Ted Wills
Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1959-1965)
Ted Wills was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1959 to 1965 for the Boston Red Sox, the Cincinnati Reds, and the Chicago White Sox, a span of 7 seasons. Across 83 career appearances, he went 8-11 with a 5.46 ERA and 133 strikeouts.
- 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
- L / L
- Height / Weight
- 6'2" / 200 lb
- MLB Debut
- 1959-05-24
- Last Game
- 1965-06-12
Full name: Theodore Carl Wills
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1959 | BOS | AL | 2 | 6 | 9 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 56.1 | 68 | 33 | 24 | 24 | 5.27 | 3.90 (-35%) | -1683.3 |
| 1960 | BOS | AL | 1 | 1 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 30.1 | 38 | 25 | 16 | 28 | 7.42 | 3.82 (-94%) | -346.6 |
| 1961 | BOS | AL | 3 | 2 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19.2 | 24 | 13 | 19 | 11 | 5.95 | 4.03 (-48%) | -810.9 |
| 1962 | BOS | AL | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.00 | — | 0.0 |
| 1962 | CIN | NL | 0 | 2 | 26 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 61.0 | 61 | 36 | 23 | 58 | 5.31 | 3.96 (-34%) | -1059.4 |
| 1965 | CHA | AL | 2 | 0 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 19.0 | 17 | 6 | 14 | 12 | 2.84 | 3.50 (+19%) | -708.7 |
| Career · 6 seasons | 8 | 11 | 83 | 13 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 186.1 | 210 | 113 | 97 | 133 | 5.46 | — | -4,609 | ||
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 84 | 44 | 4 | 11 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 14 | .250 | .298 | .318 | .616 | 0 |
Career AVG .250 vs. league average .254 across their career seasons — near league average.
Career OBP .298 vs. league average .322 across their career seasons — 7.6% below league average.
Career SLG .318 vs. league average .388 across their career seasons — 18.1% below league average.
Career OPS .616 vs. league average .711 across their career seasons — 13.3% 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1959 | BOS | AL | 9 | 16 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | .250 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1960 | BOS | AL | 16 | 8 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | .250 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1961 | BOS | AL | 17 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1962 | BOS | AL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1962 | CIN | NL | 26 | 16 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | .312 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1965 | CHA | AL | 15 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| Career · 6 seasons | 84 | 44 | 4 | 11 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 14 | .250 | — | — | — | — | 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 (167 games) →Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).
Batting — Home / Away
| Split | G | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 41 | 22 | 4 | 7 | 0 | 1 | .318 |
| Away | 43 | 22 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | .182 |
Pitching — Home / Away
| Split | G | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 41 | 99.1 | 118 | 65 | 47 | 61 | 5.89 |
| Away | 42 | 87.0 | 92 | 49 | 50 | 72 | 5.07 |
Last 10 Games — Batting
| Date | Tm | Opp | Res | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1965-06-12 | CHW | TEX | L | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1965-06-11 | CHW | TEX | W | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1965-06-06 | CHW | NYY | L | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1965-06-06 | CHW | NYY | L | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1965-05-24 | CHW | DET | L | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1965-05-19 | CHW | KC1 | L | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1965-05-12 | CHW | KC1 | W | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1965-05-09 | CHW | MIN | L | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1965-05-04 | CHW | DET | W | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1965-05-02 | CHW | MIN | L | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Last 10 Games — Pitching
| Date | Tm | Opp | Dec | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1965-06-12 | CHW | TEX | — | 2.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 1965-06-11 | CHW | TEX | — | 0.1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1965-06-06 | CHW | NYY | — | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| 1965-06-06 | CHW | NYY | — | 2.0 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1965-05-24 | CHW | DET | — | 0.1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1965-05-19 | CHW | KC1 | — | 2.0 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1965-05-12 | CHW | KC1 | W | 2.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 1965-05-09 | CHW | MIN | — | 2.0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 1965-05-04 | CHW | DET | W | 3.2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 0 |
| 1965-05-02 | CHW | MIN | — | 0.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Fielding Statistics
Career Fielding Totals by Position
Season-by-Season Fielding
Career Games by Position
Circle size = games played at each position.
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| Pitcher | 83 |
College History
| School Name | City | State | Years Attended |
|---|---|---|---|
| California State University Fresno | Fresno | CA | 1953, 1954 |
Ted Wills: the record in brief
Between the debut on May 24, 1959 and the final game on June 12, 1965, Ted Wills built the record summarized on this page. By club, Wills's seasons break down as the Boston Red Sox (1959 through 1962), the Cincinnati Reds (1962), and the Chicago White Sox (1965). The bio lists Wills as a pitcher who both batted and threw left-handed. Wills is listed at 6-foot-2 and 200 pounds. Wills was born on February 9, 1934, in Fresno, CA, USA. Wills's full given name, per the bio, is Theodore Carl Wills.
Wills went 8-11 with a 5.46 ERA in 83 games, 13 of them starts. The totals include 133 strikeouts. Against a 3.83 league ERA for the same seasons, the 5.46 mark was 42.4% worse. 1962 produced Wills's most strikeouts, 58. 1959 was Wills's sharpest full season, a 5.27 ERA against the league's 3.90.
Every defensive appearance on record for Wills, 83 games, came at pitcher. On the mound, the fielding record shows 4 errors alongside 7 putouts and 34 assists.
Frequently Asked Questions about Ted Wills
- What years did Ted Wills play?
- Ted Wills played in Major League Baseball from 1959 to 1965.
- Was Ted Wills a pitcher?
- Yes. Ted Wills pitched in the major leagues, recording 8 wins and 133 strikeouts.
- How many home runs did Ted Wills hit?
- Ted Wills hit 0 career home runs with 11 hits.
- What was Ted Wills's career batting average?
- Ted Wills batted .250 over his career, with 11 hits in 44 at bats.
- How many RBI did Ted Wills have?
- Ted Wills drove in 1 runs in his career.
- What was Ted Wills's career ERA?
- Ted Wills finished with a 5.46 career ERA, going 8-11 with 133 strikeouts.