What years did Don Robinson play?

Don Robinson played in Major League Baseball from 1978 to 1992.

Was Don Robinson a pitcher?

Yes. Don Robinson pitched in the major leagues, recording 109 wins and 1251 strikeouts.

How many home runs did Don Robinson hit?

Don Robinson hit 13 career home runs with 146 hits.

What was Don Robinson's career batting average?

Don Robinson batted .231 over his career, with 146 hits in 631 at bats.

How many RBI did Don Robinson have?

Don Robinson drove in 69 runs in his career.

What was Don Robinson's career ERA?

Don Robinson finished with a 3.79 career ERA, going 109-106 with 1,251 strikeouts.

Don Robinson

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1978-1992)

Don Robinson was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1978 to 1992 for 4 teams, including the Pittsburgh Pirates, a span of 15 seasons. Across 524 career appearances, he went 109-106 with a 3.79 ERA, 1,251 strikeouts, and 57 saves. He also batted .231 with 13 home runs. Don Robinson was a 3-time Silver Slugger. His career Pitcher PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of pitching impact — is 9791.8.

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 109–106

ERA 3.79

WHIP 1.30

SO 1,251

Pitcher PIV 9791.8

Position: Pitcher
Bats / Throws: R / R
Height / Weight: 6'4" / 225 lb
Born: 6/8/1957 in Ashland, KY, USA
MLB Debut: 1978-04-10
Last Game: 1992-07-12
Awards: 3× Silver Slugger

Full name: Don Allen Robinson

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Career Pitching Statistics

Don Robinson — Career Pitching Statistics
W	L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	SO	ERA	Pitcher PIV
109	106	524	229	34	6	57	1958.1	1,894	824	175	643	1,251	3.79	9791.8

Career ERA 3.79 vs. league average 3.86 across their career seasons — near league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Don Robinson Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year	Team	Lg	W	L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA	Lg ERA	Pitcher PIV
1978	PIT	NL	14	6	35	32	9	1	1	228.1	203	88	57	135	3.47	3.69 (+6%)	2137.2
1979	PIT	NL	8	8	29	25	4	0	0	160.2	171	69	52	96	3.87	4.00 (+3%)	1860.1
1980	PIT	NL	7	10	29	24	3	2	1	160.1	157	71	45	103	3.99	3.84 (-4%)	1257.0
1981	PIT	NL	0	3	16	2	0	0	2	38.1	47	25	23	17	5.87	3.58 (-64%)	-1232.7
1982	PIT	NL	15	13	38	30	6	0	0	227.0	213	108	103	165	4.28	3.86 (-11%)	-1644.4
1983	PIT	NL	2	2	9	6	0	0	0	36.1	43	18	21	28	4.46	3.87 (-15%)	-785.1
1984	PIT	NL	5	6	51	1	0	0	10	122.0	99	41	49	110	3.02	3.81 (+21%)	3132.2
1985	PIT	NL	5	11	44	6	0	0	3	95.1	95	41	42	65	3.87	3.89 (+1%)	899.1
1986	PIT	NL	3	4	50	0	0	0	14	69.1	61	26	27	53	3.38	3.97 (+15%)	945.9
1987	PIT	NL	6	6	42	0	0	0	12	65.1	66	28	22	53	3.86	4.29 (+10%)	1391.8
1987	SFN	NL	5	1	25	0	0	0	7	42.2	39	13	18	26	2.74	4.29 (+36%)	1152.3
1988	SFN	NL	10	5	51	19	3	2	6	176.2	152	48	49	122	2.45	3.73 (+35%)	2990.4
1989	SFN	NL	12	11	34	32	5	1	0	197.0	184	75	37	96	3.43	3.71 (+8%)	-608.7
1990	SFN	NL	10	7	26	25	4	0	0	157.2	173	80	41	78	4.57	3.86 (-18%)	-949.5
1991	SFN	NL	5	9	34	16	0	0	1	121.1	123	59	50	78	4.38	3.91 (-12%)	-623.3
1992	CAL	AL	1	0	3	3	0	0	0	16.1	19	4	3	9	2.20	3.75 (+41%)	293.9
1992	PHI	NL	1	4	8	8	0	0	0	43.2	49	30	4	17	6.18	3.75 (-65%)	-424.5
Career · 17 seasons			109	106	524	229	34	6	57	1,958.1	1,894	824	643	1,251	3.79	—	9,792

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

Don Robinson — Career Batting Statistics
G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	PIV
551	631	47	146	23	0	13	69	0	16	168	.231	.252	.330	.582	-1,673

Career AVG .231 vs. league average .259 across their career seasons — 10.6% below league average.

Career OBP .252 vs. league average .324 across their career seasons — 22.1% below league average.

Career SLG .330 vs. league average .387 across their career seasons — 14.8% below league average.

