Bob Kipper

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1985-1992)

Bob Kipper was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1985 to 1992 for the California Angels, the Pittsburgh Pirates, and the Minnesota Twins, a span of 8 seasons. Across 271 career appearances, he went 27-37 with a 4.34 ERA and 369 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

W–L 27–37
ERA 4.34
WHIP 1.32
SO 369
Pitcher PIV -8684.8
Position
Pitcher
Bats / Throws
R / L
Height / Weight
6'2" / 200 lb
Born
7/8/1964 in Aurora, IL, USA
MLB Debut
1985-04-12
Last Game
1992-07-27

Full name: Robert Wayne Kipper

📊 Compare This Player 📈 View Career Timeline

Career Pitching Statistics

Bob Kipper — Career Pitching Statistics
W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
27 37 271 45 1 1 11 562.0 527 271 81 217 369 4.34 -8684.8

Career ERA 4.34 vs. league average 3.89 across their career seasons — 11.6% worse than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Bob Kipper Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year Team Lg W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER BB SO ERA Lg ERA Pitcher PIV
1985 CAL AL 0 1 2 1 0 0 0 3.1 7 8 3 0 21.60 — 0.0
1985 PIT NL 1 2 5 4 0 0 0 24.2 21 14 7 13 5.11 3.89 (-31%) -429.4
1986 PIT NL 6 8 20 19 0 0 0 114.0 123 51 34 81 4.03 3.97 (-1%) -750.8
1987 PIT NL 5 9 24 20 1 1 0 110.2 117 73 52 83 5.94 4.29 (-38%) -4089.5
1988 PIT NL 2 6 50 0 0 0 0 65.0 54 27 26 39 3.74 3.73 (avg) -857.5
1989 PIT NL 3 4 52 0 0 0 4 83.0 55 27 33 58 2.93 3.71 (+21%) 779.1
1990 PIT NL 5 2 41 1 0 0 3 62.2 44 21 26 35 3.02 3.86 (+22%) -1050.3
1991 PIT NL 2 2 52 0 0 0 4 60.0 66 31 22 38 4.65 3.91 (-19%) -441.8
1992 MIN AL 3 3 25 0 0 0 0 38.2 40 19 14 22 4.42 3.75 (-18%) -1844.8
Career · 9 seasons 27 37 271 45 1 1 11 562.0 527 271 217 369 4.34 — -8,685

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

Bob Kipper — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
274 95 6 13 2 0 0 2 0 2 30 .137 .163 .158 .321 0

Career AVG .137 vs. league average .257 across their career seasons — 46.7% below league average.

Career OBP .163 vs. league average .324 across their career seasons — 49.5% below league average.

Career SLG .158 vs. league average .388 across their career seasons — 59.3% below league average.

Career OPS .321 vs. league average .711 across their career seasons — 54.8% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Bob Kipper 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
1985 CAL AL 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1985 PIT NL 5 8 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 .250 — — — — 0.0
1986 PIT NL 21 33 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 11 .030 — — — — 0.0
1987 PIT NL 26 33 3 8 2 0 0 0 0 0 12 .242 — — — — 0.0
1988 PIT NL 50 4 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1989 PIT NL 52 9 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 2 .111 — — — — 0.0
1990 PIT NL 41 7 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 .143 — — — — 0.0
1991 PIT NL 52 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1992 MIN AL 25 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
Career · 9 seasons 274 95 6 13 2 0 0 2 0 2 30 .137 — — — — 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

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

Playoff Batting by Year

Bob Kipper — Playoff Batting by Year
Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1991 NLCS PIT 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000

Playoff Career Pitching

Bob Kipper — Playoff Career Pitching
W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
0 0 1 0 0 2.0 2 1 0 1 4.50

Playoff Pitching by Year

Bob Kipper — Playoff Pitching by Year
Year Round Team W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
1991 NLCS PIT 0 0 1 0 0 2.0 2 1 0 1 4.50

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (545 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Bob Kipper — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home135484801.167
Away139472501.106

Pitching — Home / Away

Bob Kipper — Pitching — Home / Away
SplitGIPHERBBSOERA
Home134294.02771461172044.47
Away137268.02501251001654.20

Last 10 Games — Pitching

Bob Kipper — Last 10 Games — Pitching
DateTmOppDecIPHRERBBSOHR
1992-07-27 MINOAK — 1.0344111
1992-07-20 MINCLE — 0.1133200
1992-07-17 MINBOS W 3.0000100
1992-07-09 MINBAL — 3.0222221
1992-07-03 MINBAL — 2.1400020
1992-06-25 MINOAK — 1.2100000
1992-06-16 MINKCR L 1.0433203
1992-06-13 MINCHW — 1.1000110
1992-06-08 MINKCR L 0.2451000
1992-06-05 MINTEX — 2.0100020

