What years did Vern Ruhle play?

Vern Ruhle played in Major League Baseball from 1974 to 1986.

Was Vern Ruhle a pitcher?

Yes. Vern Ruhle pitched in the major leagues, recording 67 wins and 582 strikeouts.

How many home runs did Vern Ruhle hit?

Vern Ruhle hit 0 career home runs with 27 hits.

What teams did Vern Ruhle play for?

Vern Ruhle played for 4 teams: the Detroit Tigers (1974–1977), the Houston Astros (1978–1984), the Cleveland Indians (1985), and the California Angels (1986).

What were Vern Ruhle's career stats?

In 327 games, Vern Ruhle went 67-88 with a 3.73 ERA, 582 strikeouts, 1,411.1 innings pitched, and 11 saves.

What was Vern Ruhle's salary?

Vern Ruhle's last recorded salary was $60,000, in 1986. His highest recorded salary was $295,000, in 1985, and his lowest was $60,000, in 1986. The Salary History table lists each season from 1985 to 1986.

What position did Vern Ruhle play?

Vern Ruhle played primarily as a pitcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.

How tall was Vern Ruhle and how much did he weigh?

Vern Ruhle was listed at 6 feet 1 inch and 185 pounds.

What was Vern Ruhle's career ERA?

Vern Ruhle finished with a 3.73 career ERA, going 67-88 with 582 strikeouts.

How many strikeouts did Vern Ruhle have?

Vern Ruhle recorded 582 career strikeouts.

Is Vern Ruhle in the Hall of Fame?

No. Vern Ruhle has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

Vern Ruhle

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1974-1986)

Vern Ruhle was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1974 to 1986 for 4 teams, including the Detroit Tigers, a span of 13 seasons. Across 327 career appearances, he went 67-88 with a 3.73 ERA and 582 strikeouts. His career Pitcher PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of pitching impact — is 445.8.

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 15, 2026

W–L 67–88

ERA 3.73

WHIP 1.30

SO 582

Pitcher PIV 445.8

Position: Pitcher
Bats / Throws: R / R
Height / Weight: 6'1" / 185 lb
Born: 1/25/1951 in Coleman, MI, USA
Died: 1/20/2007 in Houston, TX, USA
MLB Debut: 1974-09-09
Last Game: 1986-10-04

Full name: Vernon Gerald Ruhle

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Career Pitching Statistics

Vern Ruhle — Career Pitching Statistics
W	L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	SO	ERA	Pitcher PIV
67	88	327	188	29	12	11	1411.1	1,483	585	119	348	582	3.73	445.8

Career ERA 3.73 vs. league average 3.81 across their career seasons — near league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Vern Ruhle Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year	Team	Lg	W	L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA	Lg ERA	Pitcher PIV
1974	DET	AL	2	0	5	3	1	0	0	33.0	35	10	6	10	2.73	3.63 (+25%)	519.0
1975	DET	AL	11	12	32	31	8	3	0	190.0	199	85	65	67	4.03	3.71 (-9%)	-2237.9
1976	DET	AL	9	12	32	32	5	1	0	199.2	227	87	59	88	3.92	3.51 (-12%)	-2099.4
1977	DET	AL	3	5	14	10	0	0	0	66.1	83	42	15	27	5.70	4.00 (-42%)	-834.7
1978	HOU	NL	3	3	13	10	2	2	0	68.0	57	16	20	27	2.12	3.69 (+43%)	1671.7
1979	HOU	NL	2	6	13	10	2	2	0	66.1	64	30	8	33	4.07	4.00 (-2%)	81.9
1980	HOU	NL	12	4	28	22	6	2	0	159.1	148	42	29	55	2.37	3.84 (+38%)	2493.8
1981	HOU	NL	4	6	20	15	1	0	1	102.0	97	33	20	39	2.91	3.58 (+19%)	951.9
1982	HOU	NL	9	13	31	21	3	2	1	149.0	169	65	24	56	3.93	3.86 (-2%)	1103.0
1983	HOU	NL	8	5	41	9	0	0	3	114.2	107	47	36	43	3.69	3.87 (+5%)	-1797.0
1984	HOU	NL	1	9	40	6	0	0	2	90.1	112	46	29	60	4.58	3.81 (-20%)	1354.7
1985	CLE	AL	2	10	42	16	1	0	3	125.0	139	60	30	54	4.32	3.89 (-11%)	-1121.4
1986	CAL	AL	1	3	16	3	0	0	1	47.2	46	22	7	23	4.15	3.97 (-5%)	360.3
Career · 13 seasons			67	88	327	188	29	12	11	1,411.1	1,483	585	348	582	3.73	—	446

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

Vern Ruhle — Career Batting Statistics
G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	PIV
327	182	12	27	5	0	0	9	0	22	96	.148	.244	.176	.420	-109

Career AVG .148 vs. league average .260 across their career seasons — 42.9% below league average.

