Lee Tunnell

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1982-1989)

Lee Tunnell was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1982 to 1989 for the Pittsburgh Pirates, the St. Louis Cardinals, and the Minnesota Twins, a span of 8 seasons. Across 132 career appearances, he went 22-28 with a 4.23 ERA and 280 strikeouts. His career Pitcher PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of pitching impact — is 97.8.

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 22–28
ERA 4.23
WHIP 1.45
SO 280
Pitcher PIV 97.8
Position
Pitcher
Bats / Throws
R / R
Height / Weight
6'1" / 180 lb
Born
10/30/1960 in Tyler, TX, USA
MLB Debut
1982-09-04
Last Game
1989-06-22

Full name: Byron Lee Tunnell

📊 Compare This Player 📈 View Career Timeline

Career Pitching Statistics

Lee Tunnell — Career Pitching Statistics
W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
22 28 132 66 5 3 1 483.0 499 227 39 200 280 4.23 97.8

Career ERA 4.23 vs. league average 3.91 across their career seasons — 8.3% worse than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Lee Tunnell — Season-by-Season Pitching
Year Team Lg W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER BB SO ERA Lg ERA Pitcher PIV
1982 PIT NL 1 1 5 3 0 0 0 18.1 17 8 5 4 3.93 3.86 (-2%) -124.6
1983 PIT NL 11 6 35 25 5 3 0 177.2 167 72 58 95 3.65 3.87 (+6%) 350.1
1984 PIT NL 1 7 26 6 0 0 1 68.1 81 40 40 51 5.27 3.81 (-38%) -618.6
1985 PIT NL 4 10 24 23 0 0 0 132.1 126 59 57 74 4.01 3.89 (-3%) -224.7
1987 SLN NL 4 4 32 9 0 0 0 74.1 90 40 34 49 4.84 4.29 (-13%) 856.3
1989 MIN AL 1 0 10 0 0 0 0 12.0 18 8 6 7 6.00 3.71 (-62%) -140.8
Career · 6 seasons 22 28 132 66 5 3 1 483.0 499 227 200 280 4.23 — 98

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

Lee Tunnell — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
133 138 5 16 0 2 0 7 0 2 54 .116 .128 .145 .273 -547

Career AVG .116 vs. league average .259 across their career seasons — 55.3% below league average.

Career OBP .128 vs. league average .324 across their career seasons — 60.6% below league average.

Career SLG .145 vs. league average .391 across their career seasons — 62.9% below league average.

Career OPS .273 vs. league average .715 across their career seasons — 61.9% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Lee Tunnell — 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
1982 PIT NL 5 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 .000 — — — — 0.0
1983 PIT NL 35 58 2 7 0 1 0 3 0 1 20 .121 .260 (-54%) .324 (-58%) .389 (-60%) .714 (-59%) -547.0
1984 PIT NL 26 12 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 .083 — — — — 0.0
1985 PIT NL 24 47 2 4 0 1 0 1 0 1 20 .085 — — — — 0.0
1987 SLN NL 33 17 1 4 0 0 0 3 0 0 5 .235 — — — — 0.0
1989 MIN AL 10 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
Career · 6 seasons 133 138 5 16 0 2 0 7 0 2 54 .116 — — — — -547

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

Lee Tunnell — Playoff Career Batting
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000

Playoff Batting by Year

Lee Tunnell — Playoff Batting by Year
Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1987 WS SLN 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000

Playoff Career Pitching

Lee Tunnell — Playoff Career Pitching
W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
0 0 2 0 0 4.1 4 1 2 1 2.08

Playoff Pitching by Year

Lee Tunnell — Playoff Pitching by Year
Year Round Team W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
1987 WS SLN 0 0 2 0 0 4.1 4 1 2 1 2.08

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (265 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Lee Tunnell — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home64644701.109
Away69741906.122

Pitching — Home / Away

Lee Tunnell — Pitching — Home / Away
SplitGIPHERBBSOERA
Home63248.22551291041494.67
Away69234.124498961313.76

Last 10 Games — Pitching

Lee Tunnell — Last 10 Games — Pitching
DateTmOppDecIPHRERBBSOHR
1989-06-22 MINCLE — 1.2533000
1989-06-19 MINMIL — 1.0533010
1989-06-17 MINMIL W 1.0000000
1989-06-15 MINSEA — 2.2222131
1989-06-14 MINSEA — 0.1100200
1989-06-13 MINSEA — 0.1100110
1989-06-09 MINCHW — 1.0000100
1989-05-29 MINKCR — 2.0100010
1989-05-28 MINTEX — 0.1100000
1989-05-26 MINTEX — 1.2200110

