Lewis Wiltse

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1901-1903)

Lewis Wiltse was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1901 to 1903 for 4 teams, including the Pittsburgh Pirates, a span of 3 seasons. Across 68 career appearances, he went 29-31 with a 4.59 ERA and 121 strikeouts. He also batted .278 with 2 home runs. His career PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of offensive impact — is 466.

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 29–31
ERA 4.59
WHIP 1.53
SO 121
Pitcher PIV -4720.8
Position
Pitcher
Bats / Throws
R / L
Born
12/5/1871 in Bouckville, NY, USA
Died
8/26/1928 in Harrisburg, PA, USA
MLB Debut
1901-05-05
Last Game
1903-05-18

Full name: Lewis DeWitt Wiltse

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Career Pitching Statistics

Lewis Wiltse — Career Pitching Statistics
W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
29 31 68 62 54 2 2 537.1 674 274 15 146 121 4.59 -4720.8

Career ERA 4.59 vs. league average 3.25 across their career seasons — 41.1% worse than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Lewis Wiltse — Season-by-Season Pitching
Year Team Lg W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER BB SO ERA Lg ERA Pitcher PIV
1901 PIT NL 1 4 7 5 3 0 0 44.1 57 21 13 10 4.26 3.49 (-22%) -878.7
1901 PHA AL 13 5 19 19 18 2 0 166.0 185 66 35 40 3.58 3.49 (-3%) 885.2
1902 PHA AL 8 8 19 17 13 0 1 138.0 182 79 41 28 5.15 3.17 (-62%) -2587.9
1902 BLA AL 7 11 19 18 18 0 0 164.0 215 93 51 37 5.10 3.17 (-61%) -1810.6
1903 NYA AL 0 3 4 3 2 0 1 25.0 35 15 6 6 5.40 3.10 (-74%) -328.8
Career · 5 seasons 29 31 68 62 54 2 2 537.1 674 274 146 121 4.59 — -4,721

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

Lewis Wiltse — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
86 284 43 79 10 9 2 37 1 13 21 .278 .326 .398 .724 466

Career AVG .278 vs. league average .267 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career OBP .326 vs. league average .322 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career SLG .398 vs. league average .350 across their career seasons — +13.8% above league average.

Career OPS .724 vs. league average .671 across their career seasons — +7.8% above league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Lewis Wiltse — Season-by-Season Batting
Year Team Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG Lg AVG Lg OBP Lg SLG Lg OPS PIV
1901 PIT NL 7 19 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 .158 — — — — 0.0
1901 PHA AL 19 67 18 25 5 3 0 11 0 3 2 .373 .271 (+37%) .326 (+25%) .359 (+49%) .686 (+38%) 0.0
1902 PHA AL 20 57 4 10 0 2 0 2 0 1 4 .175 .266 (-34%) .321 (-29%) .343 (-29%) .665 (-29%) -248.4
1902 BLA AL 36 132 21 39 4 4 2 24 1 9 9 .295 .266 (+11%) .321 (+9%) .343 (+26%) .665 (+17%) -248.4
1903 NYA AL 4 9 0 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .222 — — — — 0.0
Career · 5 seasons 86 284 43 79 10 9 2 37 1 13 21 .278 — — — — -497

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 (154 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Lewis Wiltse — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home451452243125.297
Away411382136112.261

Pitching — Home / Away

Lewis Wiltse — Pitching — Home / Away
SplitGIPHERBBSOERA
Home30238.229310164583.81
Away38298.038117385665.22

Last 10 Games — Batting

Lewis Wiltse — Last 10 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1903-05-18 NYYCLEL 100000000
1903-05-13 NYYDETL 300000000
1903-05-07 NYYBOSL 302100001
1903-05-05 NYYPHAW 200000000
1902-09-29 BLABOSL 401000200
1902-09-27 BLABOSL 400000010
1902-09-27 BLABOSL 412000000
1902-09-24 BLAPHAL 400000000
1902-09-24 BLAPHAL 400000000
1902-09-22 BLAMINW 422000000

