What years did Dave Johnson play?

Dave Johnson played in Major League Baseball from 1987 to 1993.

Was Dave Johnson a pitcher?

Yes. Dave Johnson pitched in the major leagues, recording 22 wins and 143 strikeouts.

What was Dave Johnson's career ERA?

Dave Johnson finished with a 5.11 career ERA, going 22-25 with 143 strikeouts.

How many strikeouts did Dave Johnson have?

Dave Johnson recorded 143 career strikeouts.

Is Dave Johnson in the Hall of Fame?

No. Dave Johnson has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

Dave Johnson

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1987-1993)

Dave Johnson was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1987 to 1993 for the Pittsburgh Pirates, the Baltimore Orioles, and the Detroit Tigers, a span of 7 seasons. Across 77 career appearances, he went 22-25 with a 5.11 ERA and 143 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 October 12, 2026

W–L 22–25

ERA 5.11

WHIP 1.47

SO 143

Pitcher PIV -11454.0

Position: Pitcher
Bats / Throws: R / R
Height / Weight: 5'10" / 180 lb
Born: 10/24/1959 in Baltimore, MD, USA
MLB Debut: 1987-05-29
Last Game: 1993-09-19

Full name: David Wayne Johnson

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Career Pitching Statistics

Dave Johnson — Career Pitching Statistics
W	L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	SO	ERA	Pitcher PIV
22	25	77	57	7	0	0	368.0	439	209	63	102	143	5.11	-11454.0

Career ERA 5.11 vs. league average 4.00 across their career seasons — 27.9% worse than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Dave Johnson — Season-by-Season Pitching
Year	Team	Lg	W	L	G	GS	CG	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA	Lg ERA	Pitcher PIV
1987	PIT	NL	0	0	5	0	0	6.1	13	7	2	4	9.95	—	0.0
1989	BAL	AL	4	7	14	14	4	89.1	90	42	28	26	4.23	3.71 (-14%)	-2559.0
1990	BAL	AL	13	9	30	29	3	180.0	196	82	43	68	4.10	3.86 (-6%)	-5061.6
1991	BAL	AL	4	8	22	14	0	84.0	127	66	24	38	7.07	3.91 (-81%)	-3833.4
1993	DET	AL	1	1	6	0	0	8.1	13	12	5	7	12.96	—	0.0
Career · 5 seasons			22	25	77	57	7	368.0	439	209	102	143	5.11	—	-11,454

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

Dave Johnson — Career Batting Statistics
G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	PIV
77	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	.000	.000	.000	0

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Dave Johnson — Season-by-Season Batting
Year	Team	Lg	G	AVG	Lg AVG	Lg OBP	Lg SLG	Lg OPS	PIV
1987	PIT	NL	5	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1989	BAL	AL	14	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1990	BAL	AL	30	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1991	BAL	AL	22	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1993	DET	AL	6	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
Career · 5 seasons			77	—	—	—	—	—	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 (154 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Dave Johnson — Batting — Home / Away
Split	G	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	AVG
Home	40	0	0	0	0	0	—
Away	37	0	0	0	0	0	—

Pitching — Home / Away

Dave Johnson — Pitching — Home / Away
Split	G	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
Home	40	193.0	225	103	56	82	4.80
Away	37	175.0	214	106	46	61	5.45

Last 10 Games — Pitching

Dave Johnson — Last 10 Games — Pitching
Date	Tm	Opp	Dec	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR
1993-09-19	DET	CLE	—	1.2	3	3	3	1	1	1
1993-09-15	DET	TOR	—	0.1	2	3	3	1	0	0
1993-05-21	DET	CLE	—	2.0	3	1	1	0	1	0
1993-05-09	DET	NYY	—	2.0	3	4	3	1	2	1
1993-05-08	DET	NYY	L	1.0	2	2	2	1	1	1
1993-05-04	DET	KCR	W	1.1	0	0	0	1	2	0
1991-10-05	BAL	DET	—	5.0	6	2	2	3	4	2
1991-09-30	BAL	DET	L	3.2	7	6	6	3	1	3
1991-09-26	BAL	BOS	L	6.2	6	2	2	2	6	2
1991-09-18	BAL	BOS	L	2.1	8	5	5	2	0	0

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Dave Johnson — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
P	77	57	28	23	3	3

Season-by-Season Fielding

Dave Johnson — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year	Team	Pos	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
1987	PIT	P	5	0	1	1	0	1
1989	BAL	P	14	14	6	5	0	0
1990	BAL	P	30	29	13	10	2	1
1991	BAL	P	22	14	7	7	0	1
1993	DET	P	6	0	1	0	1	0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Dave Johnson — Career Games by Position
Position	Games
Pitcher	77

Awards & Honors

Dave Johnson — Awards & Honors
Year	Award	Notes
1989	Player of the Week	Week of 1989-08-11

Salary History

Dave Johnson — Salary History
Year	Team	League	Salary
1991	BAL	AL	$200,000
1990	BAL	AL	$113,500
1989	BAL	AL	$70,500
Total Career Earnings			$384,000

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Dave Johnson (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

Dave Johnson: the record in brief

The profile opens with Dave Johnson's first major league game on May 29, 1987; the last one listed came on September 19, 1993. The season rows list, in order, the Pittsburgh Pirates (1987), the Baltimore Orioles (1989 through 1991), and the Detroit Tigers (1993). At 5-foot-10 and 180 pounds, Johnson is listed as a pitcher. The bio says Johnson both batted and threw right-handed. The recorded birth is October 24, 1959, in Baltimore, MD, USA. The given name on file is David Wayne Johnson.

Johnson pitched in 77 games, starting 57, and finished with a 22-25 record and 5.11 ERA. Also on Johnson's record: 143 strikeouts. The league ERA over Johnson's seasons was 4.00, so the 5.11 figure ran 27.9% worse than average. Johnson won 13 games in 1990, the most of any season listed. Among the heaviest workloads, the lowest ERA was 4.10 in 1990, when the league's was 3.86.

Johnson appears at one position only: pitcher, in 77 games. On the mound, the fielding record shows 3 errors alongside 28 putouts and 23 assists.

The awards table records Player of the Week, in 1989.

Recorded salaries add up to $384,000, topping out at $200,000 in 1991. The game-log section draws on 154 games of Retrosheet box scores for Johnson.

The closest statistical comparisons on the page are John Finner, Jeremy Sowers, and Juanelo Mirabal.

Frequently Asked Questions about Dave Johnson

What years did Dave Johnson play?: Dave Johnson played in Major League Baseball from 1987 to 1993.
Was Dave Johnson a pitcher?: Yes. Dave Johnson pitched in the major leagues, recording 22 wins and 143 strikeouts.
What was Dave Johnson's career ERA?: Dave Johnson finished with a 5.11 career ERA, going 22-25 with 143 strikeouts.
How many strikeouts did Dave Johnson have?: Dave Johnson recorded 143 career strikeouts.
Is Dave Johnson in the Hall of Fame?: No. Dave Johnson has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
What teams did Dave Johnson play for?: Dave Johnson played for the Pittsburgh Pirates, the Baltimore Orioles, and the Detroit Tigers.