Tom Henke

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1982-1995)

Tom Henke was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1982 to 1995 for the Texas Rangers, the Toronto Blue Jays, and the St. Louis Cardinals, a span of 14 seasons. Across 642 career appearances, he went 41-42 with a 2.67 ERA, 861 strikeouts, and 311 saves. Tom Henke was a 2-time All-Star and a Reliever of the Year. His career Pitcher PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of pitching impact — is 25519.5.

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 41–42
ERA 2.67
WHIP 1.09
SO 861
Pitcher PIV 25519.5
Position
Pitcher
Bats / Throws
R / R
Height / Weight
6'5" / 215 lb
Born
12/21/1957 in Kansas City, MO, USA
MLB Debut
1982-09-10
Last Game
1995-09-30
Awards
2× All-Star · Reliever of the Year

Full name: Thomas Anthony Henke

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Career Pitching Statistics

Tom Henke — Career Pitching Statistics
W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
41 42 642 0 0 0 311 789.2 607 234 64 255 861 2.67 25519.5

Career ERA 2.67 vs. league average 3.98 across their career seasons — 33.0% better than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Tom Henke Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year Team Lg W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER BB SO ERA Lg ERA Pitcher PIV
1982 TEX AL 1 0 8 0 0 0 0 15.2 14 2 8 9 1.15 3.86 (+70%) 224.7
1983 TEX AL 1 0 8 0 0 0 1 16.0 16 6 4 17 3.38 3.87 (+13%) 674.1
1984 TEX AL 1 1 25 0 0 0 2 28.1 36 20 20 25 6.35 3.81 (-67%) 416.1
1985 TOR AL 3 3 28 0 0 0 13 40.0 29 9 8 42 2.02 3.89 (+48%) 1420.8
1986 TOR AL 9 5 63 0 0 0 27 91.1 63 34 32 118 3.35 3.97 (+16%) 4297.7
1987 TOR AL 0 6 72 0 0 0 34 94.0 62 26 25 128 2.49 4.29 (+42%) 4707.1
1988 TOR AL 4 4 52 0 0 0 25 68.0 60 22 24 66 2.91 3.73 (+22%) 1054.5
1989 TOR AL 8 3 64 0 0 0 20 89.0 66 19 25 116 1.92 3.71 (+48%) 4336.1
1990 TOR AL 2 4 61 0 0 0 32 74.2 58 18 19 75 2.17 3.86 (+44%) 1640.4
1991 TOR AL 0 2 49 0 0 0 32 50.1 33 13 11 53 2.32 3.91 (+41%) 1872.4
1992 TOR AL 3 2 57 0 0 0 34 55.2 40 14 22 46 2.26 3.75 (+40%) 368.4
1993 TEX AL 5 5 66 0 0 0 40 74.1 55 24 27 79 2.91 4.19 (+31%) 1836.9
1994 TEX AL 3 6 37 0 0 0 15 38.0 33 16 12 39 3.79 4.51 (+16%) 414.8
1995 SLN NL 1 1 52 0 0 0 36 54.1 42 11 18 48 1.82 4.45 (+59%) 2255.7
Career · 14 seasons 41 42 642 0 0 0 311 789.2 607 234 255 861 2.67 — 25,520

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

Tom Henke — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
642 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 .000 0

Career AVG .000 vs. league average .260 across their career seasons — 100.0% below league average.

Career OBP .000 vs. league average .326 across their career seasons — 100.0% below league average.

Career SLG .000 vs. league average .393 across their career seasons — 100.0% below league average.

Career OPS .000 vs. league average .719 across their career seasons — 100.0% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Tom Henke 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
1982 TEX AL 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1983 TEX AL 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1984 TEX AL 25 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1985 TOR AL 28 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1986 TOR AL 63 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1987 TOR AL 72 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1988 TOR AL 52 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1989 TOR AL 64 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1990 TOR AL 61 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1991 TOR AL 49 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1992 TOR AL 57 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1993 TEX AL 66 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1994 TEX AL 37 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1995 SLN NL 52 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
Career · 14 seasons 642 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 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

Tom Henke — Playoff Career Batting
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
15 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000

Playoff Batting by Year

Tom Henke — Playoff Batting by Year
Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1992 ALCS TOR 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1992 WS TOR 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1991 ALCS TOR 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1989 ALCS TOR 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1985 ALCS TOR 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000

Playoff Career Pitching

Tom Henke — Playoff Career Pitching
W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
2 0 15 0 5 19.2 10 4 9 15 1.83

Playoff Pitching by Year

Tom Henke — Playoff Pitching by Year
Year Round Team W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
1992 ALCS TOR 0 0 4 0 3 4.2 3 0 2 2 0.00
1992 WS TOR 0 0 3 0 2 3.1 2 1 2 1 2.70
1991 ALCS TOR 0 0 2 0 0 2.2 0 0 1 5 0.00
1989 ALCS TOR 0 0 3 0 0 2.2 0 0 0 3 0.00
1985 ALCS TOR 2 0 3 0 0 6.1 5 3 4 4 4.26

