What years did Wilbur Wood play?

Wilbur Wood played in Major League Baseball from 1961 to 1978.

Was Wilbur Wood a pitcher?

Yes. Wilbur Wood pitched in the major leagues, recording 164 wins and 1411 strikeouts.

How many home runs did Wilbur Wood hit?

Wilbur Wood hit 0 career home runs with 27 hits.

What teams did Wilbur Wood play for?

Wilbur Wood played for 3 teams: the Boston Red Sox (1961–1964), the Pittsburgh Pirates (1964–1965), and the Chicago White Sox (1967–1978).

Did Wilbur Wood win a Cy Young Award?

No. Wilbur Wood did not win the Cy Young Award.

What awards did Wilbur Wood win?

Wilbur Wood was selected to 3 All-Star Games.

What were Wilbur Wood's career stats?

In 651 games, Wilbur Wood went 164-156 with a 3.24 ERA, 1,411 strikeouts, 2,684.0 innings pitched, and 57 saves. At the plate he had 27 hits and 0 home runs.

What position did Wilbur Wood play?

Wilbur Wood played primarily as a pitcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.

How tall was Wilbur Wood and how much did he weigh?

Wilbur Wood was listed at 6 feet and 180 pounds.

What was Wilbur Wood's career ERA?

Wilbur Wood finished with a 3.24 career ERA, going 164-156 with 1,411 strikeouts.

How many strikeouts did Wilbur Wood have?

Wilbur Wood recorded 1,411 career strikeouts.

Is Wilbur Wood in the Hall of Fame?

No. Wilbur Wood has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

How many All-Star Games did Wilbur Wood make?

Wilbur Wood was selected to 3 All-Star Games.

Wilbur Wood

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1961-1978)

Wilbur Wood was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1961 to 1978 for the Boston Red Sox, the Pittsburgh Pirates, and the Chicago White Sox, a span of 18 seasons. Across 651 career appearances, he went 164-156 with a 3.24 ERA, 1,411 strikeouts, and 57 saves. He also batted .084 with 0 home runs. Wilbur Wood was a 3-time All-Star. His career Pitcher PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of pitching impact — is 13865.8.

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 October 17, 2026

W–L 164–156

ERA 3.24

WHIP 1.23

SO 1,411

Pitcher PIV 13865.8

Position: Pitcher
Bats / Throws: R / L
Height / Weight: 6'0" / 180 lb
Born: 10/22/1941 in Cambridge, MA, USA
MLB Debut: 1961-06-30
Last Game: 1978-08-22
Awards: 3× All-Star

Full name: Wilbur Forrester Wood

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Career Pitching Statistics

Wilbur Wood — Career Pitching Statistics
W	L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	SO	ERA	Pitcher PIV
164	156	651	297	114	24	57	2684.0	2,582	965	209	724	1,411	3.24	13865.8

Career ERA 3.24 vs. league average 3.61 across their career seasons — 10.4% better than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Wilbur Wood Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year	Team	Lg	W	L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA	Lg ERA	Pitcher PIV
1961	BOS	AL	0	0	6	1	0	0	0	13.0	14	8	7	7	5.54	4.03 (-38%)	-353.0
1962	BOS	AL	0	0	1	1	0	0	0	7.2	6	3	3	3	3.52	—	0.0
1963	BOS	AL	0	5	25	6	0	0	0	64.2	67	27	13	28	3.76	3.46 (-9%)	-1465.8
1964	BOS	AL	0	0	4	0	0	0	0	5.2	13	11	3	5	17.47	—	0.0
1964	PIT	NL	0	2	3	2	1	0	0	17.1	16	7	11	7	3.63	3.58 (-2%)	-202.2
1965	PIT	NL	1	1	34	1	0	0	0	51.1	44	18	16	29	3.16	3.50 (+10%)	464.6
1967	CHA	AL	4	2	51	8	0	0	4	95.1	95	26	28	47	2.45	3.30 (+26%)	1373.3
1968	CHA	AL	13	12	88	2	0	0	16	159.0	127	33	33	74	1.87	2.98 (+37%)	798.1
1969	CHA	AL	10	11	76	0	0	0	15	119.2	113	40	40	73	3.01	3.61 (+17%)	-496.4
1970	CHA	AL	9	13	77	0	0	0	21	121.2	118	38	36	85	2.81	3.89 (+28%)	2992.5
1971	CHA	AL	22	13	44	42	22	7	1	334.0	272	71	62	210	1.91	3.47 (+45%)	7477.6
1972	CHA	AL	24	17	49	49	20	8	0	376.2	325	105	74	193	2.51	3.26 (+23%)	2823.3
1973	CHA	AL	24	20	49	48	21	4	0	359.1	381	138	91	199	3.46	3.75 (+8%)	5453.9
1974	CHA	AL	20	19	42	42	22	1	0	320.1	305	128	80	169	3.60	3.63 (+1%)	1493.9
1975	CHA	AL	16	20	43	43	14	2	0	291.1	309	133	92	140	4.11	3.71 (-11%)	-541.4
1976	CHA	AL	4	3	7	7	5	1	0	56.1	51	14	11	31	2.24	3.51 (+36%)	1003.1
1977	CHA	AL	7	8	24	18	5	1	0	122.2	139	68	50	42	4.99	4.00 (-25%)	-1784.5
1978	CHA	AL	10	10	28	27	4	0	0	168.0	187	97	74	69	5.20	3.69 (-41%)	-5171.1
Career · 18 seasons			164	156	651	297	114	24	57	2,684.0	2,582	965	724	1,411	3.24	—	13,866

