in Columbia, SC, USA. The given name on file is Fred Earl Gladding.

Gladding went 48-34 with a 3.13 ERA in 450 games, 1 of them starts. The totals include 394 strikeouts and 109 saves. The leagues Gladding pitched in allowed 3.56 earned runs per nine over those seasons, so the career ERA was 12.1% better than average. 1964 brought Gladding a season-high 7 wins. Gladding struck out 64 batters in 1967, a career high. The most saves in one season was 29, in 1969.

Frequently Asked Questions about Fred Gladding

What years did Fred Gladding play?
Fred Gladding played in Major League Baseball from 1961 to 1973.
Was Fred Gladding a pitcher?
Yes. Fred Gladding pitched in the major leagues, recording 48 wins and 394 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Fred Gladding hit?
Fred Gladding hit 0 career home runs with 1 hits.
What was Fred Gladding's career batting average?
Fred Gladding batted .016 over his career, with 1 hits in 63 at bats.
How many RBI did Fred Gladding have?
Fred Gladding drove in 3 runs in his career.
What was Fred Gladding's career ERA?
Fred Gladding finished with a 3.13 career ERA, going 48-34 with 394 strikeouts.