Terry Forster, baseball player, 1971-1986

Terry Forster

Born: 1/14/1952 in Sioux Falls, SD, USA

MLB Debut: 1971-04-11 | Final Game: 1986-10-02

Bats: L | Throws: L | Height: 6'3" | Weight: 200 lbs

Full name: Terry Jay Forster

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Biography

Terry Forster was a professional baseball pitcher whose career spanned from 1971 to 1986. Born in 1952, Forster played in an era characterized by the transition from the end of the deadball era into a time of increasing offensive production in Major League Baseball. Over his 15-season career, he compiled a record of 54-65 and maintained a respectable earned run average (ERA) of 3.23, showcasing his ability to effectively manage games from the mound. Forster was known for his versatility as a reliever, finishing his career with 127 saves and striking out a total of 791 batters. His pitching style relied on a combination of control and the ability to induce ground balls, which allowed him to navigate through various lineups effectively. Throughout his time in the majors, he contributed significantly to the bullpens of several teams, becoming a reliable option in high-leverage situations. Terry Forster's career remains a testament to the evolution of relief pitching in baseball, as he played a pivotal role during a transformative time in the sport.

Career Pitching Statistics

W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
54 65 614 39 5 0 127 1105.7 1034 397 51 457 791 3.23 0

Career ERA 3.23 vs. league average 3.75 across their career seasons — 13.9% 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
1971 CHW AL 2 3 45 3 0 0 1 49.7 46 22 23 48 3.99 3.47 (-15%) -
1972 CHW AL 6 5 62 0 0 0 29 100.0 75 25 44 104 2.25 3.26 (+31%) -
1973 CHW AL 6 11 51 12 4 0 16 172.7 174 62 78 120 3.23 3.75 (+14%) -
1974 CHW AL 7 8 59 1 0 0 24 134.3 120 54 48 105 3.62 3.63 (avg) -
1975 CHW AL 3 3 17 1 0 0 4 37.0 30 9 24 32 2.19 3.71 (+41%) -
1976 CHW AL 2 12 29 16 1 0 1 111.3 126 54 41 70 4.37 3.51 (-24%) -
1977 PIT NL 6 4 33 6 0 0 1 87.3 90 43 32 58 4.43 4.00 (-11%) 841.9
1978 LAD NL 5 4 47 0 0 0 22 65.3 56 14 23 46 1.93 3.69 (+48%) -
1979 LAD NL 1 2 17 0 0 0 2 16.3 18 10 11 8 5.51 4.00 (-38%) -
1980 LAD NL 0 0 9 0 0 0 0 11.7 10 4 4 2 3.09 3.84 (+20%) -
1981 LAD NL 0 1 21 0 0 0 0 30.7 37 14 15 17 4.11 3.58 (-15%) -
1982 LAD NL 5 6 56 0 0 0 3 83.0 66 28 31 52 3.04 3.86 (+21%) -
1983 ATL NL 3 2 56 0 0 0 13 79.3 60 19 31 54 2.16 3.87 (+44%) 1490.0
1984 ATL NL 2 0 25 0 0 0 5 26.7 30 8 7 10 2.70 3.81 (+29%) 347.1
1985 ATL NL 2 3 46 0 0 0 1 59.3 49 15 28 37 2.28 3.89 (+42%) -740.4
1986 LAA AL 4 1 41 0 0 0 5 41.0 47 16 17 28 3.51 3.97 (+12%) -

Career Batting Statistics

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
620 78 7 31 4 1 0 7 1 2 9 0.397 0.412 0.474 0.887 0.0

Career AVG .397 vs. league average .258 across their career seasons — +54.0% above league average.

Career OBP .412 vs. league average .324 across their career seasons — +27.5% above league average.

Career SLG .474 vs. league average .381 across their career seasons — +24.5% above league average.

Career OPS 0.887 vs. league average 0.705 across their career seasons — +25.9% above 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
1971 CHW AL 45 5 1 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0.400 — — — — 0.0
1972 CHW AL 63 19 1 10 0 0 0 3 1 1 2 0.526 — — — — 0.0
1973 CHW AL 53 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.000 — — — — 0.0
1974 CHW AL 59 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1975 CHW AL 17 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1976 CHW AL 29 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1977 PIT NL 36 26 2 9 1 1 0 1 0 0 4 0.346 — — — — 0.0
1978 LAD NL 47 8 1 4 1 0 0 2 0 0 0 0.500 — — — — 0.0
1979 LAD NL 17 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1980 LAD NL 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1981 LAD NL 21 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.000 — — — — 0.0
1982 LAD NL 56 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.000 — — — — 0.0
1983 ATL NL 56 8 1 4 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0.500 — — — — 0.0
1984 ATL NL 25 3 1 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0.667 — — — — 0.0
1985 ATL NL 46 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.000 — — — — 0.0
1986 LAA AL 41 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
8 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000

Playoff Batting by Year

Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1981 NLCS LAN 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1981 NWDIV LAN 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1981 WS LAN 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1978 NLCS LAN 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1978 WS LAN 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000

Playoff Career Pitching

W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
1 0 8 0 0 7.7 7 0 4 9 0.00

Playoff Pitching by Year

Year Round Team W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
1981 NLCS LAN 0 0 1 0 0 0.3 0 0 0 1 0.00
1981 NWDIV LAN 0 0 1 0 0 0.3 0 0 0 0 0.00
1981 WS LAN 0 0 2 0 0 2.0 1 0 3 0 0.00
1978 NLCS LAN 1 0 1 0 0 1.0 1 0 0 2 0.00
1978 WS LAN 0 0 3 0 0 4.0 5 0 1 6 0.00

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position G GS PO A E DP
OF 1 0 0 0 0 0
P 614 39 48 243 15 18

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1971 CHA P 45 3 4 6 0 0
1972 CHA P 62 0 1 21 2 0
1973 CHA P 51 12 8 45 2 8
1974 CHA P 59 1 6 33 1 4
1975 CHA P 17 1 2 14 1 1
1976 CHA P 29 16 5 26 2 0
1977 PIT OF 1 0 0 0 0 0
1977 PIT P 33 6 4 13 1 1
1978 LAN P 47 0 2 10 2 0
1979 LAN P 17 0 1 5 0 0
1980 LAN P 9 0 2 4 1 0
1981 LAN P 21 0 0 11 0 0
1982 LAN P 56 0 4 18 1 0
1983 ATL P 56 0 3 15 1 1
1984 ATL P 25 0 2 4 0 1
1985 ATL P 46 0 2 7 1 0
1986 CAL P 41 0 2 11 0 2

Career Games by Position

Position Games
Pitcher 614
Right Field 1

Awards & Honors

Year Award Notes
1984 Player of the Week Week of 1984-06-01
1974 TSN Fireman of the Year

Salary History

Year Team League Salary
1986 CAL AL $170,000
1985 ATL NL $483,333
Total Career Earnings $653,333