Bill Pleis

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1961-1966)

Bill Pleis was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1961 to 1966 for the Minnesota Twins, a span of 6 seasons. Across 190 career appearances, he went 21-16 with a 4.07 ERA and 184 strikeouts.

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 21–16
ERA 4.07
WHIP 1.41
SO 184
Pitcher PIV -2887.9
Position
Pitcher
Bats / Throws
L / L
Height / Weight
5'10" / 170 lb
Born
8/5/1937 in St. Louis, MO, USA
Died
10/17/2025 in Wentzville, MO, USA
MLB Debut
1961-04-16
Last Game
1966-09-15

Full name: William Pleis

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Career Pitching Statistics

Bill Pleis — Career Pitching Statistics
W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
21 16 190 10 1 0 13 280.2 269 127 31 126 184 4.07 -2887.9

Career ERA 4.07 vs. league average 3.67 across their career seasons — 11.1% worse than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Bill Pleis — Season-by-Season Pitching
Year Team Lg W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER BB SO ERA Lg ERA Pitcher PIV
1961 MIN AL 4 2 37 0 0 0 2 56.1 59 31 34 32 4.95 4.03 (-23%) -504.6
1962 MIN AL 2 5 21 4 0 0 3 45.0 46 22 14 31 4.40 3.96 (-11%) -344.7
1963 MIN AL 6 2 36 4 1 0 0 68.0 67 33 16 37 4.37 3.46 (-26%) -934.1
1964 MIN AL 4 1 47 0 0 0 4 50.2 43 22 31 42 3.91 3.58 (-9%) -1014.3
1965 MIN AL 4 4 41 2 0 0 4 51.1 49 17 27 33 2.98 3.50 (+15%) -90.2
1966 MIN AL 1 2 8 0 0 0 0 9.1 5 2 4 9 1.93 3.52 (+45%) 0.0
Career · 6 seasons 21 16 190 10 1 0 13 280.2 269 127 126 184 4.07 — -2,888

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

Bill Pleis — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
190 50 5 8 0 0 0 2 0 5 26 .160 .236 .160 .396 0

Career AVG .160 vs. league average .251 across their career seasons — 36.3% below league average.

Career OBP .236 vs. league average .316 across their career seasons — 25.2% below league average.

Career SLG .160 vs. league average .381 across their career seasons — 58.0% below league average.

Career OPS .396 vs. league average .697 across their career seasons — 43.2% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Bill Pleis — Season-by-Season Batting
Year Team Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG Lg AVG Lg OBP Lg SLG Lg OPS PIV
1961 MIN AL 37 9 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 .111 — — — — 0.0
1962 MIN AL 21 14 1 4 0 0 0 1 0 1 5 .286 — — — — 0.0
1963 MIN AL 36 16 2 2 0 0 0 1 0 3 11 .125 — — — — 0.0
1964 MIN AL 47 4 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 .250 — — — — 0.0
1965 MIN AL 41 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 .000 — — — — 0.0
1966 MIN AL 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
Career · 6 seasons 190 50 5 8 0 0 0 2 0 5 26 .160 — — — — 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.

Postseason Statistics

Playoff Career Batting

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

Playoff Batting by Year

Bill Pleis — Playoff Batting by Year
Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1965 WS MIN 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000

Playoff Career Pitching

Bill Pleis — Playoff Career Pitching
W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
0 0 1 0 0 1.0 2 1 0 0 9.00

Playoff Pitching by Year

Bill Pleis — Playoff Pitching by Year
Year Round Team W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
1965 WS MIN 0 0 1 0 0 1.0 2 1 0 0 9.00

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (380 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Bill Pleis — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home95211101.048
Away95294701.241

Pitching — Home / Away

Bill Pleis — Pitching — Home / Away
SplitGIPHERBBSOERA
Home95149.114262761073.74
Away95131.11276550784.45

Last 10 Games — Pitching

Bill Pleis — Last 10 Games — Pitching
DateTmOppDecIPHRERBBSOHR
1966-09-15 MINDET L 1.0140211
1966-09-14 MINDET — 1.0100010
1966-09-06 MINCHW W 3.0000030
1966-09-05 MINCHW — 0.1000000
1966-08-24 MINTEX L 0.1122100
1966-08-08 MINKC1 — 2.0100120
1966-07-18 MINNYY — 0.2000010
1966-07-09 MINDET — 1.0100010
1965-09-21 MINBAL — 0.2100110
1965-09-20 MINKC1 — 1.0110100

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Bill Pleis — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
P 190 10 17 31 3 3

Season-by-Season Fielding

Bill Pleis — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1961 MIN P 37 0 3 3 1 0
1962 MIN P 21 4 4 4 1 0
1963 MIN P 36 4 3 10 0 1
1964 MIN P 47 0 6 6 0 1
1965 MIN P 41 2 1 7 0 1
1966 MIN P 8 0 0 1 1 0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Bill Pleis — Career Games by Position
Position Games
Pitcher 190

Bill Pleis: the record in brief

Between the debut on April 16, 1961 and the final game on September 15, 1966, Bill Pleis built the record summarized on this page. Every season row on the page belongs to the Minnesota Twins, from 1961 through 1966. Pleis is listed as a pitcher at 5-foot-10 and 170 pounds. Pleis batted and threw left-handed, per the bio block. Pleis was born on August 5, 1937, in St. Louis, MO, USA. Pleis's death is recorded on October 17, 2025, in Wentzville, MO, USA. On the record, Bill Pleis was born William Pleis.

Across 190 games (10 starts), Pleis recorded 21 wins against 16 losses with a 4.07 ERA. Pleis had 184 strikeouts and 13 saves. Against a 3.67 league ERA for the same seasons, the 4.07 mark was 11.1% worse. The best win total was 6, in 1963. Among the heaviest workloads, the lowest ERA was 2.98 in 1965, when the league's was 3.50.

Pleis made 1 postseason pitching appearances, with a 0-0 record and 9.00 ERA. Those appearances came in 1965.

Frequently Asked Questions about Bill Pleis

What years did Bill Pleis play?
Bill Pleis played in Major League Baseball from 1961 to 1966.
Was Bill Pleis a pitcher?
Yes. Bill Pleis pitched in the major leagues, recording 21 wins and 184 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Bill Pleis hit?
Bill Pleis hit 0 career home runs with 8 hits.
What was Bill Pleis's career batting average?
Bill Pleis batted .160 over his career, with 8 hits in 50 at bats.
How many RBI did Bill Pleis have?
Bill Pleis drove in 2 runs in his career.
What was Bill Pleis's career ERA?
Bill Pleis finished with a 4.07 career ERA, going 21-16 with 184 strikeouts.