What years did Paul Splittorff play?

Paul Splittorff played in Major League Baseball from 1970 to 1984.

Was Paul Splittorff a pitcher?

Yes. Paul Splittorff pitched in the major leagues, recording 166 wins and 1057 strikeouts.

How many home runs did Paul Splittorff hit?

Paul Splittorff hit 0 career home runs with 22 hits.

What was Paul Splittorff's career batting average?

Paul Splittorff batted .182 over his career, with 22 hits in 121 at bats.

How many RBI did Paul Splittorff have?

Paul Splittorff drove in 4 runs in his career.

What was Paul Splittorff's career ERA?

Paul Splittorff finished with a 3.81 career ERA, going 166-143 with 1,057 strikeouts.

Paul Splittorff

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1970-1984)

Paul Splittorff was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1970 to 1984 for the Kansas City Royals, a span of 15 seasons. Across 429 career appearances, he went 166-143 with a 3.81 ERA and 1,057 strikeouts.

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 166–143

ERA 3.81

WHIP 1.34

SO 1,057

Pitcher PIV -245.8

Position: Pitcher
Bats / Throws: L / L
Height / Weight: 6'3" / 205 lb
Born: 10/8/1946 in Evansville, IN, USA
Died: 5/25/2011 in Blue Springs, MO, USA
MLB Debut: 1970-09-23
Last Game: 1984-06-26

Full name: Paul William Splittorff

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Career Pitching Statistics

Paul Splittorff — Career Pitching Statistics
W	L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	SO	ERA	Pitcher PIV
166	143	429	392	88	17	1	2554.2	2,644	1,082	192	780	1,057	3.81	-245.8

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

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Paul Splittorff Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year	Team	Lg	W	L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA	Lg ERA	Pitcher PIV
1970	KCA	AL	0	1	2	1	0	0	0	8.2	16	7	5	10	7.27	—	0.0
1971	KCA	AL	8	9	22	22	6	3	0	144.1	129	43	35	80	2.68	3.47 (+23%)	3549.1
1972	KCA	AL	12	12	35	33	12	2	0	216.0	189	75	67	140	3.12	3.26 (+4%)	2894.1
1973	KCA	AL	20	11	38	38	12	3	0	262.0	279	116	78	110	3.98	3.75 (-6%)	876.1
1974	KCA	AL	13	19	36	36	8	1	0	226.0	252	103	75	90	4.10	3.63 (-13%)	-2747.6
1975	KCA	AL	9	10	35	23	6	3	1	159.0	156	56	56	76	3.17	3.71 (+15%)	765.6
1976	KCA	AL	11	8	26	23	5	1	0	158.2	169	70	59	59	3.97	3.51 (-13%)	-1778.0
1977	KCA	AL	16	6	37	37	6	2	0	229.0	243	94	83	99	3.69	4.00 (+8%)	2320.6
1978	KCA	AL	19	13	39	38	13	2	0	262.0	244	99	60	76	3.40	3.69 (+8%)	-856.1
1979	KCA	AL	15	17	36	35	11	0	0	240.0	248	113	77	77	4.24	4.00 (-6%)	-2805.9
1980	KCA	AL	14	11	34	33	4	0	0	204.0	236	94	43	53	4.15	3.84 (-8%)	-618.8
1981	KCA	AL	5	5	21	15	1	0	0	99.0	111	48	23	48	4.36	3.58 (-22%)	-866.4
1982	KCA	AL	10	10	29	28	0	0	0	162.0	166	77	57	74	4.28	3.86 (-11%)	-707.3
1983	KCA	AL	13	8	27	27	4	0	0	156.0	159	63	52	61	3.63	3.87 (+6%)	523.9
1984	KCA	AL	1	3	12	3	0	0	0	28.0	47	24	10	4	7.71	3.81 (-102%)	-795.0
Career · 15 seasons			166	143	429	392	88	17	1	2,554.2	2,644	1,082	780	1,057	3.81	—	-246

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

Paul Splittorff — Career Batting Statistics
G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	PIV
430	121	12	22	1	1	0	4	0	7	16	.182	.233	.207	.439	-632

Career AVG .182 vs. league average .258 across their career seasons — 29.5% below league average.

Career OBP .233 vs. league average .324 across their career seasons — 28.1% below league average.

Career SLG .207 vs. league average .380 across their career seasons — 45.6% below league average.

Career OPS .439 vs. league average .703 across their career seasons — 37.6% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Paul Splittorff Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year	Team	Lg	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	RBI	BB	SO	AVG	Lg AVG	Lg OBP	Lg SLG	Lg OPS	PIV
1970	KCA	AL	2	2	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	.500	—	—	—	—	0.0
1971	KCA	AL	22	48	3	5	1	0	1	3	8	.104	—	—	—	—	-426.6
1972	KCA	AL	35	71	9	16	0	1	3	4	8	.225	.243 (-8%)	.310 (-11%)	.353 (-28%)	.664 (-20%)	-205.5
1973	KCA	AL	38	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1974	KCA	AL	37	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1975	KCA	AL	35	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1976	KCA	AL	26	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1977	KCA	AL	37	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1978	KCA	AL	39	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1979	KCA	AL	36	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1980	KCA	AL	34	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1981	KCA	AL	21	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1982	KCA	AL	29	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1983	KCA	AL	27	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1984	KCA	AL	12	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
Career · 15 seasons			430	121	12	22	1	1	4	7	16	.182	—	—	—	—	-632

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

Paul Splittorff — Playoff Career Batting
G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	AVG
7	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000

