Kent Tekulve Stats & Facts

Kent Tekulve

Positions:
Bats: R Throws: R
Height: 76 Weight: 180
Born: Wednesday, March 05, 1947 in Cincinnati, OH USA
Died: in ,
Debut: 5/20/1974
Last Game: 7/16/1989
Full Name: Kenton Charles Tekulve

Kent Tekulve, pitcher for the 1974-85 Pirates, who still sits in second place on the team’s all-time list of games pitched and saves, trailing only Elroy Face in both categories. He signed with the Pirates as an amateur free agent in 1969 and it took him seven seasons and 255 appearances before he established himself as a big leaguer. After making eight appearances with the Pirates in 1974, Tekulve was recalled by the Pirates in late June 1975 and he stayed in the majors for good. He pitched 56 innings over 34 games that season, posting a 2.25 ERA. The next two seasons saw him win 15 total games, accumulate 16 saves and pitch over 100 innings each year.

In 1978, he set team records with 91 appearances and 31 saves. He pitched 135.1 innings in relief, posting a 2.33 ERA with eight wins. Those numbers earned him MVP and Cy Young Award votes. The Pirates won their fifth World Series title in 1979 and Tekulve was a big part of that team. He topped his games pitched record, appearing on the mound 94 times and he tied his saves record with 31, while also winning ten games. Kent pitched twice in the NLCS and five times in the WS, saving three games, including game seven.

In 1980 Tekulve posted his highest single-season ERA with the Pirates but managed to make the only All-Star appearance of his career. He had another big season in 1982, leading the NL with 85 games pitched. He won 12 games that year, saved another 20 and threw 128.2 innings. He remained with the Pirates until early in the 1985 season when he was traded to the Phillies for Al Holland and a minor leaguer. He played another four seasons before retiring in 1989. He pitched 1,050 games in his career, all in relief and was second on the all-time list for games pitched to Hall of Famer Hoyt Wilhelm when he retired. While with the Pirates he pitched 722 games, saving 158, winning 70 and throwing a total of 1017.1 innings with a 2.68 ERA.