John Danks
Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (2007-2016)
John Danks was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 2007 to 2016 for the Chicago White Sox, a span of 10 seasons. Across 247 career appearances, he went 79-104 with a 4.38 ERA and 1,102 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
- Position
- Pitcher
- Bats / Throws
- L / L
- Height / Weight
- 6'1" / 210 lb
- MLB Debut
- 2007-04-08
- Last Game
- 2016-04-28
Full name: John William Danks
Season-by-Season Pitching
Click a stat to plot it across every season.
| Year | Team | Lg | W | L | G | GS | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA | Lg ERA | Pitcher PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | CHA | AL | 6 | 13 | 26 | 26 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 139.0 | 160 | 85 | 54 | 109 | 5.50 | 4.47 (-23%) | -3713.6 |
| 2008 | CHA | AL | 12 | 9 | 33 | 33 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 195.0 | 182 | 72 | 57 | 159 | 3.32 | 4.32 (+23%) | 4482.9 |
| 2009 | CHA | AL | 13 | 11 | 32 | 32 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 200.1 | 184 | 84 | 73 | 149 | 3.77 | 4.32 (+13%) | -1366.4 |
| 2010 | CHA | AL | 15 | 11 | 32 | 32 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 213.0 | 189 | 88 | 70 | 162 | 3.72 | 4.08 (+9%) | 2117.9 |
| 2011 | CHA | AL | 8 | 12 | 27 | 27 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 170.1 | 182 | 82 | 46 | 135 | 4.33 | 3.94 (-10%) | 522.7 |
| 2012 | CHA | AL | 3 | 4 | 9 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 53.2 | 57 | 34 | 23 | 30 | 5.70 | 4.01 (-42%) | -1340.8 |
| 2013 | CHA | AL | 4 | 14 | 22 | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 138.1 | 151 | 73 | 27 | 89 | 4.75 | 3.87 (-23%) | -4147.4 |
| 2014 | CHA | AL | 11 | 11 | 32 | 32 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 193.2 | 205 | 102 | 74 | 129 | 4.74 | 3.74 (-27%) | -4954.4 |
| 2015 | CHA | AL | 7 | 15 | 30 | 30 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 177.2 | 195 | 93 | 56 | 124 | 4.71 | 3.96 (-19%) | -2347.8 |
| 2016 | CHA | AL | 0 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22.1 | 28 | 18 | 11 | 16 | 7.25 | 4.19 (-73%) | -1067.5 |
| Career · 10 seasons | 79 | 104 | 247 | 247 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 1,503.1 | 1,533 | 731 | 491 | 1,102 | 4.38 | — | -11,814 | ||
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
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 247 | 24 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 | .083 | .120 | .083 | .203 | 0 |
Career AVG .083 vs. league average .258 across their career seasons — 67.6% below league average.
Career OBP .120 vs. league average .324 across their career seasons — 62.9% below league average.
Career SLG .083 vs. league average .407 across their career seasons — 79.5% below league average.
Career OPS .203 vs. league average .731 across their career seasons — 72.2% below league average.
Season-by-Season Batting
Click a stat to plot it across every season.
| Year | Team | Lg | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | Lg AVG | Lg OBP | Lg SLG | Lg OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | CHA | AL | 26 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 2008 | CHA | AL | 33 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | .167 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 2009 | CHA | AL | 32 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 2010 | CHA | AL | 32 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 2011 | CHA | AL | 27 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 2012 | CHA | AL | 9 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 2013 | CHA | AL | 22 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 2014 | CHA | AL | 32 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .333 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 2015 | CHA | AL | 30 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 2016 | CHA | AL | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| Career · 10 seasons | 247 | 24 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 | .083 | — | — | — | — | 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 (492 games) →Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).
