Bob Purkey

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1954-1966)

W–L 129–115
ERA 3.79
WHIP 1.27
SO 793
Pitcher PIV 1629.5
Position
Pitcher
Bats / Throws
R / R
Height / Weight
6'2" / 175 lb
Born
7/14/1929 in Pittsburgh, PA, USA
Died
3/16/2008 in Allegheny County, PA, USA
MLB Debut
1954-04-14
Last Game
1966-07-26
Awards
3× All-Star

Full name: Robert Thomas Purkey

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Career Pitching Statistics

W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
129 115 386 276 92 13 9 2114.7 2,170 891 195 510 793 3.79 1629.5

Career ERA 3.79 vs. league average 3.78 across their career seasons — near 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
1954 PIT NL 3 8 36 11 0 0 0 131.3 145 74 62 38 5.07 3.90 (-30%) 691.6
1955 PIT NL 2 7 14 10 2 0 1 67.7 77 40 25 24 5.32 4.00 (-33%) 312.6
1956 PIT NL 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 4.0 2 1 0 1 2.25 — 0.0
1957 PIT NL 11 14 48 21 6 1 2 179.7 194 77 38 51 3.86 3.83 (-1%) 2189.5
1958 CIN NL 17 11 37 34 17 3 0 250.0 259 100 49 70 3.60 3.86 (+7%) 60.2
1959 CIN NL 13 18 38 33 9 1 1 218.0 241 103 43 78 4.25 3.90 (-9%) -482.7
1960 CIN NL 17 11 41 33 11 1 0 252.7 259 101 59 97 3.60 3.82 (+6%) 447.8
1961 CIN NL 16 12 36 34 13 1 1 246.3 245 102 51 116 3.73 4.03 (+7%) 1780.1
1962 CIN NL 23 5 37 37 18 2 0 288.3 260 90 64 141 2.81 3.96 (+29%) 1848.9
1963 CIN NL 6 10 21 21 4 1 0 137.0 143 54 33 55 3.55 3.46 (-3%) -418.8
1964 CIN NL 11 9 34 25 9 2 1 195.7 181 66 49 78 3.04 3.58 (+15%) -727.8
1965 SLN NL 10 9 32 17 3 1 2 124.3 148 80 33 39 5.79 3.50 (-66%) -4498.8
1966 PIT NL 0 1 10 0 0 0 1 19.7 16 3 4 5 1.37 3.52 (+61%) 426.7
Career · 13 seasons 129 115 386 276 92 13 9 2,114.2 2,170 891 510 793 3.79 — 1,629

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
387 645 53 71 9 3 6 42 0 38 325 .110 .163 .161 .325 -4,497

Career AVG .110 vs. league average .254 across their career seasons — 56.7% below league average.

Career OBP .163 vs. league average .321 across their career seasons — 49.2% below league average.

Career SLG .161 vs. league average .387 across their career seasons — 58.3% below league average.

Career OPS .325 vs. league average .708 across their career seasons — 54.2% 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
1954 PIT NL 36 26 2 2 1 0 0 4 0 4 12 .077 — — — — 0.0
1955 PIT NL 14 19 1 6 0 0 1 4 0 0 4 .316 — — — — 0.0
1956 PIT NL 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1957 PIT NL 48 45 3 5 0 2 0 6 0 3 22 .111 — — — — -356.6
1958 CIN NL 37 81 9 9 2 0 1 4 0 6 42 .111 .257 (-57%) .324 (-48%) .394 (-56%) .719 (-52%) -688.1
1959 CIN NL 38 66 8 11 2 1 1 6 0 6 34 .167 .256 (-35%) .323 (-24%) .392 (-30%) .715 (-27%) -289.5
1960 CIN NL 41 83 6 11 0 0 0 5 0 7 44 .133 .255 (-48%) .323 (-38%) .387 (-66%) .711 (-53%) -680.5
1961 CIN NL 36 80 6 8 2 0 1 4 0 2 32 .100 .258 (-61%) .328 (-60%) .399 (-59%) .727 (-59%) -770.2
1962 CIN NL 37 107 9 11 2 0 2 3 0 4 56 .103 .257 (-60%) .326 (-59%) .393 (-55%) .719 (-57%) -990.0
1963 CIN NL 21 41 3 4 0 0 0 2 0 4 22 .098 — — — — 0.0
1964 CIN NL 34 58 3 3 0 0 0 1 0 1 33 .052 .250 (-79%) .312 (-74%) .377 (-86%) .690 (-81%) -722.5
1965 SLN NL 32 35 3 1 0 0 0 3 0 1 21 .029 — — — — 0.0
1966 PIT NL 11 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 .000 — — — — 0.0
Career · 13 seasons 387 645 53 71 9 3 6 42 0 38 325 .110 — — — — -4,497

