J. A. Happ

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (2007-2021)

J. A. Happ was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 2007 to 2021 for 8 teams, including the Philadelphia Phillies, a span of 15 seasons. Across 354 career appearances, he went 133-100 with a 4.13 ERA and 1,661 strikeouts. He also batted .095 with 1 home runs. J. A. Happ was an All-Star.

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 133–100
ERA 4.13
WHIP 1.31
SO 1,661
Pitcher PIV -6145.4
Position
Pitcher
Bats / Throws
L / L
Height / Weight
6'5" / 205 lb
Born
10/19/1982 in Spring Valley, IL, USA
MLB Debut
2007-06-30
Last Game
2021-09-30
Awards
All-Star

Full name: James Anthony Happ

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Career Pitching Statistics

J. A. Happ — Career Pitching Statistics
W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
133 100 354 328 4 3 0 1893.2 1,822 868 261 668 1,661 4.13 -6145.4

Career ERA 4.13 vs. league average 4.16 across their career seasons — near league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

J. A. Happ Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year Team Lg W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER BB SO ERA Lg ERA Pitcher PIV
2007 PHI NL 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 4.0 7 5 2 5 11.25 — 0.0
2008 PHI NL 1 0 8 4 0 0 0 31.2 28 13 14 26 3.69 4.32 (+15%) 144.4
2009 PHI NL 12 4 35 23 3 2 0 166.0 149 54 56 119 2.93 4.32 (+32%) -42.6
2010 PHI NL 1 0 3 3 0 0 0 15.1 13 3 12 9 1.76 4.08 (+57%) -391.4
2010 HOU NL 5 4 13 13 1 1 0 72.0 60 30 35 61 3.75 4.08 (+8%) -123.6
2011 HOU NL 6 15 28 28 0 0 0 156.1 157 93 83 134 5.35 3.94 (-36%) -2915.9
2012 HOU NL 7 9 18 18 0 0 0 104.1 112 56 39 98 4.83 4.01 (-20%) -1225.6
2012 TOR AL 3 2 10 6 0 0 0 40.1 35 21 17 46 4.69 4.01 (-17%) 1237.8
2013 TOR AL 5 7 18 18 0 0 0 92.2 91 47 45 77 4.56 3.87 (-18%) -1030.8
2014 TOR AL 11 11 30 26 0 0 0 158.0 160 74 51 133 4.22 3.74 (-13%) -2071.9
2015 SEA AL 4 6 21 20 0 0 0 108.2 121 56 32 82 4.64 3.96 (-17%) -425.9
2015 PIT NL 7 2 11 11 0 0 0 63.1 52 13 13 69 1.85 3.96 (+53%) 2847.5
2016 TOR AL 20 4 32 32 0 0 0 195.0 168 69 60 163 3.18 4.19 (+24%) 1181.8
2017 TOR AL 10 11 25 25 0 0 0 145.1 145 57 46 142 3.53 4.36 (+19%) 2225.9
2018 TOR AL 10 6 20 20 0 0 0 114.0 99 53 35 130 4.18 4.15 (-1%) 886.8
2018 NYA AL 7 0 11 11 0 0 0 63.2 51 19 16 63 2.69 4.15 (+35%) -102.1
2019 NYA AL 12 8 31 30 0 0 0 161.1 160 88 49 140 4.91 4.51 (-9%) -2893.1
2020 NYA AL 2 2 9 9 0 0 0 49.1 37 19 15 42 3.47 4.45 (+22%) -143.7
2021 MIN AL 5 6 19 19 0 0 0 98.1 125 74 31 77 6.77 4.27 (-59%) -2831.9
2021 SLN NL 5 2 11 11 0 0 0 54.0 52 24 17 45 4.00 4.27 (+6%) -471.1
Career · 20 seasons 133 100 354 328 4 3 0 1,893.2 1,822 868 668 1,661 4.13 — -6,145

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

J. A. Happ — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
360 211 13 20 2 0 1 6 0 11 91 .095 .140 .118 .258 0

Career AVG .095 vs. league average .255 across their career seasons — 62.8% below league average.

Career OBP .140 vs. league average .323 across their career seasons — 56.7% below league average.

Career SLG .118 vs. league average .411 across their career seasons — 71.2% below league average.

