John Candelaria

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1975-1993)

John Candelaria was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1975 to 1993 for 8 teams, including the Pittsburgh Pirates, a span of 19 seasons. Across 600 career appearances, he went 177-122 with a 3.33 ERA, 1,673 strikeouts, and 29 saves. He also batted .174 with 1 home runs. John Candelaria was an All-Star. His career Pitcher PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of pitching impact — is 28405.1.

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 177–122
ERA 3.33
WHIP 1.18
SO 1,673
Pitcher PIV 28405.1
Position
Pitcher
Bats / Throws
L / L
Height / Weight
6'7" / 230 lb
Born
11/6/1953 in New York, NY, USA
MLB Debut
1975-06-08
Last Game
1993-07-07
Awards
All-Star

Full name: John Robert Candelaria

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Career Pitching Statistics

John Candelaria — Career Pitching Statistics
W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
177 122 600 356 54 13 29 2525.2 2,399 935 245 592 1,673 3.33 28405.1

Career ERA 3.33 vs. league average 3.86 across their career seasons — 13.7% better than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

John Candelaria Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year Team Lg W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER BB SO ERA Lg ERA Pitcher PIV
1975 PIT NL 8 6 18 18 4 1 0 120.2 95 37 36 95 2.76 3.71 (+26%) 2756.3
1976 PIT NL 16 7 32 31 11 4 1 220.0 173 77 60 138 3.15 3.51 (+10%) -51.3
1977 PIT NL 20 5 33 33 6 1 0 230.2 197 60 50 133 2.34 4.00 (+41%) 621.9
1978 PIT NL 12 11 30 29 3 1 1 189.0 191 68 49 94 3.24 3.69 (+12%) 1020.8
1979 PIT NL 14 9 33 30 8 0 0 207.0 201 74 41 101 3.22 4.00 (+20%) 204.9
1980 PIT NL 11 14 35 34 7 0 1 233.1 246 104 50 97 4.01 3.84 (-4%) 2808.8
1981 PIT NL 2 2 6 6 0 0 0 40.2 42 16 11 14 3.54 3.58 (+1%) -100.3
1982 PIT NL 12 7 31 30 1 1 1 174.2 166 57 37 133 2.94 3.86 (+24%) 4512.3
1983 PIT NL 15 8 33 32 2 0 0 197.2 191 71 45 157 3.23 3.87 (+17%) 5173.6
1984 PIT NL 12 11 33 28 3 1 2 185.1 179 56 34 133 2.72 3.81 (+29%) 2783.8
1985 PIT NL 2 4 37 0 0 0 9 54.1 57 22 14 47 3.64 3.89 (+6%) 599.0
1985 CAL AL 7 3 13 13 1 1 0 71.0 70 30 24 53 3.80 3.89 (+2%) 503.5
1986 CAL AL 10 2 16 16 1 1 0 91.2 68 26 26 81 2.55 3.97 (+36%) 3391.2
1987 CAL AL 8 6 20 20 0 0 0 116.2 127 61 20 74 4.71 4.29 (-10%) 766.9
1987 NYN NL 2 0 3 3 0 0 0 12.1 17 8 3 10 5.84 4.29 (-36%) 389.6
1988 NYA AL 13 7 25 24 6 2 1 157.0 150 59 23 121 3.38 3.73 (+9%) 2179.4
1989 NYA AL 3 3 10 6 1 0 0 49.0 49 28 12 37 5.14 3.71 (-39%) -489.3
1989 MON NL 0 2 12 0 0 0 0 16.1 17 6 4 14 3.31 3.71 (+11%) -188.1
1990 MIN AL 7 3 34 1 0 0 4 58.1 55 22 9 44 3.39 3.86 (+12%) 137.2
1990 TOR AL 0 3 13 2 0 0 1 21.1 32 13 11 19 5.48 3.86 (-42%) -113.4
1991 LAN NL 1 1 59 0 0 0 2 33.2 31 14 11 38 3.74 3.91 (+4%) 995.2
1992 LAN NL 2 5 50 0 0 0 5 25.1 20 8 13 23 2.84 3.75 (+24%) 461.9
1993 PIT NL 0 3 24 0 0 0 1 19.2 25 18 9 17 8.24 4.19 (-97%) 41.3
Career · 23 seasons 177 122 600 356 54 13 29 2,525.2 2,399 935 592 1,673 3.33 — 28,405

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 Candelaria — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
603 596 39 104 20 3 1 48 0 44 162 .174 .233 .223 .456 -2,906

Career AVG .174 vs. league average .259 across their career seasons — 32.7% below league average.

