Bill Bonham

Born: 10/1/1948 in Glendale, CA, USA

MLB Debut: 1971-04-07 | Final Game: 1980-07-26

Bats: R | Throws: R | Height: 6'3" | Weight: 190 lbs

Full name: William Gordon Bonham

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Biography

Bill Bonham was a professional baseball pitcher born in 1948, who made his mark in Major League Baseball from 1971 until his retirement in 1980. Known for his durability and competitive spirit on the mound, Bonham finished his career with a record of 75 wins and 83 losses, an earned run average (ERA) of 4.01, and a total of 985 strikeouts. He contributed to his teams not only as a starter but also as a reliable option out of the bullpen, accumulating 11 saves throughout his career. Bonham played during a transitional period in baseball, as the game was evolving from the deadball era into a more offensive-minded phase. Despite the challenges of pitching in a time when hitters often dominated, he carved out a respectable career, showcasing a strong work ethic and a tenacious approach to the game. His contributions on the mound left a lasting impression on both fans and teammates, marking him as a noteworthy figure of his era in baseball history.

Career Pitching Statistics

W	L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	SO	ERA	Pitcher PIV
75	83	300	214	27	4	11	1487.3	1512	662	98	636	985	4.01	0

Career ERA 4.01 vs. league average 3.69 across their career seasons — 8.4% worse than 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
1971	CHC	NL	2	1	33	2	0	0	0	60.0	63	31	36	41	4.65	3.47 (-34%)	-
1972	CHC	NL	1	1	19	4	0	0	4	57.7	56	20	25	49	3.12	3.26 (+4%)	-
1973	CHC	NL	7	5	44	15	3	0	6	152.0	126	51	64	121	3.02	3.75 (+19%)	-
1974	CHC	NL	11	22	44	36	10	2	1	242.7	246	104	109	191	3.86	3.63 (-6%)	-
1975	CHC	NL	13	15	38	36	7	2	0	229.3	254	120	109	165	4.71	3.71 (-27%)	-
1976	CHC	NL	9	13	32	31	3	0	0	196.0	215	93	96	110	4.27	3.51 (-22%)	-
1977	CHC	NL	10	13	34	34	1	0	0	214.7	207	104	82	134	4.36	4.00 (-9%)	-
1978	CIN	NL	11	5	23	23	1	0	0	140.3	151	55	50	83	3.53	3.69 (+4%)	1303.2
1979	CIN	NL	9	7	29	29	2	0	0	175.7	173	74	60	78	3.79	4.00 (+5%)	-179.5
1980	CIN	NL	2	1	4	4	0	0	0	19.0	21	10	5	13	4.74	3.84 (-23%)	469.3

Career Batting Statistics

G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	PIV
307	471	37	81	15	1	0	24	0	13	125	0.172	0.195	0.208	0.404	-2521.9

Career AVG .172 vs. league average .257 across their career seasons — 33.2% below league average.

Career OBP .195 vs. league average .324 across their career seasons — 39.6% below league average.

Career SLG .208 vs. league average .377 across their career seasons — 44.9% below league average.

Career OPS 0.404 vs. league average 0.701 across their career seasons — 42.4% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Year	Team	Lg	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	RBI	BB	SO	AVG	Lg AVG	Lg OBP	Lg SLG	Lg OPS	PIV
1971	CHC	NL	33	12	2	2	0	0	0	0	4	0.167	—	—	—	—	0.0
1972	CHC	NL	19	14	3	4	0	0	1	2	3	0.286	—	—	—	—	0.0
1973	CHC	NL	44	43	1	4	0	0	1	0	17	0.093	—	—	—	—	0.0
1974	CHC	NL	48	84	8	12	2	0	4	2	25	0.143	.256 (-44%)	.324 (-50%)	.369 (-55%)	.693 (-52%)	-743.9
1975	CHC	NL	40	82	8	15	1	1	6	1	19	0.183	.257 (-29%)	.327 (-42%)	.374 (-41%)	.701 (-42%)	-593.9
1976	CHC	NL	32	65	6	13	4	0	2	2	15	0.200	.255 (-22%)	.320 (-30%)	.360 (-28%)	.681 (-29%)	-311.7
1977	CHC	NL	35	65	3	15	3	0	3	1	14	0.231	.264 (-13%)	.329 (-26%)	.401 (-31%)	.730 (-29%)	-325.2
1978	CIN	NL	23	43	2	8	3	0	5	4	9	0.186	—	—	—	—	0.0
1979	CIN	NL	29	57	3	8	2	0	2	0	18	0.140	.265 (-47%)	.329 (-57%)	.397 (-56%)	.727 (-57%)	-547.1
1980	CIN	NL	4	6	1	0	0	0	0	1	1	0.000	—	—	—	—	0.0

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
P	300	214	103	297	26	18

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year	Team	Pos	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
1971	CHN	P	33	2	5	13	0	1
1972	CHN	P	19	4	3	9	0	0
1973	CHN	P	44	15	10	40	2	2
1974	CHN	P	44	36	20	54	6	4
1975	CHN	P	38	36	15	37	4	3
1976	CHN	P	32	31	8	32	3	2
1977	CHN	P	34	34	20	43	3	4
1978	CIN	P	23	23	13	35	3	2
1979	CIN	P	29	29	9	31	4	0
1980	CIN	P	4	4	0	3	1	0