What years did Ken Sanders play?

Ken Sanders played in Major League Baseball from 1964 to 1976.

Was Ken Sanders a pitcher?

Yes. Ken Sanders pitched in the major leagues, recording 29 wins and 360 strikeouts.

How many home runs did Ken Sanders hit?

Ken Sanders hit 0 career home runs with 6 hits.

What teams did Ken Sanders play for?

Ken Sanders played for 8 teams: the Oakland Athletics (1964, 1966, 1968), the Boston Red Sox (1966), the Milwaukee Brewers (1970–1972), the Minnesota Twins (1973), the Cleveland Indians (1973–1974), the California Angels (1974), the New York Mets (1975–1976), and the Kansas City Royals (1976).

What were Ken Sanders's career stats?

In 409 games, Ken Sanders went 29-45 with a 2.97 ERA, 360 strikeouts, 656.2 innings pitched, and 86 saves.

What position did Ken Sanders play?

Ken Sanders played primarily as a pitcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.

How tall was Ken Sanders and how much did he weigh?

Ken Sanders was listed at 5 feet 11 inches and 168 pounds.

What was Ken Sanders's career ERA?

Ken Sanders finished with a 2.97 career ERA, going 29-45 with 360 strikeouts.

How many strikeouts did Ken Sanders have?

Ken Sanders recorded 360 career strikeouts.

Is Ken Sanders in the Hall of Fame?

No. Ken Sanders has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

Ken Sanders

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1964-1976)

Ken Sanders was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1964 to 1976 for 9 teams, including the Kansas City Athletics, a span of 13 seasons. Across 409 career appearances, he went 29-45 with a 2.97 ERA, 360 strikeouts, and 86 saves.

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 17, 2026

W–L 29–45

ERA 2.97

WHIP 1.25

SO 360

Pitcher PIV -1753.4

Position: Pitcher
Bats / Throws: R / R
Height / Weight: 5'11" / 168 lb
Born: 7/8/1941 in St. Louis, MO, USA
MLB Debut: 1964-08-06
Last Game: 1976-09-27

Full name: Kenneth George Sanders

📊 Compare This Player 📈 View Career Timeline

Career Pitching Statistics

Ken Sanders — Career Pitching Statistics
W	L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	SO	ERA	Pitcher PIV
29	45	409	1	0	0	86	656.2	564	217	49	258	360	2.97	-1753.4

Career ERA 2.97 vs. league average 3.54 across their career seasons — 16.0% better than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Ken Sanders Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year	Team	Lg	W	L	G	GS	SV	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA	Lg ERA	Pitcher PIV
1964	KC1	AL	0	2	21	0	1	27.0	23	11	17	18	3.67	3.58 (-2%)	-441.5
1966	BOS	AL	3	6	24	0	2	47.1	36	20	28	33	3.80	3.52 (-8%)	-106.9
1966	KC1	AL	3	4	38	1	1	65.1	59	27	48	41	3.72	3.52 (-6%)	-2322.2
1968	OAK	AL	0	1	7	0	0	10.2	8	4	8	6	3.38	2.98 (-13%)	-465.8
1970	ML4	AL	5	2	50	0	13	92.1	64	18	25	64	1.75	3.89 (+55%)	3647.6
1971	ML4	AL	7	12	83	0	31	136.1	111	29	34	80	1.91	3.47 (+45%)	1740.7
1972	ML4	AL	2	9	62	0	17	92.1	88	32	31	51	3.12	3.26 (+4%)	-1178.3
1973	MIN	AL	2	4	27	0	8	44.1	53	30	21	19	6.09	3.75 (-63%)	-766.8
1973	CLE	AL	5	1	15	0	5	27.1	18	5	9	14	1.65	3.75 (+56%)	182.6
1974	CLE	AL	0	1	9	0	1	11.0	21	12	5	4	9.82	3.63 (-171%)	-1511.5
1974	CAL	AL	0	0	9	0	1	9.2	10	3	3	4	2.79	3.63 (+23%)	0.0
1975	NYN	NL	1	1	30	0	5	43.0	31	11	14	8	2.30	3.71 (+38%)	-92.1
1976	NYN	NL	1	2	31	0	1	47.0	39	15	12	16	2.87	3.51 (+18%)	-439.1
1976	KCA	AL	0	0	3	0	0	3.0	3	0	3	2	0.00	—	0.0
Career · 14 seasons			29	45	409	1	86	656.2	564	217	258	360	2.97	—	-1,753

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

Ken Sanders — Career Batting Statistics
G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	PIV
409	52	6	6	0	0	0	2	0	5	13	.115	.220	.115	.336	0

Career AVG .115 vs. league average .251 across their career seasons — 54.1% below league average.

Career OBP .220 vs. league average .318 across their career seasons — 30.7% below league average.

Career SLG .115 vs. league average .368 across their career seasons — 68.7% below league average.

Career OPS .336 vs. league average .686 across their career seasons — 51.1% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Ken Sanders Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year	Team	Lg	G	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	AVG	Lg AVG	Lg OBP	Lg SLG	Lg OPS	PIV
1964	KC1	AL	21	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1966	BOS	AL	24	6	2	0	0	2	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1966	KC1	AL	38	8	0	2	1	0	1	.250	—	—	—	—	0.0
1968	OAK	AL	7	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1970	ML4	AL	50	13	3	3	0	2	7	.231	—	—	—	—	0.0
1971	ML4	AL	83	14	1	0	0	1	2	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1972	ML4	AL	62	7	0	1	1	0	2	.143	—	—	—	—	0.0
1973	MIN	AL	27	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1973	CLE	AL	15	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1974	CLE	AL	9	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1974	CAL	AL	9	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1975	NYN	NL	30	2	0	0	0	0	1	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1976	NYN	NL	31	2	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1976	KCA	AL	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
Career · 14 seasons			409	52	6	6	2	5	13	.115	—	—	—	—	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.

