What years did Billy McCool play?

Billy McCool played in Major League Baseball from 1964 to 1970.

Was Billy McCool a pitcher?

Yes. Billy McCool pitched in the major leagues, recording 32 wins and 471 strikeouts.

How many home runs did Billy McCool hit?

Billy McCool hit 0 career home runs with 7 hits.

What was Billy McCool's career batting average?

Billy McCool batted .069 over his career, with 7 hits in 101 at bats.

How many RBI did Billy McCool have?

Billy McCool drove in 1 runs in his career.

What was Billy McCool's career ERA?

Billy McCool finished with a 3.59 career ERA, going 32-42 with 471 strikeouts.

Billy McCool

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1964-1970)

Billy McCool was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1964 to 1970 for the Cincinnati Reds, the San Diego Padres, and the St. Louis Cardinals, a span of 7 seasons. Across 292 career appearances, he went 32-42 with a 3.59 ERA, 471 strikeouts, and 58 saves. Billy McCool was an All-Star. His career Pitcher PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of pitching impact — is 4030.9.

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 32–42

ERA 3.59

WHIP 1.39

SO 471

Pitcher PIV 4030.9

Position: Pitcher
Bats / Throws: R / L
Height / Weight: 6'2" / 195 lb
Born: 7/14/1944 in Batesville, IN, USA
Died: 6/8/2014 in Summerfield, FL, USA
MLB Debut: 1964-04-24
Last Game: 1970-07-08
Awards: All-Star

Full name: William John McCool

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Career Pitching Statistics

Billy McCool — Career Pitching Statistics
W	L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	SO	ERA	Pitcher PIV
32	42	292	20	0	0	58	528.1	465	211	31	272	471	3.59	4030.9

Career ERA 3.59 vs. league average 3.50 across their career seasons — near league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Billy McCool Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year	Team	Lg	W	L	G	GS	SV	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA	Lg ERA	Pitcher PIV
1964	CIN	NL	6	5	40	3	7	89.1	66	24	29	87	2.42	3.58 (+32%)	3364.5
1965	CIN	NL	9	10	62	2	21	105.1	93	50	47	120	4.27	3.50 (-22%)	1874.7
1966	CIN	NL	8	8	57	0	18	105.1	76	29	41	104	2.48	3.52 (+30%)	2879.8
1967	CIN	NL	3	7	31	11	2	97.1	92	37	56	83	3.42	3.30 (-4%)	-1164.9
1968	CIN	NL	3	4	30	4	2	50.2	59	28	41	30	4.97	2.98 (-67%)	-2118.9
1969	SDN	NL	3	5	54	0	7	58.2	59	28	42	35	4.30	3.61 (-19%)	-880.4
1970	SLN	NL	0	3	18	0	1	21.2	20	15	16	12	6.23	3.89 (-60%)	76.0
Career · 7 seasons			32	42	292	20	58	528.1	465	211	272	471	3.59	—	4,031

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

Billy McCool — Career Batting Statistics
G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	PIV
292	101	2	7	0	0	0	1	0	4	53	.069	.105	.069	.174	0

Career AVG .069 vs. league average .247 across their career seasons — 71.9% below league average.

Career OBP .105 vs. league average .313 across their career seasons — 66.5% below league average.

Career SLG .069 vs. league average .369 across their career seasons — 81.2% below league average.

Career OPS .174 vs. league average .682 across their career seasons — 74.5% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Billy McCool — Season-by-Season Batting
Year	Team	Lg	G	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	AVG	Lg AVG	Lg OBP	Lg SLG	Lg OPS	PIV
1964	CIN	NL	40	17	0	0	0	0	10	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1965	CIN	NL	62	27	0	1	0	1	15	.037	—	—	—	—	0.0
1966	CIN	NL	57	18	1	3	0	1	7	.167	—	—	—	—	0.0
1967	CIN	NL	31	26	1	2	1	2	16	.077	—	—	—	—	0.0
1968	CIN	NL	30	8	0	1	0	0	4	.125	—	—	—	—	0.0
1969	SDN	NL	54	1	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1970	SLN	NL	18	4	0	0	0	0	1	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
Career · 7 seasons			292	101	2	7	1	4	53	.069	—	—	—	—	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.

