1955
Born July 7, 1955
Fort Knox, KY, USA
Len Barker Notable
b. July 7, 1955 · Texas Rangers 1976–1978, Cleveland Indians 1979–1983, Atlanta Braves 1983–1985, Milwaukee Brewers 1987
Len Barker played for four clubs across 12 seasons as a pitcher, opening with the Texas Rangers in 1976 and closing with the Milwaukee Brewers in 1987. His longest stay was with the Cleveland Indians, from 1979 to 1983.
He went 74 and 76 with a 4.34 earned run average, pitching 1,323 innings in 248 games. He struck out 975, completed 35 of his 194 starts and threw 7 shutouts. Across 248 games he batted .048, with 3 hits and 3 runs. He finished with 1 double.
He led the league in strikeouts two times between 1980 and 1981, topping out at 187.
He was an All-Star in 1981. He threw a perfect game in 1981.
He was born in Fort Knox, KY, USA on July 7, 1955. He batted right-handed and threw right-handed.
Honors
| Award | Times | Years |
|---|---|---|
| All-Star selection | 1 | 1981 |
| Player of the Week | 2 | 1979, 1981 |
Batting, season by season
| Year | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | SB | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1976 | TEX | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1977 | TEX | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1978 | TEX | 29 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1979 | CLE | 29 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1980 | CLE | 36 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1981 | CLE | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1982 | CLE | 33 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1983 | ATL/CLE | 30 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | .125 |
| 1984 | ATL | 21 | 38 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 19 | 0 | .053 |
| 1985 | ATL | 20 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | .000 |
| 1987 | MIL | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| Career | — | 248 | 63 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 31 | 0 | .048 |
Pitching, season by season
| Year | Team | W | L | G | GS | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1976 | TEX | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 15.0 | 7 | 4 | 6 | 7 | 2.40 |
| 1977 | TEX | 4 | 1 | 15 | 3 | 1 | 47.1 | 36 | 14 | 24 | 51 | 2.66 |
| 1978 | TEX | 1 | 5 | 29 | 0 | 4 | 52.1 | 63 | 28 | 29 | 33 | 4.82 |
| 1979 | CLE | 6 | 6 | 29 | 19 | 0 | 137.1 | 146 | 75 | 70 | 93 | 4.92 |
| 1980 | CLE | 19 | 12 | 36 | 36 | 0 | 246.1 | 237 | 114 | 92 | 187 | 4.17 |
| 1981 | CLE | 8 | 7 | 22 | 22 | 0 | 154.1 | 150 | 67 | 46 | 127 | 3.91 |
| 1982 | CLE | 15 | 11 | 33 | 33 | 0 | 244.2 | 211 | 106 | 88 | 187 | 3.90 |
| 1983 | ATL/CLE | 9 | 16 | 30 | 30 | 0 | 182.2 | 181 | 99 | 66 | 126 | 4.88 |
| 1984 | ATL | 7 | 8 | 21 | 20 | 0 | 126.1 | 120 | 54 | 38 | 95 | 3.85 |
| 1985 | ATL | 2 | 9 | 20 | 18 | 0 | 73.2 | 84 | 52 | 37 | 47 | 6.35 |
| 1987 | MIL | 2 | 1 | 11 | 11 | 0 | 43.2 | 54 | 26 | 17 | 22 | 5.36 |
| Career | — | 74 | 76 | 248 | 194 | 5 | 1323.2 | 1289 | 639 | 513 | 975 | 4.34 |
On this day & linked events
1976
Major-league debut: Len Barker
Len Barker made a major-league debut on September 14, 1976.
1981
Len Barker's Perfect Game
Len Barker threw a perfect game for the Cleveland Indians against the Toronto Blue Jays on May 15, 1981, winning 3–0.
1987
Final major-league game: Len Barker
Len Barker played a final major-league game on September 26, 1987.
Image: Cleveland Indians, public domain