What years did Joel Johnston play?

Joel Johnston played in Major League Baseball from 1991 to 1995.

Was Joel Johnston a pitcher?

Yes. Joel Johnston pitched in the major leagues, recording 3 wins and 61 strikeouts.

How many home runs did Joel Johnston hit?

Joel Johnston hit 0 career home runs with 2 hits.

What was Joel Johnston's career batting average?

Joel Johnston batted .333 over his career, with 2 hits in 6 at bats.

What was Joel Johnston's career ERA?

Joel Johnston finished with a 4.31 career ERA, going 3-5 with 61 strikeouts.

How many strikeouts did Joel Johnston have?

Joel Johnston recorded 61 career strikeouts.

Joel Johnston

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1991-1995)

Joel Johnston was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1991 to 1995 for the Kansas City Royals, the Pittsburgh Pirates, and the Boston Red Sox, a span of 5 seasons. Across 59 career appearances, he went 3-5 with a 4.31 ERA and 61 strikeouts. His career Pitcher PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of pitching impact — is 421.8.

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 3–5

ERA 4.31

WHIP 1.20

SO 61

Pitcher PIV 421.8

Position: Pitcher
Bats / Throws: R / R
Height / Weight: 6'5" / 218 lb
Born: 3/8/1967 in West Chester, PA, USA
MLB Debut: 1991-09-05
Last Game: 1995-05-12

Full name: Joel Raymond Johnston

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Career Pitching Statistics

Joel Johnston — Career Pitching Statistics
W	L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	SO	ERA	Pitcher PIV
3	5	59	0	0	0	2	85.2	66	41	10	37	61	4.31	421.8

Career ERA 4.31 vs. league average 4.14 across their career seasons — near league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Joel Johnston — Season-by-Season Pitching
Year	Team	Lg	W	L	G	SV	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA	Lg ERA	Pitcher PIV
1991	KCA	AL	1	0	13	0	22.1	9	1	9	21	0.40	3.91 (+90%)	968.8
1992	KCA	AL	0	0	5	0	2.2	3	4	2	0	13.50	—	0.0
1993	PIT	NL	2	4	33	2	53.1	38	20	19	31	3.38	4.19 (+19%)	-547.0
1994	PIT	NL	0	0	4	0	3.1	14	11	4	5	29.70	—	0.0
1995	BOS	AL	0	1	4	0	4.0	2	5	3	4	11.25	—	0.0
Career · 5 seasons			3	5	59	2	85.2	66	41	37	61	4.31	—	422

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

Joel Johnston — Career Batting Statistics
G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	PIV
59	6	1	2	1	0	0	0	0	0	2	.333	.333	.500	.833	0

Career AVG .333 vs. league average .262 across their career seasons — +27.1% above league average.

Career OBP .333 vs. league average .331 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career SLG .500 vs. league average .400 across their career seasons — +24.9% above league average.

Career OPS .833 vs. league average .731 across their career seasons — +14.0% above league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Joel Johnston — Season-by-Season Batting
Year	Team	Lg	G	AB	R	H	2B	SO	AVG	Lg AVG	Lg OBP	Lg SLG	Lg OPS	PIV
1991	KCA	AL	13	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1992	KCA	AL	5	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1993	PIT	NL	33	6	1	2	1	2	.333	—	—	—	—	0.0
1994	PIT	NL	4	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1995	BOS	AL	4	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
Career · 5 seasons			59	6	1	2	1	2	.333	—	—	—	—	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 (118 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Joel Johnston — Batting — Home / Away
Split	G	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	AVG
Home	31	5	1	2	0	0	.400
Away	28	1	0	0	0	0	.000

Pitching — Home / Away

Joel Johnston — Pitching — Home / Away
Split	G	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
Home	31	51.1	48	33	21	38	5.79
Away	28	34.1	18	8	16	23	2.10

