Johnny Couch

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1917-1925)

Johnny Couch was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1917 to 1925 for the Detroit Tigers, the Cincinnati Reds, and the Philadelphia Phillies, a span of 9 seasons. Across 147 career appearances, he went 29-34 with a 4.63 ERA and 112 strikeouts. He also batted .167 with 3 home runs.

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 29–34
ERA 4.63
WHIP 1.49
SO 112
Pitcher PIV -5907.8
Position
Pitcher
Bats / Throws
L / R
Height / Weight
6'0" / 180 lb
Born
3/31/1891 in Vaughn, MT, USA
Died
12/8/1975 in Palo Alto, CA, USA
MLB Debut
1917-04-11
Last Game
1925-09-21

Full name: John Daniel Couch

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Career Pitching Statistics

Johnny Couch — Career Pitching Statistics
W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
29 34 147 62 26 3 6 643.0 785 331 41 171 112 4.63 -5907.8

Career ERA 4.63 vs. league average 3.96 across their career seasons — 16.9% worse than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Johnny Couch — Season-by-Season Pitching
Year Team Lg W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER BB SO ERA Lg ERA Pitcher PIV
1917 DET AL 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 13.1 13 4 1 1 2.70 2.69 (avg) 111.6
1922 CIN NL 16 9 43 34 18 2 1 264.0 301 114 56 45 3.89 4.18 (+7%) -53.1
1923 CIN NL 2 7 19 8 1 0 0 69.1 98 46 15 14 5.97 4.03 (-48%) 666.2
1923 PHI NL 2 4 11 7 2 0 0 65.0 91 38 21 18 5.26 4.03 (-31%) -576.8
1924 PHI NL 4 8 37 6 3 0 3 137.0 170 72 39 23 4.73 4.13 (-15%) -2920.6
1925 PHI NL 5 6 34 7 2 1 2 94.1 112 57 39 11 5.44 4.55 (-19%) -3135.2
Career · 6 seasons 29 34 147 62 26 3 6 643.0 785 331 171 112 4.63 — -5,908

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

Johnny Couch — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
148 222 10 37 2 2 3 18 1 9 62 .167 .203 .234 .437 -975

Career AVG .167 vs. league average .279 across their career seasons — 40.3% below league average.

Career OBP .203 vs. league average .341 across their career seasons — 40.6% below league average.

Career SLG .234 vs. league average .384 across their career seasons — 39.0% below league average.

Career OPS .437 vs. league average .725 across their career seasons — 39.8% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Johnny Couch — 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
1917 DET AL 3 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1922 CIN NL 43 91 3 12 1 2 0 10 0 6 28 .132 .285 (-54%) .345 (-46%) .397 (-53%) .743 (-50%) -761.2
1923 CIN NL 19 23 2 4 0 0 0 2 0 1 8 .174 — — — — 0.0
1923 PHI NL 12 24 1 6 1 0 0 1 0 0 8 .250 — — — — 0.0
1924 PHI NL 37 49 3 10 0 0 2 3 1 1 12 .204 — — — — -213.6
1925 PHI NL 34 31 1 5 0 0 1 2 0 0 6 .161 — — — — 0.0
Career · 6 seasons 148 222 10 37 2 2 3 18 1 9 62 .167 — — — — -975

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 (295 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Johnny Couch — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home80101622212.218
Away6812141515.124

Pitching — Home / Away

Johnny Couch — Pitching — Home / Away
SplitGIPHERBBSOERA
Home80309.036616380544.75
Away67333.242216994604.56

Last 10 Games — Batting

Johnny Couch — Last 10 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1925-09-21 PHIPITL 000000000
1925-09-05 PHINY1L 000000000
1925-09-01 PHIPITL 000000000
1925-08-29 PHIPITL 000000000
1925-08-25 PHICHCL 100000001
1925-08-22 PHISTLL 000000000
1925-08-20 PHICINL 100000001
1925-08-18 PHICINL 311001101
1925-08-15 PHIBSNL 000000000
1925-08-12 PHISTLL 200000000

