Earl Wilson

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1959-1970)

Earl Wilson was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1959 to 1970 for the Boston Red Sox, the Detroit Tigers, and the San Diego Padres, a span of 12 seasons. Across 338 career appearances, he went 121-109 with a 3.69 ERA and 1,452 strikeouts. He also batted .195 with 35 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 121–109
ERA 3.69
WHIP 1.30
SO 1,452
Pitcher PIV -15158.3
Position
Pitcher
Bats / Throws
R / R
Height / Weight
6'3" / 216 lb
Born
10/2/1934 in Ponchatoula, LA, USA
Died
4/23/2005 in Southfield, MI, USA
MLB Debut
1959-07-28
Last Game
1970-09-22

Full name: Earl Lawrence Wilson

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Career Pitching Statistics

Earl Wilson — Career Pitching Statistics
W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
121 109 338 310 69 13 0 2051.2 1,863 842 236 796 1,452 3.69 -15158.3

Career ERA 3.69 vs. league average 3.59 across their career seasons — near league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Earl Wilson Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year Team Lg W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER BB SO ERA Lg ERA Pitcher PIV
1959 BOS AL 1 1 9 4 0 0 0 23.2 21 16 31 17 6.08 3.90 (-56%) -1319.8
1960 BOS AL 3 2 13 9 2 0 0 65.0 61 34 48 40 4.71 3.82 (-23%) -803.5
1962 BOS AL 12 8 31 28 4 1 0 191.1 163 83 111 137 3.90 3.96 (+1%) -2349.5
1963 BOS AL 11 16 37 34 6 3 0 210.2 184 88 105 123 3.76 3.46 (-9%) -2489.1
1964 BOS AL 11 12 33 31 5 0 0 202.1 213 101 73 166 4.49 3.58 (-25%) -4415.1
1965 BOS AL 13 14 36 36 8 1 0 230.2 221 102 77 164 3.98 3.50 (-14%) -989.3
1966 BOS AL 5 5 15 14 5 1 0 100.2 88 43 36 67 3.84 3.52 (-9%) -1618.9
1966 DET AL 13 6 23 23 8 2 0 163.1 126 47 38 133 2.59 3.52 (+26%) 2319.9
1967 DET AL 22 11 39 38 12 0 0 264.0 216 96 92 184 3.27 3.30 (+1%) -3929.8
1968 DET AL 13 12 34 33 10 3 0 224.1 192 71 65 168 2.85 2.98 (+4%) 390.0
1969 DET AL 12 10 35 35 5 1 0 214.2 209 79 69 150 3.31 3.61 (+8%) 497.2
1970 DET AL 4 6 18 16 4 1 0 96.0 87 47 32 74 4.41 3.89 (-13%) -731.1
1970 SDN NL 1 6 15 9 0 0 0 65.0 82 35 19 29 4.85 3.89 (-25%) 280.8
Career · 13 seasons 121 109 338 310 69 13 0 2,051.2 1,863 842 796 1,452 3.69 — -15,158

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

Earl Wilson — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
405 740 95 144 12 6 35 111 0 67 271 .195 .265 .369 .634 -640

Career AVG .195 vs. league average .249 across their career seasons — 21.9% below league average.

Career OBP .265 vs. league average .315 across their career seasons — 16.0% below league average.

Career SLG .369 vs. league average .374 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career OPS .634 vs. league average .690 across their career seasons — 8.1% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Earl Wilson 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
1959 BOS AL 9 8 0 4 2 0 0 4 0 0 1 .500 — — — — 0.0
1960 BOS AL 15 23 3 4 1 0 0 2 0 1 7 .174 — — — — 0.0
1962 BOS AL 35 69 8 12 2 0 3 8 0 5 19 .174 .257 (-33%) .326 (-30%) .393 (-15%) .719 (-22%) -251.6
1963 BOS AL 38 72 5 15 0 3 1 7 0 7 18 .208 .246 (-15%) .308 (-7%) .371 (-10%) .680 (-9%) -97.9
1964 BOS AL 54 73 19 15 4 0 5 13 0 9 22 .205 .250 (-18%) .312 (-6%) .377 (+23%) .690 (+10%) 108.9
1965 BOS AL 47 79 13 14 0 0 6 12 0 13 29 .177 .245 (-28%) .310 (-3%) .371 (+9%) .682 (+3%) 68.9
1966 BOS AL 18 32 7 8 0 0 2 5 0 4 11 .250 — — — — 0.0
1966 DET AL 27 64 13 15 0 2 5 17 0 4 25 .234 .248 (-6%) .309 (-8%) .376 (+41%) .685 (+19%) 0.0
1967 DET AL 52 108 8 20 2 0 4 15 0 8 39 .185 .242 (-24%) .306 (-19%) .357 (-12%) .663 (-15%) -246.0
1968 DET AL 40 88 9 20 0 1 7 17 0 2 35 .227 .236 (-4%) .298 (-15%) .340 (+44%) .638 (+16%) 162.6
1969 DET AL 37 76 6 10 0 0 0 6 0 10 37 .132 .248 (-47%) .320 (-28%) .369 (-64%) .689 (-48%) -540.2
1970 DET AL 18 31 2 6 1 0 1 3 0 2 16 .194 — — — — 0.0
1970 SDN NL 15 17 2 1 0 0 1 2 0 2 12 .059 — — — — 0.0
Career · 13 seasons 405 740 95 144 12 6 35 111 0 67 271 .195 — — — — -795