Career OPS .582 vs. league average .711 across their career seasons — 18.1% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Don Robinson Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year	Team	Lg	G	AB	R	H	2B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	AVG	Lg AVG	Lg OBP	Lg SLG	Lg OPS	PIV
1978	PIT	NL	35	85	2	20	2	0	3	0	22	.235	.257 (-9%)	.323 (-27%)	.378 (-32%)	.702 (-30%)	-395.7
1979	PIT	NL	29	49	4	10	0	0	3	3	9	.204	—	—	—	—	-284.2
1980	PIT	NL	30	57	4	19	4	1	8	0	12	.333	.264 (+26%)	.326 (+2%)	.387 (+18%)	.714 (+11%)	80.2
1981	PIT	NL	17	12	1	3	0	0	1	1	4	.250	—	—	—	—	0.0
1982	PIT	NL	43	85	10	24	5	2	16	3	22	.282	.261 (+8%)	.324 (-4%)	.388 (+6%)	.712 (+1%)	-0.4
1983	PIT	NL	10	13	1	2	0	1	3	0	4	.154	—	—	—	—	0.0
1984	PIT	NL	53	31	6	9	0	1	5	4	9	.290	—	—	—	—	0.0
1985	PIT	NL	44	21	2	5	2	1	4	0	11	.238	—	—	—	—	0.0
1986	PIT	NL	50	6	1	4	1	0	1	0	1	.667	—	—	—	—	0.0
1987	PIT	NL	44	7	0	1	0	0	1	1	2	.143	—	—	—	—	0.0
1987	SFN	NL	25	11	2	3	1	1	1	0	2	.273	—	—	—	—	0.0
1988	SFN	NL	52	52	2	9	2	1	4	2	12	.173	.254 (-32%)	.317 (-36%)	.377 (-29%)	.695 (-32%)	-264.1
1989	SFN	NL	40	81	7	15	1	3	7	1	23	.185	.254 (-27%)	.319 (-39%)	.375 (-18%)	.694 (-27%)	-360.6
1990	SFN	NL	31	63	4	9	1	2	7	0	17	.143	.257 (-45%)	.324 (-56%)	.385 (-34%)	.710 (-44%)	-448.1
1991	SFN	NL	35	40	1	6	1	0	4	1	13	.150	—	—	—	—	0.0
1992	CAL	AL	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1992	PHI	NL	10	18	0	7	3	0	1	0	5	.389	—	—	—	—	0.0
Career · 17 seasons			551	631	47	146	23	13	69	16	168	.231	—	—	—	—	-1,673

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

Don Robinson — Playoff Career Batting
G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	AVG
11	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000

Playoff Batting by Year

Don Robinson — Playoff Batting by Year
Year	Round	Team	G	AVG
1989	NLCS	SFN	1	.000
1989	WS	SFN	1	.000
1987	NLCS	SFN	3	.000
1979	NLCS	PIT	2	.000
1979	WS	PIT	4	.000

Playoff Career Pitching

Don Robinson — Playoff Career Pitching
W	L	G	GS	SV	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
3	2	11	1	1	13.1	14	10	8	9	6.75

Playoff Pitching by Year

Don Robinson — Playoff Pitching by Year
Year	Round	Team	W	L	G	GS	SV	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
1989	NLCS	SFN	1	0	1	0	0	1.2	3	0	0	0	0.00
1989	WS	SFN	0	1	1	1	0	1.2	4	4	1	0	21.60
1987	NLCS	SFN	0	1	3	0	0	3.0	3	3	0	3	9.00
1979	NLCS	PIT	1	0	2	0	1	2.0	0	0	1	3	0.00
1979	WS	PIT	1	0	4	0	0	5.0	4	3	6	3	5.40

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (1075 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Don Robinson — Batting — Home / Away
Split	G	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	AVG
Home	256	272	20	65	5	31	.239
Away	295	359	27	81	8	38	.226

Pitching — Home / Away

Don Robinson — Pitching — Home / Away
Split	G	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
Home	247	914.2	884	381	283	606	3.75
Away	277	1043.2	1010	443	360	645	3.82

Last 10 Games — Batting

Don Robinson — Last 10 Games — Batting
Date	Tm	Opp	Res	AB	H	2B	RBI	SO
1992-07-12	PHI	SDP	L	1	1	1	0	0
1992-07-08	PHI	SFG	L	1	0	0	0	0
1992-07-07	PHI	SFG	L	2	1	0	0	0
1992-07-03	PHI	LAD	L	3	1	0	0	2
1992-06-17	PHI	PIT	L	2	1	1	0	0
1992-06-12	PHI	STL	W	2	1	0	1	1
1992-06-06	PHI	STL	W	2	1	1	0	0
1992-06-01	PHI	ATL	L	1	0	0	0	1
1992-05-31	PHI	HOU	W	2	0	0	0	0
1992-05-26	PHI	ATL	W	2	1	0	0	1

