John Franco
Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1984-2005)
- Position
- Pitcher
- Bats / Throws
- L / L
- Height / Weight
- 5'10" / 170 lb
- MLB Debut
- 1984-04-24
- Last Game
- 2005-07-01
- Awards
- 4× All-Star · 2× Reliever of the Year
Full name: John Anthony Franco
Career Pitching Statistics
| W | L | G | GS | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | ER | HR | BB | SO | ERA | Pitcher PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 90 | 87 | 1,119 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 424 | 1245.7 | 1,166 | 400 | 81 | 495 | 975 | 2.89 | 22497.5 |
Career ERA 2.89 vs. league average 4.23 across their career seasons — 31.7% better than league average.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | CIN | NL | 6 | 2 | 54 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 79.3 | 74 | 23 | 36 | 55 | 2.61 | 3.81 (+32%) | 1009.4 |
| 1985 | CIN | NL | 12 | 3 | 67 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 99.0 | 83 | 24 | 40 | 61 | 2.18 | 3.89 (+44%) | 1370.0 |
| 1986 | CIN | NL | 6 | 6 | 74 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 29 | 101.0 | 90 | 33 | 44 | 84 | 2.94 | 3.97 (+26%) | 1540.1 |
| 1987 | CIN | NL | 8 | 5 | 68 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 32 | 82.0 | 76 | 23 | 27 | 61 | 2.52 | 4.29 (+41%) | 2024.7 |
| 1988 | CIN | NL | 6 | 6 | 70 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 39 | 86.0 | 60 | 15 | 27 | 46 | 1.57 | 3.73 (+58%) | 1398.3 |
| 1989 | CIN | NL | 4 | 8 | 60 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 32 | 80.7 | 77 | 28 | 36 | 60 | 3.12 | 3.71 (+16%) | 1256.2 |
| 1990 | NYN | NL | 5 | 3 | 55 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 33 | 67.7 | 66 | 19 | 21 | 56 | 2.53 | 3.86 (+35%) | 1730.1 |
| 1991 | NYN | NL | 5 | 9 | 52 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30 | 55.3 | 61 | 18 | 18 | 45 | 2.93 | 3.91 (+25%) | 1653.7 |
| 1992 | NYN | NL | 6 | 2 | 31 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 33.0 | 24 | 6 | 11 | 20 | 1.64 | 3.75 (+56%) | 648.3 |
| 1993 | NYN | NL | 4 | 3 | 35 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 36.3 | 46 | 21 | 19 | 29 | 5.20 | 4.19 (-24%) | -908.0 |
| 1994 | NYN | NL | 1 | 4 | 47 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30 | 50.0 | 47 | 15 | 19 | 42 | 2.70 | 4.51 (+40%) | 1693.0 |
| 1995 | NYN | NL | 5 | 3 | 48 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 29 | 51.7 | 48 | 14 | 17 | 41 | 2.44 | 4.45 (+45%) | 1228.8 |
| 1996 | NYN | NL | 4 | 3 | 51 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 28 | 54.0 | 54 | 11 | 21 | 48 | 1.83 | 4.61 (+60%) | 2141.7 |
| 1997 | NYN | NL | 5 | 3 | 59 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 36 | 60.0 | 49 | 17 | 20 | 53 | 2.55 | 4.39 (+42%) | 2045.3 |
| 1998 | NYN | NL | 0 | 8 | 61 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 38 | 64.7 | 66 | 26 | 29 | 59 | 3.62 | 4.43 (+18%) | 1281.4 |
| 1999 | NYN | NL | 0 | 2 | 46 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 40.7 | 40 | 13 | 19 | 41 | 2.88 | 4.71 (+39%) | 1765.4 |
| 2000 | NYN | NL | 5 | 4 | 62 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 55.7 | 46 | 21 | 26 | 56 | 3.40 | 4.77 (+29%) | 1037.7 |
| 2001 | NYN | NL | 6 | 2 | 58 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 53.3 | 55 | 24 | 19 | 50 | 4.05 | 4.42 (+8%) | 151.2 |
| 2003 | NYN | NL | 0 | 3 | 38 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 34.3 | 35 | 10 | 13 | 16 | 2.62 | 4.40 (+40%) | -700.6 |
| 2004 | NYN | NL | 2 | 7 | 52 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 46.0 | 46 | 27 | 24 | 36 | 5.28 | 4.46 (-18%) | -397.3 |
| 2005 | HOU | NL | 0 | 1 | 31 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15.0 | 23 | 12 | 9 | 16 | 7.20 | 4.29 (-68%) | 528.2 |
| Career · 21 seasons | 90 | 87 | 1,119 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 424 | 1,245.2 | 1,166 | 400 | 495 | 975 | 2.89 | — | 22,498 | ||
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1,119 | 34 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 14 | .088 | .088 | .088 | .176 | 0 |
Career AVG .088 vs. league average .263 across their career seasons — 66.5% below league average.
