Kirk Rueter
Born: 12/1/1970 in Hoyleton, IL, USA
MLB Debut: 1993-07-07 | Final Game: 2005-07-29
Bats: L | Throws: L | Height: 6'3" | Weight: 190 lbs
Full name: Kirk Wesley Rueter
Biography
Kirk Rueter, born in 1970, was a left-handed pitcher who enjoyed a successful Major League Baseball career from 1993 to 2005. He made his mark primarily with the San Francisco Giants, where he established himself as a reliable starter known for his durability and consistency on the mound. Over his career, Rueter compiled a record of 130-92, with an earned run average (ERA) of 4.27 and a total of 818 strikeouts. While he did not record any saves during his tenure, his ability to pitch deep into games made him a valuable asset to his teams.
Rueter's career was highlighted by his recognition as the TSN Rookie Pitcher of the Year, signaling his impact as a newcomer to the league. He played during an era where offensive production was increasingly dominant, yet he managed to carve out a niche as a dependable pitcher who could hold his own against some of the best hitters in the game. His tenure in MLB not only showcased his skill but also contributed to the success of the Giants during his years with the team, leaving a lasting legacy in the franchise's history.
Career Pitching Statistics
| W | L | G | GS | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | ER | HR | BB | SO | ERA | Pitcher PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 130 | 92 | 340 | 336 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1918.0 | 2092 | 911 | 220 | 582 | 818 | 4.27 | 0 |
Season-by-Season Pitching
| Year | Team | Lg | W | L | G | GS | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA | Pitcher PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | WSN | NL | 8 | 0 | 14 | 14 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 85.7 | 85 | 26 | 18 | 31 | 2.73 | - |
| 1994 | WSN | NL | 7 | 3 | 20 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 92.3 | 106 | 53 | 23 | 50 | 5.17 | - |
| 1995 | WSN | NL | 5 | 3 | 9 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 47.3 | 38 | 17 | 9 | 28 | 3.23 | - |
| 1996 | WSN | NL | 5 | 6 | 16 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 78.7 | 91 | 40 | 22 | 30 | 4.58 | - |
| 1996 | SFG | NL | 1 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 23.3 | 18 | 5 | 5 | 16 | 1.93 | - |
| 1997 | SFG | NL | 13 | 6 | 32 | 32 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 190.7 | 194 | 73 | 51 | 115 | 3.45 | - |
| 1998 | SFG | NL | 16 | 9 | 33 | 33 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 187.7 | 193 | 91 | 57 | 102 | 4.36 | - |
| 1999 | SFG | NL | 15 | 10 | 33 | 33 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 184.7 | 219 | 111 | 55 | 94 | 5.41 | - |
| 2000 | SFG | NL | 11 | 9 | 32 | 31 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 184.0 | 205 | 81 | 62 | 71 | 3.96 | - |
| 2001 | SFG | NL | 14 | 12 | 34 | 34 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 195.3 | 213 | 96 | 66 | 83 | 4.42 | - |
| 2002 | SFG | NL | 14 | 8 | 33 | 33 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 203.7 | 204 | 73 | 54 | 76 | 3.23 | - |
| 2003 | SFG | NL | 10 | 5 | 27 | 27 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 147.0 | 170 | 74 | 47 | 41 | 4.53 | - |
| 2004 | SFG | NL | 9 | 12 | 33 | 33 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 190.3 | 225 | 100 | 66 | 56 | 4.73 | - |
| 2005 | SFG | NL | 2 | 7 | 20 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 107.3 | 131 | 71 | 47 | 25 | 5.95 | - |
Career Batting Statistics
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 349 | 622 | 44 | 95 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 40 | 1 | 27 | 105 | 0.153 | 0.187 | 0.167 | 0.354 | -4349.0 |
Season-by-Season Batting
| Year | Team | Lg | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | WSN | NL | 14 | 26 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 10 | 0.077 | 0.0 |
| 1994 | WSN | NL | 20 | 34 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 0.118 | 0.0 |
| 1995 | WSN | NL | 9 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0.000 | 0.0 |
| 1996 | WSN | NL | 16 | 25 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0.120 | 0.0 |
| 1996 | SFG | NL | 4 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0.143 | 0.0 |
| 1997 | SFG | NL | 32 | 65 | 5 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 14 | 0.138 | -659.4 |
| 1998 | SFG | NL | 34 | 67 | 7 | 14 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 0.209 | -499.6 |
| 1999 | SFG | NL | 33 | 58 | 6 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 0.155 | -547.4 |
| 2000 | SFG | NL | 34 | 60 | 5 | 12 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 11 | 0.200 | -448.5 |
| 2001 | SFG | NL | 36 | 58 | 5 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 0.172 | -474.3 |
| 2002 | SFG | NL | 35 | 62 | 3 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 11 | 0.177 | -558.1 |
| 2003 | SFG | NL | 27 | 53 | 5 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 0.132 | -554.0 |
| 2004 | SFG | NL | 34 | 61 | 4 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 0.131 | -607.8 |
| 2005 | SFG | NL | 21 | 30 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0.167 | 0.0 |
Postseason Statistics
Playoff Career Batting
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | 12 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0.250 |
Playoff Batting by Year
| Year | Round | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | NLDS1 | SFN | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.500 |
| 2002 | WS | SFN | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.500 |
| 2002 | NLDS1 | SFN | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.000 |
| 2002 | NLCS | SFN | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.000 |
| 2000 | NLDS2 | SFN | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .000 |
| 1997 | NLDS1 | SFN | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.500 |
Playoff Career Pitching
| W | L | G | GS | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | 8 | 6 | 0 | 40.3 | 42 | 17 | 11 | 17 | 3.79 |
Playoff Pitching by Year
| Year | Round | Team | W | L | G | GS | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | NLDS1 | SFN | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5.0 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3.60 |
| 2002 | NLCS | SFN | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 11.0 | 15 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 4.09 |
| 2002 | NLDS1 | SFN | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3.0 | 7 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 18.00 |
| 2002 | WS | SFN | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 10.0 | 10 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 2.70 |
| 2000 | NLDS2 | SFN | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4.3 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0.00 |
| 1997 | NLDS1 | SFN | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 7.0 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 1.29 |
Fielding Statistics
Career Fielding Totals by Position
| Position | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | 340 | 336 | 135 | 439 | 7 | 54 |
Season-by-Season Fielding
| Year | Team | Pos | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | MON | P | 14 | 14 | 7 | 19 | 1 | 4 |
| 1994 | MON | P | 20 | 20 | 4 | 17 | 1 | 0 |
| 1995 | MON | P | 9 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 0 | 1 |
| 1996 | MON | P | 16 | 16 | 7 | 23 | 0 | 2 |
| 1996 | SFN | P | 4 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 1997 | SFN | P | 32 | 32 | 6 | 53 | 0 | 4 |
| 1998 | SFN | P | 33 | 33 | 12 | 39 | 2 | 2 |
| 1999 | SFN | P | 33 | 33 | 15 | 30 | 1 | 5 |
| 2000 | SFN | P | 32 | 31 | 8 | 44 | 0 | 4 |
| 2001 | SFN | P | 34 | 34 | 11 | 50 | 0 | 11 |
| 2002 | SFN | P | 33 | 33 | 15 | 37 | 0 | 5 |
| 2003 | SFN | P | 27 | 27 | 10 | 33 | 0 | 5 |
| 2004 | SFN | P | 33 | 33 | 18 | 51 | 1 | 6 |
| 2005 | SFN | P | 20 | 18 | 13 | 32 | 1 | 5 |
Career Games by Position
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| Pitcher | 340 |
Awards & Honors
| Year | Award | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1993 | TSN Rookie Pitcher of the Year |
Salary History
| Year | Team | League | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | SFN | NL | $7,133,333 |
| 2004 | SFN | NL | $6,133,333 |
| 2003 | SFN | NL | $5,866,667 |
| 2002 | SFN | NL | $4,866,667 |
| 2001 | SFN | NL | $4,866,667 |
| 2000 | SFN | NL | $4,000,000 |
| 1999 | SFN | NL | $2,810,000 |
| 1998 | SFN | NL | $1,835,000 |
| 1997 | SFN | NL | $260,000 |
| 1996 | MON | NL | $160,000 |
| 1995 | MON | NL | $151,000 |
| 1994 | MON | NL | $130,000 |
| 1993 | MON | NL | $109,000 |
| Total Career Earnings | $38,321,667 | ||
College History
| School Name | City | State | Years Attended |
|---|---|---|---|
| Murray State University | Murray | KY | 1989, 1990, 1991 |
Award Voting History
| Year | Award | League | Finish | Points Won | Points Max | Votes First |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | Rookie of the Year | NL | 7th | 3.0 | 140 | 0 |