Rich Harden

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (2003-2011)

Rich Harden was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 2003 to 2011 for the Athletics, the Chicago Cubs, and the Texas Rangers, a span of 9 seasons. Across 170 career appearances, he went 59-38 with a 3.76 ERA and 949 strikeouts. His career Pitcher PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of pitching impact — is 8666.1.

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 59–38
ERA 3.76
WHIP 1.30
SO 949
Pitcher PIV 8666.1
Position
Pitcher
Bats / Throws
L / R
Height / Weight
6'1" / 190 lb
Born
11/30/1981 in Victoria, BC, CAN
MLB Debut
2003-07-21
Last Game
2011-09-25

Full name: James Richard Harden

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Career Pitching Statistics

Rich Harden — Career Pitching Statistics
W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
59 38 170 160 2 1 0 928.1 781 388 105 422 949 3.76 8666.1

Career ERA 3.76 vs. league average 4.31 across their career seasons — 12.8% better than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Rich Harden Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year Team Lg W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER BB SO ERA Lg ERA Pitcher PIV
2003 OAK AL 5 4 15 13 0 0 0 74.2 72 37 40 67 4.46 4.40 (-1%) 1222.5
2004 OAK AL 11 7 31 31 0 0 0 189.2 171 84 81 167 3.99 4.46 (+11%) 3700.4
2005 OAK AL 10 5 22 19 2 1 0 128.0 93 36 43 121 2.53 4.29 (+41%) 4584.6
2006 OAK AL 4 0 9 9 0 0 0 46.2 31 22 26 49 4.24 4.53 (+6%) 414.0
2007 OAK AL 1 2 7 4 0 0 0 25.2 18 7 11 27 2.45 4.47 (+45%) 343.3
2008 OAK AL 5 1 13 13 0 0 0 77.0 57 20 31 92 2.34 4.32 (+46%) 2914.6
2008 CHN NL 5 1 12 12 0 0 0 71.0 39 14 30 89 1.77 4.32 (+59%) 2247.8
2009 CHN NL 9 9 26 26 0 0 0 141.0 122 64 67 171 4.09 4.32 (+5%) -83.0
2010 TEX AL 5 5 20 18 0 0 0 92.0 91 57 62 75 5.58 4.08 (-37%) -5123.3
2011 OAK AL 4 4 15 15 0 0 0 82.2 87 47 31 91 5.12 3.94 (-30%) -1554.8
Career · 10 seasons 59 38 170 160 2 1 0 928.1 781 388 422 949 3.76 — 8,666

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

Rich Harden — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
171 76 4 11 1 0 0 1 0 1 31 .145 .156 .158 .314 0

Career AVG .145 vs. league average .263 across their career seasons — 45.1% below league average.

Career OBP .156 vs. league average .331 across their career seasons — 53.0% below league average.

Career SLG .158 vs. league average .418 across their career seasons — 62.2% below league average.

Career OPS .314 vs. league average .749 across their career seasons — 58.1% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Rich Harden 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
2003 OAK AL 15 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
2004 OAK AL 31 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 .000 — — — — 0.0
2005 OAK AL 22 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
2006 OAK AL 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
2007 OAK AL 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
2008 OAK AL 13 4 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .250 — — — — 0.0
2008 CHN NL 12 23 1 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 12 .087 — — — — 0.0
2009 CHN NL 27 43 3 8 1 0 0 0 0 1 15 .186 — — — — 0.0
2010 TEX AL 20 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
2011 OAK AL 15 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
Career · 10 seasons 171 76 4 11 1 0 0 1 0 1 31 .145 — — — — 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

Rich Harden — Playoff Career Batting
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
4 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000

Playoff Batting by Year

Rich Harden — Playoff Batting by Year
Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
2008 NLDS1 CHN 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000
2006 ALCS OAK 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
2003 ALDS2 OAK 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000

Playoff Career Pitching

Rich Harden — Playoff Career Pitching
W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
1 3 4 2 0 11.1 12 8 10 9 6.35

Playoff Pitching by Year

Rich Harden — Playoff Pitching by Year
Year Round Team W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
2008 NLDS1 CHN 0 1 1 1 0 4.1 5 3 3 4 6.23
2006 ALCS OAK 0 1 1 1 0 5.2 5 3 5 4 4.76
2003 ALDS2 OAK 1 1 2 0 0 1.1 2 2 2 1 13.50

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (341 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Rich Harden — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home91334601.182
Away80430500.116

Pitching — Home / Away

Rich Harden — Pitching — Home / Away
SplitGIPHERBBSOERA
Home90501.04122002215313.59
Away80427.13691882014183.96

