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Ken Clay

Kenneth Earl Clay

Position: Pitcher
Bats: Right, Throws: Right
Height: 6' 3", Weight: 185 lb.

Born: April 6, 1954 in Lynchburg, VA
High School: E.C. Glass (Lynchburg, VA)
Drafted by the New York Yankees in the 2nd round of the 1972 amateur draft. (All Transactions)
Debut: June 7, 1977
Teams (by GP): Yankees/Mariners/Rangers 1977-1981

Final Game: October 2, 1981
About biographical information

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Fan EloRater

Fine Details · Last Updated Dec 23, 2011, 6:57AM

All-Time Rank (among Pitchers): #1. Walter Johnson… #2. Cy Young… #3. Greg Maddux… #4. Christy Mathewson… #5. Pete Alexander… #6. Tom Seaver… #7. Randy Johnson…

All-Time Rank (among Pitchers): #1. Walter Johnson… #2. Cy Young… #3. Greg Maddux… #4. Christy Mathewson… #5. Pete Alexander… #6. Tom Seaver… #7. Randy Johnson…

Standard Pitching

More Stats

Year	Age	Tm	Lg	W	L	W-L%	ERA	G	GS	GF	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	IBB	SO	HBP	BK	WP	BF	ERA+	WHIP	H/9	HR/9	BB/9	SO/9	SO/BB	Awards
1972	18	NYY-min	Rk	7	2	.778	2.97	13	13					91.0	69	32	30	5	53								1.341	6.8	0.5	5.2			JOH · APPY
1973	19	NYY-min	A	10	10	.500	2.28	24	24					158.0	129	61	40	1	80								1.323	7.3	0.1	4.6			FTL · FLOR
1974	20	NYY-min	AA	5	13	.278	4.88	31	21		5	0	1	155.0	160	103	84	14	77	1	99	6	1	6			1.529	9.3	0.8	4.5	5.7	1.29	WHA · EL
1975	21	NYY-min	AA,AAA	13	7	.650	3.68	24	24		2	0	0	154.0	143	73	63	11	71	1	32	2	0	4			1.390	8.4	0.6	4.1	1.9	0.45	WHA,SYR · EL,IL
1976	22	NYY-min	AAA	11	8	.579	4.12	30	24		8	1	1	168.0	202	94	77	6	67	5	87	2	2	8			1.601	10.8	0.3	3.6	4.7	1.30	SYR · IL
1977	23	NYY-min	AAA	5	1	.833	1.68	10	10		5	0	0	75.0	48	18	14	2	33	1	32	1	0	7			1.080	5.8	0.2	4.0	3.8	0.97	SYR · IL
1977	23	NYY	AL	2	3	.400	4.37	21	3	11	0	0	1	55.2	53	32	27	6	24	3	20	1	0	0	239	91	1.383	8.6	1.0	3.9	3.2	0.83
1978	24	NYY	AL	3	4	.429	4.28	28	6	13	0	0	0	75.2	89	41	36	3	21	3	32	2	0	4	336	85	1.454	10.6	0.4	2.5	3.8	1.52
1979	25	NYY	AL	1	7	.125	5.40	32	5	17	0	0	2	78.1	88	49	47	12	25	1	28	2	0	7	338	76	1.443	10.1	1.4	2.9	3.2	1.12
1980	26	NYY-min	AAA	9	4	.692	1.96	20	20		7	3	0	138.0	106	40	30	9	50	0	78	6	0	8			1.130	6.9	0.6	3.3	5.1	1.56	CLB · IL
1980	26	TEX	AL	2	3	.400	4.60	8	8	0	0	0	0	43.0	43	24	22	4	29	2	17	3	0	7	202	85	1.674	9.0	0.8	6.1	3.6	0.59
1981	27	SEA	AL	2	7	.222	4.63	22	14	2	0	0	0	101.0	116	62	52	10	42	3	32	3	1	5	445	84	1.564	10.3	0.9	3.7	2.9	0.76
5 Seasons				10	24	.294	4.68	111	36	43	0	0	3	353.2	389	208	184	35	141	12	129	11	1	23	1560	83	1.499	9.9	0.9	3.6	3.3	0.91
162 Game Avg.				5	11	.294	4.68	51	17	20	0	0	1	164	180	96	85	16	65	6	60	5	0	11	722	83	1.499	9.9	0.9	3.6	3.3	0.91

NYY (3 yrs)				6	14	.300	4.72	81	14	41	0	0	3	209.2	230	122	110	21	70	7	80	5	0	11	913	83	1.431	9.9	0.9	3.0	3.4	1.14
TEX (1 yr)				2	3	.400	4.60	8	8	0	0	0	0	43.0	43	24	22	4	29	2	17	3	0	7	202	85	1.674	9.0	0.8	6.1	3.6	0.59
SEA (1 yr)				2	7	.222	4.63	22	14	2	0	0	0	101.0	116	62	52	10	42	3	32	3	1	5	445	84	1.564	10.3	0.9	3.7	2.9	0.76

Player Value--Pitchers

WAR: 8+ MVP, 5+ A-S, 2+ Strtr, 0-2 Sub, < 0 Repl.

