Bob Turley

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1951-1963)

Bob Turley was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1951 to 1963 for 5 teams, including the St. Louis Browns, a span of 13 seasons. Across 310 career appearances, he went 101-85 with a 3.64 ERA and 1,265 strikeouts. He also batted .126 with 4 home runs. Bob Turley was a 3-time All-Star, a Cy Young, and a World Series MVP.

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 101–85
ERA 3.64
WHIP 1.42
SO 1,265
Pitcher PIV -5926.1
Position
Pitcher
Bats / Throws
R / R
Height / Weight
6'2" / 215 lb
Born
9/19/1930 in Troy, IL, USA
Died
3/30/2013 in Atlanta, GA, USA
MLB Debut
1951-09-29
Last Game
1963-09-21
Awards
3× All-Star · Cy Young · World Series MVP

Full name: Robert Lee Turley

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Career Pitching Statistics

Bob Turley — Career Pitching Statistics
W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
101 85 310 237 78 24 12 1712.2 1,366 693 140 1,068 1,265 3.64 -5926.1

Career ERA 3.64 vs. league average 3.90 across their career seasons — 6.6% better than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Bob Turley Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year Team Lg W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER BB SO ERA Lg ERA Pitcher PIV
1951 SLA AL 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 7.1 11 6 3 5 7.36 — 0.0
1953 SLA AL 2 6 10 7 3 1 0 60.1 39 22 44 61 3.28 4.14 (+21%) 640.4
1954 BAL AL 14 15 35 35 14 0 0 247.1 178 95 181 185 3.46 3.90 (+11%) 2260.1
1955 NYA AL 17 13 36 34 13 6 1 246.2 168 84 177 210 3.06 4.00 (+23%) 1637.2
1956 NYA AL 8 4 27 21 5 1 1 132.0 138 74 103 91 5.05 3.96 (-27%) -2436.0
1957 NYA AL 13 6 32 23 9 4 3 176.1 120 53 85 152 2.71 3.83 (+29%) 1134.6
1958 NYA AL 21 7 33 31 19 6 1 245.1 178 81 128 168 2.97 3.86 (+23%) -1104.4
1959 NYA AL 8 11 33 22 7 3 0 154.1 141 74 83 111 4.32 3.90 (-11%) -523.9
1960 NYA AL 9 3 34 24 4 1 5 173.1 138 63 87 87 3.27 3.82 (+14%) -1509.3
1961 NYA AL 3 5 15 12 1 0 0 72.0 74 46 51 48 5.75 4.03 (-43%) -2685.7
1962 NYA AL 3 3 24 8 0 0 1 69.0 68 35 47 42 4.57 3.96 (-15%) -2016.8
1963 LAA AL 2 7 19 12 3 2 0 87.1 71 32 51 70 3.30 3.46 (+5%) 40.2
1963 BOS AL 1 4 11 7 0 0 0 41.1 42 28 28 35 6.10 3.46 (-76%) -1362.4
Career · 13 seasons 101 85 310 237 78 24 12 1,712.2 1,366 693 1,068 1,265 3.64 — -5,926

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 Turley — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
310 547 44 69 10 0 4 32 1 31 191 .126 .177 .166 .343 -3,593

Career AVG .126 vs. league average .257 across their career seasons — 51.0% below league average.

Career OBP .177 vs. league average .327 across their career seasons — 46.0% below league average.

Career SLG .166 vs. league average .391 across their career seasons — 57.4% below league average.

