Steve Hamilton

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1961-1972)

Steve Hamilton was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1961 to 1972 for 6 teams, including the Cleveland Guardians, a span of 12 seasons. Across 421 career appearances, he went 40-31 with a 3.05 ERA, 531 strikeouts, and 42 saves. His career Pitcher PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of pitching impact — is 9834.7.

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 40–31
ERA 3.05
WHIP 1.16
SO 531
Pitcher PIV 9834.7
Position
Pitcher
Bats / Throws
L / L
Height / Weight
6'6" / 190 lb
Born
11/30/1934 in Columbia, KY, USA
Died
12/2/1997 in Morehead, KY, USA
MLB Debut
1961-04-23
Last Game
1972-08-16

Full name: Steven Absher Hamilton

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Career Pitching Statistics

Steve Hamilton — Career Pitching Statistics
W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
40 31 421 17 3 1 42 663.0 556 225 51 214 531 3.05 9834.7

Career ERA 3.05 vs. league average 3.54 across their career seasons — 13.8% better than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Steve Hamilton 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 CLE AL 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 3.0 2 1 3 4 3.00 — 0.0
1962 WS2 AL 3 8 41 10 1 0 2 107.1 103 45 39 83 3.77 3.96 (+5%) 1370.1
1963 WS2 AL 0 1 3 0 0 0 0 2.0 5 3 2 1 13.50 — 0.0
1963 NYA AL 5 1 34 0 0 0 5 62.1 49 18 24 63 2.60 3.46 (+25%) 1850.5
1964 NYA AL 7 2 30 3 1 0 3 60.1 55 22 15 49 3.28 3.58 (+8%) 857.0
1965 NYA AL 3 1 46 1 0 0 5 58.1 47 9 16 51 1.39 3.50 (+60%) 2157.1
1966 NYA AL 8 3 44 3 1 1 3 90.0 69 30 22 57 3.00 3.52 (+15%) 558.6
1967 NYA AL 2 4 44 0 0 0 4 62.0 57 24 23 55 3.48 3.30 (-5%) -140.2
1968 NYA AL 2 2 40 0 0 0 11 50.2 37 12 13 42 2.13 2.98 (+29%) 1825.0
1969 NYA AL 3 4 38 0 0 0 2 57.0 39 21 21 39 3.32 3.61 (+8%) -326.4
1970 NYA AL 4 3 35 0 0 0 3 45.1 36 14 16 33 2.78 3.89 (+28%) 821.4
1970 CHA AL 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 3.0 4 2 1 3 6.00 — 0.0
1971 SFN NL 2 2 39 0 0 0 4 44.2 29 15 11 38 3.02 3.47 (+13%) 844.0
1972 CHN NL 1 0 22 0 0 0 0 17.0 24 9 8 13 4.76 3.26 (-46%) 17.7
Career · 14 seasons 40 31 421 17 3 1 42 663.0 556 225 214 531 3.05 — 9,835

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

Steve Hamilton — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
425 112 8 14 0 2 0 6 0 5 25 .125 .162 .161 .323 0

Career AVG .125 vs. league average .248 across their career seasons — 49.7% below league average.

Career OBP .162 vs. league average .315 across their career seasons — 48.4% below league average.

Career SLG .161 vs. league average .372 across their career seasons — 56.7% below league average.

Career OPS .323 vs. league average .686 across their career seasons — 52.9% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Steve Hamilton 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 CLE AL 2 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.000 — — — — 0.0
1962 WS2 AL 43 26 1 2 0 1 0 2 0 1 7 .077 — — — — 0.0
1963 WS2 AL 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1963 NYA AL 34 14 2 4 0 1 0 2 0 0 3 .286 — — — — 0.0
1964 NYA AL 32 20 3 4 0 0 0 1 0 2 4 .200 — — — — 0.0
1965 NYA AL 46 6 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 .167 — — — — 0.0
1966 NYA AL 44 19 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 .053 — — — — 0.0
1967 NYA AL 44 9 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .111 — — — — 0.0
1968 NYA AL 40 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 .000 — — — — 0.0
1969 NYA AL 38 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 .000 — — — — 0.0
1970 NYA AL 35 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 .000 — — — — 0.0
1970 CHA AL 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1971 SFN NL 39 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1972 CHN NL 22 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000 — — — — 0.0
Career · 14 seasons 425 112 8 14 0 2 0 6 0 5 25 .125 — — — — 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.

