Kent Tekulve, baseball player, 1974-1989

Kent Tekulve

Born: 3/5/1947 in Cincinnati, OH, USA

MLB Debut: 1974-05-20 | Final Game: 1989-07-16

Bats: R | Throws: R | Height: 6'4" | Weight: 180 lbs

Full name: Kenton Charles Tekulve

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Biography

Kent Tekulve, born in 1947, was a notable right-handed pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1974 until his retirement in 1989. Renowned for his distinctive submarine delivery, Tekulve became a key figure in the bullpen era of the late 1970s and 1980s. Over the course of his career, he amassed a record of 94-90 and posted an impressive earned run average (ERA) of 2.85, establishing himself as a reliable reliever. He recorded 779 strikeouts and achieved 184 saves, showcasing his ability to close out games effectively. Tekulve's most prominent achievement came in 1979 when he was selected as an All-Star, a recognition of his impact on the game during a competitive period in baseball history. He played a pivotal role in helping the Pittsburgh Pirates secure the World Series title that year, further cementing his legacy within the franchise. Throughout his career, Tekulve was celebrated for his longevity and consistency, contributing significantly to the evolution of the relief pitching role during a transformative era in the sport.

Career Pitching Statistics

W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
94 90 1050 0 0 0 184 1436.7 1305 455 63 491 779 2.85 0

Career ERA 2.85 vs. league average 3.83 across their career seasons — 25.5% 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
1974 PIT NL 1 1 8 0 0 0 0 9.0 12 6 5 6 6.00 3.63 (-65%) 0.0
1975 PIT NL 1 2 34 0 0 0 5 56.0 43 14 23 28 2.25 3.71 (+39%) 529.1
1976 PIT NL 5 3 64 0 0 0 9 102.7 91 28 25 68 2.45 3.51 (+30%) 2872.2
1977 PIT NL 10 1 72 0 0 0 7 103.0 89 35 33 59 3.06 4.00 (+24%) 2063.5
1978 PIT NL 8 7 91 0 0 0 31 135.3 115 35 55 77 2.33 3.69 (+37%) 1725.6
1979 PIT NL 10 8 94 0 0 0 31 134.3 109 41 49 75 2.75 4.00 (+31%) 2635.5
1980 PIT NL 8 12 78 0 0 0 21 93.0 96 35 40 47 3.39 3.84 (+12%) -144.8
1981 PIT NL 5 5 45 0 0 0 3 65.0 61 18 17 34 2.49 3.58 (+30%) 1644.5
1982 PIT NL 12 8 85 0 0 0 20 128.7 113 41 46 66 2.87 3.86 (+26%) 1064.9
1983 PIT NL 7 5 76 0 0 0 18 99.0 78 18 36 52 1.64 3.87 (+58%) 2388.1
1984 PIT NL 3 9 72 0 0 0 13 88.0 86 26 33 36 2.66 3.81 (+30%) 248.6
1985 PIT NL 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 3.3 7 6 5 4 16.20 — 0.0
1985 PHI NL 4 10 58 0 0 0 14 72.3 67 24 25 36 2.99 3.89 (+23%) 671.4
1986 PHI NL 11 5 73 0 0 0 4 110.0 99 31 25 57 2.54 3.97 (+36%) 3711.2
1987 PHI NL 6 4 90 0 0 0 3 105.0 96 36 29 60 3.09 4.29 (+28%) 2001.3
1988 PHI NL 3 7 70 0 0 0 4 80.0 87 32 22 43 3.60 3.73 (+4%) 1325.8
1989 CIN NL 0 3 37 0 0 0 1 52.0 56 29 23 31 5.02 3.71 (-35%) -574.4

Career Batting Statistics

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
1050 121 8 10 0 0 0 2 0 6 61 0.083 0.126 0.083 0.209 0.0

Career AVG .083 vs. league average .259 across their career seasons — 68.1% below league average.

Career OBP .126 vs. league average .325 across their career seasons — 61.2% below league average.

Career SLG .083 vs. league average .385 across their career seasons — 78.6% below league average.

Career OPS 0.209 vs. league average 0.710 across their career seasons — 70.6% 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 PIT NL 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1975 PIT NL 34 11 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 7 0.091 — — — — 0.0
1976 PIT NL 64 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 0.000 — — — — 0.0
1977 PIT NL 72 12 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0.250 — — — — 0.0
1978 PIT NL 91 21 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 9 0.095 — — — — 0.0
1979 PIT NL 94 15 3 2 0 0 0 1 0 1 8 0.133 — — — — 0.0
1980 PIT NL 78 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 7 0.000 — — — — 0.0
1981 PIT NL 45 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0.000 — — — — 0.0
1982 PIT NL 85 14 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 0.071 — — — — 0.0
1983 PIT NL 76 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0.000 — — — — 0.0
1984 PIT NL 72 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0.000 — — — — 0.0
1985 PIT NL 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1985 PHI NL 58 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0.000 — — — — 0.0
1986 PHI NL 73 5 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0.000 — — — — 0.0
1987 PHI NL 90 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0.000 — — — — 0.0
1988 PHI NL 70 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0.000 — — — — 0.0
1989 CIN NL 37 2 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0.500 — — — — 0.0

Postseason Statistics

Playoff Career Batting

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
9 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0.000

Playoff Batting by Year

Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1979 NLCS PIT 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0.000
1979 WS PIT 5 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.000
1975 NLCS PIT 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000

Playoff Career Pitching

W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
0 1 9 0 3 13.3 9 5 6 14 3.38

Playoff Pitching by Year

Year Round Team W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
1979 NLCS PIT 0 0 2 0 0 2.7 2 1 2 2 3.38
1979 WS PIT 0 1 5 0 3 9.3 4 3 3 10 2.89
1975 NLCS PIT 0 0 2 0 0 1.3 3 1 1 2 6.75

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position G GS PO A E DP
OF 1 0 1 0 0 0
P 1050 0 92 327 13 17

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1974 PIT P 8 0 2 3 0 0
1975 PIT P 34 0 5 17 1 1
1976 PIT P 64 0 6 24 1 0
1977 PIT P 72 0 7 32 0 1
1978 PIT P 91 0 8 38 4 1
1979 PIT OF 1 0 1 0 0 0
1979 PIT P 94 0 7 28 1 0
1980 PIT P 78 0 5 18 1 1
1981 PIT P 45 0 4 16 0 2
1982 PIT P 85 0 11 27 1 2
1983 PIT P 76 0 3 20 0 2
1984 PIT P 72 0 6 25 0 3
1985 PIT P 3 0 0 1 0 0
1985 PHI P 58 0 4 13 0 0
1986 PHI P 73 0 4 22 3 2
1987 PHI P 90 0 11 20 1 0
1988 PHI P 70 0 7 14 0 1
1989 CIN P 37 0 2 9 0 1

Career Games by Position

Position Games
Pitcher 1050
Left Field 1

Awards & Honors

Year Award Notes
1986 Player of the Week Week of 1986-09-19
1978 Pitcher of the Month August

Salary History

Year Team League Salary
1988 PHI NL $850,000
1987 PHI NL $925,000
1986 PHI NL $890,000
1985 PIT NL $830,000
Total Career Earnings $3,495,000

College History

School Name City State Years Attended
Marietta College Marietta OH 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969

Award Voting History

Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
1979 Cy Young Award NL 5th 14.0 120 1
1979 Most Valuable Player NL 8th 64.0 336 1
1978 Cy Young Award NL 5th 12.0 120 0
1978 Most Valuable Player NL 13th 23.0 336 0