Career OBP .233 vs. league average .325 across their career seasons — 28.4% below league average.

Career SLG .223 vs. league average .387 across their career seasons — 42.3% below league average.

Career OPS .456 vs. league average .712 across their career seasons — 36.0% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

John Candelaria Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year Team Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG Lg AVG Lg OBP Lg SLG Lg OPS PIV
1975 PIT NL 18 43 2 6 0 0 0 2 0 3 12 .140 — — — — 0.0
1976 PIT NL 32 76 5 14 2 1 0 5 0 7 17 .184 .255 (-28%) .320 (-21%) .360 (-34%) .681 (-28%) -320.3
1977 PIT NL 33 80 5 18 3 2 0 11 0 4 18 .225 .264 (-15%) .329 (-20%) .401 (-22%) .730 (-21%) -289.4
1978 PIT NL 31 52 6 9 3 0 0 1 0 9 19 .173 .257 (-33%) .323 (-2%) .378 (-39%) .702 (-22%) -139.7
1979 PIT NL 33 68 0 9 4 0 0 6 0 1 18 .132 .265 (-50%) .329 (-56%) .397 (-52%) .727 (-54%) -595.7
1980 PIT NL 35 77 5 15 3 0 0 7 0 4 14 .195 .264 (-26%) .326 (-29%) .387 (-40%) .714 (-35%) -431.3
1981 PIT NL 6 13 0 3 0 0 0 3 0 0 1 .231 — — — — 0.0
1982 PIT NL 33 54 6 12 2 0 0 9 0 6 20 .222 .261 (-15%) .324 (-9%) .388 (-33%) .712 (-22%) -181.9
1983 PIT NL 33 65 4 9 1 0 0 2 0 5 17 .138 .260 (-47%) .324 (-38%) .389 (-60%) .714 (-50%) -509.2
1984 PIT NL 33 62 6 8 2 0 1 2 0 4 25 .129 .259 (-50%) .322 (-44%) .384 (-46%) .707 (-45%) -438.3
1985 PIT NL 37 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000 — — — — 0.0
1985 CAL AL 13 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1986 CAL AL 16 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1987 CAL AL 20 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1987 NYN NL 3 5 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .200 — — — — 0.0
1988 NYA AL 25 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1989 NYA AL 10 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1989 MON NL 12 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1990 MIN AL 34 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1990 TOR AL 13 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1991 LAN NL 59 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1992 LAN NL 50 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1993 PIT NL 24 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
Career · 23 seasons 603 596 39 104 20 3 1 48 0 44 162 .174 — — — — -2,906

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.

Postseason Statistics

Playoff Career Batting

John Candelaria — Playoff Career Batting
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
6 9 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 7 .111

Playoff Batting by Year

John Candelaria — Playoff Batting by Year
Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1986 ALCS CAL 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1979 NLCS PIT 1 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 .000
1979 WS PIT 2 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 .333
1975 NLCS PIT 1 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 .000

Playoff Career Pitching

John Candelaria — Playoff Career Pitching
W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
2 2 6 6 0 34.1 33 11 11 29 2.88

Playoff Pitching by Year

John Candelaria — Playoff Pitching by Year
Year Round Team W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
1986 ALCS CAL 1 1 2 2 0 10.2 11 1 6 7 0.84
1979 NLCS PIT 0 0 1 1 0 7.0 5 2 1 4 2.57
1979 WS PIT 1 1 2 2 0 9.0 14 5 2 4 5.00
1975 NLCS PIT 0 0 1 1 0 7.2 3 3 2 14 3.52

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (1203 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

John Candelaria — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home2992821948124.170
Away3043142056024.178

Pitching — Home / Away

John Candelaria — Pitching — Home / Away
SplitGIPHERBBSOERA
Home2981321.012585033299033.43
Away3021204.211414322637703.23

Last 10 Games — Pitching

John Candelaria — Last 10 Games — Pitching
DateTmOppDecIPHRERBBSOHR
1993-07-07 PITHOU — 0.1000010
1993-07-04 PITCIN — 0.1100000
1993-06-30 PITWSN — 1.0000000
1993-06-28 PITWSN — 0.1000000
1993-06-25 PITPHI L 1.0122111
1993-06-23 PITCHC — 1.0100000
1993-06-21 PITCHC — 1.0000000
1993-06-13 PITMIA — 0.2111110
1993-06-11 PITMIA — 1.0433020
1993-06-02 PITCOL — 0.1000010

