Catfish Hunter, baseball player, 1965-1979

Catfish Hunter

⭐ Hall of Fame 1987

Born: 4/8/1946 in Hertford, NC, USA

Died: 9/9/1999 in Hertford, NC, USA

MLB Debut: 1965-05-13 | Final Game: 1979-09-17

Bats: R | Throws: R | Height: 6'0" | Weight: 190 lbs

Full name: James Augustus Hunter

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Biography

Catfish Hunter was a renowned pitcher in Major League Baseball, celebrated for his exceptional skill and competitive spirit during his career from 1965 to 1979. Born in 1946, Hunter made a significant impact in the game, finishing with a career record of 224 wins and 166 losses, alongside an impressive earned run average (ERA) of 3.26. Over the course of his career, he recorded 2,012 strikeouts and contributed with a single save, showcasing his versatility on the mound. Hunter was a prominent figure in the American League, earning All-Star selections eight times and capturing the coveted Cy Young Award, which solidified his status as one of the premier pitchers of his era. Inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1987, Hunter's legacy is further underscored by his role in the Oakland Athletics' dynasty during the 1970s, where he played a pivotal part in leading the team to three consecutive World Series titles from 1972 to 1974. Known for his powerful fastball and sharp breaking pitches, he was a dominant force in an era that saw the rise of free agency and the evolution of pitching strategies. Catfish Hunter's contributions to the game and his remarkable achievements left an indelible mark on baseball history, earning him a revered place among the sport's legends.

Career Pitching Statistics

W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
224 166 500 476 181 42 1 3449.3 2958 1248 374 954 2012 3.26 0

Career ERA 3.26 vs. league average 3.61 across their career seasons — 9.7% 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
1965 KC1 AL 8 8 32 20 3 2 0 133.0 124 63 46 82 4.26 3.50 (-22%) -3144.9
1966 KC1 AL 9 11 30 25 4 0 0 176.7 158 79 64 103 4.02 3.52 (-14%) -1097.1
1967 KC1 AL 13 17 35 35 13 5 0 259.7 209 81 84 196 2.81 3.30 (+15%) 3278.6
1968 OAK AL 13 13 36 34 11 2 1 234.0 210 87 69 172 3.35 2.98 (-12%) -2943.1
1969 OAK AL 12 15 38 35 10 3 0 247.0 210 92 85 150 3.35 3.61 (+7%) -3658.2
1970 OAK AL 18 14 40 40 9 1 0 262.3 253 111 74 178 3.81 3.89 (+2%) 480.9
1971 OAK AL 21 11 37 37 16 4 0 273.7 225 90 80 181 2.96 3.47 (+15%) 989.7
1972 OAK AL 21 7 38 37 16 5 0 295.3 200 67 70 191 2.04 3.26 (+37%) 3857.4
1973 OAK AL 21 5 36 36 11 3 0 256.3 222 95 69 124 3.34 3.75 (+11%) -4380.4
1974 OAK AL 25 12 41 41 23 6 0 318.3 268 88 46 143 2.49 3.63 (+31%) 3861.5
1975 NYY AL 23 14 39 39 30 7 0 328.0 248 94 83 177 2.58 3.71 (+30%) -
1976 NYY AL 17 15 36 36 21 2 0 298.7 268 117 68 173 3.53 3.51 (avg) -
1977 NYY AL 9 9 22 22 8 1 0 143.3 137 75 47 52 4.71 4.00 (-18%) -
1978 NYY AL 12 6 21 20 5 1 0 118.0 98 47 35 56 3.58 3.69 (+3%) -
1979 NYY AL 2 9 19 19 1 0 0 105.0 128 62 34 34 5.31 4.00 (-33%) -

Career Batting Statistics

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
515 658 60 149 16 3 6 51 2 8 160 0.226 0.234 0.287 0.521 -2288.3

Career AVG .226 vs. league average .253 across their career seasons — 10.4% below league average.

Career OBP .234 vs. league average .319 across their career seasons — 26.7% below league average.

Career SLG .287 vs. league average .373 across their career seasons — 23.0% below league average.

