Jim Kern

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1974-1986)

W–L 53–57
ERA 3.32
WHIP 1.40
SO 651
Pitcher PIV 8160.4
Position
Pitcher
Bats / Throws
R / R
Height / Weight
6'5" / 185 lb
Born
3/15/1949 in Gladwin, MI, USA
MLB Debut
1974-09-06
Last Game
1986-05-30
Awards
3× All-Star · Reliever of the Year

Full name: James Lester Kern

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Career Pitching Statistics

W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
53 57 416 14 1 0 88 793.3 670 293 35 444 651 3.32 8160.4

Career ERA 3.32 vs. league average 3.81 across their career seasons — 12.7% better than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Year Team Lg W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER BB SO ERA Lg ERA Pitcher PIV
1974 CLE AL 0 1 4 3 1 0 0 15.3 16 8 14 11 4.70 3.63 (-29%) -422.9
1975 CLE AL 1 2 13 7 0 0 0 71.7 60 30 45 55 3.77 3.71 (-2%) -611.9
1976 CLE AL 10 7 50 2 0 0 15 117.7 91 31 50 111 2.37 3.51 (+33%) 3449.9
1977 CLE AL 8 10 60 0 0 0 18 92.0 85 35 47 91 3.42 4.00 (+14%) 2546.4
1978 CLE AL 10 10 58 0 0 0 13 99.3 77 34 58 95 3.08 3.69 (+16%) 1644.9
1979 TEX AL 13 5 71 0 0 0 29 143.0 99 25 62 136 1.57 4.00 (+61%) 5059.3
1980 TEX AL 3 11 38 1 0 0 2 63.3 65 34 45 40 4.83 3.84 (-26%) -1100.0
1981 TEX AL 1 2 23 0 0 0 6 30.0 21 9 22 20 2.70 3.58 (+25%) 12.5
1982 CIN NL 3 5 50 0 0 0 2 76.0 61 24 48 43 2.84 3.86 (+26%) -396.9
1982 CHA AL 2 1 13 1 0 0 3 28.0 20 16 12 23 5.14 3.86 (-33%) 77.9
1983 CHA AL 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0.7 1 0 0 0 0.00 — 0.0
1984 PHI NL 0 1 8 0 0 0 0 13.3 20 15 10 8 10.12 3.81 (-166%) -977.4
1984 ML4 AL 1 0 6 0 0 0 0 4.7 6 0 3 4 0.00 — 0.0
1985 ML4 AL 0 1 5 0 0 0 0 11.0 14 8 5 3 6.55 3.89 (-68%) -217.5
1986 CLE AL 1 1 16 0 0 0 0 27.3 34 24 23 11 7.90 3.97 (-99%) -904.0
Career · 15 seasons 53 57 416 14 1 0 88 793.1 670 293 444 651 3.32 — 8,160

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

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
416 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 7 .000 .100 .000 .100 0

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

Career OBP .100 vs. league average .325 across their career seasons — 69.2% below league average.

Career SLG .000 vs. league average .384 across their career seasons — 100.0% below league average.

Career OPS .100 vs. league average .709 across their career seasons — 85.9% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Year Team Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG Lg AVG Lg OBP Lg SLG Lg OPS PIV
1974 CLE AL 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1975 CLE AL 13 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1976 CLE AL 50 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1977 CLE AL 60 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1978 CLE AL 58 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000 — — — — 0.0
1979 TEX AL 71 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1980 TEX AL 38 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1981 TEX AL 23 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1982 CIN NL 50 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 5 .000 — — — — 0.0
1982 CHA AL 13 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1983 CHA AL 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1984 PHI NL 8 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000 — — — — 0.0
1984 ML4 AL 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1985 ML4 AL 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1986 CLE AL 16 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
Career · 15 seasons 416 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 7 .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.

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (832 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home21340000.000
Away20350000.000

Pitching — Home / Away

SplitGIPHERBBSOERA
Home213442.13821702163543.46
Away203351.02881232282973.15

Last 10 Games — Pitching

DateTmOppDecIPHRERBBSOHR
1986-05-30 CLEMIL — 0.2244200
1986-05-28 CLEBOS — 0.0111100
1986-05-25 CLETOR — 6.0633330
1986-05-18 CLETOR — 4.0444211
1986-05-16 CLETOR — 2.1000300
1986-05-12 CLETEX — 1.1687310
1986-05-10 CLECHW — 0.2110100
1986-04-30 CLETEX — 1.1100010
1986-04-29 CLETEX W 1.2100100
1986-04-27 CLENYY — 0.0000100

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position G GS PO A E DP
P 416 14 43 115 16 7

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1974 CLE P 4 3 0 1 0 0
1975 CLE P 13 7 4 11 2 0
1976 CLE P 50 2 7 14 3 2
1977 CLE P 60 0 5 13 3 2
1978 CLE P 58 0 4 16 0 0
1979 TEX P 71 0 9 16 7 1
1980 TEX P 38 1 0 12 0 1
1981 TEX P 23 0 3 3 1 0
1982 CIN P 50 0 3 15 0 0
1982 CHA P 13 1 3 3 0 0
1983 CHA P 1 0 0 0 0 0
1984 PHI P 8 0 0 2 0 0
1984 ML4 P 6 0 1 0 0 0
1985 ML4 P 5 0 2 3 0 1
1986 CLE P 16 0 2 6 0 0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Position Games
Pitcher 416

Awards & Honors

Year Award Notes
1979 Pitcher of the Month May
1979 Reliever of the Year Award
1979 TSN All-Star RHP
1979 TSN Fireman of the Year

Salary History

Year Team League Salary
1986 CLE AL $90,000
Total Career Earnings $90,000

Award Voting History

Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
1979 Cy Young Award AL 4th 25.0 140 0
1979 Most Valuable Player AL 11th 25.0 392 0

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Jim Kern (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Tippy Martinez
    55-42, 3.45 ERA
  2. 96
    John Wyatt
    42-44, 3.47 ERA
  3. 88
    Joe Page
    57-49, 3.53 ERA
  4. 86
    Larry Sherry
    53-44, 3.67 ERA
  5. 84
    Sammy Stewart
    59-48, 3.59 ERA
  6. 81
    Mark Littell
    32-31, 3.32 ERA

Frequently Asked Questions about Jim Kern

What years did Jim Kern play?
Jim Kern played in Major League Baseball from 1974 to 1986.
Was Jim Kern a pitcher?
Yes. Jim Kern pitched in the major leagues, recording 53 wins and 651 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Jim Kern hit?
Jim Kern hit 0 career home runs.