Bob Kuzava

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1946-1957)

Bob Kuzava was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1946 to 1957 for 8 teams, including the Cleveland Guardians, a span of 12 seasons. Across 213 career appearances, he went 49-44 with a 4.05 ERA and 446 strikeouts. He also batted .086 with 1 home runs. His career Pitcher PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of pitching impact — is 6978.7.

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 49–44
ERA 4.05
WHIP 1.47
SO 446
Pitcher PIV 6978.7
Position
Pitcher
Bats / Throws
B / L
Height / Weight
6'2" / 202 lb
Born
5/28/1923 in Wyandotte, MI, USA
Died
5/15/2017 in Wyandotte, MI, USA
MLB Debut
1946-09-21
Last Game
1957-09-29

Full name: Robert Leroy Kuzava

📊 Compare This Player 📈 View Career Timeline

Career Pitching Statistics

Bob Kuzava — Career Pitching Statistics
W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
49 44 213 99 34 7 13 862.0 849 388 54 415 446 4.05 6978.7

Career ERA 4.05 vs. league average 3.96 across their career seasons — near league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Bob Kuzava Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year Team Lg W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER BB SO ERA Lg ERA Pitcher PIV
1946 CLE AL 1 0 2 2 0 0 0 12.0 9 4 11 4 3.00 3.59 (+16%) -398.6
1947 CLE AL 1 1 4 4 1 1 0 21.2 22 10 9 9 4.15 3.97 (-5%) 66.3
1949 CHA AL 10 6 29 18 9 1 0 156.2 139 70 91 83 4.02 4.12 (+2%) 1647.8
1950 CHA AL 1 3 10 7 1 0 0 44.1 43 28 27 21 5.68 4.36 (-30%) -633.0
1950 WS1 AL 8 7 22 22 8 1 0 155.0 156 68 75 84 3.95 4.36 (+9%) 2870.2
1951 WS1 AL 3 3 8 8 3 0 0 52.1 57 32 28 22 5.50 4.04 (-36%) -733.2
1951 NYA AL 8 4 23 8 4 1 5 82.1 76 22 27 50 2.40 4.04 (+40%) 2022.6
1952 NYA AL 8 8 28 12 6 1 3 133.0 115 51 63 67 3.45 3.70 (+7%) 655.9
1953 NYA AL 6 5 33 6 2 2 4 92.1 92 34 34 48 3.31 4.14 (+20%) 503.9
1954 NYA AL 1 3 20 3 0 0 1 39.2 46 24 18 22 5.45 3.90 (-40%) 264.0
1954 BAL AL 1 3 4 4 0 0 0 23.2 30 11 11 15 4.18 3.90 (-7%) 816.2
1955 BAL AL 0 1 6 1 0 0 0 12.1 10 5 4 5 3.65 4.00 (+9%) 453.9
1955 PHI NL 1 0 17 4 0 0 0 32.1 47 26 12 13 7.24 4.00 (-81%) -557.1
1957 PIT NL 0 0 4 0 0 0 0 2.0 3 2 3 1 9.00 — 0.0
1957 SLN NL 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 2.1 4 1 2 2 3.86 — 0.0
Career · 15 seasons 49 44 213 99 34 7 13 862.0 849 388 415 446 4.05 — 6,979

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 Kuzava — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
214 256 21 22 1 0 1 10 0 29 96 .086 .182 .102 .283 -1,194

Career AVG .086 vs. league average .260 across their career seasons — 67.0% below league average.

Career OBP .182 vs. league average .334 across their career seasons — 45.6% below league average.

Career SLG .102 vs. league average .384 across their career seasons — 73.6% below league average.

Career OPS .283 vs. league average .719 across their career seasons — 60.6% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Bob Kuzava 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
1946 CLE AL 2 5 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 .200 — — — — 0.0
1947 CLE AL 4 9 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 3 .111 — — — — 0.0
1949 CHA AL 29 56 1 2 0 0 0 1 0 3 19 .036 .262 (-86%) .343 (-75%) .384 (-91%) .727 (-83%) -759.5
1950 CHA AL 10 12 3 1 0 0 0 1 0 3 3 .083 — — — — 0.0
1950 WS1 AL 22 50 5 5 0 0 1 4 0 5 23 .100 .265 (-62%) .346 (-43%) .401 (-60%) .747 (-52%) 0.0
1951 WS1 AL 8 17 2 3 0 0 0 0 0 3 2 .176 — — — — 0.0
1951 NYA AL 24 22 4 3 1 0 0 2 0 5 10 .136 — — — — 0.0
1952 NYA AL 28 43 2 4 0 0 0 1 0 5 14 .093 — — — — 0.0
1953 NYA AL 33 21 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 4 7 .048 — — — — 0.0
1954 NYA AL 20 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 4 .000 — — — — 0.0
1954 BAL AL 4 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 .000 — — — — 0.0
1955 BAL AL 6 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1955 PHI NL 17 7 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 .143 — — — — 0.0
1957 PIT NL 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1957 SLN NL 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
Career · 15 seasons 214 256 21 22 1 0 1 10 0 29 96 .086 — — — — -760

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

Playoff Batting by Year

Bob Kuzava — Playoff Batting by Year
Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1953 WS NYA 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000
1952 WS NYA 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1951 WS NYA 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000

Playoff Career Pitching

Bob Kuzava — Playoff Career Pitching
W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
0 0 3 0 2 4.1 2 1 0 3 2.08

