What years did Jimmy Key play?

Jimmy Key played in Major League Baseball from 1984 to 1998.

Was Jimmy Key a pitcher?

Yes. Jimmy Key pitched in the major leagues, recording 186 wins and 1538 strikeouts.

How many home runs did Jimmy Key hit?

Jimmy Key hit 0 career home runs.

What teams did Jimmy Key play for?

Jimmy Key played for 3 teams: the Toronto Blue Jays (1984–1992), the New York Yankees (1993–1996), and the Baltimore Orioles (1997–1998).

Did Jimmy Key win a Cy Young Award?

No. Jimmy Key did not win the Cy Young Award.

What awards did Jimmy Key win?

Jimmy Key was selected to 4 All-Star Games.

What were Jimmy Key's career stats?

In 470 games, Jimmy Key went 186-117 with a 3.51 ERA, 1,538 strikeouts, 2,591.2 innings pitched, and 10 saves.

What was Jimmy Key's salary?

Jimmy Key's last recorded salary was $5,390,825, in 1998. His highest recorded salary was $5,390,825, in 1998, and his lowest was $131,250, in 1985. The Salary History table lists each season from 1985 to 1998.

What position did Jimmy Key play?

Jimmy Key played primarily as a pitcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.

How tall was Jimmy Key and how much did he weigh?

Jimmy Key was listed at 6 feet 1 inch and 185 pounds.

What was Jimmy Key's career ERA?

Jimmy Key finished with a 3.51 career ERA, going 186-117 with 1,538 strikeouts.

How many strikeouts did Jimmy Key have?

Jimmy Key recorded 1,538 career strikeouts.

Is Jimmy Key in the Hall of Fame?

No. Jimmy Key has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

Jimmy Key

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1984-1998)

Jimmy Key was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1984 to 1998 for the Toronto Blue Jays, the New York Yankees, and the Baltimore Orioles, a span of 15 seasons. Across 470 career appearances, he went 186-117 with a 3.51 ERA and 1,538 strikeouts. Jimmy Key was a 4-time All-Star. His career Pitcher PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of pitching impact — is 19114.4.

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 15, 2026

W–L 186–117

ERA 3.51

WHIP 1.23

SO 1,538

Pitcher PIV 19114.4

Position: Pitcher
Bats / Throws: R / L
Height / Weight: 6'1" / 185 lb
Born: 4/22/1961 in Huntsville, AL, USA
MLB Debut: 1984-04-06
Last Game: 1998-09-20
Awards: 4× All-Star

Full name: James Edward Key

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Career Pitching Statistics

Jimmy Key — Career Pitching Statistics
W	L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	SO	ERA	Pitcher PIV
186	117	470	389	34	13	10	2591.2	2,518	1,010	254	668	1,538	3.51	19114.4

