What years did Dave Tobik play?

Dave Tobik played in Major League Baseball from 1978 to 1985.

Was Dave Tobik a pitcher?

Yes. Dave Tobik pitched in the major leagues, recording 14 wins and 256 strikeouts.

What was Dave Tobik's career ERA?

Dave Tobik finished with a 3.70 career ERA, going 14-23 with 256 strikeouts.

How many strikeouts did Dave Tobik have?

Dave Tobik recorded 256 career strikeouts.

Is Dave Tobik in the Hall of Fame?

No. Dave Tobik has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

Dave Tobik

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1978-1985)

Dave Tobik was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1978 to 1985 for the Detroit Tigers, the Texas Rangers, and the Seattle Mariners, a span of 8 seasons. Across 196 career appearances, he went 14-23 with a 3.70 ERA, 256 strikeouts, and 28 saves.

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 14–23

ERA 3.70

WHIP 1.28

SO 256

Pitcher PIV -1814.6

Position: Pitcher
Bats / Throws: R / R
Height / Weight: 6'1" / 190 lb
Born: 3/2/1953 in Euclid, OH, USA
MLB Debut: 1978-08-26
Last Game: 1985-10-05

Full name: David Vance Tobik

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Career Pitching Statistics

Dave Tobik — Career Pitching Statistics
W	L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	SO	ERA	Pitcher PIV
14	23	196	2	0	0	28	396.0	355	163	44	153	256	3.70	-1814.6

Career ERA 3.70 vs. league average 3.83 across their career seasons — near league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Dave Tobik Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year	Team	Lg	W	L	G	GS	SV	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA	Lg ERA	Pitcher PIV
1978	DET	AL	0	0	5	0	0	12.0	12	5	3	11	3.75	3.69 (-2%)	331.4
1979	DET	AL	3	5	37	0	3	68.2	59	33	25	48	4.33	4.00 (-8%)	-1195.1
1980	DET	AL	1	0	17	1	0	61.0	61	27	21	34	3.98	3.84 (-4%)	-488.6
1981	DET	AL	2	2	27	0	1	60.1	47	18	33	32	2.69	3.58 (+25%)	-1666.9
1982	DET	AL	4	9	51	1	9	98.2	86	39	38	63	3.56	3.86 (+8%)	461.9
1983	TEX	AL	2	1	27	0	9	44.0	36	18	13	30	3.68	3.87 (+5%)	1114.0
1984	TEX	AL	1	6	24	0	5	42.1	44	17	17	30	3.61	3.81 (+5%)	-371.4
1985	SEA	AL	1	0	8	0	1	9.0	10	6	3	8	6.00	3.89 (-54%)	0.0
Career · 8 seasons			14	23	196	2	28	396.0	355	163	153	256	3.70	—	-1,815

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

Dave Tobik — Career Batting Statistics
G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	PIV
196	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	.000	.000	.000	0

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Dave Tobik — Season-by-Season Batting
Year	Team	Lg	G	AVG	Lg AVG	Lg OBP	Lg SLG	Lg OPS	PIV
1978	DET	AL	5	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1979	DET	AL	37	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1980	DET	AL	17	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1981	DET	AL	27	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1982	DET	AL	51	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1983	TEX	AL	27	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1984	TEX	AL	24	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1985	SEA	AL	8	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
Career · 8 seasons			196	—	—	—	—	—	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 (392 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Dave Tobik — Batting — Home / Away
Split	G	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	AVG
Home	97	0	0	0	0	0	—
Away	99	0	0	0	0	0	—

Pitching — Home / Away

Dave Tobik — Pitching — Home / Away
Split	G	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
Home	97	219.1	184	73	78	140	3.00
Away	99	176.2	171	90	75	116	4.58

Last 10 Games — Pitching

Dave Tobik — Last 10 Games — Pitching
Date	Tm	Opp	Dec	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR
1985-10-05	SEA	CHW	—	0.2	1	2	0	0	0	0
1985-10-02	SEA	CLE	—	0.1	2	1	1	1	1	0
1985-09-23	SEA	TEX	—	1.2	5	3	3	0	1	1
1985-09-20	SEA	TEX	—	2.0	1	1	1	2	3	0
1985-09-19	SEA	KCR	SV	1.0	0	0	0	0	1	0
1985-09-13	SEA	CHW	—	0.2	1	1	1	0	2	1
1985-09-10	SEA	CLE	—	0.2	0	0	0	0	0	0
1985-09-09	SEA	CLE	W	2.0	0	0	0	0	0	0
1984-07-01	TEX	CLE	—	2.0	3	3	3	1	3	0
1984-06-29	TEX	CLE	L	0.0	2	1	1	1	0	0

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Dave Tobik — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
P	196	2	29	35	1	4

Season-by-Season Fielding

Dave Tobik — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year	Team	Pos	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
1978	DET	P	5	0	0	1	0	0
1979	DET	P	37	0	5	5	0	1
1980	DET	P	17	1	4	7	0	1
1981	DET	P	27	0	2	3	0	0
1982	DET	P	51	1	8	8	1	1
1983	TEX	P	27	0	6	4	0	0
1984	TEX	P	24	0	3	7	0	1
1985	SEA	P	8	0	1	0	0	0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Dave Tobik — Career Games by Position
Position	Games
Pitcher	196

College History

Dave Tobik — College History
School Name	City	State	Years Attended
Ohio University	Athens	OH	1972, 1973, 1974

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Dave Tobik (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

Dave Tobik: the record in brief

According to the bio, Dave Tobik debuted on August 26, 1978 and played a final game on October 5, 1985. The season rows list, in order, the Detroit Tigers (1978 through 1982), the Texas Rangers (1983 through 1984), and the Seattle Mariners (1985). At 6'1" and 190 pounds, Tobik is listed as a pitcher. Tobik threw and hit right-handed, per the bio block. The recorded birth is March 2, 1953, in Euclid, OH, USA. On the record, Dave Tobik was born David Vance Tobik.

The pitching table credits Tobik with a 14-23 record and a 3.70 ERA in 196 games. Tobik had 256 strikeouts and 28 saves. Tobik's 3.70 ERA was close to the 3.83 league figure for those seasons. In 1981, one of the busiest seasons, Tobik posted a 2.69 ERA; the league figure that year was 3.58.

Before the majors, Tobik played college baseball at Ohio University (1972, 1973, and 1974). Retrosheet box scores cover 392 of Tobik's games, and the full game log is linked from the splits section.

Tobik appears at one position only: pitcher, in 196 games. Fielding on the mound produced 29 putouts and 35 assists against 1 errors.

By the similarity scores below, Tobik's nearest career matches are Kyle McClellan, Mike Perez, and Todd Frohwirth.

Frequently Asked Questions about Dave Tobik

What years did Dave Tobik play?: Dave Tobik played in Major League Baseball from 1978 to 1985.
Was Dave Tobik a pitcher?: Yes. Dave Tobik pitched in the major leagues, recording 14 wins and 256 strikeouts.
What was Dave Tobik's career ERA?: Dave Tobik finished with a 3.70 career ERA, going 14-23 with 256 strikeouts.
How many strikeouts did Dave Tobik have?: Dave Tobik recorded 256 career strikeouts.
Is Dave Tobik in the Hall of Fame?: No. Dave Tobik has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
What teams did Dave Tobik play for?: Dave Tobik played for the Detroit Tigers, the Texas Rangers, and the Seattle Mariners.