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

Earl Wilson — Playoff Career Batting
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000

Playoff Batting by Year

Earl Wilson — Playoff Batting by Year
Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1968 WS DET 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000

Playoff Career Pitching

Earl Wilson — Playoff Career Pitching
W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
0 1 1 1 0 4.1 4 3 6 3 6.23

Playoff Pitching by Year

Earl Wilson — Playoff Pitching by Year
Year Round Team W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
1968 WS DET 0 1 1 1 0 4.1 4 3 6 3 6.23

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (743 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Earl Wilson — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home20634747731753.210
Away19939248711858.181

Pitching — Home / Away

Earl Wilson — Pitching — Home / Away
SplitGIPHERBBSOERA
Home1691040.19384324017883.74
Away1691011.19244103956653.65

Last 10 Games — Batting

Earl Wilson — Last 10 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1970-09-22 SDPATLL 000000000
1970-09-17 SDPSFGL 000000000
1970-09-14 SDPLADL 100000001
1970-09-09 SDPATLW 111001200
1970-09-07 SDPHOUL 000000010
1970-09-05 SDPCINL 000000000
1970-08-27 SDPCHCL 100000001
1970-08-21 SDPSTLL 100000001
1970-08-15 SDPPITL 200000002
1970-08-11 SDPSTLL 310000001

Last 10 Games — Pitching

Earl Wilson — Last 10 Games — Pitching
DateTmOppDecIPHRERBBSOHR
1970-09-22 SDPATL L 1.0322110
1970-09-17 SDPSFG — 2.0100020
1970-09-14 SDPLAD — 3.2622110
1970-09-09 SDPATL W 4.0400010
1970-09-07 SDPHOU — 3.2000310
1970-09-05 SDPCIN — 1.0000010
1970-08-27 SDPCHC L 6.0944140
1970-08-21 SDPSTL L 4.1733300
1970-08-15 SDPPIT L 5.21277132
1970-08-11 SDPSTL — 6.2933130

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Earl Wilson — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
P 338 310 183 295 28 19

Season-by-Season Fielding

Earl Wilson — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1959 BOS P 9 4 2 5 1 0
1960 BOS P 13 9 6 10 1 1
1962 BOS P 31 28 19 22 3 2
1963 BOS P 37 34 17 36 3 1
1964 BOS P 33 31 14 29 2 0
1965 BOS P 36 36 24 26 3 2
1966 BOS P 15 14 12 12 2 2
1966 DET P 23 23 22 27 3 2
1967 DET P 39 38 26 42 0 2
1968 DET P 34 33 26 30 4 3
1969 DET P 35 35 8 38 4 3
1970 DET P 18 16 5 13 1 1
1970 SDN P 15 9 2 5 1 0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Earl Wilson Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position Games
Pitcher 338

Awards & Honors

Earl Wilson — Awards & Honors
Year Award Notes
1967 TSN All-Star P
1966 TSN All-Star P

Award Voting History

Earl Wilson — Award Voting History
Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
1967 Most Valuable Player AL 12th 20.0 280 0
1966 Most Valuable Player AL 14th 13.0 280 0

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Earl Wilson (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Ray Culp
    122-101, 3.58 ERA
  2. 96
    Pete Harnisch
    111-103, 3.89 ERA
  3. 88
    Ramon Martinez
    135-88, 3.67 ERA
  4. 76
    Mike Boddicker
    134-116, 3.80 ERA
  5. 75
    Bill Singer
    118-127, 3.39 ERA
  6. 73
    Ron Darling
    136-116, 3.87 ERA

Earl Wilson: the record in brief

The profile opens with Earl Wilson's first major league game on July 28, 1959; the last one listed came on September 22, 1970. The team column moves through the Boston Red Sox (1959 through 1966), the Detroit Tigers (1966 to 1970), and the San Diego Padres (1970). Wilson played primarily as a pitcher and both batted and threw right-handed. The bio adds a birth date on October 2, 1934, in Ponchatoula, LA, USA and a listed size of 216 pounds on a 6-foot-3 frame. The bio records the death on April 23, 2005, in Southfield, MI, USA. Wilson's full given name, per the bio, is Earl Lawrence Wilson.

Across 338 games (310 starts), Wilson recorded 121 wins against 109 losses with a 3.69 ERA. The same table counts 1,452 strikeouts, 69 complete games, and 13 shutouts. Wilson's 3.69 ERA was close to the 3.59 league figure for those seasons. Wilson won 22 games in 1967, the most of any season listed.

Frequently Asked Questions about Earl Wilson

What years did Earl Wilson play?
Earl Wilson played in Major League Baseball from 1959 to 1970.
Was Earl Wilson a pitcher?
Yes. Earl Wilson pitched in the major leagues, recording 121 wins and 1452 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Earl Wilson hit?
Earl Wilson hit 35 career home runs with 144 hits.
What was Earl Wilson's career batting average?
Earl Wilson batted .195 over his career, with 144 hits in 740 at bats.
How many RBI did Earl Wilson have?
Earl Wilson drove in 111 runs in his career.
What was Earl Wilson's career ERA?
Earl Wilson finished with a 3.69 career ERA, going 121-109 with 1,452 strikeouts.