Kent Tekulve

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1974-1989)

Kent Tekulve was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1974 to 1989 for the Pittsburgh Pirates, the Philadelphia Phillies, and the Cincinnati Reds, a span of 16 seasons. Across 1,050 career appearances, he went 94-90 with a 2.85 ERA, 779 strikeouts, and 184 saves. Kent Tekulve was an All-Star. His career Pitcher PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of pitching impact — is 22171.2.

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 94–90
ERA 2.85
WHIP 1.25
SO 779
Pitcher PIV 22171.2
Position
Pitcher
Bats / Throws
R / R
Height / Weight
6'4" / 180 lb
Born
3/5/1947 in Cincinnati, OH, USA
MLB Debut
1974-05-20
Last Game
1989-07-16
Awards
All-Star

Full name: Kenton Charles Tekulve

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Career Pitching Statistics

Kent Tekulve — Career Pitching Statistics
W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
94 90 1,050 0 0 0 184 1436.2 1,305 455 63 491 779 2.85 22171.2

Career ERA 2.85 vs. league average 3.83 across their career seasons — 25.5% better than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Kent Tekulve Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year Team Lg W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER BB SO ERA Lg ERA Pitcher PIV
1974 PIT NL 1 1 8 0 0 0 0 9.0 12 6 5 6 6.00 3.63 (-65%) 0.0
1975 PIT NL 1 2 34 0 0 0 5 56.0 43 14 23 28 2.25 3.71 (+39%) 529.1
1976 PIT NL 5 3 64 0 0 0 9 102.2 91 28 25 68 2.45 3.51 (+30%) 2872.2
1977 PIT NL 10 1 72 0 0 0 7 103.0 89 35 33 59 3.06 4.00 (+24%) 2063.5
1978 PIT NL 8 7 91 0 0 0 31 135.1 115 35 55 77 2.33 3.69 (+37%) 1725.6
1979 PIT NL 10 8 94 0 0 0 31 134.1 109 41 49 75 2.75 4.00 (+31%) 2635.5
1980 PIT NL 8 12 78 0 0 0 21 93.0 96 35 40 47 3.39 3.84 (+12%) -142.0
1981 PIT NL 5 5 45 0 0 0 3 65.0 61 18 17 34 2.49 3.58 (+30%) 1644.5
1982 PIT NL 12 8 85 0 0 0 20 128.2 113 41 46 66 2.87 3.86 (+26%) 1064.9
1983 PIT NL 7 5 76 0 0 0 18 99.0 78 18 36 52 1.64 3.87 (+58%) 2388.1
1984 PIT NL 3 9 72 0 0 0 13 88.0 86 26 33 36 2.66 3.81 (+30%) 248.6
1985 PIT NL 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 3.1 7 6 5 4 16.20 — 0.0
1985 PHI NL 4 10 58 0 0 0 14 72.1 67 24 25 36 2.99 3.89 (+23%) 671.4
1986 PHI NL 11 5 73 0 0 0 4 110.0 99 31 25 57 2.54 3.97 (+36%) 3711.2
1987 PHI NL 6 4 90 0 0 0 3 105.0 96 36 29 60 3.09 4.29 (+28%) 2001.3
1988 PHI NL 3 7 70 0 0 0 4 80.0 87 32 22 43 3.60 3.73 (+4%) 1325.8
1989 CIN NL 0 3 37 0 0 0 1 52.0 56 29 23 31 5.02 3.71 (-35%) -568.3
Career · 17 seasons 94 90 1,050 0 0 0 184 1,436.2 1,305 455 491 779 2.85 — 22,171

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

Kent Tekulve — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
1,050 121 8 10 0 0 0 2 0 6 61 .083 .126 .083 .209 0

Career AVG .083 vs. league average .259 across their career seasons — 68.1% below league average.

Career OBP .126 vs. league average .325 across their career seasons — 61.2% below league average.

Career SLG .083 vs. league average .385 across their career seasons — 78.6% below league average.

