What years did John Butcher play?

John Butcher played in Major League Baseball from 1980 to 1986.

Was John Butcher a pitcher?

Yes. John Butcher pitched in the major leagues, recording 36 wins and 363 strikeouts.

What teams did John Butcher play for?

John Butcher played for 3 teams: the Texas Rangers (1980–1983), the Minnesota Twins (1984–1986), and the Cleveland Indians (1986).

What were John Butcher's career stats?

In 164 games, John Butcher went 36-49 with a 4.42 ERA, 363 strikeouts, 833.2 innings pitched, and 6 saves.

What was John Butcher's salary?

John Butcher's last recorded salary was $385,000, in 1986. His highest recorded salary was $385,000, in 1986, and his lowest was $320,000, in 1985. The Salary History table lists each season from 1985 to 1986.

What position did John Butcher play?

John Butcher played primarily as a pitcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.

How tall was John Butcher and how much did he weigh?

John Butcher was listed at 6 feet 4 inches and 185 pounds.

What was John Butcher's career ERA?

John Butcher finished with a 4.42 career ERA, going 36-49 with 363 strikeouts.

How many strikeouts did John Butcher have?

John Butcher recorded 363 career strikeouts.

Is John Butcher in the Hall of Fame?

No. John Butcher has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

John Butcher

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1980-1986)

John Butcher was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1980 to 1986 for the Texas Rangers, the Minnesota Twins, and the Cleveland Guardians, a span of 7 seasons. Across 164 career appearances, he went 36-49 with a 4.42 ERA and 363 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 36–49

ERA 4.42

WHIP 1.39

SO 363

Pitcher PIV -2400.0

Position: Pitcher
Bats / Throws: R / R
Height / Weight: 6'4" / 185 lb
Born: 3/8/1957 in Glendale, CA, USA
MLB Debut: 1980-09-08
Last Game: 1986-09-09

Full name: John Daniel Butcher

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Career Pitching Statistics

John Butcher — Career Pitching Statistics
W	L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	SO	ERA	Pitcher PIV
36	49	164	113	23	6	6	833.2	931	409	79	229	363	4.42	-2400.0

Career ERA 4.42 vs. league average 3.85 across their career seasons — 14.8% worse than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

John Butcher Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year	Team	Lg	W	L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA	Lg ERA	Pitcher PIV
1980	TEX	AL	3	3	6	6	1	0	0	35.1	34	16	13	27	4.08	3.84 (-6%)	692.3
1981	TEX	AL	1	2	5	3	1	1	0	27.2	18	5	8	19	1.63	3.58 (+55%)	1036.0
1982	TEX	AL	1	5	18	13	2	0	1	94.1	102	51	34	39	4.87	3.86 (-26%)	-1296.5
1983	TEX	AL	6	6	38	6	1	1	5	123.0	128	48	41	58	3.51	3.87 (+9%)	600.6
1984	MIN	AL	13	11	34	34	8	1	0	225.0	242	86	53	83	3.44	3.81 (+10%)	-109.3
1985	MIN	AL	11	14	34	33	8	2	0	207.2	239	115	43	92	4.98	3.89 (-28%)	-597.5
1986	MIN	AL	0	3	16	10	1	0	0	70.0	82	49	24	29	6.30	3.97 (-59%)	-1897.4
1986	CLE	AL	1	5	13	8	1	1	0	50.2	86	39	13	16	6.93	3.97 (-74%)	-828.1
Career · 8 seasons			36	49	164	113	23	6	6	833.2	931	409	229	363	4.42	—	-2,400

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 Butcher — Career Batting Statistics
G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	PIV
164	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	.000	.000	.000	0

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

John Butcher — Season-by-Season Batting
Year	Team	Lg	G	AVG	Lg AVG	Lg OBP	Lg SLG	Lg OPS	PIV
1980	TEX	AL	6	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1981	TEX	AL	5	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1982	TEX	AL	18	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1983	TEX	AL	38	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1984	MIN	AL	34	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1985	MIN	AL	34	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1986	MIN	AL	16	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1986	CLE	AL	13	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
Career · 8 seasons			164	—	—	—	—	—	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 (328 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

John Butcher — Batting — Home / Away
Split	G	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	AVG
Home	79	0	0	0	0	0	—
Away	85	0	0	0	0	0	—

Pitching — Home / Away

John Butcher — Pitching — Home / Away
Split	G	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
Home	79	413.1	474	202	99	183	4.40
Away	85	420.1	457	207	130	180	4.43

