Jim Palmer

Pitcher · Career Stats, Hall of Fame Bio & Records (1965-1984)

⭐ Hall of Fame 1990
W–L 268–152
ERA 2.86
WHIP 1.18
SO 2,212
Pitcher PIV 19501.6
Position
Pitcher
Bats / Throws
R / R
Height / Weight
6'3" / 190 lb
Born
10/15/1945 in New York, NY, USA
MLB Debut
1965-04-17
Last Game
1984-05-12
Hall of Fame
Inducted 1990 (BBWAA)
Awards
6× All-Star · 3× Cy Young · 4× Gold Glove

Full name: James Alvin Palmer

📊 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
268 152 558 521 211 53 4 3948.0 3,349 1,253 303 1,311 2,212 2.86 19501.6

Career ERA 2.86 vs. league average 3.69 across their career seasons — 22.6% better 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 SV IP H ER BB SO ERA Lg ERA Pitcher PIV
1965 BAL AL 5 4 27 6 0 0 1 92.0 75 38 56 75 3.72 3.50 (-6%) -292.3
1966 BAL AL 15 10 30 30 6 0 0 208.3 176 80 91 147 3.46 3.52 (+2%) -1268.8
1967 BAL AL 3 1 9 9 2 1 0 49.0 34 16 20 23 2.94 3.30 (+11%) -1363.6
1969 BAL AL 16 4 26 23 11 6 0 181.0 131 47 64 123 2.34 3.61 (+35%) 2797.2
1970 BAL AL 20 10 39 39 17 5 0 305.0 263 92 100 199 2.71 3.89 (+30%) 5379.6
1971 BAL AL 20 9 37 37 20 3 0 282.0 231 84 106 184 2.68 3.47 (+23%) 2062.0
1972 BAL AL 21 10 36 36 18 3 0 274.3 219 63 70 184 2.07 3.26 (+37%) 3150.7
1973 BAL AL 22 9 38 37 19 6 1 296.3 225 79 113 158 2.40 3.75 (+36%) 2911.8
1974 BAL AL 7 12 26 26 5 2 0 178.7 176 65 69 84 3.27 3.63 (+10%) -414.0
1975 BAL AL 23 11 39 38 25 10 1 323.0 253 75 80 193 2.09 3.71 (+44%) 6476.7
1976 BAL AL 22 13 40 40 23 6 0 315.0 255 88 84 159 2.51 3.51 (+28%) 1589.2
1977 BAL AL 20 11 39 39 22 3 0 319.0 263 103 99 193 2.91 4.00 (+27%) 4531.4
1978 BAL AL 21 12 38 38 19 6 0 296.0 246 81 97 138 2.46 3.69 (+33%) 1624.0
1979 BAL AL 10 6 23 22 7 0 0 155.7 144 57 43 67 3.30 4.00 (+18%) 1204.2
1980 BAL AL 16 10 34 33 4 0 0 224.0 238 99 74 109 3.98 3.84 (-4%) -2674.1
1981 BAL AL 7 8 22 22 5 0 0 127.3 117 53 46 35 3.75 3.58 (-5%) -3269.9
1982 BAL AL 15 5 36 32 8 2 1 227.0 195 79 63 103 3.13 3.86 (+19%) -519.4
1983 BAL AL 5 4 14 11 0 0 0 76.7 86 36 19 34 4.23 3.87 (-9%) -1158.5
1984 BAL AL 0 3 5 3 0 0 0 17.7 22 18 17 4 9.17 3.81 (-141%) -1264.4
Career · 19 seasons 268 152 558 521 211 53 4 3,948.0 3,349 1,253 1,311 2,212 2.86 — 19,502

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
576 489 52 85 9 1 3 41 1 16 207 .174 .200 .215 .414 -2,809

Career AVG .174 vs. league average .256 across their career seasons — 32.0% below league average.

Career OBP .200 vs. league average .321 across their career seasons — 37.9% below league average.

Career SLG .215 vs. league average .378 across their career seasons — 43.1% below league average.

