Tim Leary
Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1981-1994)
Tim Leary was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1981 to 1994 for 7 teams, including the New York Mets, a span of 14 seasons. Across 292 career appearances, he went 78-105 with a 4.36 ERA and 888 strikeouts. Tim Leary was a Silver Slugger.
- 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
- Position
- Pitcher
- Bats / Throws
- R / R
- Height / Weight
- 6'3" / 205 lb
- MLB Debut
- 1981-04-12
- Last Game
- 1994-08-09
- Awards
- