Bob Forsch was born on Friday, January 13, 1950, in Sacramento, California. Forsch was 24 years old when he broke into the big leagues on July 7, 1974, with the St. Louis Cardinals. 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 Bob Forsch baseball stats page.
"I like (Bob) Forsch's work habits... Bobby's the only truly sane pitcher I ever managed..." - Herzog, Whitey. You're Missin' a Great Game: From Casey to Ozzie, the Magic of Baseball and How to Get It Back. Herzog, Whitey & Pitts, Jonathan. Authors. Simon & Schuster Publishing. 18 March 1999.
Bob Forsch![]() Bob Forsch Autograph on a 1975 Topps Baseball Card (#51 | Checklist) |
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| Biographical Data | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Bob ForschBob Forsch 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 |
| 1974 | 24 | Cardinals | 19 | 14 | 0 | 7 | 4 | .636 | 2.97 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 100.0 | 408 | 84 | 33 | 38 | 5 | 34 | 4 | 39 | 6 | 1 | 0 | - |
| 1975 | 25 | Cardinals | 34 | 34 | 0 | 15 | 10 | .600 | 2.86 | 7 | 4 | 0 | 230.0 | 958 | 213 | 73 | 89 | 14 | 70 | 8 | 108 | 10 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| 1976 | 26 | Cardinals | 33 | 32 | 0 | 8 | 10 | .444 | 3.94 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 194.0 | 844 | 209 | 85 | 112 | 17 | 71 | 8 | 76 | 9 | 3 | 0 | - |
| 1977 | 27 | Cardinals | 35 | 35 | 0 | 20 | 7 | .741 | 3.48 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 217.1 | 915 | 210 | 84 | 97 | 20 | 69 | 2 | 95 | 9 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| 1978 | 28 | Cardinals | 34 | 34 | 0 | 11 | 17 | .393 | 3.70 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 233.2 | 981 | 205 | 96 | 110 | 15 | 97 | 9 | 114 | 8 | 5 | 3 | 0 |
| 1979 | 29 | Cardinals | 33 | 32 | 0 | 11 | 11 | .500 | 3.83 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 218.2 | 894 | 215 | 93 | 102 | 16 | 52 | 1 | 92 | 6 | 3 | 0 | - |
| 1980 | 30 | Cardinals | 31 | 31 | 0 | 11 | 10 | .524 | 3.77 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 214.2 | 878 | 225 | 90 | 102 | 12 | 33 | 6 | 87 | 7 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 1981 | 31 | Cardinals | 20 | 20 | 0 | 10 | 5 | .667 | 3.18 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 124.1 | 501 | 106 | 44 | 47 | 7 | 29 | 3 | 41 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 0 |
| 1982 | 32 | Cardinals | 36 | 34 | 1 | 15 | 9 | .625 | 3.48 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 233.0 | 962 | 238 | 90 | 95 | 16 | 54 | 7 | 69 | 6 | 4 | 2 | - |
| 1983 | 33 | Cardinals | 34 | 30 | 3 | 10 | 12 | .455 | 4.28 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 187.0 | 790 | 190 | 89 | 104 | 23 | 54 | 2 | 56 | 4 | 3 | 1 | - |
| 1984 | 34 | Cardinals | 16 | 11 | 2 | 2 | 5 | .286 | 6.02 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 52.1 | 233 | 64 | 35 | 38 | 6 | 19 | 0 | 21 | 5 | 0 | 0 | - |
| 1985 | 35 | Cardinals | 34 | 19 | 4 | 9 | 6 | .600 | 3.90 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 136.0 | 567 | 132 | 59 | 63 | 11 | 47 | 4 | 48 | 4 | 2 | 0 | - |
| 1986 | 36 | Cardinals | 33 | 33 | 0 | 14 | 10 | .583 | 3.25 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 230.0 | 939 | 211 | 83 | 91 | 19 | 68 | 11 | 104 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 1987 | 37 | Cardinals | 33 | 30 | 1 | 11 | 7 | .611 | 4.32 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 179.0 | 755 | 189 | 86 | 90 | 15 | 45 | 4 | 89 | 2 | 4 | 1 | - |
| 1988 | 38 | Cardinals | 30 | 12 | 3 | 9 | 4 | .692 | 3.73 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 108.2 | 463 | 111 | 45 | 51 | 8 | 38 | 8 | 40 | 2 | 1 | 3 | - |