Career OPS .414 vs. league average .699 across their career seasons — 40.7% 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 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG Lg AVG Lg OBP Lg SLG Lg OPS PIV
1965 BAL AL 29 26 2 5 0 0 1 3 0 1 10 .192 — — — — 0.0
1966 BAL AL 36 73 11 7 1 0 1 5 0 3 33 .096 .248 (-61%) .309 (-57%) .376 (-60%) .685 (-59%) -654.8
1967 BAL AL 9 13 2 1 1 0 0 1 0 2 9 .077 — — — — 0.0
1969 BAL AL 27 64 5 13 3 0 0 6 0 3 30 .203 .248 (-18%) .320 (-26%) .369 (-32%) .689 (-30%) -306.3
1970 BAL AL 44 113 13 17 0 0 1 9 0 2 48 .150 .253 (-41%) .325 (-49%) .385 (-54%) .711 (-52%) -922.7
1971 BAL AL 38 102 7 20 1 0 0 9 1 3 41 .196 .249 (-21%) .316 (-31%) .365 (-44%) .682 (-38%) -579.9
1972 BAL AL 36 98 12 22 3 1 0 8 0 2 36 .224 .243 (-8%) .310 (-23%) .353 (-22%) .664 (-22%) -345.3
1973 BAL AL 38 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1974 BAL AL 26 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1975 BAL AL 39 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1976 BAL AL 40 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1977 BAL AL 39 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1978 BAL AL 38 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1979 BAL AL 23 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1980 BAL AL 37 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1981 BAL AL 22 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1982 BAL AL 36 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1983 BAL AL 14 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1984 BAL AL 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
Career · 19 seasons 576 489 52 85 9 1 3 41 1 16 207 .174 — — — — -2,809

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

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
20 35 3 3 1 0 0 3 2 14 .086

Playoff Batting by Year

Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1983 ALCS BAL 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1983 WS BAL 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1979 ALCS BAL 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1979 WS BAL 2 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 .000
1974 ALCS BAL 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1973 ALCS BAL 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1971 ALCS BAL 2 5 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .200
1971 WS BAL 2 4 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 2 .000
1970 ALCS BAL 1 4 1 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 .250
1970 WS BAL 2 7 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 3 .143
1969 ALCS BAL 1 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 .000
1969 WS BAL 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1966 WS BAL 1 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 .000

Playoff Career Pitching

W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
8 3 17 15 0 124.3 101 36 50 90 2.61

Playoff Pitching by Year

Year Round Team W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
1983 WS BAL 1 0 1 0 0 2.0 2 0 1 1 0.00
1979 ALCS BAL 0 0 1 1 0 9.0 7 3 2 3 3.00
1979 WS BAL 0 1 2 2 0 15.0 18 6 5 8 3.60
1974 ALCS BAL 0 1 1 1 0 9.0 4 1 1 4 1.00
1973 ALCS BAL 1 0 3 2 0 14.7 11 3 8 15 1.84
1971 ALCS BAL 1 0 1 1 0 9.0 7 3 3 8 3.00
1971 WS BAL 1 0 2 2 0 17.0 15 5 9 15 2.65
1970 ALCS BAL 1 0 1 1 0 9.0 7 1 3 12 1.00
1970 WS BAL 1 0 2 2 0 15.7 11 8 9 9 4.60
1969 ALCS BAL 1 0 1 1 0 9.0 10 2 2 4 2.00
1969 WS BAL 0 1 1 1 0 6.0 5 4 4 5 6.00
1966 WS BAL 1 0 1 1 0 9.0 4 0 3 6 0.00

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (1134 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home2842162741222.190
Away2922732544119.161

Pitching — Home / Away

SplitGIPHERBBSOERA
Home2762005.1164957860811912.59
Away2821942.2170067570310213.13

Last 10 Games — Pitching

DateTmOppDecIPHRERBBSOHR
1984-05-12 BALOAK — 2.0544111
1984-05-02 BALCLE L 3.0222500
1984-04-23 BALCHW — 3.2354401
1984-04-18 BALTOR L 5.0544310
1984-04-08 BALMIN L 4.0744420
1983-09-30 BALNYY W 7.0221320
1983-09-24 BALMIL — 3.2611010
1983-09-20 BALDET — 4.2976262
1983-09-18 BALMIL — 1.1676101
1983-09-06 BALBOS W 7.1811230

