Catfish Hunter was born on Monday, April 8, 1946, in Hertford, North Carolina. Hunter was 19 years old when he broke into the big leagues on May 13, 1965, with the Kansas City Athletics. His biographical data, year-by-year hitting stats, fielding stats, pitching stats (where applicable), career totals, uniform numbers, salary data and miscellaneous items-of-interest are presented by Baseball Almanac on this comprehensive Catfish Hunter baseball stats page.
"Catfish Hunter brought respectability to the Yankees. Without him, we would never have been world champs. If he never pitches another ball, he has been worth every cent." - Steinbrenner, George. New York Yankees Owner. Post Game Press Conference. [Catfish Hunter Quotes]
Catfish HunterCatfish Hunter Autograph on a 1986 TMCA Baseball Card (#9-ATH) |
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Biographical Data | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Catfish HunterCatfish Hunter Pitching Stats |
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Year | Age | Team | G | GS | GF | W | L | PCT | ERA | CG | SHO | SV | IP | BFP | H | ER | R | HR | BB | IBB | SO | WP | HB | BK | HLD |
1965 | 19 | Athletics | 32 | 20 | 2 | 8 | 8 | .500 | 4.26 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 133.0 | 567 | 124 | 63 | 68 | 21 | 46 | 5 | 82 | 2 | 2 | 1 | - |
1966 | 20 | Athletics | 30 | 25 | 0 | 9 | 11 | .450 | 4.02 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 176.2 | 740 | 158 | 79 | 87 | 17 | 64 | 4 | 103 | 2 | 2 | 2 | - |
1967 | 21 | Athletics | 35 | 35 | 0 | 13 | 17 | .433 | 2.81 | 13 | 5 | 0 | 259.2 | 1,053 | 209 | 81 | 91 | 16 | 84 | 6 | 196 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
1968 | 22 | Athletics | 36 | 34 | 2 | 13 | 13 | .500 | 3.35 | 11 | 2 | 1 | 234.0 | 968 | 210 | 87 | 99 | 29 | 69 | 10 | 172 | 0 | 4 | 1 | - |
1969 | 23 | Athletics | 38 | 35 | 0 | 12 | 15 | .444 | 3.35 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 247.0 | 1,002 | 210 | 92 | 99 | 34 | 85 | 1 | 150 | 8 | 5 | 0 | - |
1970 | 24 | Athletics | 40 | 40 | 0 | 18 | 14 | .563 | 3.81 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 262.1 | 1,116 | 253 | 111 | 124 | 32 | 74 | 3 | 178 | 6 | 9 | 1 | 0 |
1971 | 25 | Athletics | 37 | 37 | 0 | 21 | 11 | .656 | 2.96 | 16 | 4 | 0 | 273.2 | 1,109 | 225 | 90 | 103 | 27 | 80 | 7 | 181 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
1972 | 26 | Athletics | 38 | 37 | 1 | 21 | 7 | .750 | 2.04 | 16 | 5 | 0 | 295.1 | 1,148 | 200 | 67 | 74 | 21 | 70 | 6 | 191 | 3 | 3 | 0 | - |
1973 | 27 | Athletics | 36 | 36 | 0 | 21 | 5 | .808 | 3.34 | 11 | 3 | 0 | 256.1 | 1,040 | 222 | 95 | 105 | 39 | 69 | 1 | 124 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
1974 | 28 | Athletics | 41 | 41 | 0 | 25 | 12 | .676 | 2.49 | 23 | 6 | 0 | 318.1 | 1,240 | 268 | 88 | 97 | 25 | 46 | 2 | 143 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
1975 | 29 | Yankees | 39 | 39 | 0 | 23 | 14 | .622 | 2.58 | 30 | 7 | 0 | 328.0 | 1,294 | 248 | 94 | 107 | 25 | 83 | 4 | 177 | 7 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
1976 | 30 | Yankees | 36 | 36 | 0 | 17 | 15 | .531 | 3.53 | 21 | 2 | 0 | 298.2 | 1,210 | 268 | 117 | 126 | 28 | 68 | 5 | 173 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
1977 | 31 | Yankees | 22 | 22 | 0 | 9 | 9 | .500 | 4.71 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 143.1 | 608 | 137 | 75 | 83 | 29 | 47 | 3 | 52 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
1978 | 32 | Yankees | 21 | 20 | 1 | 12 | 6 | .667 | 3.58 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 118.0 | 477 | 98 | 47 | 49 | 16 | 35 | 0 | 56 | 2 | 1 | 0 | - |
1979 | 33 | Yankees | 19 | 19 | 0 | 2 | 9 | .182 | 5.31 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 105.0 | 460 | 128 | 62 | 68 | 15 | 34 | 0 | 34 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Career | G | GS | GF | W | L | PCT | ERA | CG | SHO | SV | IP | BFP | H | ER | R | HR | BB | IBB | SO | WP | HB | BK | HLD | ||
