Ed Willett

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1906-1915)

Ed Willett was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1906 to 1915 for the Detroit Tigers and the St. Louis Terriers, a span of 10 seasons. Across 274 career appearances, he went 102-99 with a 3.08 ERA and 600 strikeouts. He also batted .199 with 5 home runs.

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 102–99
ERA 3.08
WHIP 1.29
SO 600
Pitcher PIV -9163.5
Position
Pitcher
Bats / Throws
R / R
Height / Weight
6'0" / 183 lb
Born
3/7/1884 in Norfolk, VA, USA
Died
5/10/1934 in Wellington, KS, USA
MLB Debut
1906-09-05
Last Game
1915-09-23

Full name: Robert Edgar Willett

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Career Pitching Statistics

Ed Willett — Career Pitching Statistics
W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
102 99 274 202 142 12 5 1773.1 1,719 606 24 565 600 3.08 -9163.5

Career ERA 3.08 vs. league average 2.86 across their career seasons — 7.5% worse than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Ed Willett Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year Team Lg W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER BB SO ERA Lg ERA Pitcher PIV
1906 DET AL 0 3 3 3 3 0 0 25.0 24 11 8 16 3.96 2.68 (-48%) 238.8
1907 DET AL 1 5 10 6 1 0 0 48.2 47 20 20 27 3.70 2.50 (-48%) 90.5
1908 DET AL 15 8 30 23 18 2 1 197.1 186 50 60 77 2.28 2.40 (+5%) -1021.3
1909 DET AL 21 10 41 34 25 3 1 292.2 239 76 76 89 2.34 2.55 (+8%) -1767.2
1910 DET AL 16 11 37 25 18 4 0 224.1 175 59 74 65 2.37 2.79 (+15%) -1776.7
1911 DET AL 13 14 38 27 15 2 1 231.1 261 94 80 86 3.66 3.37 (-8%) -1064.7
1912 DET AL 17 15 37 31 28 1 0 284.1 281 104 84 89 3.29 3.36 (+2%) -585.8
1913 DET AL 13 14 34 30 19 0 0 242.0 237 83 89 59 3.09 3.07 (-1%) -1747.8
1914 SLF FL 4 16 27 21 14 0 0 175.0 208 82 56 73 4.22 2.93 (-44%) -885.3
1915 SLF FL 2 3 17 2 1 0 2 52.2 61 27 18 19 4.61 2.90 (-59%) -644.0
Career · 10 seasons 102 99 274 202 142 12 5 1,773.1 1,719 606 565 600 3.08 — -9,164

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

Ed Willett — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
279 652 56 130 25 10 5 63 1 26 207 .199 .237 .291 .528 -1,788

Career AVG .199 vs. league average .253 across their career seasons — 21.2% below league average.

Career OBP .237 vs. league average .318 across their career seasons — 25.5% below league average.

Career SLG .291 vs. league average .331 across their career seasons — 12.0% below league average.

Career OPS .528 vs. league average .649 across their career seasons — 18.6% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Ed Willett 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
1906 DET AL 3 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 .000 — — — — 0.0
1907 DET AL 10 13 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 5 .077 — — — — 0.0
1908 DET AL 30 67 4 11 1 0 0 8 0 0 19 .164 .240 (-32%) .298 (-41%) .306 (-42%) .605 (-41%) -380.8
1909 DET AL 42 112 10 22 5 3 0 10 0 3 37 .196 .244 (-20%) .306 (-27%) .312 (-6%) .618 (-16%) -305.6
1910 DET AL 38 83 5 11 3 1 0 4 0 2 31 .133 .249 (-47%) .317 (-43%) .326 (-41%) .644 (-42%) -517.5
1911 DET AL 39 82 15 22 4 3 1 7 1 8 29 .268 .266 (+1%) .336 (-1%) .356 (+20%) .693 (+10%) 101.6
1912 DET AL 37 115 6 19 4 1 2 10 0 4 42 .165 .268 (-39%) .335 (-42%) .358 (-25%) .694 (-33%) -630.7
1913 DET AL 35 92 8 26 4 1 1 13 0 3 23 .283 .259 (+9%) .325 (-4%) .345 (+10%) .670 (+3%) 21.1
1914 SLF FL 28 64 4 15 4 1 1 8 0 2 19 .234 .255 (-8%) .322 (-20%) .339 (+11%) .661 (-4%) -76.4
1915 SLF FL 17 15 3 3 0 0 0 2 0 3 0 .200 — — — — 0.0
Career · 10 seasons 279 652 56 130 25 10 5 63 1 26 207 .199 — — — — -1,788

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

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

Playoff Batting by Year

Ed Willett — Playoff Batting by Year
Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1909 WS DET 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000

Playoff Career Pitching

Ed Willett — Playoff Career Pitching
W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
0 0 2 0 0 7.2 3 0 0 1 0.00

Playoff Pitching by Year

Ed Willett — Playoff Pitching by Year
Year Round Team W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
1909 WS DET 0 0 2 0 0 7.2 3 0 0 1 0.00