Career OPS .258 vs. league average .734 across their career seasons — 64.8% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

J. A. Happ Stats, Bio & Career Records
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 PHI NL 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000 — — — — 0.0
2008 PHI NL 8 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 .000 — — — — 0.0
2009 PHI NL 35 43 2 4 1 0 0 1 0 1 15 .093 — — — — 0.0
2010 PHI NL 3 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 .000 — — — — 0.0
2010 HOU NL 13 22 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 7 .000 — — — — 0.0
2011 HOU NL 29 43 3 7 1 0 1 4 0 3 17 .163 — — — — 0.0
2012 HOU NL 22 32 2 3 0 0 0 1 0 3 16 .094 — — — — 0.0
2012 TOR AL 10 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
2013 TOR AL 18 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
2014 TOR AL 30 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 .000 — — — — 0.0
2015 SEA AL 21 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
2015 PIT NL 11 22 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 13 .091 — — — — 0.0
2016 TOR AL 32 7 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 .286 — — — — 0.0
2017 TOR AL 25 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000 — — — — 0.0
2018 TOR AL 20 6 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 3 .333 — — — — 0.0
2018 NYA AL 11 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
2019 NYA AL 32 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
2020 NYA AL 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
2021 MIN AL 19 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
2021 SLN NL 11 14 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 5 .000 — — — — 0.0
Career · 20 seasons 360 211 13 20 2 0 1 6 0 11 91 .095 — — — — 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

J. A. Happ — Playoff Career Batting
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
15 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000

Playoff Batting by Year

J. A. Happ — Playoff Batting by Year
Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
2020 ALDS1 NYA 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
2019 ALCS NYA 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
2019 ALDS2 NYA 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
2018 ALDS1 NYA 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
2016 ALCS TOR 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
2016 ALDS1 TOR 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
2009 NLCS PHI 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
2009 NLDS2 PHI 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000
2009 WS PHI 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
2008 NLCS PHI 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000

Playoff Career Pitching

J. A. Happ — Playoff Career Pitching
W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
1 4 15 4 0 27.2 36 18 16 26 5.86

Playoff Pitching by Year

J. A. Happ — Playoff Pitching by Year
Year Round Team W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
2020 ALDS1 NYA 0 1 1 0 0 2.2 5 4 3 2 13.50
2019 ALCS NYA 0 1 2 0 0 2.2 1 1 1 1 3.38
2019 ALDS2 NYA 0 0 1 0 0 1.0 1 0 1 2 0.00
2018 ALDS1 NYA 0 1 1 1 0 2.0 4 5 1 2 22.50
2016 ALCS TOR 0 1 1 1 0 5.0 4 2 1 4 3.60
2016 ALDS1 TOR 1 0 1 1 0 5.0 9 1 1 5 1.80
2009 NLCS PHI 0 0 3 0 0 0.2 0 0 3 0 0.00
2009 NLDS2 PHI 0 0 2 1 0 3.0 6 3 2 4 9.00
2009 WS PHI 0 0 2 0 0 2.2 2 1 1 4 3.38
2008 NLCS PHI 0 0 1 0 0 3.0 4 1 2 2 3.00

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (714 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

J. A. Happ — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home1931024814.078
Away16710991202.110

Pitching — Home / Away

J. A. Happ — Pitching — Home / Away
SplitGIPHERBBSOERA
Home1881015.19634423568933.92
Away166878.18594263127684.37

Last 10 Games — Batting

J. A. Happ — Last 10 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
2021-09-30 STLMILW 200000001
2021-09-24 STLCHCW 000000010
2021-09-19 STLSDPW 100000001
2021-09-12 STLCINW 100000000
2021-09-07 STLLADL 200000000
2021-09-01 STLCINL 000000000
2021-08-27 STLPITW 200000001
2021-08-21 STLPITL 200000001
2021-08-15 STLKCRW 000000000
2021-08-10 STLPITW 200000001

Last 10 Games — Pitching

J. A. Happ — Last 10 Games — Pitching
DateTmOppDecIPHRERBBSOHR
2021-09-30 STLMIL W 6.1933071
2021-09-24 STLCHC — 4.0200460
2021-09-19 STLSDP — 4.0433120
2021-09-12 STLCIN W 5.1200140
2021-09-07 STLLAD L 5.0744032
2021-09-01 STLCIN L 1.0877202
2021-08-27 STLPIT W 5.2322340
2021-08-21 STLPIT — 6.0622182
2021-08-15 STLKCR W 5.2500220
2021-08-10 STLPIT W 6.0111251

