Bill Hands

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1965-1975)

Bill Hands was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1965 to 1975 for 4 teams, including the San Francisco Giants, a span of 11 seasons. Across 374 career appearances, he went 111-110 with a 3.35 ERA and 1,128 strikeouts. He also batted .078 with 0 home runs. His career Pitcher PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of pitching impact — is 11384.5.

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 111–110
ERA 3.35
WHIP 1.22
SO 1,128
Pitcher PIV 11384.5
Position
Pitcher
Bats / Throws
R / R
Height / Weight
6'2" / 185 lb
Born
5/6/1940 in Hackensack, NJ, USA
Died
3/9/2017 in Orlando, FL, USA
MLB Debut
1965-06-03
Last Game
1975-08-10

Full name: William Alfred Hands

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Career Pitching Statistics

Bill Hands — Career Pitching Statistics
W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
111 110 374 260 72 17 14 1951.0 1,895 727 167 492 1,128 3.35 11384.5

Career ERA 3.35 vs. league average 3.52 across their career seasons — near league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

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Bill Hands Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year Team Lg W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER BB SO ERA Lg ERA Pitcher PIV
1965 SFN NL 0 2 4 2 0 0 0 6.0 13 11 6 5 16.50 — 0.0
1966 CHN NL 8 13 41 26 0 0 2 159.0 168 81 59 93 4.58 3.52 (-30%) -1835.2
1967 CHN NL 7 8 49 11 3 1 6 150.0 134 41 48 84 2.46 3.30 (+26%) 403.6
1968 CHN NL 16 10 38 34 11 4 0 258.2 221 83 36 148 2.89 2.98 (+3%) -339.8
1969 CHN NL 20 14 41 41 18 3 0 300.0 268 83 73 181 2.49 3.61 (+31%) 4864.7
1970 CHN NL 18 15 39 38 12 2 1 265.0 278 109 76 170 3.70 3.89 (+5%) 4497.0
1971 CHN NL 12 18 36 35 14 1 0 242.1 248 92 50 128 3.42 3.47 (+1%) -110.2
1972 CHN NL 11 8 32 28 6 3 0 189.0 168 63 47 96 3.00 3.26 (+8%) 1363.1
1973 MIN AL 7 10 39 15 3 1 2 142.0 138 55 41 78 3.49 3.75 (+7%) 324.4
1974 MIN AL 4 5 35 10 0 0 3 115.1 130 57 25 74 4.45 3.63 (-23%) 1663.5
1974 TEX AL 2 0 2 2 1 1 0 14.0 11 3 3 4 1.93 3.63 (+47%) 343.2
1975 TEX AL 6 7 18 18 4 1 0 109.2 118 49 28 67 4.02 3.71 (-8%) 210.2
Career · 12 seasons 111 110 374 260 72 17 14 1,951.0 1,895 727 492 1,128 3.35 — 11,384

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

Bill Hands — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
374 472 19 37 6 0 0 19 0 39 249 .078 .150 .091 .241 -4,243

Career AVG .078 vs. league average .249 across their career seasons — 68.6% below league average.

Career OBP .150 vs. league average .317 across their career seasons — 52.7% below league average.

Career SLG .091 vs. league average .368 across their career seasons — 75.2% below league average.

Career OPS .241 vs. league average .685 across their career seasons — 64.8% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

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Bill Hands 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
1965 SFN NL 4 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1966 CHN NL 41 49 2 2 1 0 0 1 0 3 23 .041 — — — — -573.5
1967 CHN NL 49 38 0 4 0 0 0 3 0 3 26 .105 — — — — 0.0
1968 CHN NL 38 82 2 5 0 0 0 0 0 3 50 .061 .236 (-74%) .298 (-68%) .340 (-82%) .638 (-76%) -879.2
1969 CHN NL 41 98 5 9 0 0 0 3 0 4 45 .092 .248 (-63%) .320 (-58%) .369 (-75%) .689 (-67%) -999.0
1970 CHN NL 39 75 6 10 2 0 0 6 0 15 33 .133 .253 (-47%) .325 (-17%) .385 (-58%) .711 (-39%) -446.3
1971 CHN NL 36 72 3 6 3 0 0 6 0 6 42 .083 .249 (-67%) .316 (-51%) .365 (-66%) .682 (-59%) -649.7
1972 CHN NL 32 57 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 5 30 .018 .243 (-93%) .310 (-69%) .353 (-95%) .664 (-83%) -695.1
1973 MIN AL 39 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1974 MIN AL 35 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1974 TEX AL 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1975 TEX AL 18 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
Career · 12 seasons 374 472 19 37 6 0 0 19 0 39 249 .078 — — — — -4,243