Career ERA 3.51 vs. league average 4.10 across their career seasons — 14.5% better than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Jimmy Key Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year	Team	Lg	W	L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA	Lg ERA	Pitcher PIV
1984	TOR	AL	4	5	63	0	0	0	10	62.0	70	32	32	44	4.65	3.81 (-22%)	-1258.7
1985	TOR	AL	14	6	35	32	3	0	0	212.2	188	71	50	85	3.00	3.89 (+23%)	-371.4
1986	TOR	AL	14	11	36	35	4	2	0	232.0	222	92	74	141	3.57	3.97 (+10%)	464.8
1987	TOR	AL	17	8	36	36	8	1	0	261.0	210	80	66	161	2.76	4.29 (+36%)	4669.6
1988	TOR	AL	12	5	21	21	2	2	0	131.1	127	48	30	65	3.29	3.73 (+12%)	-432.7
1989	TOR	AL	13	14	33	33	5	1	0	216.0	226	93	27	118	3.88	3.71 (-4%)	3046.0
1990	TOR	AL	13	7	27	27	0	0	0	154.2	169	73	22	88	4.25	3.86 (-10%)	254.4
1991	TOR	AL	16	12	33	33	2	2	0	209.1	207	71	44	125	3.05	3.91 (+22%)	4536.1
1992	TOR	AL	13	13	33	33	4	2	0	216.2	205	85	59	117	3.53	3.75 (+6%)	-1462.5
1993	NYA	AL	18	6	34	34	4	2	0	236.2	219	79	43	173	3.00	4.19 (+28%)	4208.8
1994	NYA	AL	17	4	25	25	1	0	0	168.0	177	61	52	97	3.27	4.51 (+28%)	3386.8
1995	NYA	AL	1	2	5	5	0	0	0	30.1	40	19	6	14	5.64	4.45 (-27%)	298.9
1996	NYA	AL	12	11	30	30	0	0	0	169.1	171	88	58	116	4.68	4.61 (-1%)	588.0
1997	BAL	AL	16	10	34	34	1	1	0	212.1	210	81	82	141	3.43	4.39 (+22%)	-479.0
1998	BAL	AL	6	3	25	11	0	0	0	79.1	77	37	23	53	4.20	4.43 (+5%)	1665.2
Career · 15 seasons			186	117	470	389	34	13	10	2,591.2	2,518	1,010	668	1,538	3.51	—	19,114

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

Jimmy Key — Career Batting Statistics
G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	PIV
471	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	.000	.000	.000	.000	0

Career AVG .000 vs. league average .261 across their career seasons — 100.0% below league average.

Career OBP .000 vs. league average .329 across their career seasons — 100.0% below league average.

Career SLG .000 vs. league average .400 across their career seasons — 100.0% below league average.

Career OPS .000 vs. league average .729 across their career seasons — 100.0% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Jimmy Key Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year	Team	Lg	G	AB	SO	AVG	Lg AVG	Lg OBP	Lg SLG	Lg OPS	PIV
1984	TOR	AL	63	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1985	TOR	AL	36	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1986	TOR	AL	36	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1987	TOR	AL	36	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1988	TOR	AL	21	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1989	TOR	AL	33	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1990	TOR	AL	27	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1991	TOR	AL	33	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1992	TOR	AL	33	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1993	NYA	AL	34	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1994	NYA	AL	25	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1995	NYA	AL	5	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1996	NYA	AL	30	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1997	BAL	AL	34	2	2	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1998	BAL	AL	25	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
Career · 15 seasons			471	2	2	.000	—	—	—	—	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

Jimmy Key — Playoff Career Batting
G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	AVG
14	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000

Playoff Batting by Year

Jimmy Key — Playoff Batting by Year
Year	Round	Team	G	AB	AVG
1997	ALCS	BAL	2	0	.000
1997	ALDS2	BAL	1	0	.000
1996	ALCS	NYA	1	0	.000
1996	ALDS2	NYA	1	0	.000
1996	WS	NYA	2	0	.000
1992	ALCS	TOR	1	0	.000
1992	WS	TOR	2	1	.000
1991	ALCS	TOR	1	0	.000
1989	ALCS	TOR	1	0	.000
1985	ALCS	TOR	2	0	.000

Playoff Career Pitching

Jimmy Key — Playoff Career Pitching
W	L	G	GS	SV	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
5	3	14	11	0	68.2	71	24	17	35	3.15

Playoff Pitching by Year

Jimmy Key — Playoff Pitching by Year
Year	Round	Team	W	L	G	GS	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
1997	ALCS	BAL	0	0	2	1	7.0	5	2	3	7	2.57
1997	ALDS2	BAL	0	1	1	1	4.2	8	2	0	4	3.86
1996	ALCS	NYA	1	0	1	1	8.0	3	2	1	5	2.25
1996	ALDS2	NYA	0	0	1	1	5.0	5	2	1	3	3.60
1996	WS	NYA	1	1	2	2	11.1	15	5	5	1	3.97
1992	ALCS	TOR	0	0	1	0	3.0	2	0	2	1	0.00
1992	WS	TOR	2	0	2	1	9.0	6	1	0	6	1.00
1991	ALCS	TOR	0	0	1	1	6.0	5	2	1	1	3.00
1989	ALCS	TOR	1	0	1	1	6.0	7	3	2	2	4.50
1985	ALCS	TOR	0	1	2	2	8.2	15	5	2	5	5.19

