John Franco

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1984-2005)

W–L 90–87
ERA 2.89
WHIP 1.33
SO 975
Pitcher PIV 22497.5
Position
Pitcher
Bats / Throws
L / L
Height / Weight
5'10" / 170 lb
Born
9/17/1960 in Brooklyn, NY, USA
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

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

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

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

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
15 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000

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

W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
2 0 15 0 1 14.3 11 3 3 10 1.88

Playoff Pitching by Year

Year Round Team W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
2000 NLCS NYN 0 0 3 0 0 2.7 3 2 2 2 6.75
2000 NLDS2 NYN 0 0 2 0 1 2.0 1 0 0 2 0.00
2000 WS NYN 1 0 4 0 0 3.3 3 0 0 1 0.00
1999 NLCS NYN 0 0 3 0 0 2.7 3 1 1 3 3.38
1999 NLDS2 NYN 1 0 3 0 0 3.7 1 0 0 2 0.00

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

Batting — Home / Away

SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home589130000.000
Away530212301.143

Pitching — Home / Away

SplitGIPHERBBSOERA
Home589669.16272162415102.90
Away530576.15391842544652.87

Last 10 Games — Pitching

DateTmOppDecIPHRERBBSOHR
2005-07-01 HOUCIN 0.2333110
2005-06-28 HOUCOL 0.1111000
2005-06-25 HOUTEX 0.2100110
2005-06-22 HOUCOL 1.0000010
2005-06-20 HOUCOL 1.0000020
2005-06-19 HOUKCR 0.2200000
2005-06-17 HOUKCR 1.0100020
2005-06-15 HOUBAL 0.0211100
2005-06-13 HOUBAL 0.2211000
2005-06-11 HOUTOR 0.1000000

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

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Position Games
Pitcher 1119

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%.

Career Spans

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

  1. 98
    Lee Smith HOF
    71-92, 3.03 ERA
  2. 90
    Roberto Hernandez
    67-71, 3.45 ERA
  3. 88
    Jeff Reardon
    73-77, 3.16 ERA
  4. 78
    Randy Myers
    44-63, 3.19 ERA
  5. 75
    Sparky Lyle
    99-76, 2.88 ERA
  6. 75
    Francisco Cordero
    47-53, 3.38 ERA

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.