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (554 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Ed Willett — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home1403063162333.203
Away1403482568237.195

Pitching — Home / Away

Ed Willett — Pitching — Home / Away
SplitGIPHERBBSOERA
Home139904.28212382683222.37
Away135867.28802583132802.68

Last 10 Games — Batting

Ed Willett — Last 10 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1915-09-23 SLFBLFW 000000000
1915-09-13 SLFNEWL 100000000
1915-09-11 SLFNEWW 000000000
1915-09-06 SLFCHFL 000000000
1915-09-03 SLFPTFL 000000000
1915-08-26 SLFCHFW 310000012
1915-08-23 SLFCHFW 311000100
1915-08-20 SLFBRFL 000000010
1915-08-13 SLFBUFL 000000000
1915-08-01 SLFBUFL 201000200

Last 10 Games — Pitching

Ed Willett — Last 10 Games — Pitching
DateTmOppDecIPHRERBBSOHR
1915-09-23 SLFBLF SV 1.0100020
1915-09-13 SLFNEW — 3.0200020
1915-09-11 SLFNEW SV 1.0333010
1915-09-06 SLFCHF — 0.0133200
1915-09-03 SLFPTF — 2.0000110
1915-08-26 SLFCHF W 9.01365010
1915-08-23 SLFCHF W 6.2411220
1915-08-20 SLFBRF — 4.0310020
1915-08-13 SLFBUF — 2.0422200
1915-08-01 SLFBUF — 6.0200130

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Ed Willett — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
OF 2 2 2 0 0 0
P 274 91 72 695 41 18

Season-by-Season Fielding

Ed Willett — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1906 DET P 3 3 3 9 0 0
1907 DET P 10 6 3 18 1 0
1908 DET P 30 23 14 81 4 3
1909 DET OF 1 1 2 0 0 0
1909 DET P 41 34 13 91 7 2
1910 DET OF 1 1 0 0 0 0
1910 DET P 37 25 6 113 7 2
1911 DET P 38 0 5 84 3 2
1912 DET P 37 0 12 113 7 2
1913 DET P 34 0 8 93 5 3
1914 SLF P 27 0 6 76 4 2
1915 SLF P 17 0 2 17 3 2

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Ed Willett Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position Games
Pitcher 274
Right Field 2

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Ed Willett (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Harry McIntire
    71-117, 3.22 ERA
  2. 97
    Pat Ragan
    77-104, 2.99 ERA
  3. 93
    Jim Tobin
    105-112, 3.44 ERA
  4. 92
    Luther Taylor
    116-106, 2.75 ERA
  5. 91
    Clyde Wright
    100-111, 3.50 ERA
  6. 90
    Otto Hess
    70-90, 2.98 ERA

Ed Willett: the record in brief

Between the debut on September 5, 1906 and the final game on September 23, 1915, Ed Willett built the record summarized on this page. Willett played for the Detroit Tigers (1906 to 1913) and the St. Louis Terriers (1914 to 1915). Willett is listed as a pitcher at 6-foot-0 and 183 pounds. Willett batted and threw right-handed, per the bio block. The recorded birth is March 7, 1884, in Norfolk, VA, USA. Willett's death is recorded on May 10, 1934, in Wellington, KS, USA. Willett's full given name, per the bio, is Robert Edgar Willett.

Willett went 102-99 with a 3.08 ERA in 274 games, 202 of them starts. Willett had 600 strikeouts, 142 complete games, and 12 shutouts. The league ERA over Willett's seasons was 2.86, so the 3.08 figure ran 7.5% worse than average. The best win total was 21, in 1909. In 1908, one of the busiest seasons, Willett posted a 2.28 ERA; the league figure that year was 2.40.

Frequently Asked Questions about Ed Willett

What years did Ed Willett play?
Ed Willett played in Major League Baseball from 1906 to 1915.
Was Ed Willett a pitcher?
Yes. Ed Willett pitched in the major leagues, recording 102 wins and 600 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Ed Willett hit?
Ed Willett hit 5 career home runs with 130 hits.
What teams did Ed Willett play for?
Ed Willett played for 2 teams: the Detroit Tigers (1906–1913) and the St. Louis Terriers (1914–1915).
What were Ed Willett's career stats?
In 274 games, Ed Willett went 102-99 with a 3.08 ERA, 600 strikeouts, 1,773.1 innings pitched, and 5 saves. At the plate he had 130 hits and 5 home runs.
What position did Ed Willett play?
Ed Willett played primarily as a pitcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.
How tall was Ed Willett and how much did he weigh?
Ed Willett was listed at 6 feet and 183 pounds.
What was Ed Willett's career ERA?
Ed Willett finished with a 3.08 career ERA, going 102-99 with 600 strikeouts.
How many strikeouts did Ed Willett have?
Ed Willett recorded 600 career strikeouts.
Is Ed Willett in the Hall of Fame?
No. Ed Willett has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.