What years did Jeff Ballard play?

Jeff Ballard played in Major League Baseball from 1987 to 1994.

Was Jeff Ballard a pitcher?

Yes. Jeff Ballard pitched in the major leagues, recording 41 wins and 244 strikeouts.

How many home runs did Jeff Ballard hit?

Jeff Ballard hit 0 career home runs with 5 hits.

What teams did Jeff Ballard play for?

Jeff Ballard played for 2 teams: the Baltimore Orioles (1987–1991) and the Pittsburgh Pirates (1993–1994).

What were Jeff Ballard's career stats?

In 197 games, Jeff Ballard went 41-53 with a 4.71 ERA, 244 strikeouts, 773.1 innings pitched, and 2 saves.

What was Jeff Ballard's salary?

Jeff Ballard's last recorded salary was $175,000, in 1994. His highest recorded salary was $465,000, in 1991, and his lowest was $97,000, in 1989. The Salary History table lists each season from 1989 to 1994.

What position did Jeff Ballard play?

Jeff Ballard played primarily as a pitcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.

How tall was Jeff Ballard and how much did he weigh?

Jeff Ballard was listed at 6 feet 3 inches and 195 pounds.

What was Jeff Ballard's career ERA?

Jeff Ballard finished with a 4.71 career ERA, going 41-53 with 244 strikeouts.

How many strikeouts did Jeff Ballard have?

Jeff Ballard recorded 244 career strikeouts.

Is Jeff Ballard in the Hall of Fame?

No. Jeff Ballard has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

Jeff Ballard

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1987-1994)

Jeff Ballard was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1987 to 1994 for the Baltimore Orioles and the Pittsburgh Pirates, a span of 8 seasons. Across 197 career appearances, he went 41-53 with a 4.71 ERA and 244 strikeouts.

W (Wins):: Games credited to a pitcher whose team took a lead it never surrendered while he was the pitcher of record.
ERA (Earned Run Average):: Earned runs allowed per nine innings pitched: (ER × 9) ÷ IP. The primary measure of pitching effectiveness.
SO (Strikeouts):: For a batter, times retired on a third strike; for a pitcher, batters retired on a third strike.
WHIP (Walks and Hits per Inning Pitched):: Baserunners allowed per inning: (BB + H) ÷ IP. Under 1.00 is elite.

Data updated October 17, 2026

W–L 41–53

ERA 4.71

WHIP 1.48

SO 244

Pitcher PIV -15721.2

Position: Pitcher
Bats / Throws: L / L
Height / Weight: 6'3" / 195 lb
Born: 8/13/1963 in Billings, MT, USA
MLB Debut: 1987-05-09
Last Game: 1994-07-08

Full name: Jeffrey Scott Ballard

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Career Pitching Statistics

Jeff Ballard — Career Pitching Statistics
W	L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	SO	ERA	Pitcher PIV
41	53	197	118	10	2	2	773.1	914	405	92	229	244	4.71	-15721.2

Career ERA 4.71 vs. league average 4.02 across their career seasons — 17.4% worse than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Jeff Ballard Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year	Team	Lg	W	L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA	Lg ERA	Pitcher PIV
1987	BAL	AL	2	8	14	14	0	0	0	69.2	100	51	35	27	6.59	4.29 (-53%)	-3672.5
1988	BAL	AL	8	12	25	25	6	1	0	153.1	167	75	42	41	4.40	3.73 (-18%)	-2727.2
1989	BAL	AL	18	8	35	35	4	1	0	215.1	240	82	57	62	3.43	3.71 (+8%)	-1574.4
1990	BAL	AL	2	11	44	17	0	0	0	133.1	152	73	42	50	4.93	3.86 (-28%)	-4515.1
1991	BAL	AL	6	12	26	22	0	0	0	123.2	153	77	28	37	5.60	3.91 (-43%)	-2336.7
1993	PIT	NL	4	1	25	5	0	0	0	53.2	70	29	15	16	4.86	4.19 (-16%)	164.8
1994	PIT	NL	1	1	28	0	0	0	2	24.1	32	18	10	11	6.66	4.51 (-48%)	-1060.1
Career · 7 seasons			41	53	197	118	10	2	2	773.1	914	405	229	244	4.71	—	-15,721

Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.

Career Batting Statistics

Jeff Ballard — Career Batting Statistics
G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	PIV
197	13	0	5	1	0	0	0	0	0	4	.385	.385	.462	.846	0

Career AVG .385 vs. league average .260 across their career seasons — +48.1% above league average.

Career OBP .385 vs. league average .327 across their career seasons — +17.8% above league average.

Career SLG .462 vs. league average .394 across their career seasons — +17.1% above league average.

Career OPS .846 vs. league average .721 across their career seasons — +17.4% above league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Jeff Ballard — Season-by-Season Batting
Year	Team	Lg	G	AB	H	2B	SO	AVG	Lg AVG	Lg OBP	Lg SLG	Lg OPS	PIV
1987	BAL	AL	14	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1988	BAL	AL	25	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1989	BAL	AL	35	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1990	BAL	AL	44	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1991	BAL	AL	26	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1993	PIT	NL	25	11	4	1	4	.364	—	—	—	—	0.0
1994	PIT	NL	28	2	1	0	0	.500	—	—	—	—	0.0
Career · 7 seasons			197	13	5	1	4	.385	—	—	—	—	0

Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (394 games) →

Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).

