What years did Bruce Kison play?

Bruce Kison played in Major League Baseball from 1971 to 1985.

Was Bruce Kison a pitcher?

Yes. Bruce Kison pitched in the major leagues, recording 115 wins and 1073 strikeouts.

How many home runs did Bruce Kison hit?

Bruce Kison hit 3 career home runs with 66 hits.

What was Bruce Kison's career batting average?

Bruce Kison batted .163 over his career, with 66 hits in 404 at bats.

How many RBI did Bruce Kison have?

Bruce Kison drove in 31 runs in his career.

What was Bruce Kison's career ERA?

Bruce Kison finished with a 3.66 career ERA, going 115-88 with 1,073 strikeouts.

Bruce Kison

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1971-1985)

Bruce Kison was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1971 to 1985 for the Pittsburgh Pirates, the California Angels, and the Boston Red Sox, a span of 15 seasons. Across 380 career appearances, he went 115-88 with a 3.66 ERA and 1,073 strikeouts. He also batted .163 with 3 home runs.

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 12, 2026

W–L 115–88

ERA 3.66

WHIP 1.30

SO 1,073

Pitcher PIV -240.7

Position: Pitcher
Bats / Throws: R / R
Height / Weight: 6'4" / 178 lb
Born: 2/18/1950 in Pasco, WA, USA
Died: 6/2/2018 in Bradenton, FL, USA
MLB Debut: 1971-07-04
Last Game: 1985-10-05

Full name: Bruce Eugene Kison

📊 Compare This Player 📈 View Career Timeline

Career Pitching Statistics

Bruce Kison — Career Pitching Statistics
W	L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	SO	ERA	Pitcher PIV
115	88	380	246	36	8	12	1809.2	1,693	736	150	662	1,073	3.66	-240.7

Career ERA 3.66 vs. league average 3.74 across their career seasons — near league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Bruce Kison Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year	Team	Lg	W	L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA	Lg ERA	Pitcher PIV
1971	PIT	NL	6	5	18	13	2	1	0	95.1	93	36	36	60	3.40	3.47 (+2%)	331.6
1972	PIT	NL	9	7	32	18	6	1	3	152.0	123	55	69	102	3.26	3.26 (avg)	-1038.1
1973	PIT	NL	3	0	7	7	0	0	0	43.2	36	15	24	26	3.09	3.75 (+17%)	-586.5
1974	PIT	NL	9	8	40	16	1	0	2	129.0	123	50	57	71	3.49	3.63 (+4%)	-766.6
1975	PIT	NL	12	11	33	29	6	0	0	192.0	160	69	92	89	3.23	3.71 (+13%)	-606.7
1976	PIT	NL	14	9	31	29	6	1	1	193.0	180	66	52	98	3.08	3.51 (+12%)	1849.3
1977	PIT	NL	9	10	33	32	3	1	0	193.0	209	105	55	122	4.90	4.00 (-22%)	-518.2
1978	PIT	NL	6	6	28	11	0	0	0	96.0	81	34	39	62	3.19	3.69 (+14%)	1499.1
1979	PIT	NL	13	7	33	25	3	1	0	172.1	157	61	45	105	3.19	4.00 (+20%)	2921.0
1980	CAL	AL	3	6	13	13	2	1	0	73.1	73	40	32	28	4.91	3.84 (-28%)	-852.7
1981	CAL	AL	1	1	11	4	0	0	0	44.0	40	17	14	19	3.48	3.58 (+3%)	-1618.4
1982	CAL	AL	10	5	33	16	3	1	1	142.0	120	50	44	86	3.17	3.86 (+18%)	-180.4
1983	CAL	AL	11	5	26	17	4	1	2	126.2	128	57	43	83	4.05	3.87 (-5%)	-61.8
1984	CAL	AL	4	5	20	7	0	0	2	65.1	72	39	28	66	5.37	3.81 (-41%)	-796.8
1985	BOS	AL	5	3	22	9	0	0	1	92.0	98	42	32	56	4.11	3.89 (-6%)	184.5
Career · 15 seasons			115	88	380	246	36	8	12	1,809.2	1,693	736	662	1,073	3.66	—	-241

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

Bruce Kison — Career Batting Statistics
G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	PIV
388	404	31	66	15	5	3	31	2	16	158	.163	.200	.248	.448	-1,487

Career AVG .163 vs. league average .258 across their career seasons — 36.7% below league average.

