What years did John Lackey play?

John Lackey played in Major League Baseball from 2002 to 2017.

Was John Lackey a pitcher?

Yes. John Lackey pitched in the major leagues, recording 188 wins and 2294 strikeouts.

How many home runs did John Lackey hit?

John Lackey hit 0 career home runs with 26 hits.

What teams did John Lackey play for?

John Lackey played for 4 teams: the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (2002–2009), the Boston Red Sox (2010–2011, 2013–2014), the St. Louis Cardinals (2014–2015), and the Chicago Cubs (2016–2017).

Did John Lackey win a Cy Young Award?

No. John Lackey did not win the Cy Young Award.

What awards did John Lackey win?

John Lackey was selected to 1 All-Star Game.

What were John Lackey's career stats?

In 448 games, John Lackey went 188-147 with a 3.92 ERA, 2,294 strikeouts, and 2,840.1 innings pitched. At the plate he had 26 hits and 0 home runs.

What was John Lackey's salary?

John Lackey's last recorded salary was $16,000,000, in 2016. His highest recorded salary was $18,700,000, in 2010, and his lowest was $315,000, in 2003. The Salary History table lists each season from 2003 to 2016.

What position did John Lackey play?

John Lackey played primarily as a pitcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.

How tall was John Lackey and how much did he weigh?

John Lackey was listed at 6 feet 6 inches and 235 pounds.

What was John Lackey's career ERA?

John Lackey finished with a 3.92 career ERA, going 188-147 with 2,294 strikeouts.

How many strikeouts did John Lackey have?

John Lackey recorded 2,294 career strikeouts.

Is John Lackey in the Hall of Fame?

No. John Lackey has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

John Lackey

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (2002-2017)

John Lackey was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 2002 to 2017 for 5 teams, including the Anaheim Angels, a span of 16 seasons. Across 448 career appearances, he went 188-147 with a 3.92 ERA and 2,294 strikeouts. He also batted .110 with 0 home runs. John Lackey was an All-Star. His career Pitcher PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of pitching impact — is 20513.7.

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 188–147

ERA 3.92

WHIP 1.29

SO 2,294

Pitcher PIV 20513.7

Position: Pitcher
Bats / Throws: R / R
Height / Weight: 6'6" / 235 lb
Born: 10/23/1978 in Abilene, TX, USA
MLB Debut: 2002-06-24
Last Game: 2017-10-01
Awards: All-Star

Full name: John Derran Lackey

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Career Pitching Statistics

John Lackey — Career Pitching Statistics
W	L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	SO	ERA	Pitcher PIV
188	147	448	446	18	8	0	2840.1	2,862	1,237	319	815	2,294	3.92	20513.7

Career ERA 3.92 vs. league average 4.21 across their career seasons — 7.0% better than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

John Lackey Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year	Team	Lg	W	L	G	GS	CG	SHO	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA	Lg ERA	Pitcher PIV
2002	ANA	AL	9	4	18	18	1	0	108.1	113	44	33	69	3.66	4.28 (+15%)	1011.2
2003	ANA	AL	10	16	33	33	2	2	204.0	223	105	66	151	4.63	4.40 (-5%)	-1247.2
2004	ANA	AL	14	13	33	32	1	1	198.1	215	103	60	144	4.67	4.46 (-5%)	2048.3
2005	LAA	AL	14	5	33	33	1	0	209.0	208	80	71	199	3.44	4.29 (+20%)	6482.9
2006	LAA	AL	13	11	33	33	3	2	217.2	203	86	72	190	3.56	4.53 (+21%)	6671.0
2007	LAA	AL	19	9	33	33	2	2	224.0	219	75	52	179	3.01	4.47 (+33%)	5447.6
2008	LAA	AL	12	5	24	24	3	0	163.1	161	68	40	130	3.75	4.32 (+13%)	-833.5
2009	LAA	AL	11	8	27	27	1	1	176.1	177	75	47	139	3.83	4.32 (+11%)	2719.0
2010	BOS	AL	14	11	33	33	0	0	215.0	233	105	72	156	4.40	4.08 (-8%)	1309.5
2011	BOS	AL	12	12	28	28	0	0	160.0	203	114	56	108	6.41	3.94 (-63%)	-3056.9
2013	BOS	AL	10	13	29	29	2	0	189.1	179	74	40	161	3.52	3.87 (+9%)	20.9
2014	BOS	AL	11	7	21	21	1	0	137.1	137	55	32	116	3.60	3.74 (+4%)	631.1
2014	SLN	NL	3	3	10	10	0	0	60.2	69	29	15	48	4.30	3.74 (-15%)	-802.3
2015	SLN	NL	13	10	33	33	1	0	218.0	211	67	53	175	2.77	3.96 (+30%)	2259.0
2016	CHN	NL	11	8	29	29	0	0	188.1	146	70	53	180	3.35	4.19 (+20%)	1856.6
2017	CHN	NL	12	12	31	30	0	0	170.2	165	87	53	149	4.59	4.36 (-5%)	-4003.5
Career · 16 seasons			188	147	448	446	18	8	2,840.1	2,862	1,237	815	2,294	3.92	—	20,514

