What years did Rick Matula play?

Rick Matula played in Major League Baseball from 1979 to 1981.

Was Rick Matula a pitcher?

Yes. Rick Matula pitched in the major leagues, recording 19 wins and 129 strikeouts.

How many home runs did Rick Matula hit?

Rick Matula hit 0 career home runs with 11 hits.

Rick Matula

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1979-1981)

W–L 19–23

ERA 4.41

WHIP 1.47

SO 129

Pitcher PIV -2899.1

Position: Pitcher
Bats / Throws: R / R
Height / Weight: 6'0" / 190 lb
Born: 11/22/1953 in Wharton, TX, USA
MLB Debut: 1979-04-08
Last Game: 1981-06-11

Full name: Richard Carlton Matula

📊 Compare This Player 📈 View Career Timeline

Career Pitching Statistics

W	L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	SO	ERA	Pitcher PIV
19	23	66	58	4	1	0	355.0	396	174	32	126	129	4.41	-2899.1

Career ERA 4.41 vs. league average 3.84 across their career seasons — 15.0% worse than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Year	Team	Lg	W	L	G	GS	CG	SHO	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA	Lg ERA	Pitcher PIV
1979	ATL	NL	8	10	28	28	1	0	171.3	193	79	64	67	4.15	4.00 (-4%)	-785.8
1980	ATL	NL	11	13	33	30	3	1	176.7	195	90	60	62	4.58	3.84 (-19%)	-2113.3
1981	ATL	NL	0	0	5	0	0	0	7.0	8	5	2	0	6.43	—	0.0
Career · 3 seasons			19	23	66	58	4	1	355.0	396	174	126	129	4.41	—	-2,899

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

G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	PIV
66	111	1	11	0	0	0	0	0	3	48	.099	.123	.099	.222	-1,195

Career AVG .099 vs. league average .263 across their career seasons — 62.3% below league average.

Career OBP .123 vs. league average .326 across their career seasons — 62.3% below league average.

Career SLG .099 vs. league average .387 across their career seasons — 74.4% below league average.

Career OPS .222 vs. league average .713 across their career seasons — 68.9% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Year	Team	Lg	G	AB	R	H	BB	SO	AVG	Lg AVG	Lg OBP	Lg SLG	Lg OPS	PIV
1979	ATL	NL	28	53	1	5	1	23	.094	.265 (-64%)	.329 (-66%)	.397 (-76%)	.727 (-72%)	-605.0
1980	ATL	NL	33	57	0	6	2	25	.105	.264 (-60%)	.326 (-58%)	.387 (-73%)	.714 (-66%)	-590.3
1981	ATL	NL	5	1	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
Career · 3 seasons			66	111	1	11	3	48	.099	—	—	—	—	-1,195

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 (132 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Split	G	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	AVG
Home	29	53	0	4	0	0	.075
Away	37	58	1	7	0	0	.121

Pitching — Home / Away

Split	G	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
Home	29	167.1	192	84	58	59	4.52
Away	37	187.2	204	90	68	70	4.32

Last 10 Games — Batting

Date	Tm	Opp	Res	AB	SO
1981-06-11	ATL	WSN	L	0	0
1981-06-10	ATL	WSN	L	0	0
1981-06-09	ATL	WSN	L	1	0
1981-06-06	ATL	PHI	L	0	0
1981-05-30	ATL	SDP	L	0	0
1980-10-04	ATL	CIN	L	0	0
1980-10-02	ATL	HOU	L	0	0
1980-09-23	ATL	LAD	L	0	0
1980-09-18	ATL	SFG	W	3	2
1980-09-13	ATL	SDP	W	3	0

Last 10 Games — Pitching

Date	Tm	Opp	Dec	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR
1981-06-11	ATL	WSN	—	1.0	0	0	0	0	0	0
1981-06-10	ATL	WSN	—	0.2	2	2	2	0	0	1
1981-06-09	ATL	WSN	—	1.1	2	1	1	1	0	0
1981-06-06	ATL	PHI	—	1.0	1	0	0	0	0	0
1981-05-30	ATL	SDP	—	3.0	3	2	2	1	0	0
1980-10-04	ATL	CIN	—	1.0	0	0	0	0	0	0
1980-10-02	ATL	HOU	—	0.2	1	0	0	0	0	0
1980-09-23	ATL	LAD	L	4.0	8	3	3	0	0	0
1980-09-18	ATL	SFG	W	7.0	6	1	1	4	2	0
1980-09-13	ATL	SDP	W	6.1	4	3	3	2	1	1

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
P	66	58	36	52	1	11

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year	Team	Pos	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
1979	ATL	P	28	28	15	23	0	6
1980	ATL	P	33	30	20	28	1	5
1981	ATL	P	5	0	1	1	0	0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Position	Games
Pitcher	66

College History

School Name	City	State	Years Attended
Sam Houston State University	Huntsville	TX	1973, 1974, 1975

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Rick Matula (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

Frequently Asked Questions about Rick Matula

What years did Rick Matula play?: Rick Matula played in Major League Baseball from 1979 to 1981.
Was Rick Matula a pitcher?: Yes. Rick Matula pitched in the major leagues, recording 19 wins and 129 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Rick Matula hit?: Rick Matula hit 0 career home runs with 11 hits.