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Lee Tunnell — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
P 132 66 33 88 1 9

Season-by-Season Fielding

Lee Tunnell — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1982 PIT P 5 3 1 4 0 0
1983 PIT P 35 25 11 35 0 6
1984 PIT P 26 6 8 14 1 1
1985 PIT P 24 23 7 23 0 1
1987 SLN P 32 9 6 12 0 1
1989 MIN P 10 0 0 0 0 0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Lee Tunnell — Career Games by Position
Position Games
Pitcher 132

Salary History

Lee Tunnell's recorded salaries total $192,500 over 2 seasons, 1985 to 1987. This total is partial: the salary data covers 1985 to 2016, and Tunnell's career ran from 1982 to 1989. His seasons before 1985 are not included, and no salary is recorded for 1989.

Lee Tunnell — Salary History
Year Team League Salary
1987 SLN NL $62,500
1985 PIT NL $130,000
Total recorded salary (partial) $192,500

College History

Lee Tunnell — College History
School Name City State Years Attended
Baylor University Waco TX 1979, 1980, 1981

Award Voting History

Lee Tunnell — Award Voting History
Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
1983 Rookie of the Year NL 9th 1.0 120 0

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Lee Tunnell (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Al Santorini
    17-38, 4.29 ERA
  2. 91
    Gustavo Chacin
    27-17, 4.23 ERA
  3. 90
    Henry Miller
    35-25, 4.48 ERA
  4. 88
    Buster Narum
    14-27, 4.45 ERA
  5. 84
    Darrell Jackson
    20-27, 4.38 ERA
  6. 83
    Mike Mason
    29-39, 4.53 ERA

Lee Tunnell: the record in brief

Lee Tunnell's major league career runs from a debut on September 4, 1982 to a final game on June 22, 1989. The team column moves through the Pittsburgh Pirates (1982 through 1985), the St. Louis Cardinals (1987), and the Minnesota Twins (1989). Tunnell, a pitcher by primary position, threw and hit right-handed. The recorded size is 6-foot-1 and 180 pounds. Tunnell was born on October 30, 1960, in Tyler, TX, USA. Tunnell's full given name, per the bio, is Byron Lee Tunnell.

Tunnell's career pitching line is 22 wins, 28 losses and a 4.23 ERA over 132 appearances. The totals include 280 strikeouts. The league ERA over Tunnell's seasons was 3.91, so the 4.23 figure ran 8.3% worse than average. 1983 brought Tunnell a season-high 11 wins. 1983 was Tunnell's sharpest full season, a 3.65 ERA against the league's 3.87. Pitcher PIV, the site's era-adjusted run-prevention measure, totals 97.8 for Tunnell's career.

In award voting, Tunnell's best finish was 9th for the Rookie of the Year in 1983.

Frequently Asked Questions about Lee Tunnell

What years did Lee Tunnell play?
Lee Tunnell played in Major League Baseball from 1982 to 1989.
Was Lee Tunnell a pitcher?
Yes. Lee Tunnell pitched in the major leagues, recording 22 wins and 280 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Lee Tunnell hit?
Lee Tunnell hit 0 career home runs with 16 hits.
What teams did Lee Tunnell play for?
Lee Tunnell played for 3 teams: the Pittsburgh Pirates (1982–1985), the St. Louis Cardinals (1987), and the Minnesota Twins (1989).
What were Lee Tunnell's career stats?
In 132 games, Lee Tunnell went 22-28 with a 4.23 ERA, 280 strikeouts, 483.0 innings pitched, and 1 saves.
How much did Lee Tunnell earn in his career?
Lee Tunnell's recorded salaries total $192,500 over 2 seasons, 1985 to 1987. This total is partial: the salary data covers 1985 to 2016, and Tunnell's career ran from 1982 to 1989. His seasons before 1985 are not included, and no salary is recorded for 1989.
What was Lee Tunnell's salary?
Lee Tunnell's last recorded salary was $62,500, in 1987. His highest recorded salary was $130,000, in 1985, and his lowest was $62,500, in 1987. The Salary History table lists each season from 1985 to 1987.
What position did Lee Tunnell play?
Lee Tunnell played primarily as a pitcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.
How tall was Lee Tunnell and how much did he weigh?
Lee Tunnell was listed at 6 feet 1 inch and 180 pounds.
What was Lee Tunnell's career ERA?
Lee Tunnell finished with a 4.23 career ERA, going 22-28 with 280 strikeouts.
How many strikeouts did Lee Tunnell have?
Lee Tunnell recorded 280 career strikeouts.
Is Lee Tunnell in the Hall of Fame?
No. Lee Tunnell has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.