What years did Bob Knepper play?

Bob Knepper played in Major League Baseball from 1976 to 1990.

Was Bob Knepper a pitcher?

Yes. Bob Knepper pitched in the major leagues, recording 146 wins and 1473 strikeouts.

How many home runs did Bob Knepper hit?

Bob Knepper hit 6 career home runs with 115 hits.

What was Bob Knepper's career batting average?

Bob Knepper batted .137 over his career, with 115 hits in 840 at bats.

How many RBI did Bob Knepper have?

Bob Knepper drove in 59 runs in his career.

What was Bob Knepper's career ERA?

Bob Knepper finished with a 3.68 career ERA, going 146-155 with 1,473 strikeouts.

Bob Knepper

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1976-1990)

Bob Knepper was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1976 to 1990 for the San Francisco Giants and the Houston Astros, a span of 15 seasons. Across 445 career appearances, he went 146-155 with a 3.68 ERA and 1,473 strikeouts. He also batted .137 with 6 home runs. Bob Knepper was a 2-time All-Star. His career Pitcher PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of pitching impact — is 9452.1.

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 146–155

ERA 3.68

WHIP 1.33

SO 1,473

Pitcher PIV 9452.1

Position: Pitcher
Bats / Throws: L / L
Height / Weight: 6'3" / 195 lb
Born: 5/25/1954 in Akron, OH, USA
MLB Debut: 1976-09-10
Last Game: 1990-06-24
Awards: 2× All-Star

Full name: Robert Wesley Knepper

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Career Pitching Statistics

Bob Knepper — Career Pitching Statistics
W	L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	SO	ERA	Pitcher PIV
146	155	445	413	78	30	1	2708.0	2,737	1,106	228	857	1,473	3.68	9452.1

Career ERA 3.68 vs. league average 3.85 across their career seasons — near league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Bob Knepper Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year	Team	Lg	W	L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA	Lg ERA	Pitcher PIV
1976	SFN	NL	1	2	4	4	0	0	0	25.0	26	9	7	11	3.24	3.51 (+8%)	579.0
1977	SFN	NL	11	9	27	27	6	2	0	166.0	151	62	72	100	3.36	4.00 (+16%)	57.9
1978	SFN	NL	17	11	36	35	16	6	0	260.0	218	76	85	147	2.63	3.69 (+29%)	4834.3
1979	SFN	NL	9	12	34	34	6	2	0	207.1	241	107	77	123	4.64	4.00 (-16%)	-3017.9
1980	SFN	NL	9	16	35	33	8	1	0	215.1	242	98	61	103	4.10	3.84 (-7%)	1007.6
1981	HOU	NL	9	5	22	22	6	5	0	156.2	128	38	38	75	2.18	3.58 (+39%)	2917.2
1982	HOU	NL	5	15	33	29	4	0	1	180.0	193	89	60	108	4.45	3.86 (-15%)	1331.1
1983	HOU	NL	6	13	35	29	4	3	0	203.0	202	72	71	125	3.19	3.87 (+18%)	2495.5
1984	HOU	NL	15	10	35	34	11	3	0	233.2	223	83	55	140	3.20	3.81 (+16%)	462.9
1985	HOU	NL	15	13	37	37	4	0	0	241.0	253	95	54	131	3.55	3.89 (+9%)	2870.8
1986	HOU	NL	17	12	40	38	8	5	0	258.0	232	90	62	143	3.14	3.97 (+21%)	3974.9
1987	HOU	NL	8	17	33	31	1	0	0	177.2	226	104	54	76	5.27	4.29 (-23%)	-2681.8
1988	HOU	NL	14	5	27	27	3	2	0	175.0	156	61	67	103	3.14	3.73 (+16%)	-29.7
1989	HOU	NL	4	10	22	20	0	0	0	113.0	135	74	60	45	5.89	3.71 (-59%)	-3623.4
1989	SFN	NL	3	2	13	6	1	1	0	52.0	55	20	15	19	3.46	3.71 (+7%)	-318.3
1990	SFN	NL	3	3	12	7	0	0	0	44.1	56	28	19	24	5.68	3.86 (-47%)	-1407.9
Career · 16 seasons			146	155	445	413	78	30	1	2,708.0	2,737	1,106	857	1,473	3.68	—	9,452

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 Knepper — Career Batting Statistics
G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	PIV
449	840	47	115	28	2	6	59	2	41	333	.137	.177	.196	.374	-6,054

Career AVG .137 vs. league average .259 across their career seasons — 47.2% below league average.

Career OBP .177 vs. league average .324 across their career seasons — 45.4% below league average.