Career OBP .244 vs. league average .325 across their career seasons — 24.9% below league average.

Career SLG .176 vs. league average .384 across their career seasons — 54.2% below league average.

Career OPS .420 vs. league average .709 across their career seasons — 40.8% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Vern Ruhle Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year	Team	Lg	G	AB	R	H	2B	RBI	BB	SO	AVG	Lg AVG	Lg OBP	Lg SLG	Lg OPS	PIV
1974	DET	AL	5	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1975	DET	AL	32	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1976	DET	AL	32	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1977	DET	AL	14	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1978	HOU	NL	13	18	0	1	0	1	2	14	.056	—	—	—	—	0.0
1979	HOU	NL	13	19	3	1	1	0	1	11	.053	—	—	—	—	0.0
1980	HOU	NL	28	49	7	12	3	2	4	15	.245	—	—	—	—	-109.4
1981	HOU	NL	20	24	1	6	1	3	6	11	.250	—	—	—	—	0.0
1982	HOU	NL	31	41	0	4	0	1	4	27	.098	—	—	—	—	0.0
1983	HOU	NL	41	19	1	2	0	2	3	11	.105	—	—	—	—	0.0
1984	HOU	NL	40	12	0	1	0	0	2	7	.083	—	—	—	—	0.0
1985	CLE	AL	42	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1986	CAL	AL	16	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
Career · 13 seasons			327	182	12	27	5	9	22	96	.148	—	—	—	—	-109

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

Vern Ruhle — Playoff Career Batting
G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	AVG
3	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	.000

Playoff Batting by Year

Vern Ruhle — Playoff Batting by Year
Year	Round	Team	G	AB	SO	AVG
1986	ALCS	CAL	1	0	0	.000
1981	NWDIV	HOU	1	1	1	.000
1980	NLCS	HOU	1	3	1	.000

Playoff Career Pitching

Vern Ruhle — Playoff Career Pitching
W	L	G	GS	SV	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
0	1	3	2	0	15.2	14	6	3	4	3.45

Playoff Pitching by Year

Vern Ruhle — Playoff Pitching by Year
Year	Round	Team	L	G	GS	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
1986	ALCS	CAL	0	1	0	0.2	2	1	0	0	13.50
1981	NWDIV	HOU	1	1	1	8.0	4	2	2	1	2.25
1980	NLCS	HOU	0	1	1	7.0	8	3	1	3	3.86

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (654 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Vern Ruhle — Batting — Home / Away
Split	G	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	AVG
Home	146	82	6	12	0	3	.146
Away	181	100	6	15	0	6	.150

Pitching — Home / Away

Vern Ruhle — Pitching — Home / Away
Split	G	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
Home	146	666.1	683	277	153	305	3.74
Away	181	745.0	800	308	195	277	3.72

Last 10 Games — Pitching

Vern Ruhle — Last 10 Games — Pitching
Date	Tm	Opp	Dec	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR
1986-10-04	LAA	TEX	SV	3.0	0	0	0	0	2	0
1986-10-01	LAA	KCR	L	4.0	5	2	1	0	4	0
1986-09-22	LAA	CLE	—	2.2	6	2	2	0	1	0
1986-09-19	LAA	CHW	—	1.0	1	1	1	0	0	1
1986-09-16	LAA	KCR	—	2.2	1	1	0	0	1	0
1986-09-12	LAA	CHW	—	1.0	0	0	0	0	1	0
1986-09-10	LAA	CLE	—	1.0	2	0	0	0	0	0
1986-08-29	LAA	DET	—	1.0	2	3	2	0	0	1
1986-08-25	LAA	NYY	—	2.0	0	0	0	2	2	0
1986-08-19	LAA	DET	L	3.1	6	5	5	1	0	0