Career OBP .088 vs. league average .331 across their career seasons — 73.4% below league average.
Career SLG .088 vs. league average .409 across their career seasons — 78.4% below league average.
Career OPS .176 vs. league average .740 across their career seasons — 76.2% 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | CIN | NL | 54 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1985 | CIN | NL | 67 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .333 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1986 | CIN | NL | 74 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1987 | CIN | NL | 68 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1988 | CIN | NL | 70 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1989 | CIN | NL | 60 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .333 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1990 | NYN | NL | 55 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1991 | NYN | NL | 52 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1992 | NYN | NL | 31 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1993 | NYN | NL | 35 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1994 | NYN | NL | 47 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1995 | NYN | NL | 48 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1996 | NYN | NL | 51 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1997 | NYN | NL | 59 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1998 | NYN | NL | 61 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1999 | NYN | NL | 46 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 2000 | NYN | NL | 62 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 2001 | NYN | NL | 58 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 2003 | NYN | NL | 38 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 2004 | NYN | NL | 52 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 2005 | HOU | NL | 31 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| Career · 21 seasons | 1,119 | 34 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 14 | .088 | — | — | — | — | 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.
Postseason Statistics
Playoff Career Batting
Playoff Batting by Year
| Year | Round | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | NLCS | NYN | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| 2000 | NLDS2 | NYN | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| 2000 | WS | NYN | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| 1999 | NLCS | NYN | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| 1999 | NLDS2 | NYN | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
Playoff Career Pitching
Playoff Pitching by Year
Game Log & Splits
View full game log (2238 games) →Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).
Batting — Home / Away
| Split | G | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 589 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| Away | 530 | 21 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1 | .143 |
Pitching — Home / Away
| Split | G | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 589 | 669.1 | 627 | 216 | 241 | 510 | 2.90 |
| Away | 530 | 576.1 | 539 | 184 | 254 | 465 | 2.87 |
Last 10 Games — Pitching
| Date | Tm | Opp | Dec | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005-07-01 | HOU | CIN | — | 0.2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 2005-06-28 | HOU | COL | — | 0.1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2005-06-25 | HOU | TEX | — | 0.2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 2005-06-22 | HOU | COL | — | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2005-06-20 | HOU | COL | — | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 2005-06-19 | HOU | KCR | — | 0.2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2005-06-17 | HOU | KCR | — | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 2005-06-15 | HOU | BAL | — | 0.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2005-06-13 | HOU | BAL | — | 0.2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2005-06-11 | HOU | TOR | — | 0.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Fielding Statistics