Postseason Statistics

Playoff Career Batting

Steve Hamilton — Playoff Career Batting
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000

Playoff Batting by Year

Steve Hamilton — Playoff Batting by Year
Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1971 NLCS SFN 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1964 WS NYA 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1963 WS NYA 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000

Playoff Career Pitching

Steve Hamilton — Playoff Career Pitching
W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
0 0 4 0 1 4.0 4 2 0 6 4.50

Playoff Pitching by Year

Steve Hamilton — Playoff Pitching by Year
Year Round Team W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
1971 NLCS SFN 0 0 1 0 0 1.0 1 1 0 3 9.00
1964 WS NYA 0 0 2 0 1 2.0 3 1 0 2 4.50
1963 WS NYA 0 0 1 0 0 1.0 0 0 0 1 0.00

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (846 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Steve Hamilton — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home224514600.118
Away201624805.129

Pitching — Home / Away

Steve Hamilton — Pitching — Home / Away
SplitGIPHERBBSOERA
Home222361.2296114983082.84
Away199301.22611111162253.31

Last 10 Games — Batting

Steve Hamilton — Last 10 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1972-08-16 CHCSFGL 000000000
1972-08-12 CHCNYNL 000000000
1972-08-08 CHCWSNW 000000000
1972-08-06 CHCNYNL 000000000
1972-08-05 CHCNYNW 100000001
1972-08-03 CHCWSNL 000000000
1972-07-29 CHCSTLW 000000000
1972-07-19 CHCCINL 000000000
1972-07-17 CHCCINL 000000000
1972-07-16 CHCATLW 000000000

Last 10 Games — Pitching

Steve Hamilton — Last 10 Games — Pitching
DateTmOppDecIPHRERBBSOHR
1972-08-16 CHCSFG — 2.0422120
1972-08-12 CHCNYN — 0.1000010
1972-08-08 CHCWSN — 0.2333001
1972-08-06 CHCNYN — 1.0211020
1972-08-05 CHCNYN W 1.1000010
1972-08-03 CHCWSN — 0.0100100
1972-07-29 CHCSTL — 0.2000000
1972-07-19 CHCCIN — 0.2322010
1972-07-17 CHCCIN — 2.0100100
1972-07-16 CHCATL — 0.1000000

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Steve Hamilton — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
P 421 17 22 102 6 2

Season-by-Season Fielding

Steve Hamilton — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1961 CLE P 2 0 1 1 0 0
1962 WS2 P 41 10 8 22 2 0
1963 WS2 P 3 0 0 1 0 0
1963 NYA P 34 0 3 12 0 0
1964 NYA P 30 3 3 9 0 1
1965 NYA P 46 1 0 3 1 0
1966 NYA P 44 3 2 12 2 0
1967 NYA P 44 0 0 12 0 0
1968 NYA P 40 0 2 9 0 1
1969 NYA P 38 0 0 4 0 0
1970 NYA P 35 0 0 9 0 0
1970 CHA P 3 0 0 2 1 0
1971 SFN P 39 0 3 4 0 0
1972 CHN P 22 0 0 2 0 0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Steve Hamilton Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position Games
Pitcher 421

College History

Steve Hamilton — College History
School Name City State Years Attended
Morehead State University Morehead KY 1955, 1956, 1957

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Steve Hamilton (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Joe Sambito
    37-38, 3.03 ERA
  2. 96
    Al Holland
    34-30, 2.98 ERA
  3. 85
    Eddie Watt
    38-36, 2.91 ERA
  4. 79
    Kelvin Herrera
    27-32, 3.21 ERA
  5. 79
    Mark Eichhorn
    48-43, 3.00 ERA
  6. 77
    Jesse Crain
    45-30, 3.05 ERA

Steve Hamilton: the record in brief

According to the bio, Steve Hamilton debuted on April 23, 1961 and played a final game on August 16, 1972. By club, Hamilton's seasons break down as the Cleveland Indians (1961), the Washington Senators (1962 to 1963), the New York Yankees (1963 through 1970), the Chicago White Sox (1970), the San Francisco Giants (1971), and the Chicago Cubs (1972). Born on November 30, 1934, in Columbia, KY, USA, Hamilton is listed as a pitcher and both batted and threw left-handed. The bio gives 190 pounds on a 6-foot-6 frame. The bio records the death on December 2, 1997, in Morehead, KY, USA. Hamilton's full given name, per the bio, is Steven Absher Hamilton.

The pitching table credits Hamilton with a 40-31 record and a 3.05 ERA in 421 games. The same table counts 531 strikeouts and 42 saves. The leagues Hamilton pitched in allowed 3.54 earned runs per nine over those seasons, so the career ERA was 13.8% better than average. No season topped the 8 wins of 1966.

Frequently Asked Questions about Steve Hamilton

What years did Steve Hamilton play?
Steve Hamilton played in Major League Baseball from 1961 to 1972.
Was Steve Hamilton a pitcher?
Yes. Steve Hamilton pitched in the major leagues, recording 40 wins and 531 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Steve Hamilton hit?
Steve Hamilton hit 0 career home runs with 14 hits.
What was Steve Hamilton's career batting average?
Steve Hamilton batted .125 over his career, with 14 hits in 112 at bats.
How many RBI did Steve Hamilton have?
Steve Hamilton drove in 6 runs in his career.
What was Steve Hamilton's career ERA?
Steve Hamilton finished with a 3.05 career ERA, going 40-31 with 531 strikeouts.