Buddy Black

Born: 6/30/1957 in San Mateo, CA, USA

MLB Debut: 1981-09-05 | Final Game: 1995-07-09

Bats: L | Throws: L | Height: 6'2" | Weight: 180 lbs

Full name: Harry Ralston Black

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Biography

Buddy Black was a professional baseball pitcher whose career spanned from 1981 to 1995. Born in 1957, he made his Major League Baseball debut with the Kansas City Royals, where he showcased his skills as a reliable starting pitcher. Over the course of his career, Black compiled a record of 121 wins and 116 losses, with an earned run average (ERA) of 3.84. His ability to strike out batters was notable, as he recorded a total of 1,039 strikeouts. Additionally, Black contributed to his teams with 11 saves, demonstrating versatility in his role on the mound. Throughout the 1980s and early 1990s, Black played for several teams, including the Royals, the Chicago White Sox, and the San Diego Padres. He was known for his competitive spirit and command on the field, which allowed him to thrive during a period defined by powerful hitting and a focus on offensive production. Black's career, while not marked by overwhelming accolades, left a lasting impact on the teams he played for, and he remains a respected figure in baseball history. After retirement, he transitioned into coaching, using his extensive knowledge of the game to mentor future generations of players.

Career Pitching Statistics

W	L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	SO	ERA	Pitcher PIV
121	116	398	296	32	12	11	2053.3	1978	876	217	623	1039	3.84	0

Career ERA 3.84 vs. league average 3.96 across their career seasons — near league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Year	Team	Lg	W	L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA	Lg ERA	Pitcher PIV
1981	SEA	AL	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	1.0	2	0	3	0	0.00	—	0.0
1982	KCR	AL	4	6	22	14	0	0	0	88.3	92	45	34	40	4.58	3.86 (-19%)	-
1983	KCR	AL	10	7	24	24	3	0	0	161.3	159	68	43	58	3.79	3.87 (+2%)	-
1984	KCR	AL	17	12	35	35	8	1	0	257.0	226	89	64	140	3.12	3.81 (+18%)	-
1985	KCR	AL	10	15	33	33	5	2	0	205.7	216	99	59	122	4.33	3.89 (-11%)	-
1986	KCR	AL	5	10	56	4	0	0	9	121.0	100	43	43	68	3.20	3.97 (+19%)	-
1987	KCR	AL	8	6	29	18	0	0	1	122.3	126	49	35	61	3.60	4.29 (+16%)	-
1988	KCR	AL	2	1	17	0	0	0	0	22.0	23	12	11	19	4.91	3.73 (-31%)	-
1988	CLE	AL	2	3	16	7	0	0	1	59.0	59	33	23	44	5.03	3.73 (-35%)	-356.4
1989	CLE	AL	12	11	33	32	6	3	0	222.3	213	83	52	88	3.36	3.71 (+9%)	1193.6
1990	CLE	AL	11	10	29	29	5	2	0	191.0	171	75	58	103	3.53	3.86 (+8%)	3.1
1990	TOR	AL	2	1	3	2	0	0	0	15.7	10	7	3	3	4.02	3.86 (-4%)	-388.8
1991	SFG	NL	12	16	34	34	3	3	0	214.3	201	95	71	104	3.99	3.91 (-2%)	-
1992	SFG	NL	10	12	28	28	2	1	0	177.0	178	78	59	82	3.97	3.75 (-6%)	-
1993	SFG	NL	8	2	16	16	0	0	0	93.7	89	37	33	45	3.56	4.19 (+15%)	-
1994	SFG	NL	4	2	10	10	0	0	0	54.3	50	27	16	28	4.47	4.51 (+1%)	-
1995	CLE	AL	4	2	11	10	0	0	0	47.3	63	36	16	34	6.85	4.45 (-54%)	-510.0

Career Batting Statistics

G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	PIV
400	179	6	26	4	0	0	12	0	4	49	0.145	0.164	0.168	0.332	-1185.0

Career AVG .145 vs. league average .260 across their career seasons — 44.0% below league average.

