Fritz Peterson
Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1966-1976)
Fritz Peterson was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1966 to 1976 for the New York Yankees, the Cleveland Guardians, and the Texas Rangers, a span of 11 seasons. Across 355 career appearances, he went 133-131 with a 3.30 ERA and 1,015 strikeouts. He also batted .159 with 2 home runs. Fritz Peterson was an All-Star. His career Pitcher PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of pitching impact — is 15402.2.
- 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
- Position
- Pitcher
- Bats / Throws
- B / L
- Height / Weight
- 6'0" / 185 lb
- Died
- 10/19/2023 in Winona, MN, USA
- MLB Debut
- 1966-04-15
- Last Game
- 1976-06-19
- Awards
- All-Star
Full name: Fred Ingles Peterson
Season-by-Season Pitching
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1966 | NYA | AL | 12 | 11 | 34 | 32 | 11 | 2 | 0 | 215.0 | 196 | 79 | 40 | 96 | 3.31 | 3.52 (+6%) | 1975.9 |
| 1967 | NYA | AL | 8 | 14 | 36 | 30 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 181.1 | 179 | 70 | 43 | 102 | 3.47 | 3.30 (-5%) | 1597.8 |
| 1968 | NYA | AL | 12 | 11 | 36 | 27 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 212.1 | 187 | 62 | 29 | 115 | 2.63 | 2.98 (+12%) | 2315.7 |
| 1969 | NYA | AL | 17 | 16 | 37 | 37 | 16 | 4 | 0 | 272.0 | 228 | 77 | 43 | 150 | 2.55 | 3.61 (+29%) | 7058.0 |
| 1970 | NYA | AL | 20 | 11 | 39 | 37 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 260.1 | 247 | 84 | 40 | 127 | 2.90 | 3.89 (+25%) | 3628.4 |
| 1971 | NYA | AL | 15 | 13 | 37 | 35 | 16 | 4 | 1 | 274.0 | 269 | 93 | 42 | 139 | 3.05 | 3.47 (+12%) | 2477.6 |
| 1972 | NYA | AL | 17 | 15 | 35 | 35 | 12 | 3 | 0 | 250.1 | 270 | 90 | 44 | 100 | 3.24 | 3.26 (+1%) | 1275.9 |
| 1973 | NYA | AL | 8 | 15 | 31 | 31 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 184.1 | 207 | 81 | 49 | 59 | 3.95 | 3.75 (-6%) | -1660.6 |
| 1974 | NYA | AL | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7.2 | 13 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 4.70 | — | 0.0 |
| 1974 | CLE | AL | 9 | 14 | 29 | 29 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 152.2 | 187 | 74 | 37 | 52 | 4.36 | 3.63 (-20%) | -1670.9 |
| 1975 | CLE | AL | 14 | 8 | 25 | 25 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 146.1 | 154 | 64 | 40 | 47 | 3.94 | 3.71 (-6%) | -1864.5 |
| 1976 | CLE | AL | 0 | 3 | 9 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 47.0 | 59 | 29 | 10 | 19 | 5.55 | 3.51 (-58%) | 263.4 |
| 1976 | TEX | AL | 1 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15.0 | 21 | 6 | 7 | 4 | 3.60 | 3.51 (-2%) | 5.6 |
| Career · 13 seasons | 133 | 131 | 355 | 330 | 90 | 20 | 1 | 2,218.1 | 2,217 | 813 | 426 | 1,015 | 3.30 | — | 15,402 | ||
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 355 | 515 | 31 | 82 | 15 | 1 | 2 | 31 | 0 | 24 | 144 | .159 | .199 | .204 | .402 | -3,218 |
Career AVG .159 vs. league average .250 across their career seasons — 36.4% below league average.
Career OBP .199 vs. league average .317 across their career seasons — 37.5% below league average.
Career SLG .204 vs. league average .367 across their career seasons — 44.4% below league average.
Career OPS .402 vs. league average .684 across their career seasons — 41.2% below league average.
Season-by-Season Batting
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1966 | NYA | AL | 34 | 67 | 4 | 15 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 19 | .224 | .248 (-10%) | .309 (-20%) | .376 (-21%) | .685 (-21%) | -219.9 |
| 1967 | NYA | AL | 36 | 48 | 2 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 19 | .146 | — | — | — | — | -277.9 |
| 1968 | NYA | AL | 36 | 63 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 24 | .079 | .236 (-66%) | .298 (-64%) | .340 (-63%) | .638 (-64%) | -591.4 |
| 1969 | NYA | AL | 37 | 80 | 8 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 22 | .113 | .248 (-55%) | .320 (-40%) | .369 (-59%) | .689 (-50%) | -614.5 |
| 1970 | NYA | AL | 39 | 90 | 7 | 20 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 24 | .222 | .253 (-12%) | .325 (-30%) | .385 (-16%) | .711 (-23%) | -349.8 |
| 1971 | NYA | AL | 37 | 85 | 2 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 5 | 22 | .082 | .249 (-67%) | .316 (-58%) | .365 (-74%) | .682 (-67%) | -872.0 |
| 1972 | NYA | AL | 35 | 82 | 6 | 19 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 3 | 14 | .232 | .243 (-5%) | .310 (-17%) | .353 (-31%) | .664 (-24%) | -292.3 |
| 1973 | NYA | AL | 31 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1974 | NYA | AL | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1974 | CLE | AL | 29 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1975 | CLE | AL | 25 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1976 | CLE | AL | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1976 | TEX | AL | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| Career · 13 seasons | 355 | 515 | 31 | 82 | 15 | 1 | 2 | 31 | 0 | 24 | 144 | .159 | — | — | — | — | -3,218 | ||
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 (710 games) →Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).