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Bob Kipper — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
P 271 45 18 82 6 4

Season-by-Season Fielding

Bob Kipper — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1985 CAL P 2 1 1 0 0 0
1985 PIT P 5 4 0 5 1 0
1986 PIT P 20 19 1 15 1 0
1987 PIT P 24 20 3 16 0 1
1988 PIT P 50 0 4 16 0 1
1989 PIT P 52 0 3 10 2 1
1990 PIT P 41 1 5 8 0 0
1991 PIT P 52 0 1 6 2 0
1992 MIN P 25 0 0 6 0 1

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Bob Kipper Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position Games
Pitcher 271

Salary History

Bob Kipper's recorded salaries total $2,780,000 over 6 seasons, 1986 to 1992. This total is partial: the salary data covers 1985 to 2016, and Kipper's career ran from 1985 to 1992. No salary is recorded for 1985 and 1987.

Bob Kipper — Salary History
Year Team League Salary
1992 MIN AL $1,000,000
1991 PIT NL $835,000
1990 PIT NL $525,000
1989 PIT NL $230,000
1988 PIT NL $125,000
1986 PIT NL $65,000
Total recorded salary (partial) $2,780,000

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Bob Kipper (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Donne Wall
    31-28, 4.20 ERA
  2. 96
    Willie Fraser
    38-40, 4.47 ERA
  3. 96
    Brian Fisher
    36-34, 4.39 ERA
  4. 96
    Roger Mason
    22-35, 4.02 ERA
  5. 93
    Bob Priddy
    24-38, 4.00 ERA
  6. 91
    Jack Lamabe
    33-41, 4.24 ERA

Bob Kipper: the record in brief

April 12, 1985 and July 27, 1992 bracket Bob Kipper's time in the majors: the debut and the last game on record. The team column moves through the California Angels (1985), the Pittsburgh Pirates (1985 through 1991), and the Minnesota Twins (1992). Listed as a pitcher, Kipper hit right-handed while throwing left-handed. Kipper is listed at 6-foot-2 and 200 pounds. Kipper was born on July 8, 1964, in Aurora, IL, USA. Kipper's full given name, per the bio, is Robert Wayne Kipper.

Across 271 games (45 starts), Kipper recorded 27 wins against 37 losses with a 4.34 ERA. Kipper had 369 strikeouts and 11 saves. Against a 3.89 league ERA for the same seasons, the 4.34 mark was 11.6% worse. 1986 brought Kipper a season-high 6 wins. Kipper struck out 83 batters in 1987, a career high. 1989 was Kipper's sharpest full season, a 2.93 ERA against the league's 3.71.

The playoff pitching line reads 0-0, 4.50 ERA, across 1 appearances. Those appearances came in 1991.

Frequently Asked Questions about Bob Kipper

What years did Bob Kipper play?
Bob Kipper played in Major League Baseball from 1985 to 1992.
Was Bob Kipper a pitcher?
Yes. Bob Kipper pitched in the major leagues, recording 27 wins and 369 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Bob Kipper hit?
Bob Kipper hit 0 career home runs with 13 hits.
What teams did Bob Kipper play for?
Bob Kipper played for 3 teams: the California Angels (1985), the Pittsburgh Pirates (1985–1991), and the Minnesota Twins (1992).
What were Bob Kipper's career stats?
In 271 games, Bob Kipper went 27-37 with a 4.34 ERA, 369 strikeouts, 562.0 innings pitched, and 11 saves.
How much did Bob Kipper earn in his career?
Bob Kipper's recorded salaries total $2,780,000 over 6 seasons, 1986 to 1992. This total is partial: the salary data covers 1985 to 2016, and Kipper's career ran from 1985 to 1992. No salary is recorded for 1985 and 1987.
What was Bob Kipper's salary?
Bob Kipper's last recorded salary was $1,000,000, in 1992. His highest recorded salary was $1,000,000, in 1992, and his lowest was $65,000, in 1986. The Salary History table lists each season from 1986 to 1992.
What position did Bob Kipper play?
Bob Kipper played primarily as a pitcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.
How tall was Bob Kipper and how much did he weigh?
Bob Kipper was listed at 6 feet 2 inches and 200 pounds.
What was Bob Kipper's career ERA?
Bob Kipper finished with a 4.34 career ERA, going 27-37 with 369 strikeouts.
How many strikeouts did Bob Kipper have?
Bob Kipper recorded 369 career strikeouts.
Is Bob Kipper in the Hall of Fame?
No. Bob Kipper has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.