15 Years | 500 | 476 | 6 | 224 | 166 | .574 | 3.26 | 181 | 42 | 1 | 3,449.1 | 14,032 | 2,958 | 1,248 | 1,380 | 374 | 954 | 57 | 2,012 | 49 | 49 | 7 | 0 |
Catfish HunterCatfish Hunter Hitting Stats |
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Year | Age | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | GRSL | RBI | BB | IBB | SO | SH | SF | HBP | GIDP | AVG | OBP | SLG |
1965 | 19 | Athletics | 32 | 40 | 3 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .150 | .150 | .175 |
1966 | 20 | Athletics | 30 | 59 | 5 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 21 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .153 | .194 | .203 |
1967 | 21 | Athletics | 37 | 92 | 9 | 18 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 32 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .196 | .196 | .304 |
1968 | 22 | Athletics | 39 | 82 | 9 | 19 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .232 | .232 | .305 |
1969 | 23 | Athletics | 42 | 85 | 5 | 19 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 24 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 5 | .224 | .227 | .282 |
1970 | 24 | Athletics | 43 | 90 | 10 | 18 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 23 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | .200 | .215 | .300 |
1971 | 25 | Athletics | 38 | 103 | 14 | 36 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 11 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 3 | .350 | .362 | .408 |
1972 | 26 | Athletics | 39 | 105 | 5 | 23 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 0 | .219 | .215 | .219 |
1973 | 27 | Athletics | 37 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 1.000 | 1.000 |
1974 | 28 | Athletics | 41 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
1975 | 29 | Yankees | 39 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
1976 | 30 | Yankees | 36 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
1977 | 31 | Yankees | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
1978 | 32 | Yankees | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
1979 | 33 | Yankees | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
Career | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | GRSL | RBI | BB | IBB | SO | SH | SF | HBP | GIDP | AVG | OBP | SLG | ||
15 Years | 515 | 658 | 60 | 149 | 16 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 51 | 8 | 0 | 160 | 39 | 5 | 0 | 10 | .226 | .234 | .287 |
Catfish HunterCatfish Hunter Fielding Stats |
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Team | POS | G | GS | OUTS | TC | TC/G | CH | PO | A | E | DP | PB | CASB | CACS | FLD% | RF |
1965 Athletics | P | 32 | 20 | 399 | 22 | 0.7 | 20 | 4 | 16 | 2 | 1 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .909 | 1.35 |
1966 Athletics | P | 30 | 25 | 530 | 27 | 0.9 | 24 | 10 | 14 | 3 | 1 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .889 | 1.22 |
1967 Athletics | 1B | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .000 | 0.00 |
1967 Athletics | P | 35 | 35 | 779 | 32 | 0.9 | 31 | 15 | 16 | 1 | 1 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .969 | 1.07 |
1968 Athletics | P | 36 | 34 | 702 | 40 | 1.1 | 36 | 16 | 20 | 4 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .900 | 1.38 |
1969 Athletics | P | 38 | 35 | 741 | 49 | 1.3 | 49 | 17 | 32 | 0 | 4 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 1.79 |
1970 Athletics | P | 40 | 40 | 787 | 42 | 1.1 | 41 | 17 | 24 | 1 | 3 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .976 | 1.41 |
1971 Athletics | P | 37 | 37 | 821 | 41 | 1.1 | 41 | 15 | 26 | 0 | 1 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 1.35 |
1972 Athletics | P | 38 | 37 | 886 | 55 | 1.4 | 53 | 23 | 30 | 2 | 1 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .964 | 1.62 |