Career SLG .196 vs. league average .387 across their career seasons — 49.3% below league average.

Career OPS .374 vs. league average .711 across their career seasons — 47.5% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Bob Knepper 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
1976	SFN	NL	4	9	0	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	3	.111	—	—	—	—	0.0
1977	SFN	NL	27	55	4	10	1	0	0	4	0	5	18	.182	.264 (-31%)	.329 (-24%)	.401 (-50%)	.730 (-38%)	-327.6
1978	SFN	NL	36	79	2	5	2	0	0	5	0	6	35	.063	.257 (-75%)	.323 (-61%)	.378 (-77%)	.702 (-69%)	-879.6
1979	SFN	NL	35	66	6	12	4	0	1	9	0	1	24	.182	.265 (-32%)	.329 (-38%)	.397 (-28%)	.727 (-33%)	-367.7
1980	SFN	NL	35	66	3	10	3	0	0	7	1	2	21	.152	.264 (-43%)	.326 (-47%)	.387 (-49%)	.714 (-48%)	-532.5
1981	HOU	NL	22	47	3	7	2	0	1	3	0	0	15	.149	—	—	—	—	0.0
1982	HOU	NL	33	52	2	3	1	0	0	0	0	4	25	.058	.261 (-78%)	.324 (-61%)	.388 (-80%)	.712 (-72%)	-586.8
1983	HOU	NL	35	66	5	12	2	1	1	5	0	2	25	.182	.260 (-30%)	.324 (-38%)	.389 (-26%)	.714 (-32%)	-368.7
1984	HOU	NL	35	76	6	13	2	0	1	8	1	7	28	.171	.259 (-34%)	.322 (-25%)	.384 (-38%)	.707 (-32%)	-378.6
1985	HOU	NL	38	78	5	11	1	0	1	5	0	2	38	.141	.257 (-45%)	.323 (-50%)	.390 (-51%)	.714 (-50%)	-621.4
1986	HOU	NL	42	91	2	9	2	1	0	1	0	0	44	.099	.257 (-62%)	.325 (-70%)	.395 (-64%)	.720 (-66%)	-972.1
1987	HOU	NL	33	51	2	5	2	0	0	1	0	1	24	.098	.262 (-63%)	.331 (-66%)	.415 (-67%)	.746 (-66%)	-573.1
1988	HOU	NL	27	48	1	6	0	0	0	3	0	2	17	.125	—	—	—	—	-446.2
1989	HOU	NL	22	31	3	7	4	0	1	3	0	6	6	.226	—	—	—	—	0.0
1989	SFN	NL	13	12	2	1	1	0	0	0	0	3	3	.083	—	—	—	—	0.0
1990	SFN	NL	12	13	1	3	1	0	0	4	0	0	7	.231	—	—	—	—	0.0
Career · 16 seasons			449	840	47	115	28	2	6	59	2	41	333	.137	—	—	—	—	-6,054

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 Knepper — Playoff Career Batting
G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	AVG
3	6	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	2	.000

Playoff Batting by Year

Bob Knepper — Playoff Batting by Year
Year	Round	Team	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	AVG
1986	NLCS	HOU	2	5	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	2	.000
1981	NWDIV	HOU	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000

Playoff Career Pitching

Bob Knepper — Playoff Career Pitching
W	L	G	GS	SV	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
0	1	3	3	0	20.1	19	9	3	13	3.98

Playoff Pitching by Year

Bob Knepper — Playoff Pitching by Year
Year	Round	Team	W	L	G	GS	SV	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
1986	NLCS	HOU	0	0	2	2	0	15.1	13	6	1	9	3.52
1981	NWDIV	HOU	0	1	1	1	0	5.0	6	3	2	4	5.40

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (894 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Bob Knepper — Batting — Home / Away
Split	G	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	AVG
Home	225	412	21	60	2	26	.146
Away	224	428	26	55	4	33	.129

Pitching — Home / Away

Bob Knepper — Pitching — Home / Away
Split	G	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
Home	223	1429.0	1368	506	392	801	3.19
Away	222	1279.0	1369	600	465	672	4.22

Last 10 Games — Batting

Bob Knepper — Last 10 Games — Batting
Date	Tm	Opp	Res	AB	R	H	2B	RBI	SO
1990-06-24	SFG	HOU	L	0	0	0	0	0	0
1990-06-19	SFG	SDP	L	0	0	0	0	0	0
1990-06-08	SFG	ATL	W	1	0	1	0	2	0
1990-06-02	SFG	HOU	W	2	0	0	0	0	2
1990-05-28	SFG	CHC	L	2	0	0	0	0	1
1990-05-23	SFG	STL	W	3	1	1	1	1	1
1990-05-19	SFG	WSN	L	0	0	0	0	0	0
1990-05-14	SFG	NYN	W	3	0	1	0	1	2
1990-05-09	SFG	NYN	W	2	0	0	0	0	1
1990-05-06	SFG	WSN	L	0	0	0	0	0	0