Last 10 Games — Pitching

Lewis Wiltse — Last 10 Games — Pitching
DateTmOppDecIPHRERBBSOHR
1903-05-18 NYYCLE L 3.0332200
1903-05-13 NYYDET L 8.01476230
1903-05-07 NYYBOS L 8.01366121
1903-05-05 NYYPHA SV 6.0511110
1902-09-29 BLABOS L 9.01598120
1902-09-24 BLAPHA L 8.2955340
1902-09-22 BLAMIN W 9.0743400
1902-09-18 BLABOS L 8.0852010
1902-09-15 BLAMIN L 10.016119111
1902-09-11 BLAPHA L 8.01698410

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Lewis Wiltse — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
1B 12 0 126 2 6 4
2B 1 0 3 3 0 0
OF 4 0 10 1 0 0
P 68 0 51 143 14 9

Season-by-Season Fielding

Lewis Wiltse — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1901 PIT P 7 0 1 17 0 0
1901 PHA P 19 0 10 51 6 2
1902 PHA P 19 0 17 31 4 3
1902 BLA 1B 12 0 126 2 6 4
1902 BLA 2B 1 0 3 3 0 0
1902 BLA OF 4 0 10 1 0 0
1902 BLA P 19 0 21 38 4 4
1903 NYA P 4 0 2 6 0 0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Lewis Wiltse — Career Games by Position
Position Games
Pitcher 68
First Base 12
Second Base 1
Left Field 1
Center Field 1
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

Lewis Wiltse (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Art Decatur
    23-34, 4.51 ERA
  2. 97
    Jim Sullivan
    26-28, 4.50 ERA
  3. 94
    Dutch Henry
    27-43, 4.39 ERA
  4. 90
    Bert Abbey
    22-40, 4.52 ERA
  5. 78
    Benn Karr
    35-48, 4.60 ERA
  6. 76
    Park Swartzel
    19-27, 4.32 ERA

Lewis Wiltse: the record in brief

May 5, 1901 and May 18, 1903 bracket Lewis Wiltse's time in the majors: the debut and the last game on record. Club by club, the record runs the Pittsburgh Pirates (1901), the Philadelphia Athletics (1901 through 1902), the Baltimore Orioles (1902), and the New York Highlanders (1903). Wiltse is listed as a pitcher. Wiltse hit right-handed while throwing left-handed, per the bio block. Wiltse was born on December 5, 1871, in Bouckville, NY, USA. Wiltse died on August 26, 1928, in Harrisburg, PA, USA. The bio lists the given name Lewis DeWitt.

Wiltse went 29-31 with a 4.59 ERA in 68 games, 62 of them starts. Also on Wiltse's record: 121 strikeouts and 54 complete games. Against a 3.25 league ERA for the same seasons, the 4.59 mark was 41.1% worse. Wiltse won 13 games in 1901, the most of any season listed. Among the heaviest workloads, the lowest ERA was 3.58 in 1901, when the league's was 3.49.

Frequently Asked Questions about Lewis Wiltse

What years did Lewis Wiltse play?
Lewis Wiltse played in Major League Baseball from 1901 to 1903.
Was Lewis Wiltse a pitcher?
Yes. Lewis Wiltse pitched in the major leagues, recording 29 wins and 121 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Lewis Wiltse hit?
Lewis Wiltse hit 2 career home runs with 79 hits.
What teams did Lewis Wiltse play for?
Lewis Wiltse played for 3 teams: the Pittsburgh Pirates (1901), the Philadelphia Athletics (1901–1902), and the New York Highlanders (1902–1903).
What were Lewis Wiltse's career stats?
In 68 games, Lewis Wiltse went 29-31 with a 4.59 ERA, 121 strikeouts, 537.1 innings pitched, and 2 saves. At the plate he had 79 hits and 2 home runs.
What position did Lewis Wiltse play?
Lewis Wiltse played primarily as a pitcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.
What was Lewis Wiltse's career ERA?
Lewis Wiltse finished with a 4.59 career ERA, going 29-31 with 121 strikeouts.
How many strikeouts did Lewis Wiltse have?
Lewis Wiltse recorded 121 career strikeouts.
Is Lewis Wiltse in the Hall of Fame?
No. Lewis Wiltse has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.