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (1284 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Tom Henke — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home33210000.000
Away31000000—

Pitching — Home / Away

Tom Henke — Pitching — Home / Away
SplitGIPHERBBSOERA
Home332401.22951021184352.29
Away310388.03121321374263.06

Last 10 Games — Pitching

Tom Henke — Last 10 Games — Pitching
DateTmOppDecIPHRERBBSOHR
1995-09-30 STLPIT SV 0.1000010
1995-09-29 STLPIT SV 1.0000000
1995-09-22 STLHOU SV 1.0000020
1995-09-16 STLLAD W 1.0111310
1995-09-15 STLLAD L 1.0211010
1995-09-09 STLSDP SV 1.0200020
1995-09-08 STLSDP SV 1.0000000
1995-09-07 STLSDP SV 1.0100010
1995-09-06 STLATL — 1.0000010
1995-09-01 STLCOL SV 1.0000010

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Tom Henke — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
P 642 0 43 67 2 4

Season-by-Season Fielding

Tom Henke — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1982 TEX P 8 0 2 2 0 0
1983 TEX P 8 0 0 3 1 0
1984 TEX P 25 0 1 2 0 0
1985 TOR P 28 0 3 3 0 0
1986 TOR P 63 0 2 2 0 1
1987 TOR P 72 0 9 12 0 1
1988 TOR P 52 0 1 9 0 1
1989 TOR P 64 0 3 10 1 0
1990 TOR P 61 0 6 5 0 0
1991 TOR P 49 0 2 1 0 0
1992 TOR P 57 0 2 2 0 0
1993 TEX P 66 0 6 10 0 0
1994 TEX P 37 0 2 2 0 0
1995 SLN P 52 0 4 4 0 1

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Tom Henke Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position Games
Pitcher 642

Awards & Honors

Tom Henke — Awards & Honors
Year Award Notes
1995 Reliever of the Year Award

Salary History

Tom Henke — Salary History
Year Team League Salary
1995 SLN NL $2,325,000
1994 TEX AL $3,752,625
1993 TEX AL $3,777,625
1992 TOR AL $3,391,667
1990 TOR AL $1,166,667
1989 TOR AL $975,000
1988 TOR AL $725,000
1987 TOR AL $331,000
1986 TOR AL $191,000
1985 TOR AL $60,000
Total Career Earnings $16,695,584

College History

Tom Henke — College History
School Name City State Years Attended
East Central College Union MO 1979, 1980

Award Voting History

Tom Henke — Award Voting History
Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
1995 Most Valuable Player NL 22th 1.0 392 0
1987 Most Valuable Player AL 13th 17.0 392 0
1985 Most Valuable Player AL 20th 5.0 392 0
1985 Rookie of the Year AL 7th 5.0 140 1

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Tom Henke (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    John Wetteland
    48-45, 2.93 ERA
  2. 81
    Huston Street
    42-34, 2.95 ERA
  3. 79
    Raisel Iglesias
    43-57, 2.87 ERA
  4. 78
    Jonathan Papelbon
    41-36, 2.44 ERA
  5. 72
    Robb Nen
    45-42, 2.98 ERA
  6. 68
    Joe Nathan
    64-34, 2.87 ERA

Compare Tom Henke

Side-by-side career stat comparisons against Henke's closest peers by position and era.

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Tom Henke: the record in brief

According to the bio, Tom Henke debuted on September 10, 1982 and played a final game on September 30, 1995. Henke played for the Texas Rangers (1982 to 1994), the Toronto Blue Jays (1985 through 1992), and the St. Louis Cardinals (1995). Henke, a pitcher by primary position, threw and hit right-handed. The recorded size is 6 feet, 5 inches and 215 pounds. The birth record reads December 21, 1957, in Kansas City, MO, USA. Tom Henke was the playing name; the full given name is Thomas Anthony.

Across 642 games (0 starts), Henke recorded 41 wins against 42 losses with a 2.67 ERA. Also on Henke's record: 861 strikeouts and 311 saves. Against a 3.98 league ERA for the same years, Henke was 33.0% better. The best win total was 9, in 1986. The strikeout high was 128 in 1987. The most saves in one season was 40, in 1993. In 1989, one of the busiest seasons, Henke posted a 1.92 ERA; the league figure that year was 3.71.

Frequently Asked Questions about Tom Henke

What years did Tom Henke play?
Tom Henke played in Major League Baseball from 1982 to 1995.
Was Tom Henke a pitcher?
Yes. Tom Henke pitched in the major leagues, recording 41 wins and 861 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Tom Henke hit?
Tom Henke hit 0 career home runs.
What was Tom Henke's career batting average?
Tom Henke batted .000 over his career, with 0 hits in 1 at bats.
What was Tom Henke's career ERA?
Tom Henke finished with a 2.67 career ERA, going 41-42 with 861 strikeouts.
How many strikeouts did Tom Henke have?
Tom Henke recorded 861 career strikeouts.