Batting — Home / Away
| Split | G | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 178 | 260 | 20 | 49 | 2 | 21 | .188 |
| Away | 177 | 255 | 11 | 33 | 0 | 10 | .129 |
Pitching — Home / Away
| Split | G | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 178 | 1176.1 | 1089 | 367 | 210 | 529 | 2.81 |
| Away | 177 | 1042.0 | 1128 | 446 | 216 | 484 | 3.85 |
Last 10 Games — Pitching
| Date | Tm | Opp | Dec | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1976-06-19 | TEX | BAL | — | 6.0 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 0 |
| 1976-06-08 | TEX | BAL | W | 7.2 | 9 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| 1976-06-01 | TEX | CHW | — | 1.1 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1976-05-30 | TEX | MIN | — | 0.0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1976-05-27 | CLE | NYY | — | 4.2 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| 1976-05-23 | CLE | MIL | — | 3.0 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| 1976-05-18 | CLE | NYY | — | 8.0 | 9 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 1976-05-14 | CLE | DET | — | 4.0 | 8 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1976-05-09 | CLE | LAA | L | 7.1 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| 1976-05-04 | CLE | OAK | L | 4.2 | 8 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
Fielding Statistics
Career Fielding Totals by Position
Season-by-Season Fielding
| Year | Team | Pos | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1966 | NYA | P | 34 | 32 | 16 | 36 | 4 | 1 |
| 1967 | NYA | P | 36 | 30 | 13 | 35 | 2 | 4 |
| 1968 | NYA | P | 36 | 27 | 6 | 56 | 2 | 6 |
| 1969 | NYA | P | 37 | 37 | 15 | 53 | 3 | 5 |
| 1970 | NYA | P | 39 | 37 | 12 | 52 | 3 | 7 |
| 1971 | NYA | P | 37 | 35 | 14 | 54 | 1 | 7 |
| 1972 | NYA | P | 35 | 35 | 13 | 44 | 1 | 6 |
| 1973 | NYA | P | 31 | 31 | 11 | 30 | 2 | 3 |
| 1974 | NYA | P | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1974 | CLE | P | 29 | 29 | 8 | 30 | 2 | 2 |
| 1975 | CLE | P | 25 | 25 | 8 | 26 | 1 | 3 |
| 1976 | CLE | P | 9 | 9 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 0 |
| 1976 | TEX | P | 4 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
Career Games by Position
Circle size = games played at each position.
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| Pitcher | 355 |
College History
| School Name | City | State | Years Attended |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northern Illinois University | DeKalb | IL | 1961, 1962, 1963 |
Most Similar Players
Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.
Fritz Peterson (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.
Fritz Peterson: the record in brief
April 15, 1966 and June 19, 1976 bracket Fritz Peterson's time in the majors: the debut and the last game on record. Club by club, the record runs the New York Yankees (1966 through 1974), the Cleveland Indians (1974 to 1976), and the Texas Rangers (1976). Peterson played primarily as a pitcher and batted from both sides and threw left-handed. Born on February 8, 1942, in Chicago, IL, USA, Peterson was listed at 185 pounds on a 6-foot-0 frame. Peterson died on October 19, 2023, in Winona, MN, USA. The given name on file is Fred Ingles Peterson.
Peterson's career pitching line is 133 wins, 131 losses and a 3.30 ERA over 355 appearances. The totals include 1,015 strikeouts, 90 complete games, and 20 shutouts. Against a 3.52 league ERA for the same years, Peterson was 6.4% better. 1970 brought Peterson a season-high 20 wins. The strikeout high was 150 in 1969. 1969 was Peterson's sharpest full season, a 2.55 ERA against the league's 3.61.
Frequently Asked Questions about Fritz Peterson
- What years did Fritz Peterson play?
- Fritz Peterson played in Major League Baseball from 1966 to 1976.
- Was Fritz Peterson a pitcher?
- Yes. Fritz Peterson pitched in the major leagues, recording 133 wins and 1015 strikeouts.
- How many home runs did Fritz Peterson hit?
- Fritz Peterson hit 2 career home runs with 82 hits.
- What teams did Fritz Peterson play for?
- Fritz Peterson played for 3 teams: the New York Yankees (1966–1974), the Cleveland Indians (1974–1976), and the Texas Rangers (1976).
- Did Fritz Peterson win a Cy Young Award?
- No. Fritz Peterson did not win the Cy Young Award.
- What awards did Fritz Peterson win?
- Fritz Peterson was selected to 1 All-Star Game.
- What were Fritz Peterson's career stats?
- In 355 games, Fritz Peterson went 133-131 with a 3.30 ERA, 1,015 strikeouts, 2,218.1 innings pitched, and 1 saves. At the plate he had 82 hits and 2 home runs.
- What position did Fritz Peterson play?
- Fritz Peterson played primarily as a pitcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.
- How tall was Fritz Peterson and how much did he weigh?
- Fritz Peterson was listed at 6 feet and 185 pounds.
- What was Fritz Peterson's career ERA?
- Fritz Peterson finished with a 3.30 career ERA, going 133-131 with 1,015 strikeouts.
- How many strikeouts did Fritz Peterson have?
- Fritz Peterson recorded 1,015 career strikeouts.
- Is Fritz Peterson in the Hall of Fame?
- No. Fritz Peterson has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
- How many All-Star Games did Fritz Peterson make?
- Fritz Peterson was selected to 1 All-Star Game.