John Denny

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1974-1986)

W–L 123–108
ERA 3.59
WHIP 1.34
SO 1,146
Pitcher PIV 11165.2
Position
Pitcher
Bats / Throws
R / R
Height / Weight
6'3" / 185 lb
Born
11/8/1952 in Prescott, AZ, USA
MLB Debut
1974-09-12
Last Game
1986-08-18
Awards
Cy Young

Full name: John Allen Denny

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Career Pitching Statistics

W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
123 108 325 322 62 18 0 2148.7 2,093 856 137 778 1,146 3.59 11165.2

Career ERA 3.59 vs. league average 3.81 across their career seasons — 5.8% better than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

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
1974 SLN NL 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 2.0 3 0 0 1 0.00 — 0.0
1975 SLN NL 10 7 25 24 3 2 0 136.0 149 60 51 72 3.97 3.71 (-7%) 1794.1
1976 SLN NL 11 9 30 30 8 3 0 207.0 189 58 74 74 2.52 3.51 (+28%) -1462.8
1977 SLN NL 8 8 26 26 3 1 0 149.7 165 75 62 60 4.51 4.00 (-13%) -233.7
1978 SLN NL 14 11 33 33 11 2 0 234.0 200 77 74 103 2.96 3.69 (+20%) 1438.5
1979 SLN NL 8 11 31 31 5 2 0 206.0 206 111 100 99 4.85 4.00 (-21%) -4035.2
1980 CLE AL 8 6 16 16 4 1 0 108.7 116 53 47 59 4.39 3.84 (-14%) 725.5
1981 CLE AL 10 6 19 19 6 3 0 145.7 139 51 66 94 3.15 3.58 (+12%) 186.1
1982 CLE AL 6 11 21 21 5 0 0 138.3 126 77 73 94 5.01 3.86 (-30%) -835.5
1982 PHI NL 0 2 4 4 0 0 0 22.3 18 10 10 19 4.03 3.86 (-4%) 517.4
1983 PHI NL 19 6 36 36 7 1 0 242.7 229 64 53 139 2.37 3.87 (+39%) 6854.4
1984 PHI NL 7 7 22 22 2 0 0 154.3 122 42 29 94 2.45 3.81 (+36%) 2758.3
1985 PHI NL 11 14 33 33 6 2 0 230.7 252 98 83 123 3.82 3.89 (+2%) 1883.1
1986 CIN NL 11 10 27 27 2 1 0 171.3 179 80 56 115 4.20 3.97 (-6%) 1575.0
Career · 14 seasons 123 108 325 322 62 18 0 2,148.2 2,093 856 778 1,146 3.59 — 11,165

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
326 570 44 97 9 2 0 29 9 19 164 .170 .197 .193 .390 -3,480

Career AVG .170 vs. league average .260 across their career seasons — 34.5% below league average.

Career OBP .197 vs. league average .325 across their career seasons — 39.3% below league average.

Career SLG .193 vs. league average .384 across their career seasons — 49.8% below league average.

Career OPS .390 vs. league average .709 across their career seasons — 45.0% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

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
1974 SLN NL 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1975 SLN NL 26 44 4 10 0 0 0 3 0 0 17 .227 — — — — 0.0
1976 SLN NL 30 67 3 15 2 0 0 4 1 1 27 .224 .255 (-12%) .320 (-27%) .360 (-30%) .681 (-28%) -291.8
1977 SLN NL 26 51 4 5 0 0 0 2 1 1 15 .098 .264 (-63%) .329 (-60%) .401 (-76%) .730 (-68%) -555.9
1978 SLN NL 33 73 10 13 3 1 0 3 0 4 21 .178 .257 (-31%) .323 (-33%) .378 (-35%) .702 (-34%) -405.7
1979 SLN NL 31 70 5 9 2 1 0 3 1 1 21 .129 .265 (-52%) .329 (-58%) .397 (-53%) .727 (-55%) -645.5
1980 CLE AL 16 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1981 CLE AL 19 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1982 CLE AL 21 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1982 PHI NL 4 6 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 .167 — — — — 0.0
1983 PHI NL 36 77 7 13 1 0 0 2 2 2 16 .169 .260 (-35%) .324 (-42%) .389 (-53%) .714 (-48%) -577.5
1984 PHI NL 22 47 3 9 0 0 0 4 0 1 11 .191 — — — — 0.0
1985 PHI NL 33 81 2 10 1 0 0 4 2 4 19 .123 .257 (-52%) .323 (-49%) .390 (-65%) .714 (-58%) -734.7
1986 CIN NL 27 54 6 12 0 0 0 4 2 3 15 .222 .257 (-14%) .325 (-19%) .395 (-44%) .720 (-33%) -269.3
Career · 14 seasons 326 570 44 97 9 2 0 29 9 19 164 .170 — — — — -3,480

