What years did Rick Kester play?

Rick Kester played in Major League Baseball from 1968 to 1970.

Was Rick Kester a pitcher?

Yes. Rick Kester pitched in the major leagues, recording 0 wins and 31 strikeouts.

How many home runs did Rick Kester hit?

Rick Kester hit 0 career home runs.

What teams did Rick Kester play for?

Rick Kester played for one team, the Atlanta Braves (1968–1970).

What were Rick Kester's career stats?

In 21 games, Rick Kester went 0-0 with a 5.98 ERA, 31 strikeouts, and 40.2 innings pitched.

What position did Rick Kester play?

Rick Kester played primarily as a pitcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.

How tall was Rick Kester and how much did he weigh?

Rick Kester was listed at 6 feet and 190 pounds.

What was Rick Kester's career ERA?

Rick Kester finished with a 5.98 career ERA, going 0-0 with 31 strikeouts.

How many strikeouts did Rick Kester have?

Rick Kester recorded 31 career strikeouts.

Is Rick Kester in the Hall of Fame?

No. Rick Kester has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

Rick Kester

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1968-1970)

Rick Kester was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1968 to 1970 for the Atlanta Braves, a span of 3 seasons. Across 21 career appearances, he went 0-0 with a 5.98 ERA and 31 strikeouts.

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 October 25, 2026

W–L 0–0

ERA 5.98

WHIP 1.75

SO 31

Pitcher PIV -391.6

Position: Pitcher
Bats / Throws: R / R
Height / Weight: 6'0" / 190 lb
Born: 7/7/1946 in Iola, KS, USA
MLB Debut: 1968-08-18
Last Game: 1970-09-27

Full name: Richard Lee Kester

📊 Compare This Player 📈 View Career Timeline

Career Pitching Statistics

Rick Kester — Career Pitching Statistics
W	L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	SO	ERA	Pitcher PIV
0	0	21	0	0	0	0	40.2	49	27	4	22	31	5.98	-391.6

Career ERA 5.98 vs. league average 3.52 across their career seasons — 69.6% worse than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Rick Kester — Season-by-Season Pitching
Year	Team	Lg	G	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA	Lg ERA	Pitcher PIV
1968	ATL	NL	5	6.1	8	4	3	9	5.68	—	0.0
1969	ATL	NL	1	2.0	5	3	0	2	13.50	—	0.0
1970	ATL	NL	15	32.1	36	20	19	20	5.57	3.89 (-43%)	-391.6
Career · 3 seasons			21	40.2	49	27	22	31	5.98	—	-392

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

Rick Kester — Career Batting Statistics
G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	PIV
21	9	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	.000	.000	.000	.000	0

Career AVG .000 vs. league average .247 across their career seasons — 100.0% below league average.

Career OBP .000 vs. league average .316 across their career seasons — 100.0% below league average.

Career SLG .000 vs. league average .367 across their career seasons — 100.0% below league average.

Career OPS .000 vs. league average .682 across their career seasons — 100.0% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Rick Kester — Season-by-Season Batting
Year	Team	Lg	G	AB	SO	AVG	Lg AVG	Lg OBP	Lg SLG	Lg OPS	PIV
1968	ATL	NL	5	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1969	ATL	NL	1	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1970	ATL	NL	15	9	1	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
Career · 3 seasons			21	9	1	.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 (42 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Rick Kester — Batting — Home / Away
Split	G	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	AVG
Home	8	4	0	0	0	0	.000
Away	13	5	0	0	0	0	.000

Pitching — Home / Away

Rick Kester — Pitching — Home / Away
Split	G	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
Home	8	15.1	16	12	9	9	7.04
Away	13	25.1	33	15	13	22	5.33