1973 Athletics | P | 36 | 36 | 769 | 36 | 1.0 | 35 | 11 | 24 | 1 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .972 | 1.23 |
1974 Athletics | P | 41 | 41 | 955 | 55 | 1.3 | 52 | 25 | 27 | 3 | 1 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .945 | 1.47 |
1975 Yankees | P | 39 | 39 | 984 | 52 | 1.3 | 49 | 23 | 26 | 3 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .942 | 1.34 |
1976 Yankees | P | 36 | 36 | 896 | 56 | 1.6 | 54 | 24 | 30 | 2 | 2 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .964 | 1.63 |
1977 Yankees | P | 22 | 22 | 430 | 15 | 0.7 | 15 | 4 | 11 | 0 | 1 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 0.94 |
1978 Yankees | P | 21 | 20 | 354 | 24 | 1.1 | 24 | 11 | 13 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 1.83 |
1979 Yankees | P | 19 | 19 | 315 | 21 | 1.1 | 20 | 10 | 10 | 1 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .952 | 1.71 |
Career | POS | G | GS | OUTS | TC | TC/G | CH | PO | A | E | DP | PB | CASB | CACS | FLD% | RF |
P Totals | 500 | 476 | 10,348 | 567 | 1.1 | 544 | 225 | 319 | 23 | 16 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .959 | 1.42 | |
1B Totals | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .000 | 0.00 | |
15 Years | 501 | 476 | 10,348 | 567 | 1.1 | 544 | 225 | 319 | 23 | 16 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .959 | 1.42 |
Catfish HunterCatfish Hunter Miscellaneous Stats |
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Baserunning Statistics | Other Positions | Common Hitting Ratios | Common Pitching Ratios | |||||||||
Team | SB | CS | SB% | PH | PR | DH | AB/HR | AB/K | AB/RBI | K/BB | K/9 | BB/9 |
1965 Athletics | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 0.0 | 2.9 | 40.0 | 1.78 | 5.55 | 3.11 |
1966 Athletics | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 0.0 | 2.8 | 14.8 | 1.61 | 5.25 | 3.26 |
1967 Athletics | 0 | 0 | .000 | 1 | 1 | n/a | 46.0 | 2.9 | 15.3 | 2.33 | 6.79 | 2.91 |
1968 Athletics | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 3 | n/a | 82.0 | 4.3 | 10.3 | 2.49 | 6.62 | 2.65 |
1969 Athletics | 0 | 0 | .000 | 2 | 2 | n/a | 85.0 | 3.5 | 9.4 | 1.76 | 5.47 | 3.10 |
1970 Athletics | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 3 | n/a | 90.0 | 3.9 | 15.0 | 2.41 | 6.11 | 2.54 |
1971 Athletics | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | 1 | 0 | n/a | 103.0 | 9.4 | 8.6 | 2.26 | 5.95 | 2.63 |
1972 Athletics | 0 | 0 | .000 | 1 | 0 | n/a | 0.0 | 6.6 | 21.0 | 2.73 | 5.82 | 2.13 |
1973 Athletics | 0 | 0 | .000 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.80 | 4.35 | 2.42 |
1974 Athletics | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 3.11 | 4.04 | 1.30 |
1975 Yankees | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2.13 | 4.86 | 2.28 |
1976 Yankees | 0 | 0 | .000 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2.54 | 5.21 | 2.05 |
1977 Yankees | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.11 | 3.27 | 2.95 |
1978 Yankees | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.60 | 4.27 | 2.67 |
1979 Yankees | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.00 | 2.91 | 2.91 |
Career | SB | CS | SB% | PH | PR | DH | AB/HR | AB/K | AB/RBI | K/BB | K/9 | BB/9 |
15 Years | 2 | 0 | 1.000 | 7 | 9 | 0 | 109.7 | 4.1 | 12.9 | 2.11 | 5.25 | 2.49 |
Catfish HunterCatfish Hunter Miscellaneous Items of Interest |
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Team | Roster | Uniform Numbers | Salary | All-Star | World Series |
1965 Kansas City Athletics | 27 | $3,000.00 | - | - |
1966 Kansas City Athletics | 27 | $4,800.00 | Stats | - |
1967 Kansas City Athletics | 27 | $13,500.00 | Stats | - |
1968 Oakland Athletics | 27 | $23,500.00 | - | - |
1969 Oakland Athletics | 27 | $21,500.00 | - | - |
1970 Oakland Athletics | 27 | $33,200.00 | Stats | - |
1971 Oakland Athletics | 27 | $44,500.00 | - | - |
1972 Oakland Athletics | 27 | $50,000.00 | Stats | Stats |
