Duke Esper, baseball player, 1890-1898

Duke Esper

Born: 7/28/1867 in Salem, NJ, USA

Died: 8/31/1910 in Philadelphia, PA, USA

MLB Debut: 1890-04-18 | Final Game: 1898-07-12

Throws: L | Height: 5'11" | Weight: 185 lbs

Full name: Charles H. Esper

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Biography

Duke Esper was a professional baseball pitcher who made his mark in Major League Baseball from 1890 until 1898. Born in 1867, Esper played during a transformative period in baseball history, navigating the transition from the deadball era to the more offense-oriented games that would follow. Over the course of his career, he compiled a record of 101 wins and 100 losses, showcasing a competitive spirit and durability on the mound. Esper finished his career with an earned run average (ERA) of 4.39, a statistic that reflects the challenges pitchers faced during his time, when the game was characterized by fewer swings and higher reliance on pitching finesse than sheer power. He struck out a total of 453 batters, demonstrating his ability to overpower hitters when necessary, and he recorded five saves, indicating his versatility as both a starter and a reliever. Duke Esper remains a notable figure in baseball history, representing the skill and resilience of pitchers from the late 19th century.

Career Pitching Statistics

W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
101 100 236 198 152 4 5 1727.7 2048 842 46 669 453 4.39 0

Career ERA 4.39 vs. league average 4.11 across their career seasons — 6.7% 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
1890 PH4 AA 8 9 18 16 14 1 0 143.7 176 78 67 61 4.89 3.88 (-26%) 826.6
1890 PIT NL 0 2 2 2 2 0 0 17.0 18 10 10 9 5.29 3.88 (-36%) 36.2
1890 PHI NL 5 0 5 5 4 0 0 41.0 40 14 16 18 3.07 3.88 (+21%) 370.1
1891 PHI NL 20 15 39 36 25 1 1 296.0 302 117 121 108 3.56 3.52 (-1%) 623.8
1892 PHI NL 11 6 21 18 14 0 1 160.3 171 61 60 45 3.42 3.28 (-4%) 446.3
1892 PIT NL 2 0 3 3 1 0 0 18.3 18 11 12 5 5.40 3.28 (-64%) -261.8
1893 WAS NL 12 28 42 36 34 0 0 334.3 442 175 156 78 4.71 4.66 (-1%) -1520.6
1894 WAS NL 5 10 18 14 7 0 0 116.0 177 96 39 24 7.45 5.33 (-40%) -94.3
1894 BLN NL 10 2 16 9 8 0 2 101.0 107 44 36 25 3.92 5.33 (+26%) 2013.7
1895 BLN NL 10 12 34 25 16 1 1 218.3 248 95 79 39 3.92 4.77 (+18%) 1974.6
1896 BLN NL 14 5 20 18 14 1 0 155.7 168 62 39 19 3.58 4.36 (+18%) 1086.4
1897 STL NL 1 6 8 8 7 0 0 61.3 95 36 12 8 5.28 4.30 (-23%) -
1898 STL NL 3 5 10 8 6 0 0 64.7 86 43 22 14 5.98 3.59 (-67%) -

Career Batting Statistics

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
240 739 87 178 26 9 2 83 3 40 95 0.241 0.284 0.309 0.592 -1871.2

Career AVG .241 vs. league average .275 across their career seasons — 12.3% below league average.

Career OBP .284 vs. league average .345 across their career seasons — 17.9% below league average.

Career SLG .309 vs. league average .369 across their career seasons — 16.4% below league average.

Career OPS 0.592 vs. league average 0.714 across their career seasons — 17.1% below league average.

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
1890 PH4 AA 18 61 11 18 2 2 0 11 1 2 0 0.295 .260 (+13%) .336 (-6%) .351 (+12%) .687 (+3%) -0.5
1890 PIT NL 2 7 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0.143 — — — — -0.5
1890 PHI NL 5 19 2 3 1 0 0 2 0 0 10 0.158 — — — — -0.5
1891 PHI NL 39 123 18 27 4 1 0 9 1 7 19 0.220 .254 (-14%) .331 (-21%) .343 (-22%) .675 (-22%) -459.3
1892 PHI NL 23 70 8 17 2 0 1 11 1 2 18 0.243 .244 (-1%) .316 (-14%) .327 (-4%) .644 (-9%) -107.5
1892 PIT NL 3 9 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 0.000 — — — — -107.5
1893 WAS NL 42 143 15 41 6 3 0 24 0 14 12 0.287 .279 (+3%) .356 (-1%) .379 (-2%) .735 (-1%) -45.9
1894 WAS NL 19 54 7 14 3 1 1 4 0 4 7 0.259 .309 (-16%) .379 (-18%) .435 (-6%) .814 (-12%) -135.2
1894 BLN NL 16 45 9 10 3 1 0 6 0 4 1 0.222 — — — — -135.2
1895 BLN NL 34 90 7 16 2 0 0 2 0 4 12 0.178 .296 (-40%) .361 (-37%) .399 (-50%) .761 (-44%) -705.2
1896 BLN NL 20 66 7 13 3 1 0 5 0 1 8 0.197 .290 (-32%) .354 (-41%) .387 (-30%) .741 (-35%) -417.6
1897 STL NL 8 25 2 8 0 0 0 3 0 1 2 0.320 — — — — 0.0
1898 STL NL 11 27 1 10 0 0 0 5 0 1 2 0.370 — — — — 0.0

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position G GS PO A E DP
OF 2 0 0 1 0 0
P 236 0 67 381 26 8

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1890 PH4 P 18 0 5 34 2 2
1890 PIT P 2 0 5 3 0 0
1890 PHI P 5 0 2 9 1 1
1891 PHI P 39 0 4 67 4 2
1892 PHI OF 1 0 0 1 0 0
1892 PHI P 21 0 7 33 1 1
1892 PIT P 3 0 1 3 0 0
1893 WAS P 42 0 14 79 9 0
1894 WAS OF 1 0 0 0 0 0
1894 WAS P 18 0 5 21 1 1
1894 BLN P 16 0 8 21 0 1
1895 BLN P 34 0 5 43 6 0
1896 BLN P 20 0 4 32 1 0
1897 SLN P 8 0 5 19 0 0
1898 SLN P 10 0 2 17 1 0

Career Games by Position

Position Games
Pitcher 236
Left Field 1
Right Field 1