Last 10 Games — Pitching

Rich Harden — Last 10 Games — Pitching
DateTmOppDecIPHRERBBSOHR
2011-09-25 OAKLAA — 6.0833152
2011-09-20 OAKTEX L 3.0765131
2011-09-14 OAKLAA L 5.1733111
2011-09-05 OAKKCR — 5.08441101
2011-08-31 OAKCLE — 6.0633262
2011-08-25 OAKNYY — 4.11066162
2011-08-19 OAKTOR W 7.02004110
2011-08-14 OAKTEX — 4.0544540
2011-08-09 OAKTOR W 7.0511281
2011-08-02 OAKSEA L 5.2544371

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Rich Harden — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
P 170 160 66 73 8 11

Season-by-Season Fielding

Rich Harden — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
2003 OAK P 15 13 5 11 1 3
2004 OAK P 31 31 15 18 1 2
2005 OAK P 22 19 12 8 1 2
2006 OAK P 9 9 6 7 0 0
2007 OAK P 7 4 3 0 0 0
2008 OAK P 13 13 3 3 0 0
2008 CHN P 12 12 6 3 0 0
2009 CHN P 26 26 7 9 2 2
2010 TEX P 20 18 5 5 1 1
2011 OAK P 15 15 4 9 2 1

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Rich Harden Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position Games
Pitcher 170

Salary History

Rich Harden's recorded salaries total $23,586,500 over 7 seasons, 2005 to 2011. This total is partial: the salary data covers 1985 to 2016, and Harden's career ran from 2003 to 2011. No salary is recorded for 2003 and 2004.

Rich Harden — Salary History
Year Team League Salary
2011 OAK AL $1,500,000
2010 TEX AL $6,500,000
2009 CHN NL $7,000,000
2008 OAK AL $4,750,000
2007 OAK AL $2,250,000
2006 OAK AL $1,250,000
2005 OAK AL $336,500
Total recorded salary (partial) $23,586,500

College History

Rich Harden — College History
School Name City State Years Attended
Central Arizona College Coolidge AZ 2000, 2001

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Rich Harden (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Lance McCullers
    53-40, 3.85 ERA
  2. 66
    Dave Boswell
    68-56, 3.52 ERA
  3. 66
    Dylan Cease
    76-64, 3.67 ERA
  4. 64
    Tyson Ross
    44-70, 4.04 ERA
  5. 60
    Brad Peacock
    34-31, 4.11 ERA
  6. 59
    Mike Clevinger
    60-44, 3.55 ERA

Rich Harden: the record in brief

Rich Harden's major league career runs from a debut on July 21, 2003 to a final game on September 25, 2011. By club, Harden's seasons break down as the Oakland Athletics (2003 to 2011), the Chicago Cubs (2008 to 2009), and the Texas Rangers (2010). Harden, born on November 30, 1981, in Victoria, BC, CAN, is listed as a pitcher and batted left-handed and threw right-handed. The bio gives 6-foot-1 and 190 pounds. Rich Harden was the playing name; the full given name is James Richard.

Harden pitched in 170 games, starting 160, and finished with a 59-38 record and 3.76 ERA. Also on Harden's record: 949 strikeouts. The leagues Harden pitched in allowed 4.31 earned runs per nine over those seasons, so the career ERA was 12.8% better than average. Harden won 11 games in 2004, the most of any season listed. 2009 produced Harden's most strikeouts, 171. In 2005, one of the busiest seasons, Harden posted a 2.53 ERA; the league figure that year was 4.29.

Frequently Asked Questions about Rich Harden

What years did Rich Harden play?
Rich Harden played in Major League Baseball from 2003 to 2011.
Was Rich Harden a pitcher?
Yes. Rich Harden pitched in the major leagues, recording 59 wins and 949 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Rich Harden hit?
Rich Harden hit 0 career home runs with 11 hits.
What teams did Rich Harden play for?
Rich Harden played for 3 teams: the Oakland Athletics (2003–2008, 2011), the Chicago Cubs (2008–2009), and the Texas Rangers (2010).
What were Rich Harden's career stats?
In 170 games, Rich Harden went 59-38 with a 3.76 ERA, 949 strikeouts, and 928.1 innings pitched.
How much did Rich Harden earn in his career?
Rich Harden's recorded salaries total $23,586,500 over 7 seasons, 2005 to 2011. This total is partial: the salary data covers 1985 to 2016, and Harden's career ran from 2003 to 2011. No salary is recorded for 2003 and 2004.
What was Rich Harden's salary?
Rich Harden's last recorded salary was $1,500,000, in 2011. His highest recorded salary was $7,000,000, in 2009, and his lowest was $336,500, in 2005. The Salary History table lists each season from 2005 to 2011.
What position did Rich Harden play?
Rich Harden played primarily as a pitcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.
How tall was Rich Harden and how much did he weigh?
Rich Harden was listed at 6 feet 1 inch and 190 pounds.
What was Rich Harden's career ERA?
Rich Harden finished with a 3.76 career ERA, going 59-38 with 949 strikeouts.
How many strikeouts did Rich Harden have?
Rich Harden recorded 949 career strikeouts.
Is Rich Harden in the Hall of Fame?
No. Rich Harden has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.