Career OBP .164 vs. league average .326 across their career seasons — 49.7% below league average.

Career SLG .168 vs. league average .392 across their career seasons — 57.2% below league average.

Career OPS 0.332 vs. league average 0.718 across their career seasons — 53.8% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Year	Team	Lg	G	AB	R	H	2B	RBI	BB	SO	AVG	Lg AVG	Lg OBP	Lg SLG	Lg OPS	PIV
1981	SEA	AL	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1982	KCR	AL	23	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1983	KCR	AL	24	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1984	KCR	AL	35	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1985	KCR	AL	33	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1986	KCR	AL	56	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1987	KCR	AL	29	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1988	KCR	AL	17	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1988	CLE	AL	16	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1989	CLE	AL	33	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1990	CLE	AL	29	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1990	TOR	AL	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1991	SFG	NL	35	71	3	13	3	6	0	20	0.183	.255 (-28%)	.323 (-43%)	.384 (-41%)	.708 (-42%)	-509.0
1992	SFG	NL	28	54	1	3	1	2	2	16	0.056	.255 (-78%)	.322 (-72%)	.377 (-80%)	.699 (-77%)	-676.0
1993	SFG	NL	16	37	2	9	0	3	2	8	0.243	—	—	—	—	0.0
1994	SFG	NL	10	17	0	1	0	1	0	5	0.059	—	—	—	—	0.0
1995	CLE	AL	11	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0

Postseason Statistics

Playoff Career Batting

G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	AVG
6	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0.000

Playoff Batting by Year

Year	Round	Team	G	AB	SO	AVG
1985	ALCS	KCA	3	0	0	.000
1985	WS	KCA	2	1	1	0.000
1984	ALCS	KCA	1	0	0	.000

Playoff Career Pitching

W	L	G	GS	SV	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
0	2	6	3	0	21.0	22	9	10	15	3.86

Playoff Pitching by Year

Year	Round	Team	L	G	GS	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
1985	ALCS	KCA	0	3	1	10.7	11	2	4	8	1.69
1985	WS	KCA	1	2	1	5.3	4	3	5	4	5.06
1984	ALCS	KCA	1	1	1	5.0	7	4	1	3	7.20

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
P	398	296	89	356	13	25

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year	Team	Pos	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
1981	SEA	P	2	0	0	1	0	0
1982	KCA	P	22	14	6	12	1	1
1983	KCA	P	24	24	7	32	1	5
1984	KCA	P	35	35	13	51	2	2
1985	KCA	P	33	33	6	30	4	0
1986	KCA	P	56	4	3	21	0	1
1987	KCA	P	29	18	4	19	0	0
1988	KCA	P	17	0	0	1	0	0
1988	CLE	P	16	7	5	11	0	0
1989	CLE	P	33	32	13	33	2	3
1990	CLE	P	29	29	7	27	1	2
1990	TOR	P	3	2	0	6	0	0
1991	SFN	P	34	34	14	38	0	4
1992	SFN	P	28	28	5	37	0	4
1993	SFN	P	16	16	3	22	2	2
1994	SFN	P	10	10	3	7	0	1
1995	CLE	P	11	10	0	8	0	0

Career Games by Position

Position	Games
Pitcher	398

Awards & Honors

Year	Award	Notes
1984	Player of the Week	Week of 1984-09-21

Salary History

Year	Team	League	Salary
1995	CLE	AL	$350,000
1994	SFN	NL	$3,250,000
1993	SFN	NL	$2,250,000
1992	SFN	NL	$2,750,000
1991	SFN	NL	$1,750,000
1990	CLE	AL	$775,000
1989	CLE	AL	$600,000
1988	KCA	AL	$635,000
1987	KCA	AL	$600,000
1986	KCA	AL	$645,000
1985	KCA	AL	$465,000
Total Career Earnings			$14,070,000