Last 10 Games — Pitching

Don Robinson — Last 10 Games — Pitching
Date	Tm	Opp	Dec	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR
1992-07-12	PHI	SDP	L	2.1	6	6	6	0	1	2
1992-07-07	PHI	SFG	L	6.0	10	5	5	0	3	1
1992-07-03	PHI	LAD	L	7.0	5	2	2	1	2	0
1992-06-17	PHI	PIT	L	5.0	7	7	6	1	1	3
1992-06-12	PHI	STL	—	4.1	8	5	5	1	0	0
1992-06-06	PHI	STL	—	6.0	7	5	5	0	1	0
1992-05-31	PHI	HOU	—	7.0	5	2	1	1	4	0
1992-05-26	PHI	ATL	W	6.0	1	0	0	0	5	0
1992-04-21	LAA	OAK	—	4.0	5	2	2	1	3	1
1992-04-16	LAA	TEX	—	6.0	9	2	2	0	3	0

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Don Robinson — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
OF	1	1	2	0	0	0
P	524	229	112	222	12	10

Season-by-Season Fielding

Don Robinson — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year	Team	Pos	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
1978	PIT	P	35	32	10	32	1	1
1979	PIT	P	29	25	7	10	2	1
1980	PIT	P	29	24	13	23	2	2
1981	PIT	P	16	2	7	8	0	1
1982	PIT	P	38	30	14	25	4	0
1983	PIT	P	9	6	1	6	0	1
1984	PIT	OF	1	1	2	0	0	0
1984	PIT	P	51	1	8	18	0	0
1985	PIT	P	44	6	7	11	0	2
1986	PIT	P	50	0	6	9	0	0
1987	PIT	P	42	0	4	9	0	0
1987	SFN	P	25	0	4	3	0	0
1988	SFN	P	51	19	12	19	3	1
1989	SFN	P	34	32	6	12	0	1
1990	SFN	P	26	25	4	18	0	0
1991	SFN	P	34	16	7	16	0	0
1992	CAL	P	3	3	0	0	0	0
1992	PHI	P	8	8	2	3	0	0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Don Robinson Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position	Games
Pitcher	524
Left Field	1

Awards & Honors

Don Robinson — Awards & Honors
Year	Award	Notes
1990	Silver Slugger	P
1989	Silver Slugger	P
1984	Hutch Award
1982	Silver Slugger	P
1978	Player of the Week	Week of 1978-04-28
1978	TSN Rookie Pitcher of the Year

Salary History

Don Robinson — Salary History
Year	Team	League	Salary
1992	CAL	AL	$900,000
1991	SFN	NL	$2,450,000
1990	SFN	NL	$950,000
1989	SFN	NL	$900,000
1988	SFN	NL	$900,000
1987	PIT	NL	$795,000
1986	PIT	NL	$670,000
1985	PIT	NL	$520,000
Total Career Earnings			$8,085,000

Award Voting History

Don Robinson — Award Voting History
Year	Award	League	Finish	Points Won	Points Max	Votes First
1978	Cy Young Award	NL	8th	1.0	120	0
1978	Rookie of the Year	NL	3rd	3.0	24	3

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Don Robinson (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

Don Robinson: the record in brief

Don Robinson played a first major league game on April 10, 1978 and a last one on July 12, 1992. The season rows list, in order, the Pittsburgh Pirates (1978 through 1987), the San Francisco Giants (1987 through 1991), the California Angels (1992), and the Philadelphia Phillies (1992). Robinson played primarily as a pitcher and both batted and threw right-handed. Born on June 8, 1957, in Ashland, KY, USA, Robinson was listed at 6'4" and 225 pounds. The given name on file is Don Allen Robinson.

Across 524 games (229 starts), Robinson recorded 109 wins against 106 losses with a 3.79 ERA. Robinson had 1,251 strikeouts, 34 complete games, 6 shutouts, and 57 saves. Robinson's 3.79 ERA was close to the 3.86 league figure for those seasons. Robinson won 15 games in 1982, the most of any season listed. Robinson saved 14 games in 1986, the season high. In 1988, one of the busiest seasons, Robinson posted a 2.45 ERA; the league figure that year was 3.73.

Frequently Asked Questions about Don Robinson

What years did Don Robinson play?: Don Robinson played in Major League Baseball from 1978 to 1992.
Was Don Robinson a pitcher?: Yes. Don Robinson pitched in the major leagues, recording 109 wins and 1251 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Don Robinson hit?: Don Robinson hit 13 career home runs with 146 hits.
What was Don Robinson's career batting average?: Don Robinson batted .231 over his career, with 146 hits in 631 at bats.
How many RBI did Don Robinson have?: Don Robinson drove in 69 runs in his career.
What was Don Robinson's career ERA?: Don Robinson finished with a 3.79 career ERA, going 109-106 with 1,251 strikeouts.