Claude Osteen

Born: 8/9/1939 in Caney Springs, TN, USA

MLB Debut: 1957-07-06 | Final Game: 1975-09-27

Bats: L | Throws: L | Height: 5'11" | Weight: 160 lbs

Full name: Claude Wilson Osteen

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Biography

Claude Osteen was a prominent pitcher in Major League Baseball, whose career spanned from 1957 to 1975. Born in 1939, Osteen made a significant impact on the game, showcasing his talents primarily during the 1960s and early 1970s, an era characterized by both the rise of power hitters and a shift in pitching strategies. Over his 18-year career, he compiled a record of 196 wins and 195 losses, with an earned run average (ERA) of 3.3. His durability and consistency on the mound earned him three selections as an All-Star, highlighting his status among the elite pitchers of his time. Osteen's playing style was marked by his ability to induce ground balls and navigate through lineups with precision, leading to a total of 1,612 strikeouts throughout his career. While he recorded only one save, his role as a reliable starting pitcher was crucial for the teams he played for, including the Los Angeles Dodgers and Washington Senators. His contributions to the game were felt not just through statistics, but also through his leadership and resilience, making him a respected figure in the baseball community long after his retirement.

Career Pitching Statistics

W	L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	SO	ERA	Pitcher PIV
196	195	541	488	140	40	1	3460.3	3471	1268	249	940	1612	3.30	0

Career ERA 3.30 vs. league average 3.61 across their career seasons — 8.7% 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
1957	CIN	NL	0	0	3	0	0	0	0	4.0	4	1	3	3	2.25	—	0.0
1959	CIN	NL	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	7.7	11	6	9	3	7.04	—	0.0
1960	CIN	NL	0	1	20	3	0	0	0	48.3	53	27	30	15	5.03	3.82 (-32%)	-1658.2
1961	CIN	NL	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0.3	0	0	0	0	0.00	—	0.0
1961	WS2	AL	1	1	3	3	0	0	0	18.3	14	10	9	14	4.91	4.03 (-22%)	-360.7
1962	WS2	AL	8	13	28	22	7	2	1	150.3	140	61	47	59	3.65	3.96 (+8%)	261.8
1963	WS2	AL	9	14	40	29	8	2	0	212.3	222	79	60	109	3.35	3.46 (+3%)	-1459.3
1964	WS2	AL	15	13	37	36	13	0	0	257.0	256	95	64	133	3.33	3.58 (+7%)	1466.8
1965	LAD	NL	15	15	40	40	9	1	0	287.0	253	89	78	162	2.79	3.50 (+20%)	-
1966	LAD	NL	17	14	39	38	8	3	0	240.3	238	76	65	137	2.85	3.52 (+19%)	-
1967	LAD	NL	17	17	39	39	14	5	0	288.3	298	103	52	152	3.22	3.30 (+3%)	-
1968	LAD	NL	12	18	39	36	5	3	0	253.7	267	87	54	119	3.09	2.98 (-4%)	-
1969	LAD	NL	20	15	41	41	16	7	0	321.0	293	95	74	183	2.66	3.61 (+26%)	-
1970	LAD	NL	16	14	37	37	11	4	0	258.7	280	110	52	114	3.83	3.89 (+2%)	-
1971	LAD	NL	14	11	38	38	11	4	0	259.0	262	101	63	109	3.51	3.47 (-1%)	-
1972	LAD	NL	20	11	33	33	14	4	0	252.0	232	74	69	100	2.64	3.26 (+19%)	-
1973	LAD	NL	16	11	33	33	12	3	0	236.7	227	87	61	86	3.31	3.75 (+12%)	-
1974	HOU	NL	9	9	23	21	7	2	0	138.3	158	57	47	45	3.71	3.63 (-2%)	-408.2
1974	STL	NL	0	2	8	2	0	0	0	22.7	26	11	11	6	4.37	3.63 (-20%)	-
1975	CHW	AL	7	16	37	37	5	0	0	204.3	237	99	92	63	4.36	3.71 (-18%)	-

Career Batting Statistics

G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	PIV
588	1099	90	207	31	6	8	76	2	40	291	0.188	0.217	0.249	0.467	-5188.1

Career AVG .188 vs. league average .251 across their career seasons — 25.0% below league average.

Career OBP .217 vs. league average .318 across their career seasons — 31.7% below league average.

Career SLG .249 vs. league average .374 across their career seasons — 33.4% below league average.

