Bob Steele

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1916-1919)

Bob Steele was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1916 to 1919 for the St. Louis Cardinals, the Pittsburgh Pirates, and the New York Giants, a span of 4 seasons. Across 91 career appearances, he went 16-38 with a 3.05 ERA and 217 strikeouts. His career Pitcher PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of pitching impact — is 1360.5.

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

W–L 16–38
ERA 3.05
WHIP 1.22
SO 217
Pitcher PIV 1360.5
Position
Pitcher
Bats / Throws
B / L
Height / Weight
5'10" / 175 lb
Born
3/29/1894 in Cassburn, ON, CAN
Died
1/27/1962 in Ocala, FL, USA
MLB Debut
1916-04-17
Last Game
1919-04-24

Full name: Robert Wesley Steele

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Career Pitching Statistics

Bob Steele — Career Pitching Statistics
W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
16 38 91 58 28 4 3 487.2 450 165 10 144 217 3.05 1360.5

Career ERA 3.05 vs. league average 2.84 across their career seasons — 7.2% worse than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Bob Steele — Season-by-Season Pitching
Year Team Lg W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER BB SO ERA Lg ERA Pitcher PIV
1916 SLN NL 5 15 29 22 7 1 0 148.0 156 56 42 67 3.41 2.78 (-22%) -475.2
1917 SLN NL 1 3 12 6 1 0 0 42.0 33 15 19 23 3.21 2.69 (-20%) -170.7
1917 PIT NL 5 11 27 19 13 1 1 179.2 158 55 53 82 2.76 2.69 (-2%) 1654.1
1918 PIT NL 2 3 10 4 2 1 1 49.0 44 18 17 21 3.31 2.83 (-17%) -368.3
1918 NY1 NL 3 5 12 7 5 1 1 66.0 56 19 11 24 2.59 2.83 (+8%) 720.7
1919 NY1 NL 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 3.0 3 2 2 0 6.00 — 0.0
Career · 6 seasons 16 38 91 58 28 4 3 487.2 450 165 144 217 3.05 — 1,361

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

Bob Steele — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
97 178 12 40 2 3 0 7 4 3 31 .225 .238 .270 .507 -566

Career AVG .225 vs. league average .253 across their career seasons — 11.3% below league average.

Career OBP .238 vs. league average .317 across their career seasons — 25.0% below league average.

Career SLG .270 vs. league average .331 across their career seasons — 18.5% below league average.

Career OPS .507 vs. league average .648 across their career seasons — 21.7% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Bob Steele — Season-by-Season Batting
Year Team Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG Lg AVG Lg OBP Lg SLG Lg OPS PIV
1916 SLN NL 29 51 0 10 0 0 0 0 0 0 11 .196 .248 (-21%) .314 (-38%) .326 (-40%) .640 (-39%) -288.5
1917 SLN NL 12 13 2 5 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .385 — — — — 0.0
1917 PIT NL 33 76 6 17 1 1 0 5 1 0 14 .224 .248 (-10%) .312 (-28%) .323 (-19%) .635 (-23%) 0.0
1918 PIT NL 10 16 1 2 0 1 0 0 1 1 3 .125 — — — — 0.0
1918 NY1 NL 12 21 3 6 0 1 0 2 2 2 2 .286 — — — — 0.0
1919 NY1 NL 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000 — — — — 0.0
Career · 6 seasons 97 178 12 40 2 3 0 7 4 3 31 .225 — — — — -289

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 (188 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Bob Steele — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home468571402.165
Away519352606.280

Pitching — Home / Away

Bob Steele — Pitching — Home / Away
SplitGIPHERBBSOERA
Home41238.02387661892.87
Away50247.121687921313.17

Last 10 Games — Batting

Bob Steele — Last 10 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1919-04-24 NY1PHIL 100000001
1918-09-02 NY1BSNL 300000001
1918-08-28 NY1BROL 100000000
1918-08-20 NY1PITL 302000100
1918-08-16 NY1CINL 000000000
1918-08-15 NY1CINL 401010000
1918-08-08 NY1CINL 000000000
1918-08-06 NY1CINW 300000001
1918-08-03 NY1CHCL 000000000
1918-07-31 NY1PITL 110000010