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

John Lackey — Career Batting Statistics
G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	PIV
450	236	6	26	7	0	0	8	1	9	97	.110	.143	.140	.283	-1,720

Career AVG .110 vs. league average .260 across their career seasons — 57.6% below league average.

Career OBP .143 vs. league average .327 across their career seasons — 56.3% below league average.

Career SLG .140 vs. league average .414 across their career seasons — 66.2% below league average.

Career OPS .283 vs. league average .741 across their career seasons — 61.9% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

John Lackey Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year	Team	Lg	G	AB	R	H	2B	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	Lg AVG	Lg OBP	Lg SLG	Lg OPS	PIV
2002	ANA	AL	18	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
2003	ANA	AL	33	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
2004	ANA	AL	33	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
2005	LAA	AL	33	6	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
2006	LAA	AL	33	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
2007	LAA	AL	33	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
2008	LAA	AL	24	6	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
2009	LAA	AL	27	8	1	1	0	1	0	0	2	.125	—	—	—	—	0.0
2010	BOS	AL	34	5	1	2	1	0	0	0	1	.400	—	—	—	—	0.0
2011	BOS	AL	28	3	0	1	1	1	0	0	1	.333	—	—	—	—	0.0
2013	BOS	AL	29	5	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
2014	BOS	AL	21	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
2014	SLN	NL	10	15	1	2	0	0	0	0	5	.133	—	—	—	—	0.0
2015	SLN	NL	33	62	0	7	2	3	0	4	24	.113	.254 (-56%)	.316 (-47%)	.404 (-64%)	.721 (-57%)	-556.8
2016	CHN	NL	29	63	1	6	2	2	0	2	31	.095	.255 (-63%)	.321 (-62%)	.417 (-70%)	.738 (-66%)	-677.6
2017	CHN	NL	32	53	2	7	1	1	1	3	23	.132	.254 (-48%)	.324 (-45%)	.425 (-65%)	.750 (-56%)	-485.4
Career · 16 seasons			450	236	6	26	7	8	1	9	97	.110	—	—	—	—	-1,720

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

John Lackey — Playoff Career Batting
G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	AVG
29	12	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	5	.167

Playoff Batting by Year

John Lackey — Playoff Batting by Year
Year	Round	Team	G	AB	H	SO	AVG
2017	NLCS	CHN	3	0	0	0	.000
2016	NLCS	CHN	1	2	0	1	.000
2016	NLDS1	CHN	1	1	0	1	.000
2016	WS	CHN	1	1	0	1	.000
2015	NLDS1	SLN	2	3	1	1	.333
2014	NLCS	SLN	1	1	0	1	.000
2014	NLDS2	SLN	1	2	0	0	.000
2013	ALCS	BOS	1	0	0	0	.000
2013	ALDS1	BOS	1	0	0	0	.000
2013	WS	BOS	3	0	0	0	.000
2009	ALCS	LAA	2	0	0	0	.000
2009	ALDS2	LAA	1	0	0	0	.000
2008	ALDS1	LAA	2	0	0	0	.000
2007	ALDS1	LAA	1	0	0	0	.000
2005	ALCS	LAA	1	0	0	0	.000
2005	ALDS2	LAA	2	0	0	0	.000
2002	ALCS	ANA	1	0	0	0	.000
2002	ALDS1	ANA	1	0	0	0	.000
2002	WS	ANA	3	2	1	0	.500

Playoff Career Pitching

John Lackey — Playoff Career Pitching
W	L	G	GS	SV	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
8	6	29	23	0	144.0	135	55	47	114	3.44