1973 Oakland Athletics | 27 | $75,000.00 | Stats | Stats |
1974 Oakland Athletics | 27 | $100,000.00 | Stats | Stats |
1975 New York Yankees | 29 | $640,000.00 | Stats | - |
1976 New York Yankees | 29 | $640,000.00 | Stats | Stats |
1977 New York Yankees | 29 | $640,000.00 | - | Stats |
1978 New York Yankees | 29 | $640,000.00 | - | Stats |
1979 New York Yankees | 29 | $640,000.00 | - | - |
Catfish Hunter Stats by Baseball Almanac |
James Augustus Hunter was a Major League Baseball player who pitched for the Kansas City Athletics (1965-1967), Oakland Athletics (1968-1974), and New York Yankees (1975-1979). Catfish, as he was known, shared (Baseball Digest, November 1991, Edvins Beitks, Page 73) how he received the legendary nickname, saying:
"He (Athletics owner Charlie Finley) told me, 'A player's got to have a nickname,' and he asked me what I liked to do. 'Hunting and fishing,' I said, and he said, 'Let's call you Catfish. The story is, when you were 6 years old you ran away from home to fish and by the time your parents got to you you'd caught two catfish and were just about to bring in a third. Got that? Now you repeat it to me.'"
Catfish Hunter Rookie Card | 1965 Topps Baseball Card (#526| Checklist)
Baseball Almanac Research Library
Catfish Hunter threw a perfect game on May 8, 1968, the fifth in American League history, the first for the Athletics. In his very next start (Box), he surrendered a lead-off home run to Rod Carew, walked Cesar Tovar, gave-up another homer (Tony Oliva), walked another batter (Harmon Killebrew), and before settling down, "allowed" Rich Rollins to hit yet another homer. Catfish not only got the win that day, but explained the difficult day to the media saying, "The sun don't shine on the same dog's ass all the time."
Catfish Hunter Perfect Game | The Evening Times | May 9, 1968 | Page 12Baseball Almanac Research Library
Catfish Hunter led the American League in wins twice (1974, 1975) and won 20-or-more games five times (1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975) - thats five consecutive seasons! No junior circuit pitcher has since duplicated that feat and those who came before him were named Lefty Grove (1927-1933), and Walter Johnson (1910-1919).
Catfish Hunter was the first OAKLAND Athletics right-handed pitcher to fashion a 20-win season (1971), and his twenty-five wins in 1974, were the most in Oakland history until 1990. Do you know who passed him? [Answer]
Catfish Hunter threw thirty-complete games with the New York Yankees in 1975. The previous Bronx Bomber to reach that number was Carl Mays, in 1921, and no Yankee pitcher since has even come close.
Catfish Hunter | National Baseball Hall of Fame Plaque | Class of 1987 (HOF)
In 1976, Catfish started feeling pain in his right arm. In 1977, the pain escalated and remained present all season long. In 1978, he was diagnosed with diabetes. A year later, he retired from baseball at age 33. After one painful team loss in 1978, versus the Boston Red Sox (Box), Catfish was sent to Lenox Hill Hospital for his injuries. Yaz shared his concern with the press, "All you needed to win a game was give him the ball; he could put it anywhere he wanted and change speeds. I'd like to see him come back and pitch." The locked next to him belonged to George Scott, who shared, "I'll tell you one thing, the man don't have nothing to be ashamed of, no matter how he goes out. He went out and challenged peoples. He went out and beat peoples. He battle your tail. The man coulda alibied a lot of times, 'cause he was pitching hurt, but I never heard him alibi once, 'cause he ain't that type. I'd give him the ball in a big game before I'd give it to anyone, not no Tom Seaver, not nobody. He pitched his 300 innings and won his 20 games for years. He's a Hall of Famer, jack!" Boomer was right, Catfish was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1987.