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
2 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 .000

Playoff Batting by Year

Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1961 WS CIN 2 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 .000

Playoff Career Pitching

W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
0 1 2 1 0 11.0 6 2 3 5 1.64

Playoff Pitching by Year

Year Round Team W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
1961 WS CIN 0 1 2 1 0 11.0 6 2 3 5 1.64

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (773 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home1903102541326.132
Away1973352830316.090

Pitching — Home / Away

SplitGIPHERBBSOERA
Home1901078.111204712444333.93
Away1961036.110504202663613.65

Last 10 Games — Batting

DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1966-07-26 PITSFGL 000000000
1966-07-04 PITCHCL 000000000
1966-07-03 PITNYNL 100000001
1966-05-15 PITLADL 000000000
1966-05-10 PITSFGL 100000001
1966-05-04 PITCINW 100000000
1966-05-03 PITCINW 000000000
1966-04-24 PITSTLL 100000001
1966-04-22 PITSTLL 000000000
1966-04-18 PITCINW 000000000

Last 10 Games — Pitching

DateTmOppDecIPHRERBBSOHR
1966-07-26 PITSFG — 1.0100000
1966-07-04 PITCHC — 1.0000000
1966-05-15 PITLAD — 2.0211000
1966-05-10 PITSFG L 4.0411110
1966-05-04 PITCIN SV 2.2200110
1966-05-03 PITCIN — 0.1000000
1966-04-24 PITSTL — 4.0411000
1966-04-22 PITSTL — 1.0000010
1966-04-18 PITCIN — 1.2300010
1966-04-15 PITSTL — 2.0000210

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position G GS PO A E DP
P 386 276 184 464 23 32

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1954 PIT P 36 11 16 40 0 6
1955 PIT P 14 10 2 16 1 0
1956 PIT P 2 0 0 1 0 0
1957 PIT P 48 21 13 30 3 3
1958 CIN P 37 34 10 56 1 2
1959 CIN P 38 33 19 35 2 1
1960 CIN P 41 33 30 47 1 5
1961 CIN P 36 34 29 69 2 2
1962 CIN P 37 37 25 59 4 7
1963 CIN P 21 21 15 29 3 0
1964 CIN P 34 25 17 44 4 4
1965 SLN P 32 17 8 28 1 1
1966 PIT P 10 0 0 10 1 1

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Position Games
Pitcher 386

Awards & Honors

Year Award Notes
1962 TSN All-Star P

Award Voting History

Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
1962 Cy Young Award ML 3rd 1.0 20 1
1962 Most Valuable Player NL 8th 33.0 280 0
1958 Most Valuable Player NL 19th 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

Bob Purkey (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Scott McGregor
    138-108, 3.99 ERA
  2. 96
    Dick Donovan
    122-99, 3.67 ERA
  3. 94
    Schoolboy Rowe
    158-101, 3.87 ERA
  4. 92
    Larry Gura
    126-97, 3.76 ERA
  5. 91
    Jim Barr
    101-112, 3.56 ERA
  6. 91
    Ross Grimsley
    124-99, 3.81 ERA

Frequently Asked Questions about Bob Purkey

What years did Bob Purkey play?
Bob Purkey played in Major League Baseball from 1954 to 1966.
Was Bob Purkey a pitcher?
Yes. Bob Purkey pitched in the major leagues, recording 129 wins and 793 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Bob Purkey hit?
Bob Purkey hit 6 career home runs with 71 hits.