Mike LaCoss

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1978-1991)

W–L 98–103
ERA 4.02
WHIP 1.44
SO 783
Pitcher PIV -70.1
Position
Pitcher
Bats / Throws
R / R
Height / Weight
6'5" / 185 lb
Born
5/30/1956 in Glendale, CA, USA
MLB Debut
1978-07-18
Last Game
1991-07-02
Awards
All-Star

Full name: Michael James LaCoss

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Career Pitching Statistics

W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
98 103 415 243 26 9 12 1739.7 1,786 777 99 725 783 4.02 -70.1

Career ERA 4.02 vs. league average 3.87 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
1978 CIN NL 4 8 16 15 2 1 0 96.0 104 48 46 31 4.50 3.69 (-22%) -954.9
1979 CIN NL 14 8 35 32 6 1 0 205.7 202 80 79 73 3.50 4.00 (+13%) -120.8
1980 CIN NL 10 12 34 29 4 2 0 169.3 207 87 68 59 4.62 3.84 (-20%) -538.0
1981 CIN NL 4 7 20 13 1 1 1 78.0 102 53 30 22 6.12 3.58 (-71%) -1582.6
1982 HOU NL 6 6 41 8 0 0 0 115.0 107 37 54 51 2.90 3.86 (+25%) 533.1
1983 HOU NL 5 7 38 17 2 0 1 138.0 142 68 56 53 4.43 3.87 (-15%) -1095.2
1984 HOU NL 7 5 39 18 2 1 3 132.0 132 59 55 86 4.02 3.81 (-6%) 2712.9
1985 KCA AL 1 1 21 0 0 0 1 40.7 49 23 29 26 5.09 3.89 (-31%) -295.7
1986 SFN NL 10 13 37 31 4 1 0 204.3 179 81 70 86 3.57 3.97 (+10%) 195.4
1987 SFN NL 13 10 39 26 2 1 0 171.0 184 70 63 79 3.68 4.29 (+14%) -43.9
1988 SFN NL 7 7 19 19 1 1 0 114.3 99 46 47 70 3.62 3.73 (+3%) 1056.6
1989 SFN NL 10 10 45 18 1 0 6 150.3 143 53 65 78 3.17 3.71 (+14%) 1119.5
1990 SFN NL 6 4 13 12 1 0 0 77.7 75 34 39 39 3.94 3.86 (-2%) -555.5
1991 SFN NL 1 5 18 5 0 0 0 47.3 61 38 24 30 7.23 3.91 (-85%) -501.0
Career · 14 seasons 98 103 415 243 26 9 12 1,739.2 1,786 777 725 783 4.02 — -70

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
416 481 30 60 11 0 2 19 0 18 194 .125 .159 .160 .319 -1,991

Career AVG .125 vs. league average .259 across their career seasons — 51.8% below league average.

Career OBP .159 vs. league average .324 across their career seasons — 50.8% below league average.

Career SLG .160 vs. league average .388 across their career seasons — 58.7% below league average.

Career OPS .319 vs. league average .712 across their career seasons — 55.1% 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
1978 CIN NL 17 30 3 2 1 0 0 1 0 0 17 .067 — — — — 0.0
1979 CIN NL 35 70 3 9 1 0 0 0 0 3 25 .129 .265 (-52%) .329 (-50%) .397 (-64%) .727 (-58%) -644.4
1980 CIN NL 34 55 2 5 1 0 0 1 0 1 23 .091 .264 (-66%) .326 (-62%) .387 (-72%) .714 (-68%) -583.5
1981 CIN NL 20 19 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 8 .000 — — — — 0.0
1982 HOU NL 41 24 2 6 1 0 0 0 0 1 8 .250 — — — — 0.0
1983 HOU NL 38 35 1 3 0 0 0 1 0 1 12 .086 — — — — 0.0
1984 HOU NL 39 31 1 4 1 0 0 1 0 0 16 .129 — — — — 0.0
1985 KCA AL 21 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1986 SFN NL 37 61 8 14 2 0 2 9 0 3 24 .230 .257 (-11%) .325 (-18%) .395 (-9%) .720 (-13%) -135.9
1987 SFN NL 39 50 2 3 0 0 0 3 0 2 16 .060 .262 (-77%) .331 (-66%) .415 (-86%) .746 (-77%) -626.6
1988 SFN NL 19 33 3 8 1 0 0 2 0 2 13 .242 — — — — 0.0
1989 SFN NL 45 41 1 3 2 0 0 1 0 4 16 .073 — — — — 0.0
1990 SFN NL 13 23 2 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 10 .043 — — — — 0.0
1991 SFN NL 18 9 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 6 .222 — — — — 0.0
Career · 14 seasons 416 481 30 60 11 0 2 19 0 18 194 .125 — — — — -1,991

