Bob Forsch

Born: 1/13/1950 in Sacramento, CA, USA

Died: 11/3/2011 in Weeki Wachee, FL, USA

MLB Debut: 1974-07-07 | Final Game: 1989-09-25

Bats: R | Throws: R | Height: 6'4" | Weight: 200 lbs

Full name: Robert Herbert Forsch

📊 Compare This Player 📈 View Career Timeline

Biography

Bob Forsch was a talented pitcher whose career spanned from 1974 to 1989, leaving a significant mark on Major League Baseball during a competitive era characterized by evolving offensive strategies. Born in 1950, Forsch made his debut with the St. Louis Cardinals, where he would spend the majority of his career. Known for his durability and consistency on the mound, he finished his career with a record of 168-136 and an earned run average (ERA) of 3.76, underscoring his effectiveness as a starting pitcher. Forsch was recognized for his ability to generate strikeouts, amassing a total of 1,133 during his time in the league. His pitching style combined a strong fastball with an effective curveball, allowing him to adapt to the changing dynamics of the game throughout his career. Additionally, he contributed to his teams with three saves, showcasing his versatility as both a starter and a reliever. Bob Forsch remains notable not only for his individual accomplishments but also for his contributions to the Cardinals' success during a transformative period in baseball history.

Career Pitching Statistics

W	L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	SO	ERA	Pitcher PIV
168	136	498	422	67	19	3	2794.7	2777	1169	216	832	1133	3.76	0

Career ERA 3.76 vs. league average 3.83 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
1974	STL	NL	7	4	19	14	5	2	0	100.0	84	33	34	39	2.97	3.63 (+18%)	-
1975	STL	NL	15	10	34	34	7	4	0	230.0	213	73	70	108	2.86	3.71 (+23%)	-
1976	STL	NL	8	10	33	32	2	0	0	194.0	209	85	71	76	3.94	3.51 (-12%)	-
1977	STL	NL	20	7	35	35	8	2	0	217.3	210	84	69	95	3.48	4.00 (+13%)	-
1978	STL	NL	11	17	34	34	7	3	0	233.7	205	96	97	114	3.70	3.69 (avg)	-
1979	STL	NL	11	11	33	32	7	1	0	218.7	215	93	52	92	3.83	4.00 (+4%)	-
1980	STL	NL	11	10	31	31	8	0	0	214.7	225	90	33	87	3.77	3.84 (+2%)	-
1981	STL	NL	10	5	20	20	1	0	0	124.3	106	44	29	41	3.18	3.58 (+11%)	-
1982	STL	NL	15	9	36	34	6	2	1	233.0	238	90	54	69	3.48	3.86 (+10%)	-
1983	STL	NL	10	12	34	30	6	2	0	187.0	190	89	54	56	4.28	3.87 (-11%)	-
1984	STL	NL	2	5	16	11	1	0	0	52.3	64	35	19	21	6.02	3.81 (-58%)	-
1985	STL	NL	9	6	34	19	3	1	2	136.0	132	59	47	48	3.90	3.89 (avg)	-
1986	STL	NL	14	10	33	33	3	0	0	230.0	211	83	68	104	3.25	3.97 (+18%)	-
1987	STL	NL	11	7	33	30	2	1	0	179.0	189	86	45	89	4.32	4.29 (-1%)	-
1988	STL	NL	9	4	30	12	1	1	0	108.7	111	45	38	40	3.73	3.73 (avg)	-
1988	HOU	NL	1	4	6	6	0	0	0	27.7	42	20	6	14	6.51	3.73 (-74%)	117.9
1989	HOU	NL	4	5	37	15	0	0	0	108.3	133	64	46	40	5.32	3.71 (-43%)	-2258.2

Career Batting Statistics

G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	PIV
509	893	77	190	45	8	12	84	3	27	249	0.213	0.235	0.321	0.557	-2607.4

Career AVG .213 vs. league average .259 across their career seasons — 17.9% below league average.

Career OBP .235 vs. league average .325 across their career seasons — 27.5% below league average.

Career SLG .321 vs. league average .385 across their career seasons — 16.6% below league average.