Last 10 Games — Pitching

John Butcher — Last 10 Games — Pitching
Date	Tm	Opp	Dec	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR
1986-09-09	CLE	LAA	—	2.0	4	1	1	0	0	0
1986-09-07	CLE	MIL	—	1.0	0	0	0	0	1	0
1986-08-14	CLE	BAL	—	4.0	10	5	5	2	2	1
1986-08-07	CLE	DET	—	4.0	10	7	7	3	3	0
1986-08-05	CLE	DET	L	0.0	4	4	3	0	0	2
1986-07-30	CLE	DET	L	5.1	8	6	5	2	2	0
1986-07-25	CLE	TEX	—	3.0	8	4	3	0	0	0
1986-07-20	CLE	KCR	—	6.1	7	2	2	1	2	0
1986-07-12	CLE	TEX	L	2.2	9	6	6	0	0	0
1986-07-07	CLE	CHW	—	7.0	11	3	3	1	1	1

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

John Butcher — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
P	164	113	80	109	9	12

Season-by-Season Fielding

John Butcher — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year	Team	Pos	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
1980	TEX	P	6	6	1	6	1	0
1981	TEX	P	5	3	3	5	0	0
1982	TEX	P	18	13	7	19	0	3
1983	TEX	P	38	6	11	17	0	0
1984	MIN	P	34	34	25	20	3	5
1985	MIN	P	34	33	24	27	2	2
1986	MIN	P	16	10	4	10	0	1
1986	CLE	P	13	8	5	5	3	1

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

John Butcher — Career Games by Position
Position	Games
Pitcher	164

Salary History

John Butcher's recorded salaries total $705,000 over 2 seasons, 1985 to 1986. This total is partial: the salary data covers 1985 to 2016, and Butcher's career ran from 1980 to 1986. His seasons before 1985 are not included.

John Butcher — Salary History
Year	Team	League	Salary
1986	MIN	AL	$385,000
1985	MIN	AL	$320,000
Total recorded salary (partial)			$705,000

College History

John Butcher — College History
School Name	City	State	Years Attended
Yavapai College	Prescott	AZ	1976, 1977

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

John Butcher (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

John Butcher: the record in brief

September 8, 1980 and September 9, 1986 bracket John Butcher's time in the majors: the debut and the last game on record. Club by club, the record runs the Texas Rangers (1980 through 1983), the Minnesota Twins (1984 through 1986), and the Cleveland Indians (1986). Butcher, a pitcher by primary position, both batted and threw right-handed. Butcher is listed at 185 pounds on a 6-foot-4 frame. Butcher was born on March 8, 1957, in Glendale, CA, USA. Butcher's full given name, per the bio, is John Daniel Butcher.

Butcher pitched in 164 games, starting 113, and finished with a 36-49 record and 4.42 ERA. Also on Butcher's record: 363 strikeouts, 23 complete games, and 6 shutouts. Against a 3.85 league ERA for the same seasons, the 4.42 mark was 14.8% worse. No season topped the 13 wins of 1984. 1985 produced Butcher's most strikeouts, 92. Among the heaviest workloads, the lowest ERA was 3.44 in 1984, when the league's was 3.81.

Every defensive appearance on record for Butcher, 164 games, came at pitcher. On the mound, the fielding record shows 9 errors alongside 80 putouts and 109 assists.

Frequently Asked Questions about John Butcher

What years did John Butcher play?: John Butcher played in Major League Baseball from 1980 to 1986.
Was John Butcher a pitcher?: Yes. John Butcher pitched in the major leagues, recording 36 wins and 363 strikeouts.
What teams did John Butcher play for?: John Butcher played for 3 teams: the Texas Rangers (1980–1983), the Minnesota Twins (1984–1986), and the Cleveland Indians (1986).
What were John Butcher's career stats?: In 164 games, John Butcher went 36-49 with a 4.42 ERA, 363 strikeouts, 833.2 innings pitched, and 6 saves.
How much did John Butcher earn in his career?: John Butcher's recorded salaries total $705,000 over 2 seasons, 1985 to 1986. This total is partial: the salary data covers 1985 to 2016, and Butcher's career ran from 1980 to 1986. His seasons before 1985 are not included.
What was John Butcher's salary?: John Butcher's last recorded salary was $385,000, in 1986. His highest recorded salary was $385,000, in 1986, and his lowest was $320,000, in 1985. The Salary History table lists each season from 1985 to 1986.
What position did John Butcher play?: John Butcher played primarily as a pitcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.
How tall was John Butcher and how much did he weigh?: John Butcher was listed at 6 feet 4 inches and 185 pounds.
What was John Butcher's career ERA?: John Butcher finished with a 4.42 career ERA, going 36-49 with 363 strikeouts.
How many strikeouts did John Butcher have?: John Butcher recorded 363 career strikeouts.
Is John Butcher in the Hall of Fame?: No. John Butcher has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.