Playoff Pitching by Year

John Lackey — Playoff Pitching by Year
Year	Round	Team	W	L	G	GS	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
2017	NLCS	CHN	0	0	3	0	3.2	5	4	2	3	9.82
2016	NLCS	CHN	0	0	1	1	4.0	3	2	3	3	4.50
2016	NLDS1	CHN	0	0	1	1	4.0	7	3	2	4	6.75
2016	WS	CHN	0	1	1	1	5.0	4	2	1	5	3.60
2015	NLDS1	SLN	1	0	2	2	10.1	6	4	2	10	3.48
2014	NLCS	SLN	0	0	1	1	6.0	5	4	1	3	6.00
2014	NLDS2	SLN	1	0	1	1	7.0	5	1	1	8	1.29
2013	ALCS	BOS	1	0	1	1	6.2	4	0	0	8	0.00
2013	ALDS1	BOS	1	0	1	1	5.1	7	4	3	6	6.75
2013	WS	BOS	1	1	3	2	14.0	14	4	3	11	2.57
2009	ALCS	LAA	0	1	2	2	12.1	15	5	6	10	3.65
2009	ALDS2	LAA	1	0	1	1	7.1	4	0	1	4	0.00
2008	ALDS1	LAA	0	1	2	2	13.2	11	4	4	6	2.63
2007	ALDS1	LAA	0	1	1	1	6.0	9	4	2	4	6.00
2005	ALCS	LAA	0	1	1	1	5.0	8	5	1	3	9.00
2005	ALDS2	LAA	0	0	2	2	11.1	7	3	9	9	2.38
2002	ALCS	ANA	1	0	1	1	7.0	3	0	0	7	0.00
2002	ALDS1	ANA	0	0	1	0	3.0	3	0	1	3	0.00
2002	WS	ANA	1	0	3	2	12.1	15	6	5	7	4.38

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (898 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

John Lackey — Batting — Home / Away
Split	G	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	AVG
Home	224	102	1	12	0	3	.118
Away	226	134	5	14	0	5	.104

Pitching — Home / Away

John Lackey — Pitching — Home / Away
Split	G	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
Home	223	1450.0	1433	581	399	1192	3.61
Away	225	1390.1	1429	656	416	1102	4.25

Last 10 Games — Batting

John Lackey — Last 10 Games — Batting
Date	Tm	Opp	Res	AB	R	H	BB	SO
2017-10-01	CHC	CIN	L	0	0	0	0	0
2017-09-27	CHC	STL	W	2	0	0	0	2
2017-09-22	CHC	MIL	W	1	0	0	0	1
2017-09-15	CHC	STL	W	1	0	0	0	0
2017-09-08	CHC	MIL	L	2	0	0	0	2
2017-09-01	CHC	ATL	W	1	0	0	0	0
2017-08-27	CHC	PHI	L	2	0	1	0	0
2017-08-22	CHC	CIN	W	0	1	0	2	0
2017-08-16	CHC	CIN	W	2	0	1	0	1
2017-08-11	CHC	AZ	W	3	0	0	0	0

Last 10 Games — Pitching

John Lackey — Last 10 Games — Pitching
Date	Tm	Opp	Dec	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR
2017-10-01	CHC	CIN	L	1.0	2	1	1	0	1	0
2017-09-27	CHC	STL	W	6.0	2	1	1	2	3	0
2017-09-22	CHC	MIL	—	4.0	6	3	3	2	1	2
2017-09-15	CHC	STL	—	4.2	3	2	2	2	4	1
2017-09-08	CHC	MIL	L	7.0	4	2	2	2	9	1
2017-09-01	CHC	ATL	W	7.0	3	0	0	0	5	0
2017-08-27	CHC	PHI	L	5.0	6	5	4	1	8	1
2017-08-22	CHC	CIN	—	5.0	9	6	6	1	3	2
2017-08-16	CHC	CIN	—	6.0	4	1	1	3	6	0
2017-08-11	CHC	AZ	W	5.1	4	3	3	3	7	2

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

John Lackey — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
P	448	446	222	299	28	29

Season-by-Season Fielding

John Lackey — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year	Team	Pos	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
2002	ANA	P	18	18	4	16	0	2
2003	ANA	P	33	33	14	22	3	2
2004	ANA	P	33	32	15	23	0	1
2005	LAA	P	33	33	5	25	3	0
2006	LAA	P	33	33	9	26	0	1
2007	LAA	P	33	33	22	25	2	5
2008	LAA	P	24	24	9	10	5	3
2009	LAA	P	27	27	13	22	2	3
2010	BOS	P	33	33	22	21	3	3
2011	BOS	P	28	28	19	16	3	4
2013	BOS	P	29	29	18	29	2	0
2014	BOS	P	21	21	6	10	0	0
2014	SLN	P	10	10	6	5	3	0
2015	SLN	P	33	33	20	15	2	3
2016	CHN	P	29	29	13	19	0	1
2017	CHN	P	31	30	27	15	0	1

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

John Lackey Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position	Games
Pitcher	448

Awards & Honors

John Lackey — Awards & Honors
Year	Award	Notes
2008	Pitcher of the Month	June
2006	Pitcher of the Month	July

Salary History

John Lackey's recorded salaries total $125,944,166 over 14 seasons, 2003 to 2016. This total is partial: the salary data covers 1985 to 2016, and Lackey's career ran from 2002 to 2017. His seasons after 2016 are not included, and no salary is recorded for 2002.