Career Fielding Totals by Position
| Position | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | 1119 | 0 | 63 | 234 | 11 | 13 |
Season-by-Season Fielding
| Year | Team | Pos | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | CIN | P | 54 | 0 | 5 | 15 | 0 | 0 |
| 1985 | CIN | P | 67 | 0 | 9 | 21 | 1 | 1 |
| 1986 | CIN | P | 74 | 0 | 6 | 22 | 4 | 2 |
| 1987 | CIN | P | 68 | 0 | 4 | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| 1988 | CIN | P | 70 | 0 | 3 | 18 | 1 | 1 |
| 1989 | CIN | P | 60 | 0 | 2 | 19 | 1 | 1 |
| 1990 | NYN | P | 55 | 0 | 4 | 13 | 1 | 0 |
| 1991 | NYN | P | 52 | 0 | 3 | 10 | 1 | 1 |
| 1992 | NYN | P | 31 | 0 | 2 | 12 | 0 | 2 |
| 1993 | NYN | P | 35 | 0 | 3 | 9 | 0 | 0 |
| 1994 | NYN | P | 47 | 0 | 4 | 7 | 0 | 1 |
| 1995 | NYN | P | 48 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 0 | 1 |
| 1996 | NYN | P | 51 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 0 |
| 1997 | NYN | P | 59 | 0 | 4 | 14 | 0 | 1 |
| 1998 | NYN | P | 61 | 0 | 4 | 16 | 0 | 2 |
| 1999 | NYN | P | 46 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 2000 | NYN | P | 62 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 1 | 0 |
| 2001 | NYN | P | 58 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 0 |
| 2003 | NYN | P | 38 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 0 | 0 |
| 2004 | NYN | P | 52 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| 2005 | HOU | P | 31 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Career Games by Position
Circle size = games played at each position.
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| Pitcher | 1119 |
Awards & Honors
| Year | Award | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Lou Gehrig Memorial Award | |
| 1994 | TSN Fireman of the Year | |
| 1990 | Reliever of the Year Award | |
| 1990 | TSN Fireman of the Year | |
| 1988 | Pitcher of the Month | July |
| 1988 | Player of the Week | Week of 1988-07-29 |
| 1988 | Reliever of the Year Award | |
| 1988 | TSN Fireman of the Year | |
| 1985 | Player of the Week | Week of 1985-08-23 |
Salary History
| Year | Team | League | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | HOU | NL | $700,000 |
| 2004 | NYN | NL | $1,000,000 |
| 2003 | NYN | NL | $3,833,333 |
| 2002 | NYN | NL | $3,083,333 |
| 2001 | NYN | NL | $3,583,333 |
| 2000 | NYN | NL | $3,350,000 |
| 1999 | NYN | NL | $2,950,000 |
| 1998 | NYN | NL | $2,900,000 |
| 1997 | NYN | NL | $3,000,000 |
| 1996 | NYN | NL | $2,600,000 |
| 1995 | NYN | NL | $2,550,000 |
| 1994 | NYN | NL | $4,000,000 |
| 1993 | NYN | NL | $4,000,000 |
| 1992 | NYN | NL | $3,333,334 |
| 1991 | NYN | NL | $2,633,333 |
| 1990 | NYN | NL | $1,633,333 |
| 1989 | CIN | NL | $1,067,500 |
| 1988 | CIN | NL | $675,000 |
| 1987 | CIN | NL | $300,000 |
| 1986 | CIN | NL | $195,000 |
| 1985 | CIN | NL | $75,000 |
| Total Career Earnings | $47,462,499 | ||
College History
| School Name | City | State | Years Attended |
|---|---|---|---|
| St. John's University | Queens | NY | 1979, 1980, 1981 |
Award Voting History
| Year | Award | League | Finish | Points Won | Points Max | Votes First |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Cy Young Award | NL | 7th | 2.0 | 140 | 0 |
| 1994 | Most Valuable Player | NL | 20th | 3.0 | 392 | 0 |
| 1988 | Most Valuable Player | NL | 12th | 23.0 | 336 | 0 |
Most Similar Players
Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.
John Franco (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.
Compare John Franco
Frequently Asked Questions about John Franco
- What years did John Franco play?
- John Franco played in Major League Baseball from 1984 to 2005.
- Was John Franco a pitcher?
- Yes. John Franco pitched in the major leagues, recording 90 wins and 975 strikeouts.
- How many home runs did John Franco hit?
- John Franco hit 0 career home runs with 3 hits.