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

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
3 6 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 .167

Playoff Batting by Year

Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1983 NLCS PHI 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1983 WS PHI 2 5 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 .200

Playoff Career Pitching

W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
1 2 3 3 0 19.0 17 5 6 12 2.37

Playoff Pitching by Year

Year Round Team W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
1983 NLCS PHI 0 1 1 1 0 6.0 5 0 3 3 0.00
1983 WS PHI 1 1 2 2 0 13.0 12 5 3 9 3.46

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (651 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home1652701649017.181
Away1613002848012.160

Pitching — Home / Away

SplitGIPHERBBSOERA
Home1641122.210754053565893.25
Away1611026.010184514225573.96

Last 10 Games — Batting

DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1986-08-18 CINSDPW 312000100
1986-08-14 CINSFGW 401000102
1986-08-09 CINLADW 111000010
1986-08-04 CINSFGW 200000001
1986-07-30 CINSDPL 200000001
1986-07-25 CINWSNW 211000111
1986-07-20 CINPHIL 200000000
1986-07-12 CINWSNW 100000000
1986-07-08 CINNYNW 200000001
1986-07-03 CINPHIL 201000000

Last 10 Games — Pitching

DateTmOppDecIPHRERBBSOHR
1986-08-18 CINSDP W 8.2855141
1986-08-14 CINSFG W 9.0300080
1986-08-09 CINLAD W 6.0722030
1986-08-04 CINSFG W 7.0511120
1986-07-30 CINSDP L 5.11066581
1986-07-25 CINWSN W 9.0522151
1986-07-20 CINPHI L 5.2877640
1986-07-12 CINWSN W 6.0100260
1986-07-08 CINNYN — 6.0532120
1986-07-03 CINPHI L 6.0755331

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position G GS PO A E DP
P 325 322 179 451 32 46

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1974 SLN P 2 0 0 0 0 0
1975 SLN P 25 24 11 30 4 2
1976 SLN P 30 30 24 34 4 3
1977 SLN P 26 26 9 37 3 3
1978 SLN P 33 33 17 73 4 8
1979 SLN P 31 31 16 36 2 4
1980 CLE P 16 16 8 18 1 2
1981 CLE P 19 19 14 40 3 7
1982 CLE P 21 21 12 19 0 2
1982 PHI P 4 4 1 7 0 1
1983 PHI P 36 36 16 42 8 6
1984 PHI P 22 22 20 36 1 2
1985 PHI P 33 33 15 39 0 4
1986 CIN P 27 27 16 40 2 2

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Position Games
Pitcher 325

Awards & Honors

Year Award Notes
1983 Cy Young Award
1983 Pitcher of the Month September
1983 TSN All-Star RHP
1983 TSN Comeback Player of the Year
1983 TSN Pitcher of the Year
1981 Player of the Week Week of 1981-09-04

Salary History

Year Team League Salary
1986 CIN NL $1,083,333
1985 PHI NL $1,109,333
Total Career Earnings $2,192,666

Award Voting History

Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
1983 Cy Young Award NL 1st 103.0 120 20
1983 Most Valuable Player NL 13th 24.0 336 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 Denny (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Bob Ojeda
    115-98, 3.65 ERA
  2. 86
    Mike Boddicker
    134-116, 3.80 ERA
  3. 85
    Dock Ellis
    138-119, 3.46 ERA
  4. 81
    Doc Medich
    124-105, 3.78 ERA
  5. 78
    Dan Petry
    125-104, 3.95 ERA
  6. 73
    Jim Rooker
    103-109, 3.46 ERA

Frequently Asked Questions about John Denny

What years did John Denny play?
John Denny played in Major League Baseball from 1974 to 1986.
Was John Denny a pitcher?
Yes. John Denny pitched in the major leagues, recording 123 wins and 1146 strikeouts.
How many home runs did John Denny hit?
John Denny hit 0 career home runs with 97 hits.