Bob Shirley

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1977-1987)

W–L 67–94
ERA 3.82
WHIP 1.38
SO 790
Pitcher PIV -206.7
Position
Pitcher
Bats / Throws
R / L
Height / Weight
5'11" / 180 lb
Born
6/25/1954 in Cushing, OK, USA
MLB Debut
1977-04-10
Last Game
1987-06-21

Full name: Robert Charles Shirley

📊 Compare This Player 📈 View Career Timeline

Career Pitching Statistics

W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
67 94 434 162 16 2 18 1432.0 1,432 608 127 543 790 3.82 -206.7

Career ERA 3.82 vs. league average 3.90 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
1977 SDN NL 12 18 39 35 1 0 0 214.0 215 88 100 146 3.70 4.00 (+7%) -906.5
1978 SDN NL 8 11 50 20 2 0 5 166.0 164 68 61 102 3.69 3.69 (avg) 1679.3
1979 SDN NL 8 16 49 25 4 1 0 205.0 196 77 59 117 3.38 4.00 (+16%) 2718.0
1980 SDN NL 11 12 59 12 3 0 7 137.0 143 54 54 67 3.55 3.84 (+8%) -868.6
1981 SLN NL 6 4 28 11 1 0 1 79.3 78 36 34 36 4.08 3.58 (-14%) -824.9
1982 CIN NL 8 13 41 20 1 0 0 152.7 138 61 73 89 3.60 3.86 (+7%) -2399.8
1983 NYA AL 5 8 25 17 1 1 0 108.0 122 61 36 53 5.08 3.87 (-31%) -283.2
1984 NYA AL 3 3 41 7 1 0 0 114.3 119 43 38 48 3.38 3.81 (+11%) -69.4
1985 NYA AL 5 5 48 8 2 0 2 109.0 103 32 26 55 2.64 3.89 (+32%) 2525.3
1986 NYA AL 0 4 39 6 0 0 3 105.3 108 59 40 64 5.04 3.97 (-27%) -1086.1
1987 NYA AL 1 0 12 1 0 0 0 34.0 36 17 16 12 4.50 4.29 (-5%) -690.9
1987 KCA AL 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 7.3 10 12 6 1 14.73 — 0.0
Career · 12 seasons 67 94 434 162 16 2 18 1,432.0 1,432 608 543 790 3.82 — -207

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
434 263 15 29 3 0 0 8 0 13 102 .110 .152 .122 .274 -1,294

Career AVG .110 vs. league average .261 across their career seasons — 57.7% below league average.

Career OBP .152 vs. league average .326 across their career seasons — 53.3% below league average.

Career SLG .122 vs. league average .391 across their career seasons — 68.9% below league average.

Career OPS .274 vs. league average .717 across their career seasons — 61.8% 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
1977 SDN NL 39 74 5 9 2 0 0 2 0 2 34 .122 .264 (-54%) .329 (-56%) .401 (-63%) .730 (-60%) -712.6
1978 SDN NL 50 40 4 5 0 0 0 2 0 4 16 .125 — — — — 0.0
1979 SDN NL 49 55 2 5 1 0 0 0 0 3 17 .091 .265 (-66%) .329 (-58%) .397 (-73%) .727 (-66%) -581.7
1980 SDN NL 59 30 3 1 0 0 0 1 0 3 15 .033 — — — — 0.0
1981 SLN NL 28 22 0 3 0 0 0 1 0 0 7 .136 — — — — 0.0
1982 CIN NL 41 42 1 6 0 0 0 2 0 1 13 .143 — — — — 0.0
1983 NYA AL 25 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1984 NYA AL 41 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1985 NYA AL 48 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1986 NYA AL 39 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1987 NYA AL 12 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1987 KCA AL 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
Career · 12 seasons 434 263 15 29 3 0 0 8 0 13 102 .110 — — — — -1,294

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 (868 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home21211861103.093
Away22214591805.124

Pitching — Home / Away

SplitGIPHERBBSOERA
Home212765.07712992594213.52
Away222667.06613092843694.17

Last 10 Games — Pitching

DateTmOppDecIPHRERBBSOHR
1987-06-21 KCRLAA — 1.0100000
1987-06-16 KCROAK — 4.1677403
1987-06-14 KCRLAA — 2.0355212
1987-06-04 NYYMIL — 3.2322040
1987-06-01 NYYLAA — 2.2433111
1987-05-29 NYYOAK — 3.1753030
1987-05-27 NYYSEA — 1.1200000
1987-05-25 NYYLAA — 0.1000100
1987-05-20 NYYOAK — 5.2322320
1987-05-16 NYYSEA — 1.1100010

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position G GS PO A E DP
P 434 162 62 249 12 13

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1977 SDN P 39 35 10 37 3 2
1978 SDN P 50 20 6 35 0 1
1979 SDN P 49 25 13 30 1 1
1980 SDN P 59 12 7 32 1 1
1981 SLN P 28 11 1 10 0 0
1982 CIN P 41 20 4 31 2 1
1983 NYA P 25 17 5 20 0 1
1984 NYA P 41 7 6 16 1 4
1985 NYA P 48 8 4 15 3 1
1986 NYA P 39 6 4 20 1 1
1987 NYA P 12 1 1 3 0 0
1987 KCA P 3 0 1 0 0 0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Position Games
Pitcher 434

Awards & Honors

Year Award Notes
1985 Player of the Week Week of 1985-06-14

Salary History

Year Team League Salary
1986 NYA AL $750,000
1985 NYA AL $637,500
Total Career Earnings $1,387,500

College History

School Name City State Years Attended
University of Oklahoma Norman OK 1973, 1974, 1975

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

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

  1. 98
    Jakie May
    72-95, 3.88 ERA
  2. 86
    Dan Schatzeder
    69-68, 3.74 ERA
  3. 85
    Tom Murphy
    68-101, 3.78 ERA
  4. 83
    Barry Latman
    59-68, 3.91 ERA
  5. 75
    Hank O'Day HOF
    73-110, 3.74 ERA
  6. 73
    Skip Lockwood
    57-97, 3.55 ERA

Frequently Asked Questions about Bob Shirley

What years did Bob Shirley play?
Bob Shirley played in Major League Baseball from 1977 to 1987.
Was Bob Shirley a pitcher?
Yes. Bob Shirley pitched in the major leagues, recording 67 wins and 790 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Bob Shirley hit?
Bob Shirley hit 0 career home runs with 29 hits.