Career OPS .209 vs. league average .710 across their career seasons — 70.6% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Kent Tekulve Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year Team Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG Lg AVG Lg OBP Lg SLG Lg OPS PIV
1974 PIT NL 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1975 PIT NL 34 11 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 7 .091 — — — — 0.0
1976 PIT NL 64 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 .000 — — — — 0.0
1977 PIT NL 72 12 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 .250 — — — — 0.0
1978 PIT NL 91 21 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 9 .095 — — — — 0.0
1979 PIT NL 94 15 3 2 0 0 0 1 0 1 8 .133 — — — — 0.0
1980 PIT NL 78 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 7 .000 — — — — 0.0
1981 PIT NL 45 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000 — — — — 0.0
1982 PIT NL 85 14 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 .071 — — — — 0.0
1983 PIT NL 76 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 .000 — — — — 0.0
1984 PIT NL 72 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 .000 — — — — 0.0
1985 PIT NL 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1985 PHI NL 58 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000 — — — — 0.0
1986 PHI NL 73 5 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 .000 — — — — 0.0
1987 PHI NL 90 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1988 PHI NL 70 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 .000 — — — — 0.0
1989 CIN NL 37 2 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .500 — — — — 0.0
Career · 17 seasons 1,050 121 8 10 0 0 0 2 0 6 61 .083 — — — — 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.

Postseason Statistics

Playoff Career Batting

Kent Tekulve — Playoff Career Batting
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
9 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000

Playoff Batting by Year

Kent Tekulve — Playoff Batting by Year
Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1979 NLCS PIT 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000
1979 WS PIT 5 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1975 NLCS PIT 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000

Playoff Career Pitching

Kent Tekulve — Playoff Career Pitching
W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
0 1 9 0 3 13.1 9 5 6 14 3.38

Playoff Pitching by Year

Kent Tekulve — Playoff Pitching by Year
Year Round Team W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
1979 NLCS PIT 0 0 2 0 0 2.2 2 1 2 2 3.38
1979 WS PIT 0 1 5 0 3 9.1 4 3 3 10 2.89
1975 NLCS PIT 0 0 2 0 0 1.1 3 1 1 2 6.75

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (2100 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Kent Tekulve — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home532552300.055
Away518666702.106

Pitching — Home / Away

Kent Tekulve — Pitching — Home / Away
SplitGIPHERBBSOERA
Home532742.06852452304162.97
Away518694.26202102613632.72

Last 10 Games — Batting

Kent Tekulve — Last 10 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1989-07-16 CINWSNL 000000000
1989-07-13 CINWSNL 000000000
1989-07-09 CINNYNL 000000000
1989-07-08 CINNYNL 000000000
1989-07-07 CINNYNL 000000000
1989-07-06 CINNYNW 100000001
1989-07-02 CINNYNL 000000000
1989-06-30 CINNYNL 000000000
1989-06-28 CINATLL 000000000
1989-06-27 CINATLW 111000000

Last 10 Games — Pitching

Kent Tekulve — Last 10 Games — Pitching
DateTmOppDecIPHRERBBSOHR
1989-07-16 CINWSN L 1.0333210
1989-07-13 CINWSN L 1.0210010
1989-07-09 CINNYN — 1.1100000
1989-07-08 CINNYN — 0.2000010
1989-07-07 CINNYN — 1.0000000
1989-07-06 CINNYN SV 3.0222220
1989-07-02 CINNYN — 3.0222211
1989-06-30 CINNYN — 1.0111001
1989-06-28 CINATL — 1.0000010
1989-06-27 CINATL — 2.0000110

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Kent Tekulve — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
OF 1 0 1 0 0 0
P 1050 0 92 327 13 17