Career OBP .200 vs. league average .323 across their career seasons — 38.0% below league average.

Career SLG .248 vs. league average .380 across their career seasons — 34.9% below league average.

Career OPS .448 vs. league average .703 across their career seasons — 36.3% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Bruce Kison 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
1971	PIT	NL	18	31	2	2	1	0	0	1	0	2	16	.065	—	—	—	—	0.0
1972	PIT	NL	32	53	3	10	4	1	0	9	0	1	27	.189	.243 (-23%)	.310 (-34%)	.353 (-15%)	.664 (-24%)	-213.5
1973	PIT	NL	7	12	1	1	0	1	0	1	0	0	6	.083	—	—	—	—	0.0
1974	PIT	NL	40	37	1	4	1	0	0	0	0	3	17	.108	—	—	—	—	0.0
1975	PIT	NL	35	59	4	7	0	0	0	3	1	2	29	.119	.257 (-54%)	.327 (-55%)	.374 (-68%)	.701 (-62%)	-566.6
1976	PIT	NL	31	59	4	12	2	2	0	3	0	5	20	.203	.255 (-20%)	.320 (-17%)	.360 (-15%)	.681 (-16%)	-157.7
1977	PIT	NL	35	69	8	18	4	0	1	7	1	2	19	.261	.264 (-1%)	.329 (-14%)	.401 (-10%)	.730 (-12%)	-140.8
1978	PIT	NL	28	29	2	4	1	1	1	1	0	0	5	.138	—	—	—	—	0.0
1979	PIT	NL	37	55	6	8	2	0	1	6	0	1	19	.145	.265 (-45%)	.329 (-51%)	.397 (-41%)	.727 (-45%)	-408.8
1980	CAL	AL	13	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1981	CAL	AL	11	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1982	CAL	AL	33	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1983	CAL	AL	26	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1984	CAL	AL	20	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1985	BOS	AL	22	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
Career · 15 seasons			388	404	31	66	15	5	3	31	2	16	158	.163	—	—	—	—	-1,487

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

Bruce Kison — Playoff Career Batting
G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	AVG
10	7	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	4	.000

Playoff Batting by Year

Bruce Kison — Playoff Batting by Year
Year	Round	Team	G	AB	BB	SO	AVG
1982	ALCS	CAL	2	0	0	0	.000
1979	WS	PIT	1	0	0	0	.000
1975	NLCS	PIT	1	0	0	0	.000
1974	NLCS	PIT	1	3	0	2	.000
1972	NLCS	PIT	2	0	0	0	.000
1971	NLCS	PIT	1	2	0	0	.000
1971	WS	PIT	2	2	1	2	.000

Playoff Career Pitching

Bruce Kison — Playoff Career Pitching
W	L	G	GS	SV	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
5	1	10	4	0	36.1	19	8	15	27	1.98

Playoff Pitching by Year

Bruce Kison — Playoff Pitching by Year
Year	Round	Team	W	L	G	GS	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
1982	ALCS	CAL	1	0	2	2	14.0	8	3	3	12	1.93
1979	WS	PIT	0	1	1	1	0.1	3	4	2	0	108.00
1975	NLCS	PIT	0	0	1	0	2.0	2	1	0	1	4.50
1974	NLCS	PIT	1	0	1	1	6.2	2	0	6	5	0.00
1972	NLCS	PIT	1	0	2	0	2.1	1	0	0	3	0.00
1971	NLCS	PIT	1	0	1	0	4.2	2	0	2	3	0.00
1971	WS	PIT	1	0	2	0	6.1	1	0	2	3	0.00

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (768 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Bruce Kison — Batting — Home / Away
Split	G	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	AVG
Home	191	193	20	36	1	11	.187
Away	197	211	11	30	2	20	.142