Year	Age	Tm	Lg	IP	GS	R	Rrep	Rdef	aLI	RAR	WAR	Salary
1977	23	NYY	AL	55.2	3	32	31	2	.9	-1	-0.3	$
1978	24	NYY	AL	75.2	6	41	39	3	.7	-2	-0.4	$
1979	25	NYY	AL	78.1	5	49	45	2	.7	-4	-0.6	$
1980	26	TEX	AL	43.0	8	24	28	-3	1.0	4	0.4	$
1981	27	SEA	AL	101.0	14	62	60	-2	.9	-2	-0.3	$
5 Seasons				353.2	36	208	203	2	.8	-5	-1.2	$

NYY (3 yrs)				209.2	14	122	115	7	.8	-7	-1.3	$
TEX (1 yr)				43.0	8	24	28	-3	1.0	4	0.4	$
SEA (1 yr)				101.0	14	62	60	-2	.9	-2	-0.3	$

Postseason Pitching

Postseason Gamelog

Year	Age	Tm	Lg	Series	Rslt	Opp	ERA	G	GF	SV	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	SO	WP	BF	WHIP	H/9	HR/9	BB/9	SO/9	SO/BB
1977	23	NYY	AL	WS	W	LAD	2.45	2	0	0	3.2	2	1	1	0	1	0	0	14	0.818	4.9	0.0	2.5	0.0	0.00
1978	24	NYY	AL	ALCS	W	KCR	0.00	1	1	1	3.2	0	0	0	0	3	2	0	14	0.818	0.0	0.0	7.4	4.9	0.67
1978	24	NYY	AL	WS	W	LAD	11.57	1	0	0	2.1	4	4	3	1	2	2	1	14	2.571	15.4	3.9	7.7	7.7	1.00
2 Seasons (3 Series)							3.72	4	1	1	9.2	6	5	4	1	6	4	1	42	1.241	5.6	0.9	5.6	3.7	0.67
1 ALCS							0.00	1	1	1	3.2	0	0	0	0	3	2	0	14	0.818	0.0	0.0	7.4	4.9	0.67
2 WS							6.00	3	0	0	6.0	6	5	4	1	3	2	1	28	1.500	9.0	1.5	4.5	3.0	0.67

Standard Batting

More Stats

Year	Age	Tm	Lg	G	PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	CS	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	TB	GDP	HBP	SH	SF	IBB	Pos
1972	18	NYY-min	Rk	13	37	37		9	3	0	0						.243	.243	.324	.568	12						JOH · APPY
1973	19	NYY-min	A	24	47	47		8	0	0	0						.170	.170	.170	.340	8						FTL · FLOR
1974	20	NYY-min	AA	33	59	47	4	8	1	0	0	2	0	0	5	12	.170	.245	.191	.437	9		0	6	1		WHA · EL
1975	21	NYY-min	AAA,AA	9	18	16	0	5	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	8	.313	.313	.313	.625	5		0	2	0		SYR,WHA · IL,EL
1976	22	NYY-min	AAA	30	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0					0		0	0	0		SYR · IL
1977	23	NYY-min	AAA	10	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0					0		0	0	0		SYR · IL
1977	23	NYY	AL	21	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0					0	0	0	0	0	0	1
1978	24	NYY	AL	28	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0					0	0	0	0	0	0	1
1979	25	NYY	AL	32	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0					0	0	0	0	0	0	1
1980	26	NYY-min	AAA	20	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0					0		0	0	0		CLB · IL
1980	26	TEX	AL	8	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0					0	0	0	0	0	0	/1
1981	27	SEA	AL	22	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0					0	0	0	0	0	0	1
5 Seasons				111	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0					0	0	0	0	0	0
162 Game Avg.				162	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0					0	0	0	0	0	0

NYY (3 yrs)				81	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0					0	0	0	0	0	0
TEX (1 yr)				8	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0					0	0	0	0	0	0
SEA (1 yr)				22	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0					0	0	0	0	0	0

Postseason Batting

Postseason Gamelog

Year	Age	Tm	Lg	Series	Opp	Rslt	G	PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	CS	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	TB	GDP	HBP	SH	SF	IBB
1977	23	NYY	AL	WS	LAD	W	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0					0	0	0	0	0
1 WS							2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0					0	0	0	0	0