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

Wilbur Wood — Career Batting Statistics
G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	PIV
651	322	11	27	2	0	0	13	1	20	189	.084	.140	.090	.230	-1,983

Career AVG .084 vs. league average .252 across their career seasons — 66.8% below league average.

Career OBP .140 vs. league average .319 across their career seasons — 56.1% below league average.

Career SLG .090 vs. league average .374 across their career seasons — 75.9% below league average.

Career OPS .230 vs. league average .693 across their career seasons — 66.8% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Wilbur Wood Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year	Team	Lg	G	AB	R	H	2B	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	Lg AVG	Lg OBP	Lg SLG	Lg OPS	PIV
1961	BOS	AL	6	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1962	BOS	AL	1	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1963	BOS	AL	25	12	0	0	0	0	0	0	6	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1964	BOS	AL	4	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1964	PIT	NL	3	5	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1965	PIT	NL	34	6	0	0	0	0	0	0	5	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1967	CHA	AL	51	16	0	1	1	1	0	1	11	.062	—	—	—	—	0.0
1968	CHA	AL	88	22	0	2	0	2	0	2	17	.091	—	—	—	—	0.0
1969	CHA	AL	76	15	0	0	0	0	0	0	8	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1970	CHA	AL	77	18	2	2	1	3	0	0	11	.111	—	—	—	—	0.0
1971	CHA	AL	44	96	1	5	0	0	1	11	57	.052	.249 (-79%)	.316 (-53%)	.365 (-86%)	.682 (-70%)	-1012.0
1972	CHA	AL	49	125	8	17	0	7	0	6	65	.136	.243 (-44%)	.310 (-43%)	.353 (-62%)	.664 (-53%)	-971.1
1973	CHA	AL	49	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1974	CHA	AL	42	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1975	CHA	AL	43	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1976	CHA	AL	7	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1977	CHA	AL	24	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1978	CHA	AL	28	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
Career · 18 seasons			651	322	11	27	2	13	1	20	189	.084	—	—	—	—	-1,983

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 (1302 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Wilbur Wood — Batting — Home / Away
Split	G	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	AVG
Home	326	157	9	16	0	6	.102
Away	325	165	2	11	0	7	.067

Pitching — Home / Away

Wilbur Wood — Pitching — Home / Away
Split	G	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
Home	326	1355.2	1327	482	315	696	3.20
Away	325	1328.2	1255	483	409	715	3.27

Last 10 Games — Pitching

Wilbur Wood — Last 10 Games — Pitching
Date	Tm	Opp	Dec	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR
1978-08-22	CHW	KCR	—	2.0	1	0	0	1	0	0
1978-08-10	CHW	TOR	L	7.0	7	5	5	6	3	1
1978-08-04	CHW	DET	L	7.1	8	7	7	6	6	2
1978-07-30	CHW	TEX	—	3.1	7	3	3	0	0	0
1978-07-26	CHW	OAK	L	3.1	8	3	3	0	0	1
1978-07-22	CHW	NYY	L	6.1	9	7	7	4	0	0
1978-07-18	CHW	MIL	L	2.0	5	6	6	2	0	2
1978-07-13	CHW	NYY	W	9.0	6	1	1	1	3	1
1978-07-06	CHW	BOS	—	5.0	8	5	5	2	3	2
1978-07-02	CHW	MIN	W	7.1	6	5	5	3	5	2

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Wilbur Wood — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
P	651	297	84	523	14	26