Career OPS 0.557 vs. league average 0.710 across their career seasons — 21.6% 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
1974	STL	NL	20	29	1	7	1	0	0	1	1	2	11	0.241	—	—	—	—	0.0
1975	STL	NL	35	78	9	24	3	3	1	5	0	3	20	0.308	.257 (+19%)	.327 (+4%)	.374 (+23%)	.701 (+14%)	152.3
1976	STL	NL	35	62	6	11	2	0	1	5	0	1	17	0.177	.255 (-31%)	.320 (-41%)	.360 (-29%)	.681 (-34%)	-354.2
1977	STL	NL	35	72	6	12	4	0	0	4	0	2	29	0.167	.264 (-37%)	.329 (-43%)	.401 (-45%)	.730 (-44%)	-545.9
1978	STL	NL	34	83	2	15	7	0	1	8	0	1	26	0.181	.257 (-30%)	.323 (-41%)	.378 (-20%)	.702 (-30%)	-441.9
1979	STL	NL	33	73	7	8	2	2	0	5	0	5	17	0.110	.265 (-59%)	.329 (-51%)	.397 (-52%)	.727 (-51%)	-684.2
1980	STL	NL	32	78	11	23	5	0	3	10	1	2	18	0.295	.264 (+11%)	.326 (-4%)	.387 (+22%)	.714 (+10%)	104.9
1981	STL	NL	20	41	0	5	1	0	0	3	0	1	10	0.122	—	—	—	—	0.0
1982	STL	NL	36	73	7	15	3	1	0	3	0	3	20	0.205	.261 (-21%)	.324 (-27%)	.388 (-30%)	.712 (-28%)	-358.1
1983	STL	NL	37	54	4	13	3	0	1	6	0	3	14	0.241	.260 (-8%)	.324 (-17%)	.389 (-10%)	.714 (-13%)	-143.2
1984	STL	NL	16	16	1	4	1	0	0	3	0	0	3	0.250	—	—	—	—	0.0
1985	STL	NL	34	45	3	11	2	1	1	4	0	0	10	0.244	—	—	—	—	0.0
1986	STL	NL	34	76	7	13	4	1	2	12	0	0	24	0.171	.257 (-34%)	.325 (-48%)	.395 (-17%)	.720 (-31%)	-445.2
1987	STL	NL	34	57	9	17	6	0	2	8	0	3	17	0.298	.262 (+13%)	.331 (+1%)	.415 (+22%)	.746 (+13%)	108.2
1988	STL	NL	31	25	3	7	0	0	0	2	1	1	6	0.280	—	—	—	—	0.0
1988	HOU	NL	6	7	0	1	1	0	0	3	0	0	1	0.143	—	—	—	—	0.0
1989	HOU	NL	37	24	1	4	0	0	0	2	0	0	6	0.167	—	—	—	—	0.0

Postseason Statistics

Playoff Career Batting

G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	AVG
12	5	1	2	0	0	0	1	0	0	0.400

Playoff Batting by Year

Year	Round	Team	G	AB	R	H	RBI	AVG
1987	NLCS	SLN	3	0	0	0	0	.000
1987	WS	SLN	3	2	0	0	0	0.000
1985	NLCS	SLN	1	0	0	0	0	.000
1985	WS	SLN	2	0	0	0	0	.000
1982	NLCS	SLN	1	3	1	2	1	0.667
1982	WS	SLN	2	0	0	0	0	.000

Playoff Career Pitching

W	L	G	GS	SV	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
3	4	12	5	0	37.3	42	24	12	19	5.79

Playoff Pitching by Year

Year	Round	Team	W	L	G	GS	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
1987	NLCS	SLN	1	1	3	0	3.0	4	4	1	3	12.00
1987	WS	SLN	1	0	3	0	6.3	8	7	5	3	9.95
1985	NLCS	SLN	0	0	1	1	3.3	3	2	2	0	5.40
1985	WS	SLN	0	1	2	1	3.0	6	4	1	3	12.00
1982	NLCS	SLN	1	0	1	1	9.0	3	0	0	6	0.00
1982	WS	SLN	0	2	2	2	12.7	18	7	3	4	4.97

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
P	498	422	234	405	18	35

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year	Team	Pos	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
1974	SLN	P	19	14	10	13	0	0
1975	SLN	P	34	34	18	37	1	7
1976	SLN	P	33	32	24	28	4	2
1977	SLN	P	35	35	12	29	2	2
1978	SLN	P	34	34	18	37	0	4
1979	SLN	P	33	32	25	31	1	3
1980	SLN	P	31	31	11	44	2	5
1981	SLN	P	20	20	14	20	0	1
1982	SLN	P	36	34	21	30	2	1
1983	SLN	P	34	30	14	29	1	1
1984	SLN	P	16	11	8	8	0	0
1985	SLN	P	34	19	12	20	1	0
1986	SLN	P	33	33	17	32	0	5
1987	SLN	P	33	30	9	25	0	2
1988	SLN	P	30	12	7	10	3	1
1988	HOU	P	6	6	1	3	0	0
1989	HOU	P	37	15	13	9	1	1