1962
Born November 26, 1962
Monroe, LA, USA
Chuck Finley Marquee
b. November 26, 1962 · California Angels 1986–1996, Anaheim Angels 1997–1999, Cleveland Indians 2000–2002, St. Louis Cardinals 2002
He struck out 2,610 batters, which is 28th on the all-time list and more than several pitchers in the Hall of Fame, and won 200 games against 173 with a 3.85 earned run average across seventeen seasons and 3,197 innings. Five All-Star selections.
Fourteen of those seasons were with the Angels, for whom he won 165 games, more than anyone else has; only Nolan Ryan struck out more men in an Angels uniform.
The clubs were mostly poor: the Angels finished above .500 in five of his fourteen years there and he never pitched in a World Series. The writers gave him one vote of 543 in 2008, which for 2,610 strikeouts is close to the lowest return the ballot has produced.
Honors
| Award | Times | Years |
|---|---|---|
| All-Star selection | 5 | 1989, 1990, 1995, 1996, 2000 |
| Pitcher of the Month | 4 | 1989, 1990, 1997, 1998 |
| Player of the Week | 2 | 1996, 1997 |
| The Sporting News All-Star | 2 | 1989, 1990 |
Batting, season by season
| Year | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | SB | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | CAL | 25 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1987 | CAL | 35 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1988 | CAL | 31 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1989 | CAL | 29 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1990 | CAL | 32 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1991 | CAL | 34 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1992 | CAL | 31 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1993 | CAL | 35 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1994 | CAL | 25 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1995 | CAL | 32 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1996 | CAL | 35 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1997 | ANA | 25 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | .000 |
| 1998 | ANA | 34 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | .000 |
| 1999 | ANA | 33 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | .000 |
| 2000 | CLE | 34 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | .000 |
| 2001 | CLE | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2002 | CLE/STL | 32 | 32 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 14 | 0 | .094 |
| Career | — | 524 | 53 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 26 | 0 | .057 |
Pitching, season by season
| Year | Team | W | L | G | GS | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | CAL | 3 | 1 | 25 | 0 | 0 | 46.1 | 40 | 17 | 23 | 37 | 3.30 |
| 1987 | CAL | 2 | 7 | 35 | 3 | 0 | 90.2 | 102 | 47 | 43 | 63 | 4.67 |
| 1988 | CAL | 9 | 15 | 31 | 31 | 0 | 194.1 | 191 | 90 | 82 | 111 | 4.17 |
| 1989 | CAL | 16 | 9 | 29 | 29 | 0 | 199.2 | 171 | 57 | 82 | 156 | 2.57 |
| 1990 | CAL | 18 | 9 | 32 | 32 | 0 | 236.0 | 210 | 63 | 81 | 177 | 2.40 |
| 1991 | CAL | 18 | 9 | 34 | 34 | 0 | 227.1 | 205 | 96 | 101 | 171 | 3.80 |
| 1992 | CAL | 7 | 12 | 31 | 31 | 0 | 204.1 | 212 | 90 | 98 | 124 | 3.96 |
| 1993 | CAL | 16 | 14 | 35 | 35 | 0 | 251.1 | 243 | 88 | 82 | 187 | 3.15 |
| 1994 | CAL | 10 | 10 | 25 | 25 | 0 | 183.1 | 178 | 88 | 71 | 148 | 4.32 |
| 1995 | CAL | 15 | 12 | 32 | 32 | 0 | 203.0 | 192 | 95 | 93 | 195 | 4.21 |
| 1996 | CAL | 15 | 16 | 35 | 35 | 0 | 238.0 | 241 | 110 | 94 | 215 | 4.16 |
| 1997 | ANA | 13 | 6 | 25 | 25 | 0 | 164.0 | 152 | 77 | 65 | 155 | 4.23 |
| 1998 | ANA | 11 | 9 | 34 | 34 | 0 | 223.1 | 210 | 84 | 109 | 212 | 3.39 |
| 1999 | ANA | 12 | 11 | 33 | 33 | 0 | 213.1 | 197 | 105 | 94 | 200 | 4.43 |
| 2000 | CLE | 16 | 11 | 34 | 34 | 0 | 218.0 | 211 | 101 | 101 | 189 | 4.17 |
| 2001 | CLE | 8 | 7 | 22 | 22 | 0 | 113.2 | 131 | 70 | 35 | 96 | 5.54 |
| 2002 | CLE/STL | 11 | 15 | 32 | 32 | 0 | 190.2 | 183 | 88 | 78 | 174 | 4.15 |
| Career | — | 200 | 173 | 524 | 467 | 0 | 3197.1 | 3069 | 1366 | 1332 | 2610 | 3.85 |
On this day & linked events
1986
Major-league debut: Chuck Finley
Chuck Finley made a major-league debut on May 29, 1986.
2002
Final major-league game: Chuck Finley
Chuck Finley played a final major-league game on September 28, 2002.
Image: Jerry Reuss, CC BY-SA 2.0