1946
Born October 8, 1946
Evansville, IN, USA
Paul Splittorff Marquee
b. October 8, 1946 · Kansas City Royals 1970–1984
He won 166 games for the Royals, more than Dennis Leonard or Mark Gubicza or anyone since, across fifteen seasons that began in the club's second year. He was 20-11 in 1973, the first Royal to win 20, and pitched in three Championship Series and the 1980 World Series.
Fifteen seasons gave him 166 wins against 143, a 3.81 earned run average, 2,554 innings and 88 complete games. He was never an All-Star, which for the winningest pitcher a franchise has had is unusual.
He broadcast Kansas City games from 1988 until weeks before his death, and worked on air through the illness. He died of melanoma and oral cancer in 2011, at sixty-four. The 1990 ballot gave him no votes at all.
Batting, season by season
| Year | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | SB | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 | KCR | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .500 |
| 1971 | KCR | 22 | 48 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 8 | 0 | .104 |
| 1972 | KCR | 35 | 71 | 9 | 16 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 8 | 0 | .225 |
| 1973 | KCR | 38 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1974 | KCR | 37 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1975 | KCR | 35 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1976 | KCR | 26 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1977 | KCR | 37 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1978 | KCR | 39 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1979 | KCR | 36 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1980 | KCR | 34 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1981 | KCR | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1982 | KCR | 29 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1983 | KCR | 27 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1984 | KCR | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| Career | — | 430 | 121 | 12 | 22 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 7 | 16 | 0 | .182 |
Pitching, season by season
| Year | Team | W | L | G | GS | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 | KCR | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 8.2 | 16 | 7 | 5 | 10 | 7.27 |
| 1971 | KCR | 8 | 9 | 22 | 22 | 0 | 144.1 | 129 | 43 | 35 | 80 | 2.68 |
| 1972 | KCR | 12 | 12 | 35 | 33 | 0 | 216.0 | 189 | 75 | 67 | 140 | 3.13 |
| 1973 | KCR | 20 | 11 | 38 | 38 | 0 | 262.0 | 279 | 116 | 78 | 110 | 3.98 |
| 1974 | KCR | 13 | 19 | 36 | 36 | 0 | 226.0 | 252 | 103 | 75 | 90 | 4.10 |
| 1975 | KCR | 9 | 10 | 35 | 23 | 1 | 159.0 | 156 | 56 | 56 | 76 | 3.17 |
| 1976 | KCR | 11 | 8 | 26 | 23 | 0 | 158.2 | 169 | 70 | 59 | 59 | 3.97 |
| 1977 | KCR | 16 | 6 | 37 | 37 | 0 | 229.0 | 243 | 94 | 83 | 99 | 3.69 |
| 1978 | KCR | 19 | 13 | 39 | 38 | 0 | 262.0 | 244 | 99 | 60 | 76 | 3.40 |
| 1979 | KCR | 15 | 17 | 36 | 35 | 0 | 240.0 | 248 | 113 | 77 | 77 | 4.24 |
| 1980 | KCR | 14 | 11 | 34 | 33 | 0 | 204.0 | 236 | 94 | 43 | 53 | 4.15 |
| 1981 | KCR | 5 | 5 | 21 | 15 | 0 | 99.0 | 111 | 48 | 23 | 48 | 4.36 |
| 1982 | KCR | 10 | 10 | 29 | 28 | 0 | 162.0 | 166 | 77 | 57 | 74 | 4.28 |
| 1983 | KCR | 13 | 8 | 27 | 27 | 0 | 156.0 | 159 | 63 | 52 | 61 | 3.63 |
| 1984 | KCR | 1 | 3 | 12 | 3 | 0 | 28.0 | 47 | 24 | 10 | 4 | 7.71 |
| Career | — | 166 | 143 | 429 | 392 | 1 | 2554.2 | 2644 | 1082 | 780 | 1057 | 3.81 |
On this day & linked events
2011
Died May 25, 2011
1970
Major-league debut: Paul Splittorff
Paul Splittorff made a major-league debut on September 23, 1970.
1984
Final major-league game: Paul Splittorff
Paul Splittorff played a final major-league game on June 26, 1984.
Image: Unknown author Unknown, public domain