Season-by-Season Fielding

Wilbur Wood — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year	Team	Pos	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
1961	BOS	P	6	1	2	0	0	0
1962	BOS	P	1	1	0	3	0	0
1963	BOS	P	25	6	2	10	1	0
1964	BOS	P	4	0	0	3	0	0
1964	PIT	P	3	2	1	0	0	0
1965	PIT	P	34	1	2	6	0	0
1967	CHA	P	51	8	7	13	2	2
1968	CHA	P	88	2	7	25	0	1
1969	CHA	P	76	0	5	22	1	0
1970	CHA	P	77	0	7	27	0	3
1971	CHA	P	44	42	11	65	1	3
1972	CHA	P	49	49	9	82	4	8
1973	CHA	P	49	48	9	62	1	3
1974	CHA	P	42	42	8	67	3	1
1975	CHA	P	43	43	8	53	1	3
1976	CHA	P	7	7	1	12	0	0
1977	CHA	P	24	18	3	33	0	1
1978	CHA	P	28	27	2	40	0	1

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Wilbur Wood Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position	Games
Pitcher	651

Awards & Honors

Wilbur Wood — Awards & Honors
Year	Award	Notes
1972	TSN All-Star	LHP
1972	TSN Pitcher of the Year
1968	TSN Fireman of the Year

Award Voting History

Wilbur Wood — Award Voting History
Year	Award	League	Finish	Points Won	Points Max	Votes First
1973	Cy Young Award	AL	5th	3.0	120	0
1972	Cy Young Award	AL	2nd	58.0	120	7
1972	Most Valuable Player	AL	7th	78.0	336	0
1971	Cy Young Award	AL	3rd	23.0	120	1
1971	Most Valuable Player	AL	9th	54.0	336	0
1968	Most Valuable Player	AL	25th	2.0	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

Wilbur Wood (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

Compare Wilbur Wood

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Wilbur Wood: the record in brief

The profile opens with Wilbur Wood's first major league game on June 30, 1961; the last one listed came on August 22, 1978. The team column moves through the Boston Red Sox (1961 to 1964), the Pittsburgh Pirates (1964 to 1965), and the Chicago White Sox (1967 to 1978). Wood played primarily as a pitcher and threw left-handed and batted right-handed. The bio adds a birth date on October 22, 1941, in Cambridge, MA, USA and a listed size of 6 feet, 0 inches and 180 pounds. On the record, Wilbur Wood was born Wilbur Forrester Wood.

The pitching table credits Wood with a 164-156 record and a 3.24 ERA in 651 games. The same table counts 1,411 strikeouts, 114 complete games, 24 shutouts, and 57 saves. That 3.24 ERA compares with a 3.61 league average across the same seasons, 10.4% better. 1972 brought Wood a season-high 24 wins. 1971 produced Wood's most strikeouts, 210. Wood saved 21 games in 1970, the season high.

Frequently Asked Questions about Wilbur Wood

What years did Wilbur Wood play?: Wilbur Wood played in Major League Baseball from 1961 to 1978.
Was Wilbur Wood a pitcher?: Yes. Wilbur Wood pitched in the major leagues, recording 164 wins and 1411 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Wilbur Wood hit?: Wilbur Wood hit 0 career home runs with 27 hits.
What teams did Wilbur Wood play for?: Wilbur Wood played for 3 teams: the Boston Red Sox (1961–1964), the Pittsburgh Pirates (1964–1965), and the Chicago White Sox (1967–1978).
Did Wilbur Wood win a Cy Young Award?: No. Wilbur Wood did not win the Cy Young Award.
What awards did Wilbur Wood win?: Wilbur Wood was selected to 3 All-Star Games.
What were Wilbur Wood's career stats?: In 651 games, Wilbur Wood went 164-156 with a 3.24 ERA, 1,411 strikeouts, 2,684.0 innings pitched, and 57 saves. At the plate he had 27 hits and 0 home runs.
What position did Wilbur Wood play?: Wilbur Wood played primarily as a pitcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.
How tall was Wilbur Wood and how much did he weigh?: Wilbur Wood was listed at 6 feet and 180 pounds.
What was Wilbur Wood's career ERA?: Wilbur Wood finished with a 3.24 career ERA, going 164-156 with 1,411 strikeouts.
How many strikeouts did Wilbur Wood have?: Wilbur Wood recorded 1,411 career strikeouts.
Is Wilbur Wood in the Hall of Fame?: No. Wilbur Wood has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
How many All-Star Games did Wilbur Wood make?: Wilbur Wood was selected to 3 All-Star Games.