Syl Johnson

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1922-1940)

W–L 112–117
ERA 4.06
WHIP 1.28
SO 920
Pitcher PIV 9924.6
Position
Pitcher
Bats / Throws
R / R
Height / Weight
5'11" / 180 lb
Born
12/31/1900 in Portland, OR, USA
Died
2/20/1985 in Portland, OR, USA
MLB Debut
1922-04-24
Last Game
1940-09-14

Full name: Sylvester W. Johnson

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Career Pitching Statistics

W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
112 117 542 210 82 11 43 2165.7 2,290 977 173 488 920 4.06 9924.6

Career ERA 4.06 vs. league average 4.27 across their career seasons — near 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
1922 DET AL 7 3 29 8 3 0 1 97.0 99 40 30 29 3.71 4.18 (+11%) -987.9
1923 DET AL 12 7 37 18 7 0 0 176.3 181 78 47 93 3.98 4.03 (+1%) 1457.0
1924 DET AL 5 4 29 9 2 0 3 104.0 117 57 42 55 4.93 4.13 (-20%) -980.4
1925 DET AL 0 2 6 0 0 0 0 13.0 11 5 10 5 3.46 4.55 (+24%) -516.3
1926 SLN NL 0 3 19 6 1 0 1 49.0 54 23 15 10 4.22 4.11 (-3%) -478.9
1927 SLN NL 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 3.0 3 2 0 2 6.00 — 0.0
1928 SLN NL 8 4 34 6 2 0 3 120.0 117 52 33 66 3.90 4.13 (+6%) 1738.3
1929 SLN NL 13 7 42 19 12 3 3 182.3 186 73 56 80 3.60 4.60 (+22%) 1482.0
1930 SLN NL 12 10 32 24 9 2 2 187.7 215 97 38 92 4.65 4.80 (+3%) 2935.1
1931 SLN NL 11 9 32 24 12 2 2 186.0 186 62 29 82 3.00 4.10 (+27%) 3451.5
1932 SLN NL 5 14 32 22 7 0 2 164.7 199 90 35 70 4.92 4.13 (-19%) 145.1
1933 SLN NL 3 3 35 1 0 0 3 84.0 89 40 16 28 4.29 3.86 (-11%) -315.6
1934 CIN NL 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 6.7 9 2 0 0 2.70 — 0.0
1934 PHI NL 5 9 42 10 4 3 3 133.7 122 52 24 54 3.50 4.29 (+18%) -146.5
1935 PHI NL 10 8 37 18 8 1 6 174.7 182 69 31 89 3.56 4.35 (+18%) 2154.9
1936 PHI NL 5 7 39 8 1 0 7 111.0 129 53 29 48 4.30 4.59 (+6%) 164.7
1937 PHI NL 4 10 32 15 4 0 3 138.0 155 77 22 46 5.02 4.34 (-16%) -2081.2
1938 PHI NL 2 7 22 6 2 0 0 83.0 87 39 11 21 4.23 4.35 (+3%) 1555.9
1939 PHI NL 8 8 22 14 6 0 2 111.0 112 47 15 37 3.81 4.28 (+11%) 791.8
1940 PHI NL 2 2 17 2 2 0 2 40.7 37 19 5 13 4.20 4.21 (avg) -444.9
Career · 20 seasons 112 117 542 210 82 11 43 2,165.2 2,290 977 488 920 4.06 — 9,925

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
542 702 51 127 18 5 4 53 1 23 214 .181 .209 .238 .447 -2,094

Career AVG .181 vs. league average .280 across their career seasons — 35.5% below league average.

Career OBP .209 vs. league average .344 across their career seasons — 39.2% below league average.

Career SLG .238 vs. league average .397 across their career seasons — 40.0% below league average.

Career OPS .447 vs. league average .740 across their career seasons — 39.6% 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
1922 DET AL 29 36 5 8 0 1 0 1 0 0 10 .222 — — — — 0.0
1923 DET AL 37 62 6 10 1 2 1 5 0 1 19 .161 .282 (-43%) .344 (-46%) .390 (-26%) .734 (-35%) -377.5
1924 DET AL 29 34 1 7 2 0 0 3 0 2 6 .206 — — — — 0.0
1925 DET AL 6 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000 — — — — 0.0
1926 SLN NL 19 12 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 .000 — — — — 0.0
1927 SLN NL 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1928 SLN NL 34 38 5 6 1 0 0 1 0 3 18 .158 — — — — 0.0
1929 SLN NL 42 60 4 7 2 1 1 5 0 1 23 .117 .289 (-60%) .353 (-63%) .415 (-44%) .769 (-53%) -554.3
1930 SLN NL 32 70 9 15 4 0 0 5 1 4 28 .214 .293 (-27%) .354 (-28%) .429 (-37%) .784 (-33%) -394.5
1931 SLN NL 32 60 4 14 2 1 0 7 0 3 16 .233 .276 (-16%) .338 (-20%) .388 (-23%) .726 (-22%) -216.1
1932 SLN NL 32 51 0 10 1 0 0 5 0 0 13 .196 .275 (-29%) .335 (-42%) .391 (-45%) .726 (-43%) -355.2
1933 SLN NL 35 21 0 5 0 0 0 1 0 0 4 .238 — — — — 0.0
1934 CIN NL 2 2 1 1 0 0 1 2 0 0 0 .500 — — — — 0.0
1934 PHI NL 42 41 8 8 1 0 0 3 0 3 13 .195 — — — — 0.0
1935 PHI NL 37 58 6 14 2 0 1 7 0 2 12 .241 .279 (-14%) .342 (-22%) .399 (-18%) .742 (-20%) -196.2
1936 PHI NL 39 36 1 9 1 0 0 3 0 0 7 .250 — — — — 0.0
1937 PHI NL 32 48 1 7 1 0 0 3 0 0 15 .146 — — — — 0.0
1938 PHI NL 22 29 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 10 .034 — — — — 0.0
1939 PHI NL 22 33 0 5 0 0 0 2 0 2 11 .152 — — — — 0.0
1940 PHI NL 17 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 .000 — — — — 0.0
Career · 20 seasons 542 702 51 127 18 5 4 53 1 23 214 .181 — — — — -2,094

