Charlie Kerfeld

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1985-1990)

Charlie Kerfeld was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1985 to 1990 for the Houston Astros and the Atlanta Braves, a span of 6 seasons. Across 123 career appearances, he went 18-9 with a 4.20 ERA and 155 strikeouts. His career Pitcher PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of pitching impact — is 1152.3.

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 18–9
ERA 4.20
WHIP 1.52
SO 155
Pitcher PIV 1152.3
Position
Pitcher
Bats / Throws
R / R
Height / Weight
6'6" / 225 lb
Born
9/28/1963 in Knob Noster, MO, USA
MLB Debut
1985-07-27
Last Game
1990-07-19

Full name: Charles Patrick Kerfeld

📊 Compare This Player 📈 View Career Timeline

Career Pitching Statistics

Charlie Kerfeld — Career Pitching Statistics
W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
18 9 123 6 0 0 9 201.2 189 94 12 117 155 4.20 1152.3

Career ERA 4.20 vs. league average 4.01 across their career seasons — near league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Charlie Kerfeld — Season-by-Season Pitching
Year Team Lg W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER BB SO ERA Lg ERA Pitcher PIV
1985 HOU NL 4 2 11 6 0 0 0 44.1 44 20 25 30 4.06 3.89 (-4%) 318.0
1986 HOU NL 11 2 61 0 0 0 7 93.2 71 27 42 77 2.59 3.97 (+35%) 1772.0
1987 HOU NL 0 2 21 0 0 0 0 29.2 34 22 21 17 6.67 4.29 (-55%) -720.0
1990 HOU NL 0 2 5 0 0 0 0 3.1 9 6 6 4 16.20 — 0.0
1990 ATL NL 3 1 25 0 0 0 2 30.2 31 19 23 27 5.58 3.86 (-44%) -217.7
Career · 5 seasons 18 9 123 6 0 0 9 201.2 189 94 117 155 4.20 — 1,152

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

Charlie Kerfeld — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
123 26 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 16 .038 .074 .038 .113 0

Career AVG .038 vs. league average .259 across their career seasons — 85.1% below league average.

Career OBP .074 vs. league average .326 across their career seasons — 77.3% below league average.

Career SLG .038 vs. league average .397 across their career seasons — 90.3% below league average.

Career OPS .113 vs. league average .723 across their career seasons — 84.4% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Charlie Kerfeld — Season-by-Season Batting
Year Team Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG Lg AVG Lg OBP Lg SLG Lg OPS PIV
1985 HOU NL 11 14 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 9 .000 — — — — 0.0
1986 HOU NL 61 9 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 6 .111 — — — — 0.0
1987 HOU NL 21 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000 — — — — 0.0
1990 HOU NL 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1990 ATL NL 25 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
Career · 5 seasons 123 26 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 16 .038 — — — — 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

Charlie Kerfeld — Playoff Career Batting
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000

Playoff Batting by Year

Charlie Kerfeld — Playoff Batting by Year
Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1986 NLCS HOU 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000

Playoff Career Pitching

Charlie Kerfeld — Playoff Career Pitching
W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
0 1 3 0 0 4.0 2 1 1 4 2.25

Playoff Pitching by Year

Charlie Kerfeld — Playoff Pitching by Year
Year Round Team W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
1986 NLCS HOU 0 1 3 0 0 4.0 2 1 1 4 2.25

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (246 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Charlie Kerfeld — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home61150000.000
Away62110101.091

Pitching — Home / Away

Charlie Kerfeld — Pitching — Home / Away
SplitGIPHERBBSOERA
Home61103.21035052824.34
Away6298.0864465734.04

Last 10 Games — Pitching

Charlie Kerfeld — Last 10 Games — Pitching
DateTmOppDecIPHRERBBSOHR
1990-07-19 ATLNYN — 2.0232210
1990-07-16 ATLPHI — 1.0211210
1990-07-14 ATLWSN — 1.1220100
1990-07-08 ATLNYN — 1.0000020
1990-07-05 ATLNYN — 1.2111011
1990-07-03 ATLPHI — 1.0100110
1990-06-30 ATLWSN — 0.0100000
1990-06-26 ATLLAD — 1.2211210
1990-06-24 ATLSDP — 2.0100120
1990-06-08 ATLSFG — 1.0544010