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (941 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Jimmy Key — Batting — Home / Away
Split	G	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	AVG
Home	240	0	0	0	0	0	—
Away	231	2	0	0	0	0	.000

Pitching — Home / Away

Jimmy Key — Pitching — Home / Away
Split	G	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
Home	240	1337.0	1301	533	336	795	3.59
Away	230	1254.2	1217	477	332	743	3.42

Last 10 Games — Pitching

Jimmy Key — Last 10 Games — Pitching
Date	Tm	Opp	Dec	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR
1998-09-20	BAL	NYY	—	1.0	2	1	1	0	1	0
1998-09-13	BAL	LAA	W	1.0	1	1	1	1	0	0
1998-09-09	BAL	OAK	—	2.0	1	0	0	0	1	0
1998-09-07	BAL	SEA	—	0.0	2	4	4	2	0	1
1998-09-05	BAL	SEA	—	0.2	0	0	0	0	1	0
1998-09-01	BAL	CHW	—	0.2	1	0	0	1	1	0
1998-08-30	BAL	KCR	—	2.0	0	0	0	1	2	0
1998-08-28	BAL	KCR	—	1.0	0	0	0	0	1	0
1998-08-23	BAL	CLE	—	1.2	2	0	0	0	0	0
1998-08-20	BAL	TBR	—	0.2	0	0	0	0	0	0

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Jimmy Key — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
P	470	389	172	452	22	35

Season-by-Season Fielding

Jimmy Key — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year	Team	Pos	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
1984	TOR	P	63	0	9	11	1	0
1985	TOR	P	35	32	15	52	3	3
1986	TOR	P	36	35	18	42	0	4
1987	TOR	P	36	36	17	44	3	5
1988	TOR	P	21	21	5	19	0	1
1989	TOR	P	33	33	11	44	2	2
1990	TOR	P	27	27	8	22	1	3
1991	TOR	P	33	33	22	37	2	3
1992	TOR	P	33	33	18	27	1	2
1993	NYA	P	34	34	14	33	4	1
1994	NYA	P	25	25	6	40	2	3
1995	NYA	P	5	5	4	3	0	2
1996	NYA	P	30	30	9	30	1	1
1997	BAL	P	34	34	12	37	2	2
1998	BAL	P	25	11	4	11	0	3

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Jimmy Key Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position	Games
Pitcher	470
Designated Hitter	1

Awards & Honors

Jimmy Key — Awards & Honors
Year	Award	Notes
1994	MLB Players Choice Outstanding Pitcher
1994	TSN All-Star	LHP
1994	TSN Pitcher of the Year
1993	Pitcher of the Month	April
1993	TSN All-Star	LHP
1987	TSN All-Star	LHP
1987	TSN Pitcher of the Year

Salary History

Jimmy Key's recorded salaries total $31,791,224 over 13 seasons, 1985 to 1998. This total is partial: the salary data covers 1985 to 2016, and Key's career ran from 1984 to 1998. His seasons before 1985 are not included, and no salary is recorded for 1991.