Last 10 Games — Pitching

Bob Steele — Last 10 Games — Pitching
DateTmOppDecIPHRERBBSOHR
1919-04-24 NY1PHI L 3.0332200
1918-09-02 NY1BSN L 8.0922230
1918-08-28 NY1BRO L 2.1522000
1918-08-20 NY1PIT L 8.08103121
1918-08-16 NY1CIN L 0.0222000
1918-08-15 NY1CIN — 7.1433480
1918-08-08 NY1CIN — 1.0422000
1918-08-06 NY1CIN W 9.0932230
1918-08-03 NY1CHC — 1.0000000
1918-07-31 NY1PIT L 8.0732010

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Bob Steele — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
P 91 0 10 99 12 3

Season-by-Season Fielding

Bob Steele — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1916 SLN P 29 0 3 26 3 0
1917 SLN P 12 0 1 9 1 0
1917 PIT P 27 0 4 43 6 3
1918 PIT P 10 0 1 12 0 0
1918 NY1 P 12 0 1 9 2 0
1919 NY1 P 1 0 0 0 0 0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Bob Steele — Career Games by Position
Position Games
Pitcher 91

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

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

  1. 98
    Bill Grahame
    14-29, 2.90 ERA
  2. 92
    Rube Vickers
    22-27, 2.93 ERA
  3. 89
    Rankin Johnson
    22-30, 2.92 ERA
  4. 87
    Weldon Henley
    32-43, 2.94 ERA
  5. 86
    Stoney McGlynn
    17-33, 2.95 ERA
  6. 86
    George Johnson
    40-43, 2.95 ERA

Bob Steele: the record in brief

April 17, 1916 and April 24, 1919 bracket Bob Steele's time in the majors: the debut and the last game on record. The season rows list, in order, the St. Louis Cardinals (1916 to 1917), the Pittsburgh Pirates (1917 through 1918), and the New York Giants (1918 through 1919). At 175 pounds on a 5-foot-10 frame, Steele is listed as a pitcher. Steele switch-hit and threw left-handed, per the bio block. Steele was born on March 29, 1894, in Cassburn, ON, CAN. Steele died on January 27, 1962, in Ocala, FL, USA. The given name on file is Robert Wesley Steele.

Steele went 16-38 with a 3.05 ERA in 91 games, 58 of them starts. Steele had 217 strikeouts and 28 complete games. The league ERA over Steele's seasons was 2.84, so the 3.05 figure ran 7.2% worse than average. 1916 brought Steele a season-high 5 wins. 1917 produced Steele's most strikeouts, 82. Among the heaviest workloads, the lowest ERA was 2.76 in 1917, when the league's was 2.69.

Frequently Asked Questions about Bob Steele

What years did Bob Steele play?
Bob Steele played in Major League Baseball from 1916 to 1919.
Was Bob Steele a pitcher?
Yes. Bob Steele pitched in the major leagues, recording 16 wins and 217 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Bob Steele hit?
Bob Steele hit 0 career home runs with 40 hits.
What teams did Bob Steele play for?
Bob Steele played for 3 teams: the St. Louis Cardinals (1916–1917), the Pittsburgh Pirates (1917–1918), and the New York Giants (1918–1919).
What were Bob Steele's career stats?
In 91 games, Bob Steele went 16-38 with a 3.05 ERA, 217 strikeouts, 487.2 innings pitched, and 3 saves.
What position did Bob Steele play?
Bob Steele played primarily as a pitcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.
How tall was Bob Steele and how much did he weigh?
Bob Steele was listed at 5 feet 10 inches and 175 pounds.
What was Bob Steele's career ERA?
Bob Steele finished with a 3.05 career ERA, going 16-38 with 217 strikeouts.
How many strikeouts did Bob Steele have?
Bob Steele recorded 217 career strikeouts.
Is Bob Steele in the Hall of Fame?
No. Bob Steele has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.