Last 10 Games — Pitching

Johnny Couch — Last 10 Games — Pitching
DateTmOppDecIPHRERBBSOHR
1925-09-21 PHIPIT — 1.0211000
1925-09-05 PHINY1 — 1.0000110
1925-09-01 PHIPIT — 1.0000100
1925-08-29 PHIPIT L 0.1366300
1925-08-25 PHICHC — 2.0465220
1925-08-22 PHISTL — 0.2110000
1925-08-20 PHICIN — 2.2432000
1925-08-18 PHICIN — 6.0622112
1925-08-15 PHIBSN — 1.0542100
1925-08-12 PHISTL L 6.01164300

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Johnny Couch — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
P 147 0 24 167 9 7

Season-by-Season Fielding

Johnny Couch — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1917 DET P 3 0 1 6 1 0
1922 CIN P 43 0 9 65 0 3
1923 CIN P 19 0 3 14 3 0
1923 PHI P 11 0 5 12 1 1
1924 PHI P 37 0 3 40 2 1
1925 PHI P 34 0 3 30 2 2

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Johnny Couch — Career Games by Position
Position Games
Pitcher 147

College History

Johnny Couch — College History
School Name City State Years Attended
Stanford University Palo Alto CA 1912

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Johnny Couch (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Tony Freitas
    25-33, 4.48 ERA
  2. 97
    Bob Hasty
    29-53, 4.65 ERA
  3. 91
    Erv Brame
    52-37, 4.76 ERA
  4. 88
    Tim McNamara
    14-29, 4.78 ERA
  5. 85
    Bud Thomas
    25-34, 4.96 ERA
  6. 82
    Isidro Fabré
    26-29, 4.42 ERA

Johnny Couch: the record in brief

According to the bio, Johnny Couch debuted on April 11, 1917 and played a final game on September 21, 1925. Club by club, the record runs the Detroit Tigers (1917), the Cincinnati Reds (1922 to 1923), and the Philadelphia Phillies (1923 to 1925). Listed as a pitcher, Couch hit left-handed while throwing right-handed. Couch is listed at 6-foot-0 and 180 pounds. The birth record reads March 31, 1891, in Vaughn, MT, USA. The bio records the death on December 8, 1975, in Palo Alto, CA, USA. Johnny Couch was the playing name; the full given name is John Daniel.

Couch went 29-34 with a 4.63 ERA in 147 games, 62 of them starts. Couch had 112 strikeouts and 26 complete games. Against a 3.96 league ERA for the same seasons, the 4.63 mark was 16.9% worse. Couch won 16 games in 1922, the most of any season listed. In 1922, one of the busiest seasons, Couch posted a 3.89 ERA; the league figure that year was 4.18.

Frequently Asked Questions about Johnny Couch

What years did Johnny Couch play?
Johnny Couch played in Major League Baseball from 1917 to 1925.
Was Johnny Couch a pitcher?
Yes. Johnny Couch pitched in the major leagues, recording 29 wins and 112 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Johnny Couch hit?
Johnny Couch hit 3 career home runs with 37 hits.
What teams did Johnny Couch play for?
Johnny Couch played for 3 teams: the Detroit Tigers (1917), the Cincinnati Reds (1922–1923), and the Philadelphia Phillies (1923–1925).
What were Johnny Couch's career stats?
In 147 games, Johnny Couch went 29-34 with a 4.63 ERA, 112 strikeouts, 643.0 innings pitched, and 6 saves. At the plate he had 37 hits and 3 home runs.
What position did Johnny Couch play?
Johnny Couch played primarily as a pitcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.
How tall was Johnny Couch and how much did he weigh?
Johnny Couch was listed at 6 feet and 180 pounds.
What was Johnny Couch's career ERA?
Johnny Couch finished with a 4.63 career ERA, going 29-34 with 112 strikeouts.
How many strikeouts did Johnny Couch have?
Johnny Couch recorded 112 career strikeouts.
Is Johnny Couch in the Hall of Fame?
No. Johnny Couch has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.