Rollie Fingers, baseball player, 1968-1985

Rollie Fingers

⭐ Hall of Fame 1992

Born: 8/25/1946 in Steubenville, OH, USA

MLB Debut: 1968-09-15 | Final Game: 1985-09-17

Bats: R | Throws: R | Height: 6'4" | Weight: 190 lbs

Full name: Roland Glen Fingers

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Biography

Rollie Fingers, born in 1946, was a prominent pitcher whose career spanned from 1968 to 1985. Known for his distinctive handlebar mustache and exceptional relief pitching, Fingers played a pivotal role in transforming the role of the closer in Major League Baseball. He finished his career with a record of 114-118 and an impressive earned run average (ERA) of 2.9. Over his 17 seasons, he recorded 1,299 strikeouts and amassed 341 saves, solidifying his status as one of the premier relief pitchers of his time. His effectiveness on the mound helped elevate the importance of the closer position during an era that increasingly valued specialized roles in pitching. Fingers' accolades include being a seven-time All-Star and winning the prestigious Cy Young Award, recognizing him as the best pitcher in his league. He was instrumental in leading the Oakland Athletics to three consecutive World Series titles from 1972 to 1974 and earned World Series MVP honors during this successful run. His contributions to the game were further immortalized with his induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1992. Rollie Fingers' impact on baseball is felt not only in his statistical achievements but also in the way he helped to redefine the expectations and strategies surrounding relief pitching.

Career Pitching Statistics

W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
114 118 944 37 4 2 341 1701.3 1474 549 123 492 1299 2.90 0

Career ERA 2.90 vs. league average 3.69 across their career seasons — 21.3% better 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
1968 OAK AL 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1.3 4 4 1 0 27.00 — 0.0
1969 OAK AL 6 7 60 8 1 1 12 119.0 116 49 41 61 3.71 3.61 (-3%) -1295.8
1970 OAK AL 7 9 45 19 1 0 2 148.0 137 60 48 79 3.65 3.89 (+6%) 608.6
1971 OAK AL 4 6 48 8 2 1 17 129.3 94 43 30 98 2.99 3.47 (+14%) 811.2
1972 OAK AL 11 9 65 0 0 0 21 111.3 85 31 32 113 2.51 3.26 (+23%) 3050.9
1973 OAK AL 7 8 62 2 0 0 22 126.7 107 27 39 110 1.92 3.75 (+49%) 4502.1
1974 OAK AL 9 5 76 0 0 0 18 119.0 104 35 29 95 2.65 3.63 (+27%) 4093.9
1975 OAK AL 10 6 75 0 0 0 24 126.7 95 42 33 115 2.98 3.71 (+20%) 2214.3
1976 OAK AL 13 11 70 0 0 0 20 134.7 118 37 40 113 2.47 3.51 (+30%) 4232.1
1977 SDP NL 8 9 78 0 0 0 35 132.3 123 44 36 113 2.99 4.00 (+25%) -
1978 SDP NL 6 13 67 0 0 0 37 107.3 84 30 29 72 2.52 3.69 (+32%) -
1979 SDP NL 9 9 54 0 0 0 13 83.7 91 42 37 65 4.52 4.00 (-13%) -
1980 SDP NL 11 9 66 0 0 0 23 103.0 101 32 32 69 2.80 3.84 (+27%) -
1981 ATL AL 6 3 47 0 0 0 28 78.0 55 9 13 61 1.04 3.58 (+71%) -
1982 ATL AL 5 6 50 0 0 0 29 79.7 63 23 20 71 2.60 3.86 (+33%) -
1984 ATL AL 1 2 33 0 0 0 23 46.0 38 10 13 40 1.96 3.81 (+49%) -
1985 ATL AL 1 6 47 0 0 0 17 55.3 59 31 19 24 5.04 3.89 (-29%) -

Career Batting Statistics

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
945 180 10 31 3 0 2 9 0 3 45 0.172 0.186 0.222 0.408 0.0

Career AVG .172 vs. league average .256 across their career seasons — 32.7% below league average.

Career OBP .186 vs. league average .322 across their career seasons — 42.3% below league average.

Career SLG .222 vs. league average .377 across their career seasons — 41.1% below league average.