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
6 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000

Playoff Batting by Year

Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1989 NLCS SFN 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1989 WS SFN 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1987 NLCS SFN 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1979 NLCS CIN 1 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 6 2 0 12.3 13 8 10 6 5.84

Playoff Pitching by Year

Year Round Team W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
1989 NLCS SFN 0 0 1 1 0 3.0 7 3 0 2 9.00
1989 WS SFN 0 0 2 0 0 4.3 4 3 3 2 6.23
1987 NLCS SFN 0 0 2 0 0 3.3 1 0 3 2 0.00
1979 NLCS CIN 0 1 1 1 0 1.7 1 2 4 0 10.80

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (831 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home204230152919.126
Away2122511531110.124

Pitching — Home / Away

SplitGIPHERBBSOERA
Home203877.08643503334123.59
Away212862.29224273923714.45

Last 10 Games — Batting

DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1991-07-02 SFGHOUL 000000000
1991-06-30 SFGSDPW 000000000
1991-06-22 SFGCHCW 000000000
1991-06-18 SFGSTLL 000000000
1991-06-12 SFGCHCL 000000000
1991-06-05 SFGPITL 100000000
1991-05-30 SFGATLL 000000000
1991-05-19 SFGWSNL 000000000
1991-05-17 SFGWSNL 000000000
1991-05-14 SFGPHIL 000000000

Last 10 Games — Pitching

DateTmOppDecIPHRERBBSOHR
1991-07-02 SFGHOU — 2.0422100
1991-06-30 SFGSDP — 2.0111011
1991-06-22 SFGCHC — 2.2511120
1991-06-18 SFGSTL — 1.0000020
1991-06-12 SFGCHC — 2.0000120
1991-06-05 SFGPIT — 3.1622110
1991-05-30 SFGATL — 2.1211210
1991-05-19 SFGWSN L 1.0111300
1991-05-17 SFGWSN L 1.0233101
1991-05-14 SFGPHI — 1.1333110

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position G GS PO A E DP
P 415 243 126 308 20 24

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1978 CIN P 16 15 8 13 0 0
1979 CIN P 35 32 15 34 2 4
1980 CIN P 34 29 9 34 3 4
1981 CIN P 20 13 6 14 1 0
1982 HOU P 41 8 7 16 3 3
1983 HOU P 38 17 6 27 0 1
1984 HOU P 39 18 9 20 2 2
1985 KCA P 21 0 1 8 0 1
1986 SFN P 37 31 19 34 1 2
1987 SFN P 39 26 15 43 2 4
1988 SFN P 19 19 10 32 0 1
1989 SFN P 45 18 12 20 4 1
1990 SFN P 13 12 5 8 1 1
1991 SFN P 18 5 4 5 1 0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Position Games
Pitcher 415

Salary History

Year Team League Salary
1991 SFN NL $1,450,000
1990 SFN NL $1,150,000
1989 SFN NL $1,100,000
1988 SFN NL $500,000
1987 SFN NL $300,000
1986 SFN NL $225,000
Total Career Earnings $4,725,000

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Mike LaCoss (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    John Curtis
    89-97, 3.96 ERA
  2. 83
    Denny Galehouse
    109-118, 3.97 ERA
  3. 82
    Fritz Ostermueller
    114-115, 3.99 ERA
  4. 75
    Fred Frankhouse
    106-97, 3.92 ERA
  5. 68
    Bill Hallahan
    102-94, 4.03 ERA
  6. 67
    Ken Heintzelman
    77-98, 3.93 ERA

Frequently Asked Questions about Mike LaCoss

What years did Mike LaCoss play?
Mike LaCoss played in Major League Baseball from 1978 to 1991.
Was Mike LaCoss a pitcher?
Yes. Mike LaCoss pitched in the major leagues, recording 98 wins and 783 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Mike LaCoss hit?
Mike LaCoss hit 2 career home runs with 60 hits.