Last 10 Games — Pitching

Bob Knepper — Last 10 Games — Pitching
Date	Tm	Opp	Dec	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR
1990-06-24	SFG	HOU	—	2.0	3	3	3	2	0	0
1990-06-19	SFG	SDP	—	1.1	2	1	1	1	2	0
1990-06-08	SFG	ATL	—	3.0	5	4	4	2	1	1
1990-06-02	SFG	HOU	—	7.0	6	2	2	2	3	2
1990-05-28	SFG	CHC	L	5.0	8	4	4	4	3	0
1990-05-23	SFG	STL	W	6.2	7	1	1	2	3	0
1990-05-19	SFG	WSN	L	2.2	5	4	4	1	1	0
1990-05-14	SFG	NYN	W	6.2	5	2	2	2	4	2
1990-05-09	SFG	NYN	W	5.2	6	2	2	1	7	1
1990-05-06	SFG	WSN	—	1.1	3	1	1	1	0	0

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Bob Knepper — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
P	445	413	103	451	30	32

Season-by-Season Fielding

Bob Knepper — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year	Team	Pos	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
1976	SFN	P	4	4	1	4	0	1
1977	SFN	P	27	27	10	21	1	1
1978	SFN	P	36	35	4	33	0	3
1979	SFN	P	34	34	8	26	5	1
1980	SFN	P	35	33	7	45	3	3
1981	HOU	P	22	22	6	26	3	1
1982	HOU	P	33	29	8	32	1	3
1983	HOU	P	35	29	2	40	3	4
1984	HOU	P	35	34	7	32	2	2
1985	HOU	P	37	37	5	30	3	1
1986	HOU	P	40	38	23	47	3	6
1987	HOU	P	33	31	7	39	2	2
1988	HOU	P	27	27	6	39	2	3
1989	HOU	P	22	20	6	24	2	1
1989	SFN	P	13	6	2	5	0	0
1990	SFN	P	12	7	1	8	0	0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Bob Knepper Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position	Games
Pitcher	445

Awards & Honors

Bob Knepper — Awards & Honors
Year	Award	Notes
1981	Player of the Week	Week of 1981-04-24
1981	TSN Comeback Player of the Year
1978	Pitcher of the Month	May

Salary History

Bob Knepper — Salary History
Year	Team	League	Salary
1989	HOU	NL	$68,000
1988	HOU	NL	$1,000,000
1987	HOU	NL	$1,000,000
1986	HOU	NL	$1,000,000
1985	HOU	NL	$850,000
Total Career Earnings			$3,918,000

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

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

Bob Knepper: the record in brief

According to the bio, Bob Knepper debuted on September 10, 1976 and played a final game on June 24, 1990. By club, Knepper's seasons break down as the San Francisco Giants (1976 through 1990) and the Houston Astros (1981 through 1989). Born on May 25, 1954, in Akron, OH, USA, Knepper is listed as a pitcher and batted and threw left-handed. The bio gives 6 feet, 3 inches and 195 pounds. Bob Knepper was the playing name; the full given name is Robert Wesley.

Knepper went 146-155 with a 3.68 ERA in 445 games, 413 of them starts. The same table counts 1,473 strikeouts, 78 complete games, and 30 shutouts. Knepper's 3.68 ERA was close to the 3.85 league figure for those seasons. No season topped the 17 wins of 1978. 1981 was Knepper's sharpest full season, a 2.18 ERA against the league's 3.58. By Pitcher PIV, Baseball Data Hub's measure of run prevention relative to each season's league, Knepper's career adds up to 9,452.1.

Frequently Asked Questions about Bob Knepper

What years did Bob Knepper play?: Bob Knepper played in Major League Baseball from 1976 to 1990.
Was Bob Knepper a pitcher?: Yes. Bob Knepper pitched in the major leagues, recording 146 wins and 1473 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Bob Knepper hit?: Bob Knepper hit 6 career home runs with 115 hits.
What was Bob Knepper's career batting average?: Bob Knepper batted .137 over his career, with 115 hits in 840 at bats.
How many RBI did Bob Knepper have?: Bob Knepper drove in 59 runs in his career.
What was Bob Knepper's career ERA?: Bob Knepper finished with a 3.68 career ERA, going 146-155 with 1,473 strikeouts.