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

John Candelaria — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
P 600 356 58 339 11 16

Season-by-Season Fielding

John Candelaria — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1975 PIT P 18 18 3 13 4 0
1976 PIT P 32 31 3 31 0 2
1977 PIT P 33 33 6 30 1 3
1978 PIT P 30 29 4 25 0 0
1979 PIT P 33 30 2 36 0 3
1980 PIT P 35 34 8 38 2 3
1981 PIT P 6 6 1 7 0 1
1982 PIT P 31 30 1 23 1 1
1983 PIT P 33 32 5 20 0 1
1984 PIT P 33 28 3 21 0 1
1985 PIT P 37 0 1 8 1 0
1985 CAL P 13 13 2 8 1 0
1986 CAL P 16 16 3 10 0 0
1987 CAL P 20 20 4 23 0 1
1987 NYN P 3 3 2 1 0 0
1988 NYA P 25 24 4 22 0 0
1989 NYA P 10 6 1 6 0 0
1989 MON P 12 0 1 1 1 0
1990 MIN P 34 1 3 3 0 0
1990 TOR P 13 2 1 6 0 0
1991 LAN P 59 0 0 2 0 0
1992 LAN P 50 0 0 5 0 0
1993 PIT P 24 0 0 0 0 0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

John Candelaria Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position Games
Pitcher 600

Awards & Honors

John Candelaria — Awards & Honors
Year Award Notes
1986 TSN Comeback Player of the Year
1982 Pitcher of the Month July
1982 Player of the Week Week of 1982-07-23
1977 Player of the Week Week of 1977-09-30
1976 Player of the Week Week of 1976-08-13

Salary History

John Candelaria — Salary History
Year Team League Salary
1993 PIT NL $760,000
1992 LAN NL $1,250,000
1991 LAN NL $830,000
1990 MIN AL $500,000
1989 NYA AL $800,000
1988 NYA AL $700,000
1987 CAL AL $800,000
1986 CAL AL $800,000
1985 CAL AL $612,500
Total Career Earnings $7,052,500

Award Voting History

John Candelaria — Award Voting History
Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
1977 Cy Young Award NL 5th 17.0 120 1
1977 Most Valuable Player NL 18th 8.0 336 0

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

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

  1. 98
    Harvey Haddix
    136-113, 3.63 ERA
  2. 90
    Nelson Briles
    129-112, 3.44 ERA
  3. 90
    Larry Jackson
    194-183, 3.40 ERA
  4. 90
    Jimmy Key
    186-117, 3.51 ERA
  5. 89
    Sonny Siebert
    140-114, 3.21 ERA
  6. 88
    Mike Cuellar
    185-130, 3.14 ERA

John Candelaria: the record in brief

Between the debut on June 8, 1975 and the final game on July 7, 1993, John Candelaria built the record summarized on this page. Candelaria played for the Pittsburgh Pirates (1975 to 1993), the California Angels (1985 through 1987), the New York Mets (1987), the New York Yankees (1988 through 1989), the Montreal Expos (1989), the Minnesota Twins (1990), the Toronto Blue Jays (1990), and the Los Angeles Dodgers (1991 through 1992). Born on November 6, 1953, in New York, NY, USA, Candelaria is listed as a pitcher and batted and threw left-handed. Candelaria's listed size is 6-foot-7 and 230 pounds. The given name on file is John Robert Candelaria.

Across 600 games (356 starts), Candelaria recorded 177 wins against 122 losses with a 3.33 ERA. Candelaria had 1,673 strikeouts, 54 complete games, 13 shutouts, and 29 saves. The leagues Candelaria pitched in allowed 3.86 earned runs per nine over those seasons, so the career ERA was 13.7% better than average. The best win total was 20, in 1977.

Frequently Asked Questions about John Candelaria

What years did John Candelaria play?
John Candelaria played in Major League Baseball from 1975 to 1993.
Was John Candelaria a pitcher?
Yes. John Candelaria pitched in the major leagues, recording 177 wins and 1673 strikeouts.
How many home runs did John Candelaria hit?
John Candelaria hit 1 career home runs with 104 hits.
What was John Candelaria's career batting average?
John Candelaria batted .174 over his career, with 104 hits in 596 at bats.
How many RBI did John Candelaria have?
John Candelaria drove in 48 runs in his career.
What was John Candelaria's career ERA?
John Candelaria finished with a 3.33 career ERA, going 177-122 with 1,673 strikeouts.