Career OPS .343 vs. league average .718 across their career seasons — 52.2% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Bob Turley 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
1951 SLA AL 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000 — — — — 0.0
1953 SLA AL 10 18 2 5 0 0 1 1 0 1 6 .278 — — — — 0.0
1954 BAL AL 35 81 8 11 2 0 0 5 1 2 23 .136 .261 (-48%) .333 (-53%) .390 (-59%) .723 (-56%) -729.7
1955 NYA AL 36 82 7 11 4 0 0 7 0 6 21 .134 .258 (-48%) .332 (-40%) .393 (-54%) .726 (-47%) -636.6
1956 NYA AL 27 46 5 8 2 0 0 3 0 3 16 .174 — — — — 0.0
1957 NYA AL 32 57 4 5 0 0 0 0 0 8 27 .088 .257 (-66%) .323 (-35%) .391 (-78%) .715 (-58%) -503.0
1958 NYA AL 33 88 8 12 0 0 2 6 0 4 35 .136 .257 (-47%) .324 (-46%) .394 (-48%) .719 (-47%) -664.1
1959 NYA AL 33 46 3 4 0 0 0 1 0 5 18 .087 — — — — -432.2
1960 NYA AL 34 55 4 4 1 0 0 1 0 2 18 .073 .255 (-71%) .323 (-67%) .387 (-77%) .711 (-72%) -627.5
1961 NYA AL 15 21 1 2 0 0 0 3 0 0 11 .095 — — — — 0.0
1962 NYA AL 24 12 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 .000 — — — — 0.0
1963 LAA AL 19 25 2 4 1 0 1 3 0 0 7 .160 — — — — 0.0
1963 BOS AL 11 14 0 3 0 0 0 2 0 0 2 .214 — — — — 0.0
Career · 13 seasons 310 547 44 69 10 0 4 32 1 31 191 .126 — — — — -3,593

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

Bob Turley — Playoff Career Batting
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
15 18 0 2 0 0 0 3 0 5 .111

Playoff Batting by Year

Bob Turley — Playoff Batting by Year
Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1960 WS NYA 2 4 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 .250
1958 WS NYA 4 5 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 1 .200
1957 WS NYA 3 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 .000
1956 WS NYA 3 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000
1955 WS NYA 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000

Playoff Career Pitching

Bob Turley — Playoff Career Pitching
W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
4 3 15 8 1 53.2 43 19 29 46 3.19

Playoff Pitching by Year

Bob Turley — Playoff Pitching by Year
Year Round Team W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
1960 WS NYA 1 0 2 2 0 9.1 15 5 4 0 4.82
1958 WS NYA 2 1 4 2 1 16.1 10 5 7 13 2.76
1957 WS NYA 1 0 3 2 0 11.2 7 3 6 12 2.31
1956 WS NYA 0 1 3 1 0 11.0 4 1 8 14 0.82
1955 WS NYA 0 1 3 1 0 5.1 7 5 4 7 8.44

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (620 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Bob Turley — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home1522731729215.106
Away1582752740217.145

Pitching — Home / Away

Bob Turley — Pitching — Home / Away
SplitGIPHERBBSOERA
Home152905.06823165486923.14
Away158808.06833775205734.20

Last 10 Games — Batting

Bob Turley — Last 10 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1963-09-21 BOSMINL 000000000
1963-09-04 BOSDETL 000000000
1963-08-31 BOSTEXW 301000200
1963-08-24 BOSCLEL 200000000
1963-08-21 BOSCHWL 000000000
1963-08-19 BOSCLEL 000000000
1963-08-15 BOSNYYL 000000000
1963-08-11 BOSMINL 200000001
1963-08-04 BOSTEXL 301000000
1963-07-30 BOSMINL 201000000

Last 10 Games — Pitching

Bob Turley — Last 10 Games — Pitching
DateTmOppDecIPHRERBBSOHR
1963-09-21 BOSMIN — 1.1100110
1963-09-04 BOSDET L 0.2233300
1963-08-31 BOSTEX W 7.2211661
1963-08-24 BOSCLE L 6.0544471
1963-08-21 BOSCHW — 1.0000000
1963-08-19 BOSCLE — 2.0000010
1963-08-15 BOSNYY — 2.0444311
1963-08-11 BOSMIN L 6.0555512
1963-08-04 BOSTEX — 5.0833151
1963-07-30 BOSMIN L 5.0744450

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Bob Turley — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
P 310 229 88 211 9 16