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
7 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 .000

Playoff Batting by Year

Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1931 WS SLN 3 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 .000
1930 WS SLN 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1928 WS SLN 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000

Playoff Career Pitching

W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
0 1 7 1 0 16.0 18 8 5 11 4.50

Playoff Pitching by Year

Year Round Team W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
1931 WS SLN 0 1 3 1 0 9.0 10 3 1 6 3.00
1930 WS SLN 0 0 2 0 0 5.0 4 4 3 4 7.20
1928 WS SLN 0 0 2 0 0 2.0 4 1 1 1 4.50

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (1084 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home2673192363128.197
Away2753822864326.168

Pitching — Home / Away

SplitGIPHERBBSOERA
Home2671035.011215062575024.40
Away2751130.011724792334233.82

Last 10 Games — Batting

DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1940-09-14 PHICHCW 200000001
1940-09-07 PHIBSNL 100000000
1940-09-06 PHIBROL 000000000
1940-08-26 PHICINW 400000001
1940-08-21 PHICHCW 000000000
1940-08-18 PHINY1W 000000000
1940-08-14 PHIBROW 000000000
1940-08-06 PHIBSNL 000000000
1940-08-06 PHIBSNL 000000000
1940-08-04 PHIPITL 000000000

Last 10 Games — Pitching

DateTmOppDecIPHRERBBSOHR
1940-09-14 PHICHC W 9.0533122
1940-09-07 PHIBSN L 3.0210010
1940-09-06 PHIBRO — 2.0000010
1940-08-26 PHICIN W 9.0311150
1940-08-21 PHICHC SV 1.0000000
1940-08-18 PHINY1 SV 1.1100000
1940-08-14 PHIBRO — 2.0222000
1940-08-06 PHIBSN — 2.0544011
1940-08-06 PHIBSN — 1.0000000
1940-08-04 PHIPIT — 1.0211000

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position G GS PO A E DP
P 542 0 63 291 13 13

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1922 DET P 29 0 3 17 2 0
1923 DET P 37 0 5 17 1 0
1924 DET P 29 0 2 17 0 0
1925 DET P 6 0 2 4 0 0
1926 SLN P 19 0 0 10 0 1
1927 SLN P 2 0 1 0 0 0
1928 SLN P 34 0 3 20 1 2
1929 SLN P 42 0 5 19 1 0
1930 SLN P 32 0 4 21 1 1
1931 SLN P 32 0 3 24 3 2
1932 SLN P 32 0 3 30 0 1
1933 SLN P 35 0 1 12 0 0
1934 CIN P 2 0 0 0 0 0
1934 PHI P 42 0 5 10 1 1
1935 PHI P 37 0 6 20 2 1
1936 PHI P 39 0 4 13 0 0
1937 PHI P 32 0 8 25 1 2
1938 PHI P 22 0 2 9 0 0
1939 PHI P 22 0 3 17 0 1
1940 PHI P 17 0 3 6 0 1

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Position Games
Pitcher 542

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

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

  1. 98
    Gerry Staley
    134-111, 3.70 ERA
  2. 96
    Dick Drago
    108-117, 3.62 ERA
  3. 91
    Dennis Lamp
    96-96, 3.93 ERA
  4. 86
    Harry Staley
    136-119, 3.81 ERA
  5. 85
    Rick Honeycutt
    109-143, 3.72 ERA
  6. 83
    Henry Porter
    96-107, 3.70 ERA

Frequently Asked Questions about Syl Johnson

What years did Syl Johnson play?
Syl Johnson played in Major League Baseball from 1922 to 1940.
Was Syl Johnson a pitcher?
Yes. Syl Johnson pitched in the major leagues, recording 112 wins and 920 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Syl Johnson hit?
Syl Johnson hit 4 career home runs with 127 hits.