Batting — Home / Away

Jeff Ballard — Batting — Home / Away
Split	G	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	AVG
Home	96	6	0	3	0	0	.500
Away	101	7	0	2	0	0	.286

Pitching — Home / Away

Jeff Ballard — Pitching — Home / Away
Split	G	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
Home	96	386.0	447	188	114	131	4.38
Away	101	387.1	467	217	115	113	5.04

Last 10 Games — Pitching

Jeff Ballard — Last 10 Games — Pitching
Date	Tm	Opp	Dec	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR
1994-07-08	PIT	CIN	—	2.0	5	4	4	1	1	1
1994-07-07	PIT	CIN	—	0.0	0	0	0	1	0	0
1994-07-06	PIT	ATL	—	0.1	0	0	0	1	1	0
1994-07-01	PIT	CIN	—	1.0	0	0	0	0	1	0
1994-06-27	PIT	CHC	L	0.0	1	1	1	0	0	0
1994-06-18	PIT	STL	—	2.0	4	3	3	0	0	0
1994-06-15	PIT	WSN	—	2.2	3	4	4	2	3	1
1994-06-13	PIT	WSN	—	1.0	0	0	0	0	0	0
1994-06-05	PIT	COL	SV	1.0	0	0	0	0	0	0
1994-06-01	PIT	SDP	—	0.1	0	0	0	1	1	0

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Jeff Ballard — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
P	197	118	47	128	5	16

Season-by-Season Fielding

Jeff Ballard — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year	Team	Pos	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
1987	BAL	P	14	14	5	10	0	1
1988	BAL	P	25	25	9	13	0	3
1989	BAL	P	35	35	13	55	2	6
1990	BAL	P	44	17	11	20	1	0
1991	BAL	P	26	22	4	15	1	3
1993	PIT	P	25	5	4	12	1	3
1994	PIT	P	28	0	1	3	0	0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Jeff Ballard — Career Games by Position
Position	Games
Pitcher	197

Awards & Honors

Jeff Ballard — Awards & Honors
Year	Award	Notes
1989	Pitcher of the Month	April

Salary History

Jeff Ballard's recorded salaries total $937,000 over 4 seasons, 1989 to 1994. This total is partial: the salary data covers 1985 to 2016, and Ballard's career ran from 1987 to 1994. No salary is recorded for 1987, 1988, and 1993.

Jeff Ballard — Salary History
Year	Team	League	Salary
1994	PIT	NL	$175,000
1991	BAL	AL	$465,000
1990	BAL	AL	$200,000
1989	BAL	AL	$97,000
Total recorded salary (partial)			$937,000

College History

Jeff Ballard — College History
School Name	City	State	Years Attended
Stanford University	Palo Alto	CA	1982, 1983, 1984, 1985

Award Voting History

Jeff Ballard — Award Voting History
Year	Award	League	Finish	Points Won	Points Max	Votes First
1989	Cy Young Award	AL	6th	3.0	140	0

Most Similar Players

Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.

Career Spans

Jeff Ballard (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

Jeff Ballard: the record in brief

According to the bio, Jeff Ballard debuted on May 9, 1987 and played a final game on July 8, 1994. The season rows list, in order, the Baltimore Orioles (1987 to 1991) and the Pittsburgh Pirates (1993 to 1994). At 6 feet, 3 inches and 195 pounds, Ballard is listed as a pitcher. The bio says Ballard both batted and threw left-handed. Ballard was born on August 13, 1963, in Billings, MT, USA. Jeff Ballard was the playing name; the full given name is Jeffrey Scott.

Ballard's career pitching line is 41 wins, 53 losses and a 4.71 ERA over 197 appearances. Also on Ballard's record: 244 strikeouts and 10 complete games. Against a 4.02 league ERA for the same seasons, the 4.71 mark was 17.4% worse. The best win total was 18, in 1989. Among the heaviest workloads, the lowest ERA was 3.43 in 1989, when the league's was 3.71.

Ballard's awards table lists Pitcher of the Month (1989). The voting table's high point is a 6th-place Cy Young Award finish in 1989.

Frequently Asked Questions about Jeff Ballard

What years did Jeff Ballard play?: Jeff Ballard played in Major League Baseball from 1987 to 1994.
Was Jeff Ballard a pitcher?: Yes. Jeff Ballard pitched in the major leagues, recording 41 wins and 244 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Jeff Ballard hit?: Jeff Ballard hit 0 career home runs with 5 hits.
What teams did Jeff Ballard play for?: Jeff Ballard played for 2 teams: the Baltimore Orioles (1987–1991) and the Pittsburgh Pirates (1993–1994).
What were Jeff Ballard's career stats?: In 197 games, Jeff Ballard went 41-53 with a 4.71 ERA, 244 strikeouts, 773.1 innings pitched, and 2 saves.
How much did Jeff Ballard earn in his career?: Jeff Ballard's recorded salaries total $937,000 over 4 seasons, 1989 to 1994. This total is partial: the salary data covers 1985 to 2016, and Ballard's career ran from 1987 to 1994. No salary is recorded for 1987, 1988, and 1993.
What was Jeff Ballard's salary?: Jeff Ballard's last recorded salary was $175,000, in 1994. His highest recorded salary was $465,000, in 1991, and his lowest was $97,000, in 1989. The Salary History table lists each season from 1989 to 1994.
What position did Jeff Ballard play?: Jeff Ballard played primarily as a pitcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.
How tall was Jeff Ballard and how much did he weigh?: Jeff Ballard was listed at 6 feet 3 inches and 195 pounds.
What was Jeff Ballard's career ERA?: Jeff Ballard finished with a 4.71 career ERA, going 41-53 with 244 strikeouts.
How many strikeouts did Jeff Ballard have?: Jeff Ballard recorded 244 career strikeouts.
Is Jeff Ballard in the Hall of Fame?: No. Jeff Ballard has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.