Career OPS 0.467 vs. league average 0.692 across their career seasons — 32.6% 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
1957	CIN	NL	3	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1959	CIN	NL	2	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1960	CIN	NL	26	12	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	7	0.083	—	—	—	—	0.0
1961	CIN	NL	6	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1961	WS2	AL	3	7	0	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	3	0.143	—	—	—	—	0.0
1962	WS2	AL	37	48	3	10	1	1	0	2	0	0	10	0.208	—	—	—	—	0.0
1963	WS2	AL	49	70	8	12	0	0	1	4	0	4	20	0.171	.246 (-30%)	.308 (-30%)	.371 (-42%)	.680 (-37%)	-416.2
1964	WS2	AL	40	90	8	14	4	0	1	7	1	3	34	0.156	.250 (-38%)	.312 (-40%)	.377 (-38%)	.690 (-39%)	-610.4
1965	LAD	NL	42	99	6	12	0	1	0	2	0	3	32	0.121	.245 (-51%)	.310 (-53%)	.371 (-62%)	.682 (-58%)	-934.2
1966	LAD	NL	39	76	8	16	1	2	1	6	1	5	18	0.211	.248 (-15%)	.309 (-16%)	.376 (-16%)	.685 (-16%)	-211.4
1967	LAD	NL	42	101	9	18	3	1	2	9	0	4	22	0.178	.242 (-26%)	.306 (-33%)	.357 (-20%)	.663 (-26%)	-462.9
1968	LAD	NL	40	84	4	15	3	0	0	2	0	2	26	0.179	.236 (-25%)	.298 (-34%)	.340 (-37%)	.638 (-36%)	-466.0
1969	LAD	NL	44	111	7	24	1	0	1	12	0	5	25	0.216	.248 (-13%)	.320 (-23%)	.369 (-32%)	.689 (-28%)	-530.9
1970	LAD	NL	39	93	10	19	5	0	1	9	0	3	20	0.204	.253 (-20%)	.325 (-29%)	.385 (-25%)	.711 (-27%)	-454.4
1971	LAD	NL	39	86	7	16	3	0	0	7	0	4	21	0.186	.249 (-25%)	.316 (-31%)	.365 (-40%)	.682 (-35%)	-508.8
1972	LAD	NL	36	88	9	24	5	1	1	11	0	5	19	0.273	.243 (+12%)	.310 (+3%)	.353 (+9%)	.664 (+6%)	70.8
1973	LAD	NL	33	78	4	12	1	0	0	1	0	2	22	0.154	.256 (-40%)	.325 (-46%)	.378 (-56%)	.703 (-51%)	-663.5
1974	HOU	NL	23	46	4	13	4	0	0	3	0	0	10	0.283	—	—	—	—	0.0
1974	STL	NL	8	7	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1975	CHW	AL	37	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
3	5	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0.200

Playoff Batting by Year

Year	Round	Team	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	AVG
1966	WS	LAN	1	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0.000
1965	WS	LAN	2	3	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.333

Playoff Career Pitching

W	L	G	GS	SV	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
1	2	3	3	0	21.0	12	2	6	7	0.86

Playoff Pitching by Year

Year	Round	Team	W	L	G	GS	SV	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
1966	WS	LAN	0	1	1	1	0	7.0	3	1	1	3	1.29
1965	WS	LAN	1	1	2	2	0	14.0	9	1	5	4	0.64

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
OF	1	0	0	0	0	0
P	541	488	159	699	26	37

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year	Team	Pos	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
1957	CIN	P	3	0	0	0	0	0
1959	CIN	P	2	0	0	1	0	0
1960	CIN	P	20	3	0	13	1	0
1961	CIN	OF	1	0	0	0	0	0
1961	CIN	P	1	0	0	0	0	0
1961	WS2	P	3	3	0	3	0	1
1962	WS2	P	28	22	4	30	0	2
1963	WS2	P	40	29	11	30	3	2
1964	WS2	P	37	36	9	51	0	5
1965	LAN	P	40	40	11	82	3	6
1966	LAN	P	39	38	10	49	4	0
1967	LAN	P	39	39	11	53	2	2
1968	LAN	P	39	36	11	50	1	2
1969	LAN	P	41	41	19	69	3	0
1970	LAN	P	37	37	10	40	1	5
1971	LAN	P	38	38	22	66	1	4
1972	LAN	P	33	33	9	40	1	2
1973	LAN	P	33	33	9	53	2	3
1974	HOU	P	23	21	8	23	1	1
1974	SLN	P	8	2	3	5	1	1
1975	CHA	P	37	37	12	41	2	1