| 1988 | 38 | Astros | 6 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 4 | .200 | 6.51 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 27.2 | 133 | 42 | 20 | 22 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 14 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 1989 | 39 | Astros | 37 | 15 | 5 | 4 | 5 | .444 | 5.32 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 108.1 | 494 | 133 | 64 | 68 | 10 | 46 | 6 | 40 | 4 | 1 | 5 | - |
| Career | G | GS | GF | W | L | PCT | ERA | CG | SHO | SV | IP | BFP | H | ER | R | HR | BB | IBB | SO | WP | HB | BK | HLD | ||
| 16 Years | 498 | 422 | 19 | 168 | 136 | .553 | 3.76 | 67 | 19 | 3 | 2,794.2 | 11,715 | 2,777 | 1,169 | 1,319 | 216 | 832 | 84 | 1,133 | 93 | 45 | 18 | 0 | ||
Bob ForschBob Forsch 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 |
| 1974 | 24 | Cardinals | 20 | 29 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 11 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .241 | .290 | .276 |
| 1975 | 25 | Cardinals | 35 | 78 | 9 | 24 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 20 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .308 | .341 | .462 |
| 1976 | 26 | Cardinals | 35 | 62 | 6 | 11 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 17 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 3 | .177 | .190 | .258 |
| 1977 | 27 | Cardinals | 35 | 72 | 6 | 12 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 29 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .167 | .189 | .222 |
| 1978 | 28 | Cardinals | 34 | 83 | 2 | 15 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 26 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 3 | .181 | .190 | .301 |
| 1979 | 29 | Cardinals | 33 | 73 | 7 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 17 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 1 | .110 | .163 | .192 |
| 1980 | 30 | Cardinals | 32 | 78 | 11 | 23 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 18 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .295 | .313 | .474 |
| 1981 | 31 | Cardinals | 20 | 41 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .122 | .143 | .146 |
| 1982 | 32 | Cardinals | 36 | 73 | 7 | 15 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 20 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .205 | .237 | .274 |
| 1983 | 33 | Cardinals | 37 | 54 | 4 | 13 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 14 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | .241 | .271 | .352 |
| 1984 | 34 | Cardinals | 16 | 16 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .250 | .250 | .313 |
| 1985 | 35 | Cardinals | 34 | 45 | 3 | 11 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .244 | .244 | .400 |
| 1986 | 36 | Cardinals | 34 | 76 | 7 | 13 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 1 | .171 | .169 | .329 |
| 1987 | 37 | Cardinals | 34 | 57 | 9 | 17 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 17 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .298 | .333 | .509 |
| 1988 | 38 | Cardinals | 31 | 25 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .280 | .308 | .280 |
| 1988 | 38 | Astros | 6 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .143 | .143 | .286 |
| 1989 | 39 | Astros | 37 | 24 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .167 | .167 | .167 |
| Career | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | GRSL | RBI | BB | IBB | SO | SH | SF | HBP | GIDP | AVG | OBP | SLG | ||
| 16 Years | 509 | 893 | 77 | 190 | 45 | 8 | 12 | 1 | 84 | 27 | 0 | 249 | 115 | 5 | 1 | 14 | .213 | .235 | .321 | ||
Bob ForschBob Forsch Fielding Stats |
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| Team | POS | G | GS | OUTS | TC | TC/G | CH | PO | A | E | DP | PB | CASB | CACS | FLD% | RF |