Last 10 Games — Batting

Joel Johnston — Last 10 Games — Batting
Date	Tm	Opp	Res	AB
1995-05-12	BOS	NYY	L	0
1995-05-04	BOS	NYY	L	0
1995-05-02	BOS	NYY	W	0
1995-05-01	BOS	NYY	L	0
1994-04-17	PIT	LAD	L	0
1994-04-16	PIT	LAD	W	0
1994-04-08	PIT	COL	L	0
1994-04-05	PIT	SFG	L	0
1993-10-03	PIT	WSN	L	0
1993-09-29	PIT	PHI	W	1

Last 10 Games — Pitching

Joel Johnston — Last 10 Games — Pitching
Date	Tm	Opp	Dec	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR
1995-05-12	BOS	NYY	—	0.2	1	3	3	2	0	0
1995-05-04	BOS	NYY	L	0.1	1	2	2	1	1	1
1995-05-02	BOS	NYY	—	2.0	0	0	0	0	2	0
1995-05-01	BOS	NYY	—	1.0	0	0	0	0	1	0
1994-04-17	PIT	LAD	—	1.1	7	8	8	2	3	0
1994-04-16	PIT	LAD	—	0.2	3	1	1	0	1	0
1994-04-08	PIT	COL	—	0.2	3	2	2	1	1	0
1994-04-05	PIT	SFG	—	0.2	1	1	0	1	0	0
1993-10-03	PIT	WSN	—	0.2	1	0	0	1	0	0
1993-09-29	PIT	PHI	SV	4.0	0	0	0	0	3	0

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Joel Johnston — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
P	59	0	5	8	2	0

Season-by-Season Fielding

Joel Johnston — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year	Team	Pos	G	PO	A	E
1991	KCA	P	13	1	2	0
1992	KCA	P	5	0	0	0
1993	PIT	P	33	4	5	0
1994	PIT	P	4	0	1	2
1995	BOS	P	4	0	0	0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Joel Johnston — Career Games by Position
Position	Games
Pitcher	59

Salary History

Joel Johnston — Salary History
Year	Team	League	Salary
1994	PIT	NL	$130,000
1992	KCA	AL	$113,500
Total Career Earnings			$243,500

College History

Joel Johnston — College History
School Name	City	State	Years Attended
Pennsylvania State University	State College	PA	1986, 1987

Joel Johnston: the record in brief

Joel Johnston's major league career runs from a debut on September 5, 1991 to a final game on May 12, 1995. Johnston played for the Kansas City Royals (1991 through 1992), the Pittsburgh Pirates (1993 through 1994), and the Boston Red Sox (1995). Johnston, born on March 8, 1967, in West Chester, PA, USA, is listed as a pitcher and both batted and threw right-handed. Johnston's listed size is 218 pounds on a 6-foot-5 frame. Joel Johnston was the playing name; the full given name is Joel Raymond.

Across 59 games (0 starts), Johnston recorded 3 wins against 5 losses with a 4.31 ERA. The same table counts 61 strikeouts. Johnston's 4.31 ERA was close to the 4.14 league figure for those seasons. 1993 was Johnston's sharpest full season, a 3.38 ERA against the league's 4.19. By Pitcher PIV, Baseball Data Hub's measure of run prevention relative to each season's league, Johnston's career adds up to 421.8.

Frequently Asked Questions about Joel Johnston

What years did Joel Johnston play?: Joel Johnston played in Major League Baseball from 1991 to 1995.
Was Joel Johnston a pitcher?: Yes. Joel Johnston pitched in the major leagues, recording 3 wins and 61 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Joel Johnston hit?: Joel Johnston hit 0 career home runs with 2 hits.
What was Joel Johnston's career batting average?: Joel Johnston batted .333 over his career, with 2 hits in 6 at bats.
What was Joel Johnston's career ERA?: Joel Johnston finished with a 4.31 career ERA, going 3-5 with 61 strikeouts.
How many strikeouts did Joel Johnston have?: Joel Johnston recorded 61 career strikeouts.