Playoff Batting by Year

Paul Splittorff — Playoff Batting by Year
Year	Round	Team	G	AVG
1980	ALCS	KCA	1	.000
1980	WS	KCA	1	.000
1978	ALCS	KCA	1	.000
1977	ALCS	KCA	2	.000
1976	ALCS	KCA	2	.000

Playoff Career Pitching

Paul Splittorff — Playoff Career Pitching
W	L	G	GS	SV	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
2	0	7	4	0	38.2	39	12	10	11	2.79

Playoff Pitching by Year

Paul Splittorff — Playoff Pitching by Year
Year	Round	Team	W	G	GS	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
1980	ALCS	KCA	0	1	1	5.1	5	1	2	3	1.69
1980	WS	KCA	0	1	0	1.2	4	1	0	0	5.40
1978	ALCS	KCA	0	1	1	7.1	9	4	0	2	4.91
1977	ALCS	KCA	1	2	2	15.0	14	4	3	4	2.40
1976	ALCS	KCA	1	2	0	9.1	7	2	5	2	1.93

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (859 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Paul Splittorff — Batting — Home / Away
Split	G	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	AVG
Home	220	62	7	14	0	3	.226
Away	210	59	5	8	0	1	.136

Pitching — Home / Away

Paul Splittorff — Pitching — Home / Away
Split	G	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
Home	220	1368.1	1385	537	374	539	3.53
Away	209	1186.1	1259	545	406	518	4.13

Last 10 Games — Pitching

Paul Splittorff — Last 10 Games — Pitching
Date	Tm	Opp	Dec	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR
1984-06-26	KCR	OAK	L	4.2	8	7	4	2	0	0
1984-06-18	KCR	OAK	—	1.0	3	3	3	1	0	1
1984-06-16	KCR	MIN	—	1.0	1	2	2	1	0	1
1984-06-04	KCR	SEA	—	2.2	2	1	1	0	1	0
1984-05-31	KCR	MIN	—	3.0	5	2	2	2	1	0
1984-05-26	KCR	BOS	W	0.2	0	0	0	1	0	0
1984-05-21	KCR	CHW	—	2.0	1	0	0	0	1	0
1984-05-07	KCR	DET	—	2.0	7	5	5	0	0	0
1984-05-04	KCR	TOR	—	3.0	6	0	0	0	1	0
1984-04-28	KCR	TOR	—	2.2	2	1	1	0	0	0

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Paul Splittorff — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
P	429	392	125	450	15	49

Season-by-Season Fielding

Paul Splittorff — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year	Team	Pos	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
1970	KCA	P	2	1	0	1	0	1
1971	KCA	P	22	22	7	32	2	3
1972	KCA	P	35	33	6	51	0	5
1973	KCA	P	38	38	9	46	1	7
1974	KCA	P	36	36	8	39	2	2
1975	KCA	P	35	23	10	33	1	4
1976	KCA	P	26	23	9	30	0	5
1977	KCA	P	37	37	9	38	2	3
1978	KCA	P	39	38	18	45	2	4
1979	KCA	P	36	35	15	27	3	3
1980	KCA	P	34	33	14	30	0	4
1981	KCA	P	21	15	2	22	0	2
1982	KCA	P	29	28	7	24	1	4
1983	KCA	P	27	27	9	23	1	2
1984	KCA	P	12	3	2	9	0	0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Paul Splittorff Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position	Games
Pitcher	429

College History

Paul Splittorff — College History
School Name	City	State	Years Attended
Morningside College	Sioux City	IA	1966, 1967, 1968

Award Voting History

Paul Splittorff — Award Voting History
Year	Award	League	Finish	Points Won	Points Max	Votes First
1978	Cy Young Award	AL	7th	1.0	140	0
1971	Rookie of the Year	AL	5th	1.0	24	1

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Paul Splittorff (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

Paul Splittorff: the record in brief

September 23, 1970 and June 26, 1984 bracket Paul Splittorff's time in the majors: the debut and the last game on record. Every season row on the page belongs to the Kansas City Royals, from 1970 through 1984. The bio lists Splittorff as a pitcher who threw and hit left-handed. Splittorff is listed at 205 pounds on a 6-foot-3 frame. The birth record reads October 8, 1946, in Evansville, IN, USA. Splittorff died on May 25, 2011, in Blue Springs, MO, USA. The given name on file is Paul William Splittorff.

Splittorff's career pitching line is 166 wins, 143 losses and a 3.81 ERA over 429 appearances. Splittorff had 1,057 strikeouts, 88 complete games, and 17 shutouts. Splittorff's 3.81 ERA was close to the 3.73 league figure for those seasons. No season topped the 20 wins of 1973. 1972 produced Splittorff's most strikeouts, 140. In 1972, one of the busiest seasons, Splittorff posted a 3.12 ERA; the league figure that year was 3.26.

Splittorff finished 5th in the 1971 Rookie of the Year voting, the best showing in the voting table.

Frequently Asked Questions about Paul Splittorff

What years did Paul Splittorff play?: Paul Splittorff played in Major League Baseball from 1970 to 1984.
Was Paul Splittorff a pitcher?: Yes. Paul Splittorff pitched in the major leagues, recording 166 wins and 1057 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Paul Splittorff hit?: Paul Splittorff hit 0 career home runs with 22 hits.
What was Paul Splittorff's career batting average?: Paul Splittorff batted .182 over his career, with 22 hits in 121 at bats.
How many RBI did Paul Splittorff have?: Paul Splittorff drove in 4 runs in his career.
What was Paul Splittorff's career ERA?: Paul Splittorff finished with a 3.81 career ERA, going 166-143 with 1,057 strikeouts.