| 1974 Cardinals | P | 19 | 14 | 300 | 23 | 1.2 | 23 | 10 | 13 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 2.07 |
| 1975 Cardinals | P | 34 | 34 | 690 | 56 | 1.6 | 55 | 18 | 37 | 1 | 7 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .982 | 2.15 |
| 1976 Cardinals | P | 33 | 32 | 582 | 56 | 1.7 | 52 | 24 | 28 | 4 | 2 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .929 | 2.41 |
| 1977 Cardinals | P | 35 | 35 | 652 | 43 | 1.2 | 41 | 12 | 29 | 2 | 2 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .953 | 1.70 |
| 1978 Cardinals | P | 34 | 34 | 701 | 55 | 1.6 | 55 | 18 | 37 | 0 | 4 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 2.12 |
| 1979 Cardinals | P | 33 | 32 | 656 | 57 | 1.7 | 56 | 25 | 31 | 1 | 3 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .982 | 2.30 |
| 1980 Cardinals | P | 31 | 31 | 644 | 57 | 1.8 | 55 | 11 | 44 | 2 | 5 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .965 | 2.31 |
| 1981 Cardinals | P | 20 | 20 | 373 | 34 | 1.7 | 34 | 14 | 20 | 0 | 1 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 2.46 |
| 1982 Cardinals | P | 36 | 34 | 699 | 53 | 1.5 | 51 | 21 | 30 | 2 | 1 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .962 | 1.97 |
| 1983 Cardinals | P | 34 | 30 | 561 | 44 | 1.3 | 43 | 14 | 29 | 1 | 1 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .977 | 2.07 |
| 1984 Cardinals | P | 16 | 11 | 157 | 16 | 1.0 | 16 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 2.75 |
| 1985 Cardinals | P | 34 | 19 | 408 | 33 | 1.0 | 32 | 12 | 20 | 1 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .970 | 2.12 |
| 1986 Cardinals | P | 33 | 33 | 690 | 49 | 1.5 | 49 | 17 | 32 | 0 | 5 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 1.92 |
| 1987 Cardinals | P | 33 | 30 | 537 | 34 | 1.0 | 34 | 9 | 25 | 0 | 2 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 1.71 |
| 1988 Cardinals | P | 30 | 12 | 326 | 20 | 0.7 | 17 | 7 | 10 | 3 | 1 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .850 | 1.41 |
| 1988 Astros | P | 6 | 6 | 83 | 4 | 0.7 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 1.30 |
| 1989 Astros | P | 37 | 15 | 325 | 23 | 0.6 | 22 | 13 | 9 | 1 | 1 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .957 | 1.83 |
| Career | POS | G | GS | OUTS | TC | TC/G | CH | PO | A | E | DP | PB | CASB | CACS | FLD% | RF |
| P Totals | 498 | 422 | 8,384 | 657 | 1.3 | 639 | 234 | 405 | 18 | 35 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .973 | 2.06 | |
| 16 Years | 498 | 422 | 8,384 | 657 | 1.3 | 639 | 234 | 405 | 18 | 35 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .973 | 2.06 | |
Bob ForschBob Forsch 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 |
| 1974 Cardinals | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | 0 | 1 | n/a | 0.0 | 2.6 | 29.0 | 1.15 | 3.51 | 3.06 |
| 1975 Cardinals | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 1 | n/a | 78.0 | 3.9 | 15.6 | 1.54 | 4.23 | 2.74 |
| 1976 Cardinals | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 2 | n/a | 62.0 | 3.6 | 12.4 | 1.07 | 3.53 | 3.29 |
| 1977 Cardinals | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 0.0 | 2.5 | 18.0 | 1.38 | 3.93 | 2.86 |
| 1978 Cardinals | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 83.0 | 3.2 | 10.4 | 1.18 | 4.39 | 3.74 |
| 1979 Cardinals | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 0.0 | 4.3 | 14.6 | 1.77 | 3.79 | 2.14 |
| 1980 Cardinals | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | 1 | 0 | n/a | 26.0 | 4.3 | 7.8 | 2.64 | 3.65 | 1.38 |
| 1981 Cardinals | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 0.0 | 4.1 | 13.7 | 1.41 | 2.97 | 2.10 |
| 1982 Cardinals | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 0.0 | 3.7 | 24.3 | 1.28 | 2.67 | 2.09 |