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position G GS PO A E DP
P 558 521 292 577 34 53

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1965 BAL P 27 6 6 17 3 1
1966 BAL P 30 30 14 26 1 2
1967 BAL P 9 9 2 9 0 1
1969 BAL P 26 23 7 11 1 1
1970 BAL P 39 39 21 42 2 4
1971 BAL P 37 37 27 41 5 3
1972 BAL P 36 36 14 37 3 4
1973 BAL P 38 37 24 35 2 3
1974 BAL P 26 26 15 33 1 2
1975 BAL P 39 38 30 52 6 7
1976 BAL P 40 40 27 49 1 2
1977 BAL P 39 39 20 48 2 5
1978 BAL P 38 38 27 43 2 5
1979 BAL P 23 22 10 23 0 1
1980 BAL P 34 33 14 37 2 6
1981 BAL P 22 22 12 26 0 2
1982 BAL P 36 32 16 37 2 3
1983 BAL P 14 11 5 8 1 0
1984 BAL P 5 3 1 3 0 1

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Position Games
Pitcher 558
Designated Hitter 3

Awards & Honors

Year Award Notes
1982 Pitcher of the Month August
1982 Player of the Week Week of 1982-09-03
1979 Gold Glove P
1978 Gold Glove P
1978 Player of the Week Week of 1978-05-27
1978 TSN All-Star RHP
1977 Gold Glove P
1977 Player of the Week Week of 1977-04-16
1976 Cy Young Award
1976 Gold Glove P
1976 Player of the Week Week of 1976-09-10
1976 TSN All-Star RHP
1976 TSN Pitcher of the Year
1975 Cy Young Award
1975 Player of the Month August
1975 Player of the Week Week of 1975-08-15
1975 TSN All-Star RHP
1975 TSN Pitcher of the Year
1973 Cy Young Award
1973 TSN All-Star RHP
1973 TSN Pitcher of the Year
1971 TSN All-Star RHP

Award Voting History

Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
1982 Cy Young Award AL 2nd 59.0 140 4
1982 Most Valuable Player AL 26th 5.0 392 0
1978 Cy Young Award AL 3rd 14.0 140 0
1977 Cy Young Award AL 2nd 48.0 140 6
1977 Most Valuable Player AL 19th 9.0 392 0
1976 Cy Young Award AL 1st 108.0 120 19
1976 Most Valuable Player AL 10th 47.0 336 0
1975 Cy Young Award AL 1st 98.0 120 15
1975 Most Valuable Player AL 6th 82.0 336 0
1973 Cy Young Award AL 1st 88.0 120 14
1973 Most Valuable Player AL 2nd 172.0 336 0
1972 Cy Young Award AL 5th 20.0 120 2
1972 Most Valuable Player AL 13th 21.0 336 0
1971 Most Valuable Player AL 21th 5.0 336 0
1970 Cy Young Award AL 5th 11.0 120 1
1970 Most Valuable Player AL 25th 4.0 336 0

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Jim Palmer (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Vida Blue
    209-161, 3.27 ERA
  2. 97
    Whitey Ford HOF
    236-106, 2.75 ERA
  3. 96
    Vic Willis HOF
    249-205, 2.63 ERA
  4. 96
    Catfish Hunter HOF
    224-166, 3.26 ERA
  5. 95
    Luis Tiant
    229-172, 3.30 ERA
  6. 95
    Bob Gibson HOF
    251-174, 2.91 ERA

Compare Jim Palmer

Side-by-side career stat comparisons against Palmer's closest peers by position and era.

vs Tom Seaver
vs Gaylord Perry
vs Robin Roberts

Browse all MLB player comparisons →

Frequently Asked Questions about Jim Palmer

What years did Jim Palmer play?
Jim Palmer played in Major League Baseball from 1965 to 1984.
Was Jim Palmer a pitcher?
Yes. Jim Palmer pitched in the major leagues, recording 268 wins and 2212 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Jim Palmer hit?
Jim Palmer hit 3 career home runs with 85 hits.
Is Jim Palmer in the Hall of Fame?
Yes. Jim Palmer was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1990.