Last 10 Games — Batting

Rick Kester — Last 10 Games — Batting
Date	Tm	Opp	Res	AB	SO
1970-09-27	ATL	HOU	L	1	0
1970-09-19	ATL	CIN	L	0	0
1970-09-13	ATL	HOU	L	2	0
1970-09-07	ATL	LAD	L	0	0
1970-07-24	ATL	CHC	L	1	0
1970-07-17	ATL	STL	L	1	0
1970-07-12	ATL	CIN	L	0	0
1970-07-08	ATL	SFG	L	2	1
1970-07-07	ATL	SFG	L	0	0
1970-07-01	ATL	CIN	L	1	0

Last 10 Games — Pitching

Rick Kester — Last 10 Games — Pitching
Date	Tm	Opp	Dec	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR
1970-09-27	ATL	HOU	—	2.2	1	0	0	1	2	0
1970-09-19	ATL	CIN	—	2.0	3	3	3	3	0	1
1970-09-13	ATL	HOU	—	5.2	5	3	3	1	8	1
1970-09-07	ATL	LAD	—	2.0	0	0	0	1	1	0
1970-07-24	ATL	CHC	—	1.1	5	1	1	3	0	0
1970-07-17	ATL	STL	—	2.0	5	3	1	1	1	0
1970-07-12	ATL	CIN	—	1.0	0	0	0	0	0	0
1970-07-08	ATL	SFG	—	4.1	0	0	0	3	2	0
1970-07-07	ATL	SFG	—	1.0	0	0	0	0	0	0
1970-07-01	ATL	CIN	—	3.0	5	3	3	0	0	0

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Rick Kester — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
P	21	0	0	3	2	0

Season-by-Season Fielding

Rick Kester — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year	Team	Pos	G	A	E
1968	ATL	P	5	0	0
1969	ATL	P	1	0	0
1970	ATL	P	15	3	2

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Rick Kester — Career Games by Position
Position	Games
Pitcher	21

College History

Rick Kester — College History
School Name	City	State	Years Attended
University of California - Los Angeles	Los Angeles	CA	1966, 1967

Rick Kester: the record in brief

Between the debut on August 18, 1968 and the final game on September 27, 1970, Rick Kester built the record summarized on this page. Every season row on the page belongs to the Atlanta Braves, from 1968 through 1970. Listed as a pitcher, Kester threw and hit right-handed. The recorded size is 6-foot-0 and 190 pounds. Kester was born on July 7, 1946, in Iola, KS, USA. The given name on file is Richard Lee Kester.

Kester's career pitching line is 0 wins, 0 losses and a 5.98 ERA over 21 appearances. The same table counts 31 strikeouts. Against a 3.52 league ERA for the same seasons, the 5.98 mark was 69.6% worse. Among the heaviest workloads, the lowest ERA was 5.57 in 1970, when the league's was 3.89.

The college table lists University of California - Los Angeles in 1966 and 1967. The game-log section draws on 42 games of Retrosheet box scores for Kester.

The position breakdown shows 21 games, all at pitcher. On the mound, the fielding record shows 2 errors alongside 0 putouts and 3 assists.

Frequently Asked Questions about Rick Kester

What years did Rick Kester play?: Rick Kester played in Major League Baseball from 1968 to 1970.
Was Rick Kester a pitcher?: Yes. Rick Kester pitched in the major leagues, recording 0 wins and 31 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Rick Kester hit?: Rick Kester hit 0 career home runs.
What teams did Rick Kester play for?: Rick Kester played for one team, the Atlanta Braves (1968–1970).
What were Rick Kester's career stats?: In 21 games, Rick Kester went 0-0 with a 5.98 ERA, 31 strikeouts, and 40.2 innings pitched.
What position did Rick Kester play?: Rick Kester played primarily as a pitcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.
How tall was Rick Kester and how much did he weigh?: Rick Kester was listed at 6 feet and 190 pounds.
What was Rick Kester's career ERA?: Rick Kester finished with a 5.98 career ERA, going 0-0 with 31 strikeouts.
How many strikeouts did Rick Kester have?: Rick Kester recorded 31 career strikeouts.
Is Rick Kester in the Hall of Fame?: No. Rick Kester has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.