Playoff Pitching by Year

Bob Kuzava — Playoff Pitching by Year
Year Round Team W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
1953 WS NYA 0 0 1 0 0 0.2 2 1 0 1 13.50
1952 WS NYA 0 0 1 0 1 2.2 0 0 0 2 0.00
1951 WS NYA 0 0 1 0 1 1.0 0 0 0 0 0.00

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (427 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Bob Kuzava — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home1081109915.082
Away106146121305.089

Pitching — Home / Away

Bob Kuzava — Pitching — Home / Away
SplitGIPHERBBSOERA
Home108413.24362011942284.37
Away105448.14131832242203.67

Last 10 Games — Pitching

Bob Kuzava — Last 10 Games — Pitching
DateTmOppDecIPHRERBBSOHR
1957-09-29 STLCHC — 1.0200010
1957-09-27 STLCHC — 1.0000010
1957-09-21 STLCIN — 0.1211200
1957-05-03 PITATL — 0.0100200
1957-05-01 PITSTL — 0.1222000
1957-04-23 PITNY1 — 1.0000000
1957-04-22 PITNY1 — 0.2000110
1955-09-09 PHISTL — 2.0233110
1955-09-05 PHIBRO — 0.1455102
1955-08-26 PHISTL — 1.0000000

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Bob Kuzava — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
P 213 12 33 112 9 9

Season-by-Season Fielding

Bob Kuzava — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1946 CLE P 2 0 0 4 1 0
1947 CLE P 4 0 0 8 0 0
1949 CHA P 29 0 8 17 3 1
1950 CHA P 10 0 3 7 0 1
1950 WS1 P 22 0 5 23 3 4
1951 WS1 P 8 0 3 9 0 0
1951 NYA P 23 0 6 8 2 0
1952 NYA P 28 0 4 16 0 2
1953 NYA P 33 0 1 8 0 0
1954 NYA P 20 3 0 3 0 1
1954 BAL P 4 4 0 2 0 0
1955 BAL P 6 1 0 0 0 0
1955 PHI P 17 4 3 6 0 0
1957 PIT P 4 0 0 0 0 0
1957 SLN P 3 0 0 1 0 0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Bob Kuzava Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position Games
Pitcher 213

Award Voting History

Bob Kuzava — Award Voting History
Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
1949 Rookie of the Year AL 4th 1.0 24 1

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

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

  1. 98
    Jerry Walker
    37-44, 4.36 ERA
  2. 97
    Paul Erickson
    37-48, 3.86 ERA
  3. 92
    Oscar Judd
    40-51, 3.90 ERA
  4. 92
    Harry Byrd
    46-54, 4.35 ERA
  5. 92
    Doug McWeeny
    37-57, 4.17 ERA
  6. 92
    Steve Mura
    30-39, 4.00 ERA

Bob Kuzava: the record in brief

Bob Kuzava's major league career runs from a debut on September 21, 1946 to a final game on September 29, 1957. By club, Kuzava's seasons break down as the Cleveland Indians (1946 to 1947), the Chicago White Sox (1949 through 1950), the Washington Senators (1950 to 1951), the New York Yankees (1951 through 1954), the Baltimore Orioles (1954 to 1955), the Philadelphia Phillies (1955), the Pittsburgh Pirates (1957), and the St. Louis Cardinals (1957). Kuzava played primarily as a pitcher and batted from both sides and threw left-handed. Born on May 28, 1923, in Wyandotte, MI, USA, Kuzava was listed at 202 pounds on a 6-foot-2 frame. The bio records the death on May 15, 2017, in Wyandotte, MI, USA. The bio lists the given name Robert Leroy.

Across 213 games (99 starts), Kuzava recorded 49 wins against 44 losses with a 4.05 ERA. The same table counts 446 strikeouts, 34 complete games, 7 shutouts, and 13 saves.

Frequently Asked Questions about Bob Kuzava

What years did Bob Kuzava play?
Bob Kuzava played in Major League Baseball from 1946 to 1957.
Was Bob Kuzava a pitcher?
Yes. Bob Kuzava pitched in the major leagues, recording 49 wins and 446 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Bob Kuzava hit?
Bob Kuzava hit 1 career home run with 22 hits.
What teams did Bob Kuzava play for?
Bob Kuzava played for 8 teams: the Cleveland Indians (1946–1947), the Chicago White Sox (1949–1950), the Washington Senators (1950–1951), the New York Yankees (1951–1954), the Baltimore Orioles (1954–1955), the Philadelphia Phillies (1955), the Pittsburgh Pirates (1957), and the St. Louis Cardinals (1957).
What were Bob Kuzava's career stats?
In 213 games, Bob Kuzava went 49-44 with a 4.05 ERA, 446 strikeouts, 862.0 innings pitched, and 13 saves. At the plate he had 22 hits and 1 home runs.
What position did Bob Kuzava play?
Bob Kuzava played primarily as a pitcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.
How tall was Bob Kuzava and how much did he weigh?
Bob Kuzava was listed at 6 feet 2 inches and 202 pounds.
What was Bob Kuzava's career ERA?
Bob Kuzava finished with a 4.05 career ERA, going 49-44 with 446 strikeouts.
How many strikeouts did Bob Kuzava have?
Bob Kuzava recorded 446 career strikeouts.
Is Bob Kuzava in the Hall of Fame?
No. Bob Kuzava has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.