John Lackey — Salary History
Year	Team	League	Salary
2016	CHN	NL	$16,000,000
2015	SLN	NL	$507,500
2014	SLN	NL	$15,250,000
2013	BOS	AL	$15,950,000
2012	BOS	AL	$15,950,000
2011	BOS	AL	$15,950,000
2010	BOS	AL	$18,700,000
2009	LAA	AL	$10,000,000
2008	LAA	AL	$7,333,333
2007	LAA	AL	$5,833,333
2006	LAA	AL	$3,340,000
2005	LAA	AL	$440,000
2004	ANA	AL	$375,000
2003	ANA	AL	$315,000
Total recorded salary (partial)			$125,944,166

College History

John Lackey — College History
School Name	City	State	Years Attended
Grayson County College	Denison	TX	1999
University of Texas at Arlington	Arlington	TX	1998

Award Voting History

John Lackey — Award Voting History
Year	Award	League	Finish	Points Won	Points Max	Votes First
2015	Cy Young Award	NL	9th	1.0	210	0
2007	Cy Young Award	AL	3rd	36.0	140	1
2007	Most Valuable Player	AL	17th	4.0	392	0
2002	Rookie of the Year	AL	4th	5.0	140	0

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

John Lackey (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

John Lackey: the record in brief

The profile opens with John Lackey's first major league game on June 24, 2002; the last one listed came on October 1, 2017. Club by club, the record runs the Anaheim Angels (2002 through 2004), the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (2005 to 2009), the Boston Red Sox (2010 to 2014), the St. Louis Cardinals (2014 through 2015), and the Chicago Cubs (2016 through 2017). The bio lists Lackey as a pitcher who threw and hit right-handed. Height and weight on file: 6 feet, 6 inches and 235 pounds. Lackey was born on October 23, 1978, in Abilene, TX, USA. The bio lists the given name John Derran.

The pitching table credits Lackey with a 188-147 record and a 3.92 ERA in 448 games. The same table counts 2,294 strikeouts, 18 complete games, and 8 shutouts. Against a 4.21 league ERA for the same years, Lackey was 7.0% better. The best win total was 19, in 2007. The strikeout high was 199 in 2005.

Frequently Asked Questions about John Lackey

What years did John Lackey play?: John Lackey played in Major League Baseball from 2002 to 2017.
Was John Lackey a pitcher?: Yes. John Lackey pitched in the major leagues, recording 188 wins and 2294 strikeouts.
How many home runs did John Lackey hit?: John Lackey hit 0 career home runs with 26 hits.
What teams did John Lackey play for?: John Lackey played for 4 teams: the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (2002–2009), the Boston Red Sox (2010–2011, 2013–2014), the St. Louis Cardinals (2014–2015), and the Chicago Cubs (2016–2017).
Did John Lackey win a Cy Young Award?: No. John Lackey did not win the Cy Young Award.
What awards did John Lackey win?: John Lackey was selected to 1 All-Star Game.
What were John Lackey's career stats?: In 448 games, John Lackey went 188-147 with a 3.92 ERA, 2,294 strikeouts, and 2,840.1 innings pitched. At the plate he had 26 hits and 0 home runs.
How much did John Lackey earn in his career?: John Lackey's recorded salaries total $125,944,166 over 14 seasons, 2003 to 2016. This total is partial: the salary data covers 1985 to 2016, and Lackey's career ran from 2002 to 2017. His seasons after 2016 are not included, and no salary is recorded for 2002.
What was John Lackey's salary?: John Lackey's last recorded salary was $16,000,000, in 2016. His highest recorded salary was $18,700,000, in 2010, and his lowest was $315,000, in 2003. The Salary History table lists each season from 2003 to 2016.
What position did John Lackey play?: John Lackey played primarily as a pitcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.
How tall was John Lackey and how much did he weigh?: John Lackey was listed at 6 feet 6 inches and 235 pounds.
What was John Lackey's career ERA?: John Lackey finished with a 3.92 career ERA, going 188-147 with 2,294 strikeouts.
How many strikeouts did John Lackey have?: John Lackey recorded 2,294 career strikeouts.
Is John Lackey in the Hall of Fame?: No. John Lackey has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.