What years did Bobby Sprowl play?

Bobby Sprowl played in Major League Baseball from 1978 to 1981.

Was Bobby Sprowl a pitcher?

Yes. Bobby Sprowl pitched in the major leagues, recording 0 wins and 34 strikeouts.

How many home runs did Bobby Sprowl hit?

Bobby Sprowl hit 0 career home runs with 1 hits.

What was Bobby Sprowl's career batting average?

Bobby Sprowl batted .167 over his career, with 1 hits in 6 at bats.

How many RBI did Bobby Sprowl have?

Bobby Sprowl drove in 1 runs in his career.

What was Bobby Sprowl's career ERA?

Bobby Sprowl finished with a 5.44 career ERA, going 0-3 with 34 strikeouts.

Bobby Sprowl

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1978-1981)

Bobby Sprowl was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1978 to 1981 for the Boston Red Sox and the Houston Astros, a span of 4 seasons. Across 22 career appearances, he went 0-3 with a 5.44 ERA and 34 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 0–3

ERA 5.44

WHIP 1.75

SO 34

Pitcher PIV -645.0

Position: Pitcher
Bats / Throws: L / L
Height / Weight: 6'2" / 190 lb
Born: 4/14/1956 in Sandusky, OH, USA
MLB Debut: 1978-09-05
Last Game: 1981-10-03

Full name: Robert John Sprowl

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Career Pitching Statistics

Bobby Sprowl — Career Pitching Statistics
W	L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	SO	ERA	Pitcher PIV
0	3	22	4	0	0	0	46.1	54	28	4	27	34	5.44	-645.0

Career ERA 5.44 vs. league average 3.80 across their career seasons — 43.3% worse than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Bobby Sprowl — Season-by-Season Pitching
Year	Team	Lg	L	G	GS	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA	Lg ERA	Pitcher PIV
1978	BOS	AL	2	3	3	12.2	12	9	10	10	6.39	3.69 (-73%)	-876.0
1979	HOU	NL	0	3	0	4.0	1	0	2	3	0.00	—	0.0
1980	HOU	NL	0	1	0	1.0	1	0	1	3	0.00	—	0.0
1981	HOU	NL	1	15	1	28.2	40	19	14	18	5.97	3.58 (-66%)	231.0
Career · 4 seasons			3	22	4	46.1	54	28	27	34	5.44	—	-645

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

Bobby Sprowl — Career Batting Statistics
G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	PIV
22	6	0	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	2	.167	.167	.167	.333	0

Career AVG .167 vs. league average .261 across their career seasons — 36.2% below league average.

Career OBP .167 vs. league average .325 across their career seasons — 48.8% below league average.

Career SLG .167 vs. league average .384 across their career seasons — 56.7% below league average.

Career OPS .333 vs. league average .710 across their career seasons — 53.0% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Bobby Sprowl — Season-by-Season Batting
Year	Team	Lg	G	AB	H	RBI	SO	AVG	Lg AVG	Lg OBP	Lg SLG	Lg OPS	PIV
1978	BOS	AL	3	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1979	HOU	NL	3	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1980	HOU	NL	1	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1981	HOU	NL	15	6	1	1	2	.167	—	—	—	—	0.0
Career · 4 seasons			22	6	1	1	2	.167	—	—	—	—	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 (44 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Bobby Sprowl — Batting — Home / Away
Split	G	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	AVG
Home	7	3	0	1	0	1	.333
Away	15	3	0	0	0	0	.000

Pitching — Home / Away

Bobby Sprowl — Pitching — Home / Away
Split	G	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
Home	7	13.0	10	5	11	7	3.46
Away	15	33.1	44	23	16	27	6.21

Last 10 Games — Batting

Bobby Sprowl — Last 10 Games — Batting
Date	Tm	Opp	Res	AB	H	RBI	SO
1981-10-03	HOU	LAD	L	0	0	0	0
1981-09-09	HOU	ATL	L	0	0	0	0
1981-08-17	HOU	WSN	L	0	0	0	0
1981-08-13	HOU	SDP	L	0	0	0	0
1981-06-09	HOU	PHI	L	0	0	0	0
1981-06-04	HOU	SDP	L	0	0	0	0
1981-05-23	HOU	SFG	W	1	1	1	0
1981-05-22	HOU	SFG	L	0	0	0	0
1981-05-19	HOU	STL	L	1	0	0	0
1981-05-14	HOU	STL	L	2	0	0	2

Last 10 Games — Pitching

Bobby Sprowl — Last 10 Games — Pitching
Date	Tm	Opp	Dec	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO
1981-10-03	HOU	LAD	—	1.0	1	0	0	2	1
1981-09-09	HOU	ATL	—	2.0	6	4	4	1	2
1981-08-17	HOU	WSN	—	2.0	1	1	1	2	2
1981-08-13	HOU	SDP	—	2.0	1	1	1	2	1
1981-06-09	HOU	PHI	—	2.0	4	2	2	0	0
1981-06-04	HOU	SDP	—	2.0	5	1	1	1	2
1981-05-23	HOU	SFG	—	0.2	2	1	1	1	1
1981-05-22	HOU	SFG	—	0.1	2	0	0	0	0
1981-05-19	HOU	STL	L	2.0	4	3	3	0	0
1981-05-14	HOU	STL	—	7.0	4	1	0	2	3

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Bobby Sprowl — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
P	22	4	2	4	0	0

Season-by-Season Fielding

Bobby Sprowl — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year	Team	Pos	G	GS	PO	A
1978	BOS	P	3	3	0	1
1979	HOU	P	3	0	0	0
1980	HOU	P	1	0	0	0
1981	HOU	P	15	1	2	3

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Bobby Sprowl — Career Games by Position
Position	Games
Pitcher	22

College History

Bobby Sprowl — College History
School Name	City	State	Years Attended
University of Alabama	Tuscaloosa	AL	1975, 1976, 1977

Bobby Sprowl: the record in brief

Bobby Sprowl played a first major league game on September 5, 1978 and a last one on October 3, 1981. The season rows list, in order, the Boston Red Sox (1978) and the Houston Astros (1979 to 1981). Sprowl played primarily as a pitcher and batted and threw left-handed. Born on April 14, 1956, in Sandusky, OH, USA, Sprowl was listed at 190 pounds on a 6-foot-2 frame. Sprowl's full given name, per the bio, is Robert John Sprowl.

Sprowl's career pitching line is 0 wins, 3 losses and a 5.44 ERA over 22 appearances. Sprowl had 34 strikeouts. Against a 3.80 league ERA for the same seasons, the 5.44 mark was 43.3% worse. Among the heaviest workloads, the lowest ERA was 5.97 in 1981, when the league's was 3.58.

The position breakdown shows 22 games, all at pitcher. Fielding on the mound produced 2 putouts and 4 assists against 0 errors.

Frequently Asked Questions about Bobby Sprowl

What years did Bobby Sprowl play?: Bobby Sprowl played in Major League Baseball from 1978 to 1981.
Was Bobby Sprowl a pitcher?: Yes. Bobby Sprowl pitched in the major leagues, recording 0 wins and 34 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Bobby Sprowl hit?: Bobby Sprowl hit 0 career home runs with 1 hits.
What was Bobby Sprowl's career batting average?: Bobby Sprowl batted .167 over his career, with 1 hits in 6 at bats.
How many RBI did Bobby Sprowl have?: Bobby Sprowl drove in 1 runs in his career.
What was Bobby Sprowl's career ERA?: Bobby Sprowl finished with a 5.44 career ERA, going 0-3 with 34 strikeouts.