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (584 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Billy McCool — Batting — Home / Away
Split	G	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	AVG
Home	150	48	2	6	0	1	.125
Away	142	53	0	1	0	0	.019

Pitching — Home / Away

Billy McCool — Pitching — Home / Away
Split	G	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
Home	150	275.2	236	96	116	232	3.13
Away	142	252.2	229	115	156	239	4.10

Last 10 Games — Batting

Billy McCool — Last 10 Games — Batting
Date	Tm	Opp	Res	AB
1970-07-08	STL	NYN	L	0
1970-07-06	STL	NYN	L	0
1970-07-04	STL	WSN	L	0
1970-07-02	STL	WSN	L	0
1970-06-28	STL	PHI	L	0
1970-06-24	STL	PIT	L	0
1970-06-20	STL	CHC	L	1
1970-06-19	STL	CHC	W	0
1970-06-13	STL	SFG	L	0
1970-05-31	STL	LAD	L	0

Last 10 Games — Pitching

Billy McCool — Last 10 Games — Pitching
Date	Tm	Opp	Dec	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO
1970-07-08	STL	NYN	—	0.0	1	0	0	0	0
1970-07-06	STL	NYN	—	1.0	0	0	0	1	0
1970-07-04	STL	WSN	—	1.0	0	0	0	1	0
1970-07-02	STL	WSN	—	0.0	2	4	4	2	0
1970-06-28	STL	PHI	L	0.0	1	1	1	0	0
1970-06-24	STL	PIT	L	1.0	1	1	1	2	0
1970-06-20	STL	CHC	—	3.2	2	1	1	1	3
1970-06-19	STL	CHC	—	0.1	0	0	0	0	0
1970-06-13	STL	SFG	—	2.2	1	1	1	2	1
1970-05-31	STL	LAD	—	0.0	2	2	2	1	0

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Billy McCool — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
P	292	20	10	83	5	3

Season-by-Season Fielding

Billy McCool — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year	Team	Pos	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
1964	CIN	P	40	3	1	8	0	0
1965	CIN	P	62	2	2	15	0	0
1966	CIN	P	57	0	3	25	0	3
1967	CIN	P	31	11	1	14	2	0
1968	CIN	P	30	4	3	6	2	0
1969	SDN	P	54	0	0	10	1	0
1970	SLN	P	18	0	0	5	0	0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Billy McCool — Career Games by Position
Position	Games
Pitcher	292

Awards & Honors

Billy McCool — Awards & Honors
Year	Award	Notes
1964	TSN Rookie Pitcher of the Year

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Billy McCool (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

Billy McCool: the record in brief

Billy McCool played a first major league game on April 24, 1964 and a last one on July 8, 1970. Club by club, the record runs the Cincinnati Reds (1964 through 1968), the San Diego Padres (1969), and the St. Louis Cardinals (1970). McCool played primarily as a pitcher and batted right-handed and threw left-handed. The bio adds a birth date on July 14, 1944, in Batesville, IN, USA and a listed size of 6'2" and 195 pounds. McCool died on June 8, 2014, in Summerfield, FL, USA. Billy McCool was the playing name; the full given name is William John.

McCool pitched in 292 games, starting 20, and finished with a 32-42 record and 3.59 ERA. The totals include 471 strikeouts and 58 saves. McCool's 3.59 ERA was close to the 3.50 league figure for those seasons. McCool won 9 games in 1965, the most of any season listed. The most saves in one season was 21, in 1965.

Frequently Asked Questions about Billy McCool

What years did Billy McCool play?: Billy McCool played in Major League Baseball from 1964 to 1970.
Was Billy McCool a pitcher?: Yes. Billy McCool pitched in the major leagues, recording 32 wins and 471 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Billy McCool hit?: Billy McCool hit 0 career home runs with 7 hits.
What was Billy McCool's career batting average?: Billy McCool batted .069 over his career, with 7 hits in 101 at bats.
How many RBI did Billy McCool have?: Billy McCool drove in 1 runs in his career.
What was Billy McCool's career ERA?: Billy McCool finished with a 3.59 career ERA, going 32-42 with 471 strikeouts.