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

J. A. Happ — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
P 354 328 52 192 8 2

Season-by-Season Fielding

J. A. Happ — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
2007 PHI P 1 1 0 0 0 0
2008 PHI P 8 4 1 4 0 0
2009 PHI P 35 23 6 20 0 0
2010 PHI P 3 3 0 2 0 0
2010 HOU P 13 13 4 7 0 0
2011 HOU P 28 28 4 13 0 0
2012 HOU P 18 18 6 17 0 0
2012 TOR P 10 6 2 4 0 0
2013 TOR P 18 18 2 9 0 0
2014 TOR P 30 26 0 19 1 0
2015 SEA P 21 20 2 12 2 0
2015 PIT P 11 11 2 9 0 0
2016 TOR P 32 32 6 26 0 0
2017 TOR P 25 25 4 16 2 0
2018 TOR P 20 20 3 6 1 2
2018 NYA P 11 11 1 3 0 0
2019 NYA P 31 30 2 12 1 0
2020 NYA P 9 9 2 5 0 0
2021 MIN P 19 19 3 7 1 0
2021 SLN P 11 11 2 1 0 0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

J. A. Happ Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position Games
Pitcher 354

Awards & Honors

J. A. Happ — Awards & Honors
Year Award Notes
2009 MLB Players Choice Outstanding Rookie
2009 TSN Rookie of the Year
2009 This Year in Baseball Rookie of the Year MLB.com GIBBY

Salary History

J. A. Happ — Salary History
Year Team League Salary
2016 TOR AL $10,000,000
2015 SEA AL $6,700,000
2014 TOR AL $5,200,000
2013 TOR AL $3,700,000
2012 HOU NL $2,350,000
2011 HOU NL $474,000
2010 PHI NL $470,000
2009 PHI NL $405,000
Total Career Earnings $29,299,000

College History

J. A. Happ — College History
School Name City State Years Attended
Northwestern University Evanston IL 2002, 2003, 2004

Award Voting History

J. A. Happ — Award Voting History
Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
2016 Cy Young Award AL 6th 14.0 210 0
2009 Rookie of the Year NL 2nd 94.0 160 10

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

J. A. Happ (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Anibal Sanchez
    116-119, 4.06 ERA
  2. 87
    Jason Schmidt
    130-96, 3.96 ERA
  3. 87
    Ted Lilly
    130-113, 4.14 ERA
  4. 84
    Yovani Gallardo
    121-101, 4.06 ERA
  5. 71
    Wade Miley
    109-99, 4.09 ERA
  6. 70
    Scott Kazmir
    108-97, 4.02 ERA

J. A. Happ: the record in brief

Between the debut on June 30, 2007 and the final game on September 30, 2021, J. A. Happ built the record summarized on this page. The team column moves through the Philadelphia Phillies (2007 through 2010), the Houston Astros (2010 to 2012), the Toronto Blue Jays (2012 through 2018), the Seattle Mariners (2015), the Pittsburgh Pirates (2015), the New York Yankees (2018 to 2020), the Minnesota Twins (2021), and the St. Louis Cardinals (2021). At 205 pounds on a 6-foot-5 frame, Happ is listed as a pitcher. The bio says Happ batted and threw left-handed. The recorded birth is October 19, 1982, in Spring Valley, IL, USA. J. A. Happ was the playing name; the full given name is James Anthony.

The pitching table credits Happ with a 133-100 record and a 4.13 ERA in 354 games. Also on Happ's record: 1,661 strikeouts. Happ's 4.13 ERA was close to the 4.16 league figure for those seasons. No season topped the 20 wins of 2016.

Frequently Asked Questions about J. A. Happ

What years did J. A. Happ play?
J. A. Happ played in Major League Baseball from 2007 to 2021.
Was J. A. Happ a pitcher?
Yes. J. A. Happ pitched in the major leagues, recording 133 wins and 1661 strikeouts.
How many home runs did J. A. Happ hit?
J. A. Happ hit 1 career home runs with 20 hits.
What was J. A. Happ's career batting average?
J. A. Happ batted .095 over his career, with 20 hits in 211 at bats.
How many RBI did J. A. Happ have?
J. A. Happ drove in 6 runs in his career.
What was J. A. Happ's career ERA?
J. A. Happ finished with a 4.13 career ERA, going 133-100 with 1,661 strikeouts.