Career OPS 0.408 vs. league average 0.699 across their career seasons — 41.7% 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
1968 OAK AL 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1969 OAK AL 60 25 2 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0.200 — — — — 0.0
1970 OAK AL 45 39 1 4 0 0 1 1 0 2 11 0.103 — — — — 0.0
1971 OAK AL 48 33 4 7 0 0 0 0 0 1 7 0.212 — — — — 0.0
1972 OAK AL 65 19 2 6 0 0 1 2 0 0 3 0.316 — — — — 0.0
1973 OAK AL 62 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0.000 — — — — 0.0
1974 OAK AL 76 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1975 OAK AL 76 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.000 — — — — 0.0
1976 OAK AL 70 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1977 SDP NL 78 20 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 0 9 0.050 — — — — 0.0
1978 SDP NL 67 12 0 2 0 0 0 2 0 0 3 0.167 — — — — 0.0
1979 SDP NL 54 12 1 1 0 0 0 2 0 0 2 0.083 — — — — 0.0
1980 SDP NL 66 18 0 5 3 0 0 0 0 0 5 0.278 — — — — 0.0
1981 ATL AL 47 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1982 ATL AL 50 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1984 ATL AL 33 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1985 ATL AL 47 0 0 0 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
30 7 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 0.143

Playoff Batting by Year

Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1981 AEDIV ML4 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1975 ALCS OAK 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1974 ALCS OAK 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1974 WS OAK 4 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0.000
1973 ALCS OAK 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1973 WS OAK 6 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0.333
1972 ALCS OAK 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.000
1972 WS OAK 6 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.000
1971 ALCS OAK 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000

Playoff Career Pitching

W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
4 4 30 0 9 57.3 50 15 17 45 2.35

Playoff Pitching by Year

Year Round Team W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
1981 AEDIV ML4 1 0 3 0 1 4.7 7 2 1 5 3.86
1975 ALCS OAK 0 1 1 0 0 4.0 5 3 1 3 6.75
1974 ALCS OAK 0 0 2 0 1 3.0 3 1 1 3 3.00
1974 WS OAK 1 0 4 0 2 9.3 8 2 2 6 1.93
1973 ALCS OAK 0 1 3 0 1 4.7 4 1 2 4 1.93
1973 WS OAK 0 1 6 0 2 13.7 13 1 4 8 0.66
1972 ALCS OAK 1 0 3 0 0 5.3 4 1 1 3 1.69
1972 WS OAK 1 1 6 0 2 10.3 4 2 4 11 1.74
1971 ALCS OAK 0 0 2 0 0 2.3 2 2 1 2 7.71

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position G GS PO A E DP
P 944 37 108 253 14 23

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1968 OAK P 1 0 0 0 0 0
1969 OAK P 60 8 9 30 3 3
1970 OAK P 45 19 7 26 2 3
1971 OAK P 48 8 14 24 0 4
1972 OAK P 65 0 7 11 0 1
1973 OAK P 62 2 3 14 1 0
1974 OAK P 76 0 9 21 0 4
1975 OAK P 75 0 8 14 0 2
1976 OAK P 70 0 4 26 1 2
1977 SDN P 78 0 5 19 3 0
1978 SDN P 67 0 14 12 1 1
1979 SDN P 54 0 3 9 1 0
1980 SDN P 66 0 9 11 1 0
1981 ML4 P 47 0 2 13 1 1
1982 ML4 P 50 0 4 10 0 1
1984 ML4 P 33 0 3 3 0 0
1985 ML4 P 47 0 7 10 0 1

Career Games by Position

Position Games
Pitcher 944

Awards & Honors

Year Award Notes
1981 Cy Young Award
1981 Most Valuable Player
1981 Reliever of the Year Award
1981 TSN Fireman of the Year
1980 Reliever of the Year Award
1980 TSN Fireman of the Year
1978 Reliever of the Year Award
1978 TSN Fireman of the Year
1977 Reliever of the Year Award
1977 TSN Fireman of the Year
1976 Player of the Week Week of 1976-07-09
1976 Player of the Week Week of 1976-08-06
1974 World Series MVP

Featured In Rankings

#6
Top 20 Closers of All Time in History of MLB Baseball
Ranked 6 of 20
→

Salary History

Year Team League Salary
1985 ML4 AL $1,065,000
Total Career Earnings $1,065,000

Award Voting History

Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
1982 Most Valuable Player AL 16th 12.0 392 0
1981 Cy Young Award AL 1st 126.0 140 22
1981 Most Valuable Player AL 1st 319.0 392 15
1978 Cy Young Award NL 8th 1.0 120 0
1978 Most Valuable Player NL 14th 16.0 336 0
1977 Most Valuable Player NL 14th 17.0 336 0
1976 Cy Young Award AL 8th 1.0 120 0
1976 Most Valuable Player AL 19th 12.0 336 0
1975 Cy Young Award AL 3rd 25.0 120 2
1975 Most Valuable Player AL 4th 129.0 336 2
1974 Most Valuable Player AL 16th 21.0 336 0