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Charlie Kerfeld — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
P 123 6 19 16 5 2

Season-by-Season Fielding

Charlie Kerfeld — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1985 HOU P 11 6 5 2 1 1
1986 HOU P 61 0 7 9 0 1
1987 HOU P 21 0 5 3 1 0
1990 HOU P 5 0 0 0 1 0
1990 ATL P 25 0 2 2 2 0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Charlie Kerfeld — Career Games by Position
Position Games
Pitcher 123

Salary History

Charlie Kerfeld's recorded salaries total $397,037 over 4 seasons, 1986 to 1990. This total is partial: the salary data covers 1985 to 2016, and Kerfeld's career ran from 1985 to 1990. No salary is recorded for 1985.

Charlie Kerfeld — Salary History
Year Team League Salary
1990 HOU NL $122,000
1988 HOU NL $100,000
1987 HOU NL $110,037
1986 HOU NL $65,000
Total recorded salary (partial) $397,037

College History

Charlie Kerfeld — College History
School Name City State Years Attended
Yavapai College Prescott AZ 1982

Award Voting History

Charlie Kerfeld — Award Voting History
Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
1986 Rookie of the Year NL 4th 17.0 120 0

Charlie Kerfeld: the record in brief

July 27, 1985 and July 19, 1990 bracket Charlie Kerfeld's time in the majors: the debut and the last game on record. The season rows list, in order, the Houston Astros (1985 to 1990) and the Atlanta Braves (1990). Kerfeld, a pitcher by primary position, both batted and threw right-handed. Kerfeld is listed at 225 pounds on a 6-foot-6 frame. The birth record reads September 28, 1963, in Knob Noster, MO, USA. The bio lists the given name Charles Patrick.

Kerfeld pitched in 123 games, starting 6, and finished with a 18-9 record and 4.20 ERA. Also on Kerfeld's record: 155 strikeouts. Kerfeld's 4.20 ERA was close to the 4.01 league figure for those seasons. 1986 brought Kerfeld a season-high 11 wins. In 1986, one of the busiest seasons, Kerfeld posted a 2.59 ERA; the league figure that year was 3.97. Kerfeld's career Pitcher PIV, which scores run prevention against each season's league, is 1,152.3.

The voting table's high point is a 4th-place Rookie of the Year finish in 1986.

Frequently Asked Questions about Charlie Kerfeld

What years did Charlie Kerfeld play?
Charlie Kerfeld played in Major League Baseball from 1985 to 1990.
Was Charlie Kerfeld a pitcher?
Yes. Charlie Kerfeld pitched in the major leagues, recording 18 wins and 155 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Charlie Kerfeld hit?
Charlie Kerfeld hit 0 career home runs with 1 hit.
What teams did Charlie Kerfeld play for?
Charlie Kerfeld played for 2 teams: the Houston Astros (1985–1987, 1990) and the Atlanta Braves (1990).
What were Charlie Kerfeld's career stats?
In 123 games, Charlie Kerfeld went 18-9 with a 4.20 ERA, 155 strikeouts, 201.2 innings pitched, and 9 saves.
How much did Charlie Kerfeld earn in his career?
Charlie Kerfeld's recorded salaries total $397,037 over 4 seasons, 1986 to 1990. This total is partial: the salary data covers 1985 to 2016, and Kerfeld's career ran from 1985 to 1990. No salary is recorded for 1985.
What was Charlie Kerfeld's salary?
Charlie Kerfeld's last recorded salary was $122,000, in 1990. His highest recorded salary was $122,000, in 1990, and his lowest was $65,000, in 1986. The Salary History table lists each season from 1986 to 1990.
What position did Charlie Kerfeld play?
Charlie Kerfeld played primarily as a pitcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.
How tall was Charlie Kerfeld and how much did he weigh?
Charlie Kerfeld was listed at 6 feet 6 inches and 225 pounds.
What was Charlie Kerfeld's career ERA?
Charlie Kerfeld finished with a 4.20 career ERA, going 18-9 with 155 strikeouts.
How many strikeouts did Charlie Kerfeld have?
Charlie Kerfeld recorded 155 career strikeouts.
Is Charlie Kerfeld in the Hall of Fame?
No. Charlie Kerfeld has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.