Pete Vuckovich
Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1975-1986)
Pete Vuckovich was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1975 to 1986 for 4 teams, including the Chicago White Sox, a span of 12 seasons. Across 286 career appearances, he went 93-69 with a 3.66 ERA and 882 strikeouts. He also batted .159 with 0 home runs. Pete Vuckovich was a Cy Young. His career Pitcher PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of pitching impact — is 7480.6.
- 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
- Position
- Pitcher
- Bats / Throws
- R / R
- Height / Weight
- 6'4" / 215 lb
- MLB Debut
- 1975-08-03
- Last Game
- 1986-10-02
- Awards
- Cy Young
Full name: Peter Dennis Vuckovich
Season-by-Season Pitching
Click a stat to plot it across every season.
| Year | Team | Lg | W | L | G | GS | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA | Lg ERA | Pitcher PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1975 | CHA | AL | 0 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10.1 | 17 | 15 | 7 | 5 | 13.06 | 3.71 (-252%) | 15.3 |
| 1976 | CHA | AL | 7 | 4 | 33 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 110.1 | 122 | 57 | 60 | 62 | 4.65 | 3.51 (-32%) | -243.3 |
| 1977 | TOR | AL | 7 | 7 | 53 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 8 | 148.0 | 143 | 57 | 59 | 123 | 3.47 | 4.00 (+13%) | 1843.2 |
| 1978 | SLN | NL | 12 | 12 | 45 | 23 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 198.1 | 187 | 56 | 59 | 149 | 2.54 | 3.69 (+31%) | 5635.7 |
| 1979 | SLN | NL | 15 | 10 | 34 | 32 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 233.0 | 229 | 93 | 64 | 145 | 3.59 | 4.00 (+10%) | 2590.4 |
| 1980 | SLN | NL | 12 | 9 | 32 | 30 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 222.1 | 203 | 84 | 68 | 132 | 3.40 | 3.84 (+11%) | 1626.7 |
| 1981 | ML4 | AL | 14 | 4 | 24 | 23 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 149.2 | 137 | 59 | 57 | 84 | 3.55 | 3.58 (+1%) | 390.7 |
| 1982 | ML4 | AL | 18 | 6 | 30 | 30 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 223.2 | 234 | 83 | 102 | 105 | 3.34 | 3.86 (+14%) | -915.0 |
| 1983 | ML4 | AL | 0 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14.2 | 15 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 4.91 | 3.87 (-27%) | 84.9 |
| 1985 | ML4 | AL | 6 | 10 | 22 | 22 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 112.2 | 134 | 69 | 48 | 55 | 5.51 | 3.89 (-42%) | -3169.2 |
| 1986 | ML4 | AL | 2 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 32.1 | 33 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 3.06 | 3.97 (+23%) | -378.8 |
| Career · 11 seasons | 93 | 69 | 286 | 186 | 38 | 8 | 10 | 1,455.1 | 1,454 | 592 | 545 | 882 | 3.66 | — | 7,481 | ||
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
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 286 | 208 | 15 | 33 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 1 | 3 | 49 | .159 | .169 | .192 | .361 | -1,661 |
Career AVG .159 vs. league average .260 across their career seasons — 39.0% below league average.
Career OBP .169 vs. league average .325 across their career seasons — 48.0% below league average.
Career SLG .192 vs. league average .386 across their career seasons — 50.1% below league average.
Career OPS .361 vs. league average .711 across their career seasons — 49.2% below league average.
