Rick Waits

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1973-1985)

W–L 79–92
ERA 4.25
WHIP 1.46
SO 659
Pitcher PIV -6260.3
Position
Pitcher
Bats / Throws
L / L
Height / Weight
6'3" / 194 lb
Born
5/15/1952 in Atlanta, GA, USA
MLB Debut
1973-09-17
Last Game
1985-10-06

Full name: Michael Richard Waits

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Career Pitching Statistics

W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
79 92 317 190 47 10 8 1427.0 1,514 674 110 568 659 4.25 -6260.3

Career ERA 4.25 vs. league average 3.80 across their career seasons — 11.8% worse than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

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
1973 TEX AL 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 1.0 1 1 1 0 9.00 — 0.0
1975 CLE AL 6 2 16 7 3 0 1 70.3 57 23 25 34 2.94 3.71 (+21%) 761.5
1976 CLE AL 7 9 26 22 4 2 0 123.7 143 55 54 65 4.00 3.51 (-14%) -349.4
1977 CLE AL 9 7 37 16 1 0 2 135.3 132 60 64 62 3.99 4.00 (avg) -110.4
1978 CLE AL 13 15 34 33 15 2 0 230.3 206 82 86 97 3.20 3.69 (+13%) -603.6
1979 CLE AL 16 13 34 34 8 3 0 231.0 230 114 91 91 4.44 4.00 (-11%) -3691.6
1980 CLE AL 13 14 33 33 9 2 0 224.3 231 111 82 109 4.45 3.84 (-16%) -515.0
1981 CLE AL 8 10 22 21 5 1 0 126.3 173 69 44 51 4.92 3.58 (-37%) 5.6
1982 CLE AL 2 13 25 21 2 0 0 115.0 128 69 57 44 5.40 3.86 (-40%) -3079.2
1983 CLE AL 0 1 8 0 0 0 0 19.7 23 10 9 13 4.58 3.87 (-18%) 200.2
1983 ML4 AL 0 2 10 2 0 0 0 30.0 39 17 11 20 5.10 3.87 (-32%) 692.2
1984 ML4 AL 2 4 47 1 0 0 3 73.0 84 29 24 49 3.58 3.81 (+6%) 282.3
1985 ML4 AL 3 2 24 0 0 0 1 47.0 67 34 20 24 6.51 3.89 (-67%) 147.2
Career · 13 seasons 79 92 317 190 47 10 8 1,427.0 1,514 674 568 659 4.25 — -6,260

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
329 1 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000 .000 .000 .000 0

Career AVG .000 vs. league average .260 across their career seasons — 100.0% below league average.

Career OBP .000 vs. league average .325 across their career seasons — 100.0% below league average.

Career SLG .000 vs. league average .384 across their career seasons — 100.0% below league average.

Career OPS .000 vs. league average .709 across their career seasons — 100.0% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

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
1973 TEX AL 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1975 CLE AL 16 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1976 CLE AL 36 0 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1977 CLE AL 38 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1978 CLE AL 35 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1979 CLE AL 34 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1980 CLE AL 33 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1981 CLE AL 22 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1982 CLE AL 25 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1983 CLE AL 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1983 ML4 AL 10 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1984 ML4 AL 47 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1985 ML4 AL 24 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000 — — — — 0.0
Career · 13 seasons 329 1 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000 — — — — 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 (646 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home16803000—
Away16111000.000

Pitching — Home / Away

SplitGIPHERBBSOERA
Home159750.28013512813434.21
Away158676.17133232873164.30

Last 10 Games — Pitching

DateTmOppDecIPHRERBBSOHR
1985-10-06 MILBOS — 1.0544120
1985-09-28 MILTOR — 2.1300100
1985-09-26 MILBAL — 0.0455100
1985-09-20 MILTOR — 0.0100000
1985-09-10 MILNYY — 2.0100000
1985-09-08 MILKCR — 2.0633020
1985-09-07 MILKCR — 2.0100010
1985-09-04 MILMIN W 3.1411000
1985-09-01 MILCLE — 4.0753141
1985-08-25 MILCLE — 2.1210010

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position G GS PO A E DP
P 317 190 91 252 8 10

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1973 TEX P 1 0 0 0 0 0
1975 CLE P 16 7 5 12 1 1
1976 CLE P 26 22 10 20 2 2
1977 CLE P 37 16 4 24 2 1
1978 CLE P 34 33 19 49 1 1
1979 CLE P 34 34 15 43 0 2
1980 CLE P 33 33 10 30 1 0
1981 CLE P 22 21 12 28 0 2
1982 CLE P 25 21 6 23 0 1
1983 CLE P 8 0 0 3 0 0
1983 ML4 P 10 2 0 4 1 0
1984 ML4 P 47 1 2 12 0 0
1985 ML4 P 24 0 8 4 0 0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Position Games
Pitcher 317
Designated Hitter 10

Awards & Honors

Year Award Notes
1979 Player of the Week Week of 1979-04-06

Salary History

Year Team League Salary
1985 ML4 AL $460,000
Total Career Earnings $460,000

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Rick Waits (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Steve Trout
    88-92, 4.18 ERA
  2. 97
    Ray Scarborough
    80-85, 4.13 ERA
  3. 96
    Bob Weiland
    62-94, 4.24 ERA
  4. 92
    Jack Kramer
    95-103, 4.24 ERA
  5. 90
    George Pipgras
    102-73, 4.09 ERA
  6. 89
    Glen Hobbie
    62-81, 4.20 ERA

Frequently Asked Questions about Rick Waits

What years did Rick Waits play?
Rick Waits played in Major League Baseball from 1973 to 1985.
Was Rick Waits a pitcher?
Yes. Rick Waits pitched in the major leagues, recording 79 wins and 659 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Rick Waits hit?
Rick Waits hit 0 career home runs.