Batting — Home / Away
| Split | G | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 121 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| Away | 125 | 24 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | .083 |
Pitching — Home / Away
| Split | G | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 121 | 741.0 | 729 | 358 | 241 | 570 | 4.35 |
| Away | 125 | 754.1 | 802 | 373 | 247 | 528 | 4.45 |
Last 10 Games — Pitching
| Date | Tm | Opp | Dec | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016-04-28 | CHW | BAL | L | 5.0 | 9 | 6 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 2 |
| 2016-04-21 | CHW | LAA | L | 6.0 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 1 |
| 2016-04-16 | CHW | TBR | L | 6.1 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 2 |
| 2016-04-08 | CHW | CLE | L | 5.0 | 8 | 7 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 0 |
| 2015-10-01 | CHW | KCR | L | 5.0 | 11 | 6 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| 2015-09-26 | CHW | NYY | L | 6.0 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 0 |
| 2015-09-20 | CHW | CLE | L | 5.0 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 1 |
| 2015-09-14 | CHW | OAK | — | 7.0 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 3 |
| 2015-09-04 | CHW | KCR | W | 9.0 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 0 |
| 2015-08-28 | CHW | SEA | L | 6.0 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 2 |
Fielding Statistics
Career Fielding Totals by Position
Season-by-Season Fielding
| Year | Team | Pos | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | CHA | P | 26 | 26 | 5 | 17 | 1 | 1 |
| 2008 | CHA | P | 33 | 33 | 12 | 28 | 0 | 1 |
| 2009 | CHA | P | 32 | 32 | 7 | 33 | 2 | 1 |
| 2010 | CHA | P | 32 | 32 | 5 | 35 | 0 | 4 |
| 2011 | CHA | P | 27 | 27 | 4 | 30 | 0 | 1 |
| 2012 | CHA | P | 9 | 9 | 3 | 13 | 3 | 0 |
| 2013 | CHA | P | 22 | 22 | 8 | 13 | 0 | 1 |
| 2014 | CHA | P | 32 | 32 | 4 | 24 | 1 | 0 |
| 2015 | CHA | P | 30 | 30 | 6 | 20 | 3 | 1 |
| 2016 | CHA | P | 4 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 |
Career Games by Position
Circle size = games played at each position.
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| Pitcher | 247 |
Salary History
| Year | Team | League | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | CHA | AL | $15,750,000 |
| 2015 | CHA | AL | $15,750,000 |
| 2014 | CHA | AL | $14,250,000 |
| 2013 | CHA | AL | $15,750,000 |
| 2012 | CHA | AL | $2,000,000 |
| 2011 | CHA | AL | $6,000,000 |
| 2010 | CHA | AL | $3,450,000 |
| 2009 | CHA | AL | $520,000 |
| 2008 | CHA | AL | $400,000 |
| 2007 | CHA | AL | $380,000 |
| Total Career Earnings | $74,250,000 | ||
Most Similar Players
Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.
John Danks (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.
John Danks: the record in brief
According to the bio, John Danks debuted on April 8, 2007 and played a final game on April 28, 2016. Every season row on the page belongs to the Chicago White Sox, from 2007 through 2016. Danks is listed as a pitcher at 6'1" and 210 pounds. The bio says Danks threw and hit left-handed. The recorded birth is April 15, 1985, in Austin, TX, USA. John Danks was the playing name; the full given name is John William.
Across 247 games (247 starts), Danks recorded 79 wins against 104 losses with a 4.38 ERA. The totals include 1,102 strikeouts. The league ERA over Danks's seasons was 4.09, so the 4.38 figure ran 7.0% worse than average. 2010 brought Danks a season-high 15 wins. Among the heaviest workloads, the lowest ERA was 3.32 in 2008, when the league's was 4.32.
The playoff pitching line reads 1-0, 4.05 ERA, across 1 appearances. Those appearances came in 2008.
The position breakdown shows 247 games, all at pitcher. On the mound, Danks's fielding totals are 55 putouts, 216 assists and 10 errors.
Frequently Asked Questions about John Danks
- What years did John Danks play?
- John Danks played in Major League Baseball from 2007 to 2016.
- Was John Danks a pitcher?
- Yes. John Danks pitched in the major leagues, recording 79 wins and 1102 strikeouts.
- How many home runs did John Danks hit?
- John Danks hit 0 career home runs with 2 hits.
- What was John Danks's career batting average?
- John Danks batted .083 over his career, with 2 hits in 24 at bats.
- What was John Danks's career ERA?
- John Danks finished with a 4.38 career ERA, going 79-104 with 1,102 strikeouts.
- How many strikeouts did John Danks have?
- John Danks recorded 1,102 career strikeouts.