| 1983 Cardinals | 0 | 1 | .000 | 1 | 2 | n/a | 54.0 | 3.9 | 9.0 | 1.04 | 2.70 | 2.60 |
| 1984 Cardinals | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 0.0 | 5.3 | 5.3 | 1.11 | 3.61 | 3.27 |
| 1985 Cardinals | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 45.0 | 4.5 | 11.3 | 1.02 | 3.18 | 3.11 |
| 1986 Cardinals | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 1 | n/a | 38.0 | 3.2 | 6.3 | 1.53 | 4.07 | 2.66 |
| 1987 Cardinals | 0 | 0 | .000 | 1 | 0 | n/a | 28.5 | 3.4 | 7.1 | 1.98 | 4.47 | 2.26 |
| 1988 Cardinals | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | 1 | 1 | n/a | 0.0 | 4.2 | 12.5 | 1.05 | 3.31 | 3.15 |
| 1988 Astros | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 0.0 | 7.0 | 2.3 | 2.33 | 4.55 | 1.95 |
| 1989 Astros | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 1 | n/a | 0.0 | 4.0 | 12.0 | 0.87 | 3.32 | 3.82 |
| Career | SB | CS | SB% | PH | PR | DH | AB/HR | AB/K | AB/RBI | K/BB | K/9 | BB/9 |
| 16 Years | 3 | 1 | .750 | 4 | 9 | n/a | 74.4 | 3.6 | 10.6 | 1.36 | 3.65 | 2.68 |
Bob ForschBob Forsch Miscellaneous Items of Interest |
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| Team | Roster | Uniform Numbers | Salary | All-Star | World Series |
| 1974 St. Louis Cardinals | 31 | $15,000.00 | - | - |
| 1975 St. Louis Cardinals | 31 | $16,000.00 | - | - |
| 1976 St. Louis Cardinals | 31 | $44,000.00 | - | - |
| 1977 St. Louis Cardinals | 31 | $112,500.00 | - | - |
| 1978 St. Louis Cardinals | 31 | $350,000.00 | - | - |
| 1979 St. Louis Cardinals | 31 | $350,000.00 | - | - |
| 1980 St. Louis Cardinals | 31 | $350,000.00 | - | - |
| 1981 St. Louis Cardinals | 31 | $583,333.00 | - | - |
| 1982 St. Louis Cardinals | 31 | $583,333.00 | - | Stats |
| 1983 St. Louis Cardinals | 31 | $583,333.00 | - | - |
| 1984 St. Louis Cardinals | 31 | $583,333.00 | - | - |
| 1985 St. Louis Cardinals | 31 | $583,333.00 | - | Stats |
| 1986 St. Louis Cardinals | 31 | $527,235.00 | - | - |
| 1987 St. Louis Cardinals | 31 | $750,000.00 | - | Stats |
| 1988 St. Louis Cardinals | 31 | $400,000.00 | - | - |
| 1988 Houston Astros | 31 | " " | - | - |
| 1989 Houston Astros | 31 | $975,000.00 | - | - |
| Bob Forsch Stats by Baseball Almanac | ||||

Did you know that Bob Forsch is the only pitcher in St. Louis Cardinals history to pitch more than one no-hitter for the team, the first on April 16, 1978, and the second on September 26, 1983? Ken Forsch, Bob's younger brother, also pitched a no-hitter, on April 7, 1979, and they are the only set of brothers to both throw official no-hitters, prompting Bob to say, "They've been playing baseball one-hundred years and we're the first brothers to get no-hitters. We're proud of that fact. A no-hitter isn't easy. Two in one family is extremely rare."

Bob Borsch No-Hitter (Box Score) | The Salina Journal | April 17, 1978 | Page 11Baseball Almanac Research Library
Bob Forsch was one of the best hitting pitchers of his era, finishing his career with twelve home runs, a grand slam on August 10, 1986, he batted .308 in 1975, won the inaugural Silver Slugger Award for National League pitchers in 1980, and a second Silver Slugger Award in 1987. However, he also won his fair share of games for the Cards with 163 wins in a St. Louis Cardinals uniform, the third-winningest pitcher in franchise history behind two hall of fame pitchers, Bob Gibson (251) and Jesse Haines (210)!
The Silver Slugger Award has been awarded annually, since 1980, to the best offensive player at each position in both the American League and the National League, as determined by the coaches and managers of Major League Baseball. Bob Forsch hit .295 in 1980, the first pitcher in baseball history to win a Silver Slugger (no AL counterpart as they honor a designated hitter, rather than a pitcher).