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 (748 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Bill Hands — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home185233122009.086
Away189239717010.071

Pitching — Home / Away

Bill Hands — Pitching — Home / Away
SplitGIPHERBBSOERA
Home185998.29863822425833.44
Away189952.19093462505453.27

Last 10 Games — Pitching

Bill Hands — Last 10 Games — Pitching
DateTmOppDecIPHRERBBSOHR
1975-08-10 TEXMIL L 2.0655000
1975-08-02 TEXLAA W 5.0311251
1975-07-28 TEXOAK — 5.0944021
1975-07-23 TEXCLE — 6.2822270
1975-07-19 TEXBOS L 5.2552241
1975-07-11 TEXBOS — 4.2944240
1975-07-07 TEXNYY L 8.0655383
1975-07-03 TEXKCR L 2.0444103
1975-06-27 TEXMIN — 6.0754250
1975-06-09 TEXBOS — 2.2400000

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Bill Hands — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
P 374 260 140 297 24 12

Season-by-Season Fielding

Bill Hands — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1965 SFN P 4 2 0 2 0 0
1966 CHN P 41 26 12 33 4 1
1967 CHN P 49 11 11 24 1 1
1968 CHN P 38 34 21 39 1 0
1969 CHN P 41 41 16 56 3 2
1970 CHN P 39 38 22 42 3 2
1971 CHN P 36 35 21 32 2 2
1972 CHN P 32 28 12 21 5 1
1973 MIN P 39 15 4 20 2 2
1974 MIN P 35 10 9 10 0 0
1974 TEX P 2 2 1 2 0 0
1975 TEX P 18 18 11 16 3 1

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Bill Hands Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position Games
Pitcher 374

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Bill Hands (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Ralph Terry
    107-99, 3.62 ERA
  2. 97
    Ken Johnson
    91-106, 3.46 ERA
  3. 93
    Preacher Roe
    127-84, 3.43 ERA
  4. 93
    Bryn Smith
    108-94, 3.53 ERA
  5. 92
    Frank Lary
    128-116, 3.49 ERA
  6. 86
    Nelson Briles
    129-112, 3.44 ERA

Bill Hands: the record in brief

June 3, 1965 and August 10, 1975 bracket Bill Hands's time in the majors: the debut and the last game on record. Club by club, the record runs the San Francisco Giants (1965), the Chicago Cubs (1966 through 1972), the Minnesota Twins (1973 through 1974), and the Texas Rangers (1974 through 1975). The bio lists Hands as a pitcher who threw and hit right-handed. Height and weight on file: 185 pounds on a 6-foot-2 frame. Hands was born on May 6, 1940, in Hackensack, NJ, USA. Hands's death is recorded on March 9, 2017, in Orlando, FL, USA. Hands's full given name, per the bio, is William Alfred Hands.

The pitching table credits Hands with a 111-110 record and a 3.35 ERA in 374 games. The totals include 1,128 strikeouts, 72 complete games, 17 shutouts, and 14 saves. Hands's 3.35 ERA was close to the 3.52 league figure for those seasons. 1969 brought Hands a season-high 20 wins.

Frequently Asked Questions about Bill Hands

What years did Bill Hands play?
Bill Hands played in Major League Baseball from 1965 to 1975.
Was Bill Hands a pitcher?
Yes. Bill Hands pitched in the major leagues, recording 111 wins and 1128 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Bill Hands hit?
Bill Hands hit 0 career home runs with 37 hits.
What was Bill Hands's career batting average?
Bill Hands batted .078 over his career, with 37 hits in 472 at bats.
How many RBI did Bill Hands have?
Bill Hands drove in 19 runs in his career.
What was Bill Hands's career ERA?
Bill Hands finished with a 3.35 career ERA, going 111-110 with 1,128 strikeouts.