Season-by-Season Fielding

Kent Tekulve — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1974 PIT P 8 0 2 3 0 0
1975 PIT P 34 0 5 17 1 1
1976 PIT P 64 0 6 24 1 0
1977 PIT P 72 0 7 32 0 1
1978 PIT P 91 0 8 38 4 1
1979 PIT OF 1 0 1 0 0 0
1979 PIT P 94 0 7 28 1 0
1980 PIT P 78 0 5 18 1 1
1981 PIT P 45 0 4 16 0 2
1982 PIT P 85 0 11 27 1 2
1983 PIT P 76 0 3 20 0 2
1984 PIT P 72 0 6 25 0 3
1985 PIT P 3 0 0 1 0 0
1985 PHI P 58 0 4 13 0 0
1986 PHI P 73 0 4 22 3 2
1987 PHI P 90 0 11 20 1 0
1988 PHI P 70 0 7 14 0 1
1989 CIN P 37 0 2 9 0 1

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Kent Tekulve Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position Games
Pitcher 1050
Left Field 1

Awards & Honors

Kent Tekulve — Awards & Honors
Year Award Notes
1986 Player of the Week Week of 1986-09-19
1978 Pitcher of the Month August

Salary History

Kent Tekulve — Salary History
Year Team League Salary
1988 PHI NL $850,000
1987 PHI NL $925,000
1986 PHI NL $890,000
1985 PIT NL $830,000
Total Career Earnings $3,495,000

College History

Kent Tekulve — College History
School Name City State Years Attended
Marietta College Marietta OH 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969

Award Voting History

Kent Tekulve — Award Voting History
Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
1979 Cy Young Award NL 5th 14.0 120 1
1979 Most Valuable Player NL 8th 64.0 336 1
1978 Cy Young Award NL 5th 12.0 120 0
1978 Most Valuable Player NL 13th 23.0 336 0

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Kent Tekulve (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Sparky Lyle
    99-76, 2.88 ERA
  2. 85
    Clay Carroll
    96-73, 2.94 ERA
  3. 83
    Gene Garber
    96-113, 3.34 ERA
  4. 80
    Mike Marshall
    97-112, 3.14 ERA
  5. 78
    Ron Perranoski
    79-74, 2.79 ERA
  6. 76
    Tug McGraw
    96-92, 3.14 ERA

Compare Kent Tekulve

Side-by-side career stat comparisons against Tekulve's closest peers by position and era.

vs Willie Stargell
vs Dennis Eckersley
vs Lee Smith
vs Rollie Fingers
vs Ron Reed
vs Rich Gossage

Browse all MLB player comparisons →

Kent Tekulve: the record in brief

Between the debut on May 20, 1974 and the final game on July 16, 1989, Kent Tekulve built the record summarized on this page. Club by club, the record runs the Pittsburgh Pirates (1974 through 1985), the Philadelphia Phillies (1985 to 1988), and the Cincinnati Reds (1989). The bio lists Tekulve as a pitcher who batted and threw right-handed. The recorded size is 180 pounds on a 6-foot-4 frame. Tekulve was born on March 5, 1947, in Cincinnati, OH, USA. Tekulve's full given name, per the bio, is Kenton Charles Tekulve.

Tekulve went 94-90 with a 2.85 ERA in 1,050 games, 0 of them starts. The totals include 779 strikeouts and 184 saves. That 2.85 ERA compares with a 3.83 league average across the same seasons, 25.5% better. The best win total was 12, in 1982. The strikeout high was 77 in 1978. Tekulve saved 31 games in 1978, the season high. 1983 was Tekulve's sharpest full season, a 1.64 ERA against the league's 3.87.

Frequently Asked Questions about Kent Tekulve

What years did Kent Tekulve play?
Kent Tekulve played in Major League Baseball from 1974 to 1989.
Was Kent Tekulve a pitcher?
Yes. Kent Tekulve pitched in the major leagues, recording 94 wins and 779 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Kent Tekulve hit?
Kent Tekulve hit 0 career home runs with 10 hits.
What was Kent Tekulve's career batting average?
Kent Tekulve batted .083 over his career, with 10 hits in 121 at bats.
How many RBI did Kent Tekulve have?
Kent Tekulve drove in 2 runs in his career.
What was Kent Tekulve's career ERA?
Kent Tekulve finished with a 2.85 career ERA, going 94-90 with 779 strikeouts.