1928
Born August 12, 1928
Saginaw, MI, USA
Bob Buhl Marquee
b. August 12, 1928 · Milwaukee Braves 1953–1962, Chicago Cubs 1962–1966, Philadelphia Phillies 1966–1967
Bob Buhl was the third starter behind Warren Spahn and Lew Burdette on Milwaukee Braves teams that won pennants in 1957 and 1958, and he won eighteen games in the championship year. He beat the Dodgers with unusual regularity, which in the 1950s was worth a great deal.
He is also remembered for something else entirely: in 1962, split between Milwaukee and the Cubs, he came to bat seventy times and did not get a hit. It remains the longest hitless season by any pitcher, and his .089 career average is the lowest of anyone with as many at-bats.
Born in Saginaw in 1928, Buhl pitched 2,587 innings with 111 complete games, finished 166-132, and made an All-Star team in 1960. His death came on February 16, 2001, at seventy-two.
Honors
| Award | Times | Years |
|---|---|---|
| All-Star selection | 1 | 1960 |
Batting, season by season
| Year | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | SB | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1953 | MLN | 30 | 53 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 18 | 0 | .113 |
| 1954 | MLN | 31 | 31 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 12 | 0 | .032 |
| 1955 | MLN | 38 | 57 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 24 | 0 | .105 |
| 1956 | MLN | 38 | 73 | 1 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 34 | 0 | .096 |
| 1957 | MLN | 34 | 73 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 6 | 34 | 0 | .082 |
| 1958 | MLN | 11 | 25 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | .200 |
| 1959 | MLN | 31 | 70 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 38 | 0 | .057 |
| 1960 | MLN | 36 | 89 | 4 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 40 | 0 | .157 |
| 1961 | MLN | 32 | 60 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 30 | 0 | .067 |
| 1962 | CHC/MLN | 35 | 70 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 36 | 1 | .000 |
| 1963 | CHC | 37 | 74 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 28 | 1 | .108 |
| 1964 | CHC | 36 | 73 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 31 | 0 | .096 |
| 1965 | CHC | 32 | 67 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 36 | 0 | .060 |
| 1966 | CHC/PHI | 33 | 42 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 22 | 0 | .095 |
| 1967 | PHI | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| Career | — | 457 | 857 | 31 | 76 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 26 | 38 | 389 | 2 | .089 |
Pitching, season by season
| Year | Team | W | L | G | GS | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1953 | MLN | 13 | 8 | 30 | 18 | 0 | 154.1 | 133 | 51 | 73 | 83 | 2.97 |
| 1954 | MLN | 2 | 7 | 31 | 14 | 3 | 110.1 | 117 | 49 | 65 | 57 | 4.00 |
| 1955 | MLN | 13 | 11 | 38 | 27 | 1 | 201.2 | 168 | 72 | 109 | 117 | 3.21 |
| 1956 | MLN | 18 | 8 | 38 | 33 | 0 | 216.2 | 190 | 80 | 105 | 86 | 3.32 |
| 1957 | MLN | 18 | 7 | 34 | 31 | 0 | 216.2 | 191 | 66 | 121 | 117 | 2.74 |
| 1958 | MLN | 5 | 2 | 11 | 10 | 1 | 73.0 | 74 | 28 | 30 | 27 | 3.45 |
| 1959 | MLN | 15 | 9 | 31 | 25 | 0 | 198.0 | 181 | 63 | 74 | 105 | 2.86 |
| 1960 | MLN | 16 | 9 | 36 | 33 | 0 | 238.2 | 202 | 82 | 103 | 121 | 3.09 |
| 1961 | MLN | 9 | 10 | 32 | 28 | 0 | 188.1 | 180 | 86 | 98 | 77 | 4.11 |
| 1962 | CHC/MLN | 12 | 14 | 35 | 31 | 0 | 214.0 | 210 | 92 | 98 | 110 | 3.87 |
| 1963 | CHC | 11 | 14 | 37 | 34 | 0 | 226.0 | 219 | 85 | 62 | 108 | 3.38 |
| 1964 | CHC | 15 | 14 | 36 | 35 | 0 | 227.2 | 208 | 97 | 68 | 107 | 3.83 |
| 1965 | CHC | 13 | 11 | 32 | 31 | 0 | 184.1 | 207 | 90 | 57 | 92 | 4.39 |
| 1966 | CHC/PHI | 6 | 8 | 33 | 19 | 1 | 134.1 | 160 | 74 | 40 | 60 | 4.96 |
| 1967 | PHI | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3.0 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 12.00 |
| Career | — | 166 | 132 | 457 | 369 | 6 | 2587.0 | 2446 | 1019 | 1105 | 1268 | 3.55 |
On this day & linked events
2001
Died February 16, 2001
1953
Major-league debut: Bob Buhl
Bob Buhl made a major-league debut on April 17, 1953.
1967
Final major-league game: Bob Buhl
Bob Buhl played a final major-league game on April 30, 1967.
Image: Bowman, public domain