Kirk Rueter

Born: 12/1/1970 in Hoyleton, IL, USA

MLB Debut: 1993-07-07 | Final Game: 2005-07-29

Bats: L | Throws: L | Height: 6'3" | Weight: 190 lbs

Full name: Kirk Wesley Rueter

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Biography

Kirk Rueter, born in 1970, was a left-handed pitcher who enjoyed a successful Major League Baseball career from 1993 to 2005. He made his mark primarily with the San Francisco Giants, where he established himself as a reliable starter known for his durability and consistency on the mound. Over his career, Rueter compiled a record of 130-92, with an earned run average (ERA) of 4.27 and a total of 818 strikeouts. While he did not record any saves during his tenure, his ability to pitch deep into games made him a valuable asset to his teams. Rueter's career was highlighted by his recognition as the TSN Rookie Pitcher of the Year, signaling his impact as a newcomer to the league. He played during an era where offensive production was increasingly dominant, yet he managed to carve out a niche as a dependable pitcher who could hold his own against some of the best hitters in the game. His tenure in MLB not only showcased his skill but also contributed to the success of the Giants during his years with the team, leaving a lasting legacy in the franchise's history.

Career Pitching Statistics

W	L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	SO	ERA	Pitcher PIV
130	92	340	336	4	1	0	1918.0	2092	911	220	582	818	4.27	0

Career ERA 4.27 vs. league average 4.45 across their career seasons — near league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Year	Team	Lg	W	L	G	GS	CG	SHO	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA	Lg ERA	Pitcher PIV
1993	WSN	NL	8	0	14	14	1	0	85.7	85	26	18	31	2.73	4.19 (+35%)	-
1994	WSN	NL	7	3	20	20	0	0	92.3	106	53	23	50	5.17	4.51 (-15%)	-
1995	WSN	NL	5	3	9	9	1	1	47.3	38	17	9	28	3.23	4.45 (+27%)	-
1996	WSN	NL	5	6	16	16	0	0	78.7	91	40	22	30	4.58	4.61 (+1%)	-
1996	SFG	NL	1	2	4	3	0	0	23.3	18	5	5	16	1.93	4.61 (+58%)	-
1997	SFG	NL	13	6	32	32	0	0	190.7	194	73	51	115	3.45	4.39 (+21%)	-
1998	SFG	NL	16	9	33	33	1	0	187.7	193	91	57	102	4.36	4.43 (+2%)	-
1999	SFG	NL	15	10	33	33	1	0	184.7	219	111	55	94	5.41	4.71 (-15%)	-
2000	SFG	NL	11	9	32	31	0	0	184.0	205	81	62	71	3.96	4.77 (+17%)	-
2001	SFG	NL	14	12	34	34	0	0	195.3	213	96	66	83	4.42	4.42 (avg)	-
2002	SFG	NL	14	8	33	33	0	0	203.7	204	73	54	76	3.23	4.28 (+25%)	-
2003	SFG	NL	10	5	27	27	0	0	147.0	170	74	47	41	4.53	4.40 (-3%)	-
2004	SFG	NL	9	12	33	33	0	0	190.3	225	100	66	56	4.73	4.46 (-6%)	-
2005	SFG	NL	2	7	20	18	0	0	107.3	131	71	47	25	5.95	4.29 (-39%)	-

Career Batting Statistics

G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	PIV
349	622	44	95	9	0	0	40	1	27	105	0.153	0.187	0.167	0.354	-4349.0

Career AVG .153 vs. league average .267 across their career seasons — 42.7% below league average.

Career OBP .187 vs. league average .336 across their career seasons — 44.5% below league average.

Career SLG .167 vs. league average .423 across their career seasons — 60.5% below league average.