Career OPS 0.521 vs. league average 0.692 across their career seasons — 24.7% 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
1965 KC1 AL 32 40 3 6 1 0 0 1 0 0 14 0.150 — — — — 0.0
1966 KC1 AL 30 59 5 9 1 1 0 4 1 3 21 0.153 .248 (-39%) .309 (-37%) .376 (-46%) .685 (-42%) -403.3
1967 KC1 AL 37 92 9 18 4 0 2 6 0 0 32 0.196 .242 (-19%) .306 (-36%) .357 (-15%) .663 (-25%) -388.7
1968 OAK AL 39 82 9 19 3 0 1 8 0 0 19 0.232 .236 (-2%) .298 (-22%) .340 (-10%) .638 (-16%) -225.4
1969 OAK AL 42 85 5 19 2 0 1 9 0 1 24 0.224 .248 (-10%) .320 (-29%) .369 (-24%) .689 (-26%) -403.0
1970 OAK AL 43 90 10 18 4 1 1 6 0 2 23 0.200 .253 (-21%) .325 (-34%) .385 (-22%) .711 (-28%) -462.5
1971 OAK AL 38 103 14 36 1 1 1 12 1 2 11 0.350 .249 (+40%) .316 (+14%) .365 (+12%) .682 (+13%) 196.5
1972 OAK AL 39 105 5 23 0 0 0 5 0 0 16 0.219 .243 (-10%) .310 (-31%) .353 (-38%) .664 (-35%) -601.8
1973 OAK AL 37 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.000 — — — — 0.0
1974 OAK AL 41 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1975 NYY AL 39 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1976 NYY AL 36 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.000 — — — — 0.0
1977 NYY AL 22 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1978 NYY AL 21 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1979 NYY AL 19 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
22 21 0 2 0 0 0 1 2 9 0.095

Playoff Batting by Year

Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1978 ALCS NYA 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1978 WS NYA 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1977 WS NYA 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1976 ALCS NYA 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1976 WS NYA 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 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0.000
1973 ALCS OAK 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1973 WS OAK 2 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0.000
1972 ALCS OAK 2 6 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 0.167
1972 WS OAK 3 5 0 1 0 0 0 1 2 1 0.200
1971 ALCS OAK 1 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0.000

Playoff Career Pitching

W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
9 6 22 19 1 132.3 114 48 35 70 3.26

Playoff Pitching by Year

Year Round Team W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
1978 ALCS NYA 0 0 1 1 0 6.0 7 3 3 5 4.50
1978 WS NYA 1 1 2 2 0 13.0 13 6 1 5 4.15
1977 WS NYA 0 1 2 1 0 4.3 6 5 0 1 10.38
1976 ALCS NYA 1 1 2 2 0 12.0 10 6 1 5 4.50
1976 WS NYA 0 1 1 1 0 8.7 10 3 4 5 3.12
1974 ALCS OAK 1 1 2 2 0 11.7 11 6 2 6 4.63
1974 WS OAK 1 0 2 1 1 7.7 5 1 2 5 1.17
1973 ALCS OAK 2 0 2 2 0 16.3 12 3 5 6 1.65
1973 WS OAK 1 0 2 2 0 13.3 11 3 4 6 2.02
1972 ALCS OAK 0 0 2 2 0 15.3 10 2 5 9 1.17
1972 WS OAK 2 0 3 2 0 16.0 12 5 6 11 2.81
1971 ALCS OAK 0 1 1 1 0 8.0 7 5 2 6 5.62

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position G GS PO A E DP
1B 1 0 0 0 0 0
P 500 476 225 319 23 16

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1965 KC1 P 32 20 4 16 2 1
1966 KC1 P 30 25 10 14 3 1
1967 KC1 1B 1 0 0 0 0 0
1967 KC1 P 35 35 15 16 1 1
1968 OAK P 36 34 16 20 4 0
1969 OAK P 38 35 17 32 0 4
1970 OAK P 40 40 17 24 1 3
1971 OAK P 37 37 15 26 0 1
1972 OAK P 38 37 23 30 2 1
1973 OAK P 36 36 11 24 1 0
1974 OAK P 41 41 25 27 3 1
1975 NYA P 39 39 23 26 3 0
1976 NYA P 36 36 24 30 2 2
1977 NYA P 22 22 4 11 0 1
1978 NYA P 21 20 11 13 0 0
1979 NYA P 19 19 10 10 1 0

Career Games by Position

Position Games
Pitcher 500
First Base 1

Awards & Honors

Year Award Notes
1978 Player of the Week Week of 1978-08-04
1975 Player of the Week Week of 1975-09-05
1974 Cy Young Award
1974 TSN All-Star RHP
1974 TSN Pitcher of the Year

Award Voting History

Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
1975 Cy Young Award AL 2nd 74.0 120 7
1975 Most Valuable Player AL 12th 31.0 336 0
1974 Cy Young Award AL 1st 90.0 120 12
1974 Most Valuable Player AL 6th 107.0 336 1
1973 Cy Young Award AL 3rd 52.0 120 1
1973 Most Valuable Player AL 10th 47.0 336 0
1972 Cy Young Award AL 4th 26.0 120 2
1972 Most Valuable Player AL 11th 57.0 336 0
1971 Most Valuable Player AL 28th 1.0 336 0