Season-by-Season Batting
Click a stat to plot it across every season.
| Year | Team | Lg | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | Lg AVG | Lg OBP | Lg SLG | Lg OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1975 | CHA | AL | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1976 | CHA | AL | 33 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1977 | TOR | AL | 53 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1978 | SLN | NL | 45 | 58 | 4 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 22 | .138 | .257 (-47%) | .323 (-53%) | .378 (-59%) | .702 (-56%) | -506.0 |
| 1979 | SLN | NL | 34 | 79 | 7 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 14 | .152 | .265 (-43%) | .329 (-52%) | .397 (-62%) | .727 (-57%) | -742.7 |
| 1980 | SLN | NL | 32 | 71 | 4 | 13 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 13 | .183 | .264 (-31%) | .326 (-40%) | .387 (-31%) | .714 (-35%) | -412.3 |
| 1981 | ML4 | AL | 24 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1982 | ML4 | AL | 30 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1983 | ML4 | AL | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1985 | ML4 | AL | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1986 | ML4 | AL | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| Career · 11 seasons | 286 | 208 | 15 | 33 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 1 | 3 | 49 | .159 | — | — | — | — | -1,661 | ||
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
Playoff Batting by Year
| Year | Round | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | ALCS | ML4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| 1982 | WS | ML4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| 1981 | AEDIV | ML4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
Playoff Career Pitching
| W | L | G | GS | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 33.2 | 33 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 3.74 |
Playoff Pitching by Year
Game Log & Splits
View full game log (572 games) →Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).
Batting — Home / Away
| Split | G | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 136 | 88 | 7 | 13 | 0 | 7 | .148 |
| Away | 150 | 120 | 8 | 20 | 0 | 6 | .167 |
Pitching — Home / Away
| Split | G | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 136 | 717.2 | 696 | 252 | 245 | 442 | 3.16 |
| Away | 150 | 737.2 | 758 | 340 | 300 | 440 | 4.15 |
Last 10 Games — Pitching
| Date | Tm | Opp | Dec | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1986-10-02 | MIL | DET | L | 6.0 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 |
| 1986-09-26 | MIL | BAL | W | 6.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| 1986-09-18 | MIL | BOS | L | 2.2 | 5 | 7 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 1986-09-13 | MIL | TOR | L | 6.1 | 9 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 1 |
| 1986-09-07 | MIL | CLE | W | 6.0 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| 1986-09-02 | MIL | MIN | L | 5.1 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| 1985-09-04 | MIL | MIN | — | 1.2 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| 1985-08-28 | MIL | KCR | L | 5.0 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 3 |
| 1985-08-18 | MIL | CHW | L | 6.1 | 10 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| 1985-08-13 | MIL | DET | — | 6.0 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 0 |
Fielding Statistics
Career Fielding Totals by Position
Season-by-Season Fielding
| Year | Team | Pos | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1975 | CHA | P | 4 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 1976 | CHA | P | 33 | 7 | 3 | 19 | 3 | 0 |
| 1977 | TOR | P | 53 | 8 | 9 | 23 | 5 | 3 |
| 1978 | SLN | P | 45 | 23 | 12 | 34 | 2 | 4 |
| 1979 | SLN | P | 34 | 32 | 14 | 28 | 5 | 2 |
| 1980 | SLN | P | 32 | 30 | 16 | 28 | 1 | 3 |
| 1981 | ML4 | P | 24 | 23 | 11 | 27 | 0 | 1 |
| 1982 | ML4 | P | 30 | 30 | 13 | 39 | 4 | 1 |
| 1983 | ML4 | P | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1985 | ML4 | P | 22 | 22 | 5 | 14 | 1 | 1 |
| 1986 | ML4 | P | 6 | 6 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 0 |
Career Games by Position
Circle size = games played at each position.
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| Pitcher | 286 |
Awards & Honors
| Year | Award | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1982 | Cy Young Award |
Salary History
Pete Vuckovich's recorded salaries total $540,000 over 1 season, in 1985. This total is partial: the salary data covers 1985 to 2016, and Vuckovich's career ran from 1975 to 1986. His seasons before 1985 are not included, and no salary is recorded for 1986.
| Year | Team | League | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | ML4 | AL | $540,000 |
| Total recorded salary (partial) | $540,000 | ||
College History
| School Name | City | State | Years Attended |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clarion University of Pennsylvania | Clarion | PA | 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974 |
Award Voting History
| Year | Award | League | Finish | Points Won | Points Max | Votes First |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | Cy Young Award | AL | 1st | 87.0 | 140 | 14 |
| 1982 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 18th | 11.0 | 392 | 0 |
| 1981 | Cy Young Award | AL | 4th | 8.0 | 140 | 0 |
Most Similar Players
Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.
