John Briggs

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1956-1960)

John Briggs was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1956 to 1960 for the Chicago Cubs, the Cleveland Guardians, and the Kansas City Athletics, a span of 5 seasons. Across 59 career appearances, he went 9-11 with a 5.00 ERA and 80 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

W–L 9–11
ERA 5.00
WHIP 1.55
SO 80
Pitcher PIV -3093.4
Position
Pitcher
Bats / Throws
R / R
Height / Weight
5'10" / 175 lb
Born
1/24/1934 in Natoma, CA, USA
Died
12/25/2018 in Murphys, CA, USA
MLB Debut
1956-04-17
Last Game
1960-09-04

Full name: Jonathan Tift Briggs

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Career Pitching Statistics

John Briggs — Career Pitching Statistics
W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
9 11 59 21 3 1 1 165.2 174 92 23 82 80 5.00 -3093.4

Career ERA 5.00 vs. league average 3.88 across their career seasons — 29.0% worse than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

John Briggs — Season-by-Season Pitching
Year Team Lg W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER BB SO ERA Lg ERA Pitcher PIV
1956 CHN NL 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 5.1 5 1 4 1 1.69 — 0.0
1957 CHN NL 0 1 3 0 0 0 0 4.1 7 6 3 1 12.46 — 0.0
1958 CHN NL 5 5 20 17 3 1 0 95.2 99 48 45 46 4.52 3.86 (-17%) -1737.2
1959 CLE AL 0 1 4 1 0 0 0 12.2 12 3 3 5 2.13 3.90 (+45%) 131.3
1960 CLE AL 4 2 21 2 0 0 1 36.1 32 18 15 19 4.46 3.82 (-17%) -378.1
1960 KC1 AL 0 2 8 1 0 0 0 11.1 19 16 12 8 12.71 3.82 (-233%) -1109.5
Career · 6 seasons 9 11 59 21 3 1 1 165.2 174 92 82 80 5.00 — -3,093

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

John Briggs — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
59 48 3 10 1 1 0 7 0 0 17 .208 .204 .271 .475 0

Career AVG .208 vs. league average .257 across their career seasons — 19.0% below league average.

Career OBP .204 vs. league average .326 across their career seasons — 37.3% below league average.

Career SLG .271 vs. league average .392 across their career seasons — 31.0% below league average.

Career OPS .475 vs. league average .718 across their career seasons — 33.9% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

John Briggs — Season-by-Season Batting
Year Team Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG Lg AVG Lg OBP Lg SLG Lg OPS PIV
1956 CHN NL 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1957 CHN NL 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1958 CHN NL 20 35 3 9 1 1 0 6 0 0 14 .257 — — — — 0.0
1959 CLE AL 4 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1960 CLE AL 21 8 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 .125 — — — — 0.0
1960 KC1 AL 8 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000 — — — — 0.0
Career · 6 seasons 59 48 3 10 1 1 0 7 0 0 17 .208 — — — — 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 (118 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

John Briggs — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home27202604.300
Away32281403.143

Pitching — Home / Away

John Briggs — Pitching — Home / Away
SplitGIPHERBBSOERA
Home2779.2743434383.84
Away3286.11005848416.05

Last 10 Games — Batting

John Briggs — Last 10 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1960-09-04 KC1CLEL 000000000
1960-08-26 KC1BALL 100000000
1960-08-25 KC1MINL 000000000
1960-08-19 KC1CHWL 200000001
1960-08-13 KC1CHWL 000000000
1960-08-06 KC1NYYL 000000000
1960-08-04 KC1BOSL 000000000
1960-07-31 KC1NYYL 000000000
1960-07-24 CLEBOSL 000000000
1960-07-20 CLENYYW 000000000

Last 10 Games — Pitching

John Briggs — Last 10 Games — Pitching
DateTmOppDecIPHRERBBSOHR
1960-09-04 KC1CLE — 2.0100310
1960-08-26 KC1BAL — 1.1333211
1960-08-25 KC1MIN — 1.0100010
1960-08-19 KC1CHW — 4.1311140
1960-08-13 KC1CHW L 0.2333101
1960-08-06 KC1NYY — 0.0344100
1960-08-04 KC1BOS L 0.0244301
1960-07-31 KC1NYY — 2.0321110
1960-07-24 CLEBOS — 0.2144300
1960-07-20 CLENYY — 0.1000000

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

John Briggs — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
P 59 21 11 17 3 0

Season-by-Season Fielding

John Briggs — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1956 CHN P 3 0 0 1 0 0
1957 CHN P 3 0 0 0 0 0
1958 CHN P 20 17 7 12 2 0
1959 CLE P 4 1 2 1 0 0
1960 CLE P 21 2 2 2 0 0
1960 KC1 P 8 1 0 1 1 0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

John Briggs — Career Games by Position
Position Games
Pitcher 59

John Briggs: the record in brief

According to the bio, John Briggs debuted on April 17, 1956 and played a final game on September 4, 1960. By club, Briggs's seasons break down as the Chicago Cubs (1956 through 1958), the Cleveland Indians (1959 through 1960), and the Kansas City Athletics (1960). Briggs, born on January 24, 1934, in Natoma, CA, USA, is listed as a pitcher and batted and threw right-handed. Size on record: 5-foot-10 and 175 pounds. The bio records the death on December 25, 2018, in Murphys, CA, USA. The bio lists the given name Jonathan Tift.

The pitching table credits Briggs with a 9-11 record and a 5.00 ERA in 59 games. Also on Briggs's record: 80 strikeouts. Against a 3.88 league ERA for the same seasons, the 5.00 mark was 29.0% worse. 1958 brought Briggs a season-high 5 wins. Among the heaviest workloads, the lowest ERA was 4.52 in 1958, when the league's was 3.86.

Frequently Asked Questions about John Briggs

What years did John Briggs play?
John Briggs played in Major League Baseball from 1956 to 1960.
Was John Briggs a pitcher?
Yes. John Briggs pitched in the major leagues, recording 9 wins and 80 strikeouts.
How many home runs did John Briggs hit?
John Briggs hit 0 career home runs with 10 hits.
What teams did John Briggs play for?
John Briggs played for 3 teams: the Chicago Cubs (1956–1958), the Cleveland Indians (1959–1960), and the Kansas City Athletics (1960).
What were John Briggs's career stats?
In 59 games, John Briggs went 9-11 with a 5.00 ERA, 80 strikeouts, 165.2 innings pitched, and 1 saves.
What position did John Briggs play?
John Briggs played primarily as a pitcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.
How tall was John Briggs and how much did he weigh?
John Briggs was listed at 5 feet 10 inches and 175 pounds.
What was John Briggs's career ERA?
John Briggs finished with a 5.00 career ERA, going 9-11 with 80 strikeouts.
How many strikeouts did John Briggs have?
John Briggs recorded 80 career strikeouts.
Is John Briggs in the Hall of Fame?
No. John Briggs has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.