Pitching — Home / Away

Bruce Kison — Pitching — Home / Away
Split	G	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
Home	186	888.1	824	354	361	519	3.59
Away	194	921.1	869	382	301	554	3.73

Last 10 Games — Pitching

Bruce Kison — Last 10 Games — Pitching
Date	Tm	Opp	Dec	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR
1985-10-05	BOS	MIL	—	0.2	0	0	0	1	0	0
1985-10-03	BOS	BAL	—	2.0	1	0	0	1	2	0
1985-09-22	BOS	DET	—	2.0	2	1	1	0	1	0
1985-09-14	BOS	MIL	W	3.0	1	0	0	0	0	0
1985-09-10	BOS	BAL	—	0.2	3	3	3	1	1	1
1985-09-07	BOS	CLE	W	4.2	4	2	2	2	3	1
1985-09-03	BOS	TEX	SV	0.2	0	0	0	0	0	0
1985-08-31	BOS	MIN	—	5.2	4	0	0	1	1	0
1985-08-08	BOS	CHW	L	1.2	3	1	1	1	1	0
1985-08-01	BOS	CHW	—	5.1	5	2	2	2	4	0

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Bruce Kison — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
P	380	246	140	297	16	27

Season-by-Season Fielding

Bruce Kison — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year	Team	Pos	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
1971	PIT	P	18	13	8	18	1	5
1972	PIT	P	32	18	9	15	1	2
1973	PIT	P	7	7	2	7	0	0
1974	PIT	P	40	16	10	25	2	2
1975	PIT	P	33	29	11	39	1	5
1976	PIT	P	31	29	16	31	2	2
1977	PIT	P	33	32	11	33	2	0
1978	PIT	P	28	11	11	14	0	1
1979	PIT	P	33	25	10	30	1	2
1980	CAL	P	13	13	2	11	3	0
1981	CAL	P	11	4	3	9	0	1
1982	CAL	P	33	16	19	24	1	2
1983	CAL	P	26	17	5	22	0	2
1984	CAL	P	20	7	7	3	2	1
1985	BOS	P	22	9	16	16	0	2

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Bruce Kison Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position	Games
Pitcher	380

Salary History

Bruce Kison — Salary History
Year	Team	League	Salary
1985	BOS	AL	$370,000
Total Career Earnings			$370,000

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Bruce Kison (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

Bruce Kison: the record in brief

Between the debut on July 4, 1971 and the final game on October 5, 1985, Bruce Kison built the record summarized on this page. Kison played for the Pittsburgh Pirates (1971 through 1979), the California Angels (1980 through 1984), and the Boston Red Sox (1985). Born on February 18, 1950, in Pasco, WA, USA, Kison is listed as a pitcher and both batted and threw right-handed. Kison's listed size is 6'4" and 178 pounds. Kison's death is recorded on June 2, 2018, in Bradenton, FL, USA. The given name on file is Bruce Eugene Kison.

Kison pitched in 380 games, starting 246, and finished with a 115-88 record and 3.66 ERA. Kison had 1,073 strikeouts, 36 complete games, 8 shutouts, and 12 saves. Kison's 3.66 ERA was close to the 3.74 league figure for those seasons. 1976 brought Kison a season-high 14 wins. Kison struck out 122 batters in 1977, a career high. Among the heaviest workloads, the lowest ERA was 3.08 in 1976, when the league's was 3.51.

Frequently Asked Questions about Bruce Kison

What years did Bruce Kison play?: Bruce Kison played in Major League Baseball from 1971 to 1985.
Was Bruce Kison a pitcher?: Yes. Bruce Kison pitched in the major leagues, recording 115 wins and 1073 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Bruce Kison hit?: Bruce Kison hit 3 career home runs with 66 hits.
What was Bruce Kison's career batting average?: Bruce Kison batted .163 over his career, with 66 hits in 404 at bats.
How many RBI did Bruce Kison have?: Bruce Kison drove in 31 runs in his career.
What was Bruce Kison's career ERA?: Bruce Kison finished with a 3.66 career ERA, going 115-88 with 1,073 strikeouts.