Season-by-Season Fielding

Bob Turley — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1951 SLA P 1 0 1 1 0 1
1953 SLA P 10 0 4 3 0 2
1954 BAL P 35 35 7 35 1 1
1955 NYA P 36 34 6 30 4 2
1956 NYA P 27 21 3 18 1 2
1957 NYA P 32 23 13 22 2 1
1958 NYA P 33 31 17 26 0 4
1959 NYA P 33 22 11 18 1 1
1960 NYA P 34 24 10 21 0 1
1961 NYA P 15 12 4 8 0 0
1962 NYA P 24 8 3 15 0 0
1963 LAA P 19 12 5 11 0 1
1963 BOS P 11 7 4 3 0 0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Bob Turley Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position Games
Pitcher 310

Awards & Honors

Bob Turley — Awards & Honors
Year Award Notes
1958 Cy Young Award
1958 TSN All-Star P
1958 TSN Major League Player of the Year
1958 TSN Pitcher of the Year
1958 World Series MVP

Award Voting History

Bob Turley — Award Voting History
Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
1958 Cy Young Award ML 1st 5.0 16 5
1958 Most Valuable Player AL 2nd 191.0 336 7
1954 Most Valuable Player AL 23th 4.0 336 0

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

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

  1. 98
    Sam Jones
    103-104, 3.63 ERA
  2. 95
    Johnny Vander Meer
    119-121, 3.44 ERA
  3. 92
    Mickey McDermott
    69-69, 3.91 ERA
  4. 91
    Tom Griffin
    77-94, 4.07 ERA
  5. 91
    Blue Moon Odom
    84-85, 3.70 ERA
  6. 89
    Steve Barber
    121-106, 3.36 ERA

Bob Turley: the record in brief

Bob Turley played a first major league game on September 29, 1951 and a last one on September 21, 1963. The season rows list, in order, the St. Louis Browns (1951 to 1953), the Baltimore Orioles (1954), the New York Yankees (1955 to 1962), the Los Angeles Angels (1963), and the Boston Red Sox (1963). Born on September 19, 1930, in Troy, IL, USA, Turley is listed as a pitcher and both batted and threw right-handed. Turley's listed size is 6'2" and 215 pounds. Turley's death is recorded on March 30, 2013, in Atlanta, GA, USA. Bob Turley was the playing name; the full given name is Robert Lee.

Turley pitched in 310 games, starting 237, and finished with a 101-85 record and 3.64 ERA. Also on Turley's record: 1,265 strikeouts, 78 complete games, 24 shutouts, and 12 saves. The leagues Turley pitched in allowed 3.90 earned runs per nine over those seasons, so the career ERA was 6.6% better than average. 1958 brought Turley a season-high 21 wins.

Frequently Asked Questions about Bob Turley

What years did Bob Turley play?
Bob Turley played in Major League Baseball from 1951 to 1963.
Was Bob Turley a pitcher?
Yes. Bob Turley pitched in the major leagues, recording 101 wins and 1265 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Bob Turley hit?
Bob Turley hit 4 career home runs with 69 hits.
What teams did Bob Turley play for?
Bob Turley played for 4 teams: the Baltimore Orioles (1951, 1953–1954), the New York Yankees (1955–1962), the Los Angeles Angels (1963), and the Boston Red Sox (1963).
How many Cy Young Awards did Bob Turley win?
Bob Turley won 1 Cy Young Award, in 1958.
What awards did Bob Turley win?
Bob Turley won the Cy Young Award (1958) and the World Series MVP award (1958). He was selected to 3 All-Star Games.
What were Bob Turley's career stats?
In 310 games, Bob Turley went 101-85 with a 3.64 ERA, 1,265 strikeouts, 1,712.2 innings pitched, and 12 saves. At the plate he had 69 hits and 4 home runs.
What position did Bob Turley play?
Bob Turley played primarily as a pitcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.
How tall was Bob Turley and how much did he weigh?
Bob Turley was listed at 6 feet 2 inches and 215 pounds.
What was Bob Turley's career ERA?
Bob Turley finished with a 3.64 career ERA, going 101-85 with 1,265 strikeouts.
How many strikeouts did Bob Turley have?
Bob Turley recorded 1,265 career strikeouts.
Is Bob Turley in the Hall of Fame?
No. Bob Turley has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
How many All-Star Games did Bob Turley make?
Bob Turley was selected to 3 All-Star Games.