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (818 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Ken Sanders — Batting — Home / Away
Split	G	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	AVG
Home	215	22	2	3	0	1	.136
Away	194	30	4	3	0	1	.100

Pitching — Home / Away

Ken Sanders — Pitching — Home / Away
Split	G	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
Home	215	342.0	301	125	128	188	3.29
Away	194	314.2	263	92	130	171	2.63

Last 10 Games — Batting

Ken Sanders — Last 10 Games — Batting
Date	Tm	Opp	Res	AB
1976-09-27	KCR	OAK	L	0
1976-09-23	KCR	OAK	L	0
1976-09-22	KCR	OAK	L	0
1976-09-15	NYN	STL	L	0
1976-09-02	NYN	SFG	L	0
1976-08-25	NYN	SFG	L	0
1976-08-13	NYN	CIN	L	0
1976-08-07	NYN	PIT	L	0
1976-08-03	NYN	WSN	W	1
1976-08-02	NYN	WSN	L	0

Last 10 Games — Pitching

Ken Sanders — Last 10 Games — Pitching
Date	Tm	Opp	Dec	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR
1976-09-27	KCR	OAK	—	1.1	2	0	0	1	0	0
1976-09-23	KCR	OAK	—	0.2	0	0	0	1	2	0
1976-09-22	KCR	OAK	—	1.0	1	0	0	1	0	0
1976-09-15	NYN	STL	—	2.0	2	1	1	1	1	1
1976-09-02	NYN	SFG	—	2.0	2	2	2	2	1	0
1976-08-25	NYN	SFG	—	2.0	2	0	0	0	0	0
1976-08-13	NYN	CIN	—	2.0	3	2	2	1	0	0
1976-08-07	NYN	PIT	—	1.0	2	2	2	0	1	0
1976-08-03	NYN	WSN	—	1.1	2	2	2	0	0	1
1976-08-02	NYN	WSN	—	0.2	0	0	0	1	0	0

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Ken Sanders — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
P	409	1	54	129	8	8

Season-by-Season Fielding

Ken Sanders — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year	Team	Pos	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
1964	KC1	P	21	0	2	7	1	2
1966	BOS	P	24	0	2	8	2	0
1966	KC1	P	38	1	6	12	1	2
1968	OAK	P	7	0	0	2	0	0
1970	ML4	P	50	0	5	19	1	1
1971	ML4	P	83	0	12	30	1	1
1972	ML4	P	62	0	7	18	1	1
1973	MIN	P	27	0	2	9	0	1
1973	CLE	P	15	0	3	4	1	0
1974	CLE	P	9	0	0	2	0	0
1974	CAL	P	9	0	0	5	0	0
1975	NYN	P	30	0	7	5	0	0
1976	NYN	P	31	0	8	8	0	0
1976	KCA	P	3	0	0	0	0	0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Ken Sanders Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position	Games
Pitcher	409

Awards & Honors

Ken Sanders — Awards & Honors
Year	Award	Notes
1971	TSN Fireman of the Year

Award Voting History

Ken Sanders — Award Voting History
Year	Award	League	Finish	Points Won	Points Max	Votes First
1971	Most Valuable Player	AL	16th	13.0	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

Ken Sanders (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

Ken Sanders: the record in brief

Ken Sanders played a first major league game on August 6, 1964 and a last one on September 27, 1976. The team column moves through the Kansas City Athletics (1964 through 1966), the Boston Red Sox (1966), the Oakland Athletics (1968), the Milwaukee Brewers (1970 to 1972), the Minnesota Twins (1973), the Cleveland Indians (1973 to 1974), the California Angels (1974), and the New York Mets (1975 through 1976), with further stops in the season rows. The bio lists Sanders as a pitcher who batted and threw right-handed. Height and weight on file: 5 feet, 11 inches and 168 pounds. Sanders was born on July 8, 1941, in St. Louis, MO, USA. Sanders's full given name, per the bio, is Kenneth George Sanders.

Across 409 games (1 starts), Sanders recorded 29 wins against 45 losses with a 2.97 ERA. The totals include 360 strikeouts and 86 saves. The leagues Sanders pitched in allowed 3.54 earned runs per nine over those seasons, so the career ERA was 16.0% better than average.

Frequently Asked Questions about Ken Sanders

What years did Ken Sanders play?: Ken Sanders played in Major League Baseball from 1964 to 1976.
Was Ken Sanders a pitcher?: Yes. Ken Sanders pitched in the major leagues, recording 29 wins and 360 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Ken Sanders hit?: Ken Sanders hit 0 career home runs with 6 hits.
What teams did Ken Sanders play for?: Ken Sanders played for 8 teams: the Oakland Athletics (1964, 1966, 1968), the Boston Red Sox (1966), the Milwaukee Brewers (1970–1972), the Minnesota Twins (1973), the Cleveland Indians (1973–1974), the California Angels (1974), the New York Mets (1975–1976), and the Kansas City Royals (1976).
What were Ken Sanders's career stats?: In 409 games, Ken Sanders went 29-45 with a 2.97 ERA, 360 strikeouts, 656.2 innings pitched, and 86 saves.
What position did Ken Sanders play?: Ken Sanders played primarily as a pitcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.
How tall was Ken Sanders and how much did he weigh?: Ken Sanders was listed at 5 feet 11 inches and 168 pounds.
What was Ken Sanders's career ERA?: Ken Sanders finished with a 2.97 career ERA, going 29-45 with 360 strikeouts.
How many strikeouts did Ken Sanders have?: Ken Sanders recorded 360 career strikeouts.
Is Ken Sanders in the Hall of Fame?: No. Ken Sanders has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.