Pete Vuckovich (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.
Compare Pete Vuckovich
Pete Vuckovich: the record in brief
According to the bio, Pete Vuckovich debuted on August 3, 1975 and played a final game on October 2, 1986. Club by club, the record runs the Chicago White Sox (1975 through 1976), the Toronto Blue Jays (1977), the St. Louis Cardinals (1978 to 1980), and the Milwaukee Brewers (1981 to 1986). Vuckovich is listed as a pitcher at 215 pounds on a 6-foot-4 frame. The bio says Vuckovich threw and hit right-handed. The recorded birth is October 27, 1952, in Johnstown, PA, USA. Pete Vuckovich was the playing name; the full given name is Peter Dennis.
Across 286 games (186 starts), Vuckovich recorded 93 wins against 69 losses with a 3.66 ERA. Vuckovich had 882 strikeouts, 38 complete games, 8 shutouts, and 10 saves. Vuckovich's 3.66 ERA was close to the 3.82 league figure for those seasons. No season topped the 18 wins of 1982. Vuckovich struck out 149 batters in 1978, a career high. 1978 was Vuckovich's sharpest full season, a 2.54 ERA against the league's 3.69.
Frequently Asked Questions about Pete Vuckovich
- What years did Pete Vuckovich play?
- Pete Vuckovich played in Major League Baseball from 1975 to 1986.
- Was Pete Vuckovich a pitcher?
- Yes. Pete Vuckovich pitched in the major leagues, recording 93 wins and 882 strikeouts.
- How many home runs did Pete Vuckovich hit?
- Pete Vuckovich hit 0 career home runs with 33 hits.
- What teams did Pete Vuckovich play for?
- Pete Vuckovich played for 4 teams: the Chicago White Sox (1975–1976), the Toronto Blue Jays (1977), the St. Louis Cardinals (1978–1980), and the Milwaukee Brewers (1981–1983, 1985–1986).
- How many Cy Young Awards did Pete Vuckovich win?
- Pete Vuckovich won 1 Cy Young Award, in 1982.
- What awards did Pete Vuckovich win?
- Pete Vuckovich won the Cy Young Award (1982).
- What were Pete Vuckovich's career stats?
- In 286 games, Pete Vuckovich went 93-69 with a 3.66 ERA, 882 strikeouts, 1,455.1 innings pitched, and 10 saves. At the plate he had 33 hits and 0 home runs.
- How much did Pete Vuckovich earn in his career?
- Pete Vuckovich's recorded salaries total $540,000 over 1 season, in 1985. This total is partial: the salary data covers 1985 to 2016, and Vuckovich's career ran from 1975 to 1986. His seasons before 1985 are not included, and no salary is recorded for 1986.
- What was Pete Vuckovich's salary?
- Pete Vuckovich's recorded salary was $540,000 in 1985.
- What position did Pete Vuckovich play?
- Pete Vuckovich played primarily as a pitcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.
- How tall was Pete Vuckovich and how much did he weigh?
- Pete Vuckovich was listed at 6 feet 4 inches and 215 pounds.
- What was Pete Vuckovich's career ERA?
- Pete Vuckovich finished with a 3.66 career ERA, going 93-69 with 882 strikeouts.
- How many strikeouts did Pete Vuckovich have?
- Pete Vuckovich recorded 882 career strikeouts.
- Is Pete Vuckovich in the Hall of Fame?
- No. Pete Vuckovich has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.