Career OPS 0.354 vs. league average 0.759 across their career seasons — 53.4% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Year	Team	Lg	G	AB	R	H	2B	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	Lg AVG	Lg OBP	Lg SLG	Lg OPS	PIV
1993	WSN	NL	14	26	0	2	0	3	0	3	10	0.077	—	—	—	—	0.0
1994	WSN	NL	20	34	1	4	0	1	0	2	8	0.118	—	—	—	—	0.0
1995	WSN	NL	9	16	0	0	0	1	0	0	6	0.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1996	WSN	NL	16	25	2	3	0	2	0	1	4	0.120	—	—	—	—	0.0
1996	SFG	NL	4	7	0	1	0	1	0	1	1	0.143	—	—	—	—	0.0
1997	SFG	NL	32	65	5	9	0	5	0	3	14	0.138	.266 (-48%)	.336 (-48%)	.419 (-67%)	.756 (-58%)	-659.4
1998	SFG	NL	34	67	7	14	1	3	0	0	12	0.209	.266 (-22%)	.335 (-38%)	.420 (-47%)	.755 (-43%)	-499.6
1999	SFG	NL	33	58	6	9	2	5	0	3	6	0.155	.271 (-43%)	.344 (-44%)	.433 (-56%)	.778 (-51%)	-547.4
2000	SFG	NL	34	60	5	12	3	5	0	1	11	0.200	.270 (-26%)	.344 (-38%)	.437 (-43%)	.782 (-41%)	-448.5
2001	SFG	NL	36	58	5	10	0	5	0	5	5	0.172	.263 (-35%)	.332 (-29%)	.426 (-60%)	.758 (-46%)	-474.3
2002	SFG	NL	35	62	3	11	0	3	0	2	11	0.177	.261 (-32%)	.331 (-41%)	.416 (-57%)	.747 (-50%)	-558.1
2003	SFG	NL	27	53	5	7	0	3	1	2	8	0.132	.264 (-50%)	.332 (-51%)	.422 (-69%)	.754 (-61%)	-554.0
2004	SFG	NL	34	61	4	8	2	2	0	3	7	0.131	.266 (-51%)	.335 (-49%)	.427 (-62%)	.762 (-56%)	-607.8
2005	SFG	NL	21	30	1	5	1	1	0	1	2	0.167	—	—	—	—	0.0

Postseason Statistics

Playoff Career Batting

G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	AVG
8	12	1	3	0	0	0	0	1	2	0.250

Playoff Batting by Year

Year	Round	Team	G	AB	R	H	BB	SO	AVG
2003	NLDS1	SFN	1	2	0	1	0	0	0.500
2002	NLCS	SFN	2	5	0	0	0	1	0.000
2002	NLDS1	SFN	1	1	0	0	0	1	0.000
2002	WS	SFN	2	2	1	1	0	0	0.500
2000	NLDS2	SFN	1	0	0	0	1	0	.000
1997	NLDS1	SFN	1	2	0	1	0	0	0.500

Playoff Career Pitching

W	L	G	GS	SV	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
1	1	8	6	0	40.3	42	17	11	17	3.79

Playoff Pitching by Year

Year	Round	Team	W	L	G	GS	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
2003	NLDS1	SFN	0	0	1	1	5.0	3	2	2	2	3.60
2002	NLCS	SFN	1	0	2	2	11.0	15	5	2	3	4.09
2002	NLDS1	SFN	0	1	1	1	3.0	7	6	2	1	18.00
2002	WS	SFN	0	0	2	1	10.0	10	3	1	5	2.70
2000	NLDS2	SFN	0	0	1	0	4.3	3	0	1	1	0.00
1997	NLDS1	SFN	0	0	1	1	7.0	4	1	3	5	1.29

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
P	340	336	135	439	7	54

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year	Team	Pos	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
1993	MON	P	14	14	7	19	1	4
1994	MON	P	20	20	4	17	1	0
1995	MON	P	9	9	8	9	0	1
1996	MON	P	16	16	7	23	0	2
1996	SFN	P	4	3	1	2	0	0
1997	SFN	P	32	32	6	53	0	4
1998	SFN	P	33	33	12	39	2	2
1999	SFN	P	33	33	15	30	1	5
2000	SFN	P	32	31	8	44	0	4
2001	SFN	P	34	34	11	50	0	11
2002	SFN	P	33	33	15	37	0	5
2003	SFN	P	27	27	10	33	0	5
2004	SFN	P	33	33	18	51	1	6
2005	SFN	P	20	18	13	32	1	5

Career Games by Position

Position	Games
Pitcher	340

Awards & Honors

Year	Award	Notes
1993	TSN Rookie Pitcher of the Year

Salary History

Year	Team	League	Salary
2005	SFN	NL	$7,133,333
2004	SFN	NL	$6,133,333
2003	SFN	NL	$5,866,667
2002	SFN	NL	$4,866,667
2001	SFN	NL	$4,866,667
2000	SFN	NL	$4,000,000
1999	SFN	NL	$2,810,000
1998	SFN	NL	$1,835,000
1997	SFN	NL	$260,000
1996	MON	NL	$160,000
1995	MON	NL	$151,000
1994	MON	NL	$130,000
1993	MON	NL	$109,000
Total Career Earnings			$38,321,667