Standard Fielding

More Stats

Year	Tm	Lg	Age	Pos	G	GS	Inn	Ch	PO	A	E	DP	Fld%	RF/9	RF/G	lgFld%	lgRF9	lgRFG	SB	CS	CS%	PO
1977	NYY	AL	23	P	21	3	55.2	15	8	7	0	0	1.000	2.43	0.71	.948	1.96	1.93	4	5	56%	0
1978	NYY	AL	24	P	28	6	75.2	17	6	9	2	1	.882	1.78	0.54	.954	1.90	1.88	5	0	0%	0
1979	NYY	AL	25	P	32	5	78.1	21	8	12	1	0	.952	2.30	0.63	.949	1.92	1.89	5	3	38%	1
1980	TEX	AL	26	P	8	8	43.0	8	3	4	1	0	.875	1.47	0.88	.958	1.84	1.85	8	0	0%	0
1981	SEA	AL	27	P	22	14	101.0	17	6	10	1	1	.941	1.43	0.73	.963	1.98	1.98	11	4	27%	1
	5 Seasons			P	111	36	353.2	78	31	42	5	2	.936	1.86	0.66	.954	1.93	1.91	33	12	27%	2
	5 Seasons			TOT	111	36	353.2	78	31	42	5	2	.936	1.86	0.66	.954	1.93	1.91	33	12	27%	2

Note: Fielding stats are a combination of official records and RetroSheet records. Both are likely to have substantial errors and will not match perfectly.

View Complete Notes on Fielding Data

Leagues historically made no effort to balance team, league, and player fielding stats. Since 1990 or so, computers have made this feasible, but prior to that there are hundreds or thousands of discrepancies each year in games played (even whether a player played a position), putouts, assists, double plays and errors.

Pre-1950 SB & CS data for catchers is estimated from catcher assists, games started and opposition stolen bases.
From 1950 on SB, CS, Pickoff, & WP data for catchers and pitchers is taken from play-by-play accounts in the retrosheet files. There are several hundred games without pbp from 1950 to 1973 and for those we may not have any data.
CG & GS come from the retrosheet data and should be complete and pretty accurate from 1919 on.
Innings played (like SB and CS) come from the retrosheet play-by-play data and should be considered mostly complete from 1950 to 1973 and complete from then on.
Stats (PO,A,G, etc) for LF-CF-RF positions (since 1919) is taken from play-by-play or box score data as available.
Stats (PO,A,G,etc) for C,P,1B,2B,3B,SS,OF positions is taken from the official reported totals and may have been corrected at various times since their publication.
For detailed information on which games retrosheet is missing play-by-play from 1950 to 1973, please see their most wanted games list
For detailed information on the availability of data on this site by year, see our data coverage page

Hall Of Fame Statistics

Player rank in (·)

Hall of Fame Monitor

Pitching - 3 (1554), Likely HOFer ≈ 100

Similarity Scores

Explanation of Similarity Scores

Similar Pitchers

Compare Stats to Similars

Most Similar by Ages

Hold mouse over #'s to see names

Bill Dillman (991) 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 C
Derek Lowe (990) 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 C
Kent Bottenfield (985) 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 C
Eddie Erautt (987) 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 C

* - Signifies Hall of Famer

Transactions

June 6, 1972: Drafted by the New York Yankees in the 2nd round of the 1972 amateur draft.
August 14, 1980: Traded by the New York Yankees with a player to be named later to the Texas Rangers for Gaylord Perry. The New York Yankees sent Marvin Thompson (minors) (October 1, 1980) to the Texas Rangers to complete the trade.
December 12, 1980: Traded by the Texas Rangers with Steve Finch (minors), Brian Allard, Rick Auerbach, Jerry Gleaton and Richie Zisk to the Seattle Mariners for Larry Cox, Rick Honeycutt, Willie Horton, Mario Mendoza and Leon Roberts.
March 29, 1982: Released by the Seattle Mariners.

The transaction information used here was obtained free of charge from and is copyrighted by RetroSheet. We attempt to update transactions throughout the season.

Other Resources & Links

Error? Compare Search SABR's Baseball Index Other Links@google.com Baseball Library Baseball-Almanac.com Retrosheet The Baseball Cube The Baseball Page WhatIfSports: Ken Clay

Viewed 5,785 times through February 11, 2012.
Name and misspellings: Kenneth Earl Ken kenny keny king Clay clayton

Player Page Tricks and Tips

Sum any set of rows by clicking anywhere (not red or blue) on the first and last rows of your selection. We will then compute the totals for the player between and including those two seasons.
Default Setting for this feature: Turn On / Turn Off
Summation of season totals only works for the initial case when the table is in year order. On a sorted table the results may get a bit goofy.

HIGHLIGHTING: Adding a range or series of player's career seasons or career game numbers (like '#1972:batting_standard', '#1970-1980-sum:batting_standard', or '#1998,1999,2001,2002,sum:pitching_standard') onto the end of a player page url causes the seasons to the highlighted and summed. After changing address bar, reload the page to see highlighting. This will work even in links e-mailed to others. Note that for tables with multiple pages the first table is the default. If you want to create a sum for a table other than the first one, select the rows and after the summation window appears click on "permanent link" link.

The play-by-play information both shown and used to create certain data sets was obtained free of charge from and is copyrighted by RetroSheet.