Jimmy Key — Salary History
Year	Team	League	Salary
1998	BAL	AL	$5,390,825
1997	BAL	AL	$2,340,000
1996	NYA	AL	$1,750,000
1995	NYA	AL	$4,873,700
1994	NYA	AL	$5,350,000
1993	NYA	AL	$4,900,000
1992	TOR	AL	$2,275,000
1990	TOR	AL	$1,466,667
1989	TOR	AL	$1,766,666
1988	TOR	AL	$440,225
1987	TOR	AL	$554,391
1986	TOR	AL	$552,500
1985	TOR	AL	$131,250
Total recorded salary (partial)			$31,791,224

College History

Jimmy Key — College History
School Name	City	State	Years Attended
Clemson University	Clemson	SC	1980, 1981, 1982

Award Voting History

Jimmy Key — Award Voting History
Year	Award	League	Finish	Points Won	Points Max	Votes First
1994	Cy Young Award	AL	2nd	96.0	140	10
1994	Most Valuable Player	AL	6th	102.0	392	0
1993	Cy Young Award	AL	4th	14.0	140	0
1993	Most Valuable Player	AL	11th	29.0	392	0
1987	Cy Young Award	AL	2nd	64.0	140	4

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Jimmy Key (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

Compare Jimmy Key

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Jimmy Key: the record in brief

The profile opens with Jimmy Key's first major league game on April 6, 1984; the last one listed came on September 20, 1998. Club by club, the record runs the Toronto Blue Jays (1984 through 1992), the New York Yankees (1993 to 1996), and the Baltimore Orioles (1997 through 1998). Key played primarily as a pitcher and threw left-handed and batted right-handed. Born on April 22, 1961, in Huntsville, AL, USA, Key was listed at 6-foot-1 and 185 pounds. Key's full given name, per the bio, is James Edward Key.

Across 470 games (389 starts), Key recorded 186 wins against 117 losses with a 3.51 ERA. Key had 1,538 strikeouts, 34 complete games, 13 shutouts, and 10 saves. That 3.51 ERA compares with a 4.10 league average across the same seasons, 14.5% better. No season topped the 18 wins of 1993. Key saved 10 games in 1984, the season high. Among the heaviest workloads, the lowest ERA was 2.76 in 1987, when the league's was 4.29.

Frequently Asked Questions about Jimmy Key

What years did Jimmy Key play?: Jimmy Key played in Major League Baseball from 1984 to 1998.
Was Jimmy Key a pitcher?: Yes. Jimmy Key pitched in the major leagues, recording 186 wins and 1538 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Jimmy Key hit?: Jimmy Key hit 0 career home runs.
What teams did Jimmy Key play for?: Jimmy Key played for 3 teams: the Toronto Blue Jays (1984–1992), the New York Yankees (1993–1996), and the Baltimore Orioles (1997–1998).
Did Jimmy Key win a Cy Young Award?: No. Jimmy Key did not win the Cy Young Award.
What awards did Jimmy Key win?: Jimmy Key was selected to 4 All-Star Games.
What were Jimmy Key's career stats?: In 470 games, Jimmy Key went 186-117 with a 3.51 ERA, 1,538 strikeouts, 2,591.2 innings pitched, and 10 saves.
How much did Jimmy Key earn in his career?: Jimmy Key's recorded salaries total $31,791,224 over 13 seasons, 1985 to 1998. This total is partial: the salary data covers 1985 to 2016, and Key's career ran from 1984 to 1998. His seasons before 1985 are not included, and no salary is recorded for 1991.
What was Jimmy Key's salary?: Jimmy Key's last recorded salary was $5,390,825, in 1998. His highest recorded salary was $5,390,825, in 1998, and his lowest was $131,250, in 1985. The Salary History table lists each season from 1985 to 1998.
What position did Jimmy Key play?: Jimmy Key played primarily as a pitcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.
How tall was Jimmy Key and how much did he weigh?: Jimmy Key was listed at 6 feet 1 inch and 185 pounds.
What was Jimmy Key's career ERA?: Jimmy Key finished with a 3.51 career ERA, going 186-117 with 1,538 strikeouts.
How many strikeouts did Jimmy Key have?: Jimmy Key recorded 1,538 career strikeouts.
Is Jimmy Key in the Hall of Fame?: No. Jimmy Key has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.