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Vern Ruhle — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
P	327	188	111	174	13	9

Season-by-Season Fielding

Vern Ruhle — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year	Team	Pos	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
1974	DET	P	5	3	4	1	0	0
1975	DET	P	32	31	15	19	5	1
1976	DET	P	32	32	14	28	0	1
1977	DET	P	14	10	5	7	1	1
1978	HOU	P	13	10	4	7	0	0
1979	HOU	P	13	10	3	5	0	0
1980	HOU	P	28	22	15	17	2	2
1981	HOU	P	20	15	4	9	0	2
1982	HOU	P	31	21	9	23	2	1
1983	HOU	P	41	9	12	19	0	0
1984	HOU	P	40	6	4	18	2	1
1985	CLE	P	42	16	15	13	0	0
1986	CAL	P	16	3	7	8	1	0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Vern Ruhle Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position	Games
Pitcher	327

Salary History

Vern Ruhle's recorded salaries total $355,000 over 2 seasons, 1985 to 1986. This total is partial: the salary data covers 1985 to 2016, and Ruhle's career ran from 1974 to 1986. His seasons before 1985 are not included.

Vern Ruhle — Salary History
Year	Team	League	Salary
1986	CAL	AL	$60,000
1985	CLE	AL	$295,000
Total recorded salary (partial)			$355,000

College History

Vern Ruhle — College History
School Name	City	State	Years Attended
Olivet College	Olivet	MI	1970, 1971, 1972

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Vern Ruhle (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

Vern Ruhle: the record in brief

Vern Ruhle's major league career runs from a debut on September 9, 1974 to a final game on October 4, 1986. By club, Ruhle's seasons break down as the Detroit Tigers (1974 through 1977), the Houston Astros (1978 through 1984), the Cleveland Indians (1985), and the California Angels (1986). Ruhle is listed as a pitcher at 6-foot-1 and 185 pounds. The bio says Ruhle threw and hit right-handed. Ruhle was born on January 25, 1951, in Coleman, MI, USA. Ruhle died on January 20, 2007, in Houston, TX, USA. The given name on file is Vernon Gerald Ruhle.

Ruhle's career pitching line is 67 wins, 88 losses and a 3.73 ERA over 327 appearances. The same table counts 582 strikeouts, 29 complete games, 12 shutouts, and 11 saves. Ruhle's 3.73 ERA was close to the 3.81 league figure for those seasons. Ruhle won 12 games in 1980, the most of any season listed. The strikeout high was 88 in 1976.

Frequently Asked Questions about Vern Ruhle

What years did Vern Ruhle play?: Vern Ruhle played in Major League Baseball from 1974 to 1986.
Was Vern Ruhle a pitcher?: Yes. Vern Ruhle pitched in the major leagues, recording 67 wins and 582 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Vern Ruhle hit?: Vern Ruhle hit 0 career home runs with 27 hits.
What teams did Vern Ruhle play for?: Vern Ruhle played for 4 teams: the Detroit Tigers (1974–1977), the Houston Astros (1978–1984), the Cleveland Indians (1985), and the California Angels (1986).
What were Vern Ruhle's career stats?: In 327 games, Vern Ruhle went 67-88 with a 3.73 ERA, 582 strikeouts, 1,411.1 innings pitched, and 11 saves.
How much did Vern Ruhle earn in his career?: Vern Ruhle's recorded salaries total $355,000 over 2 seasons, 1985 to 1986. This total is partial: the salary data covers 1985 to 2016, and Ruhle's career ran from 1974 to 1986. His seasons before 1985 are not included.
What was Vern Ruhle's salary?: Vern Ruhle's last recorded salary was $60,000, in 1986. His highest recorded salary was $295,000, in 1985, and his lowest was $60,000, in 1986. The Salary History table lists each season from 1985 to 1986.
What position did Vern Ruhle play?: Vern Ruhle played primarily as a pitcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.
How tall was Vern Ruhle and how much did he weigh?: Vern Ruhle was listed at 6 feet 1 inch and 185 pounds.
What was Vern Ruhle's career ERA?: Vern Ruhle finished with a 3.73 career ERA, going 67-88 with 582 strikeouts.
How many strikeouts did Vern Ruhle have?: Vern Ruhle recorded 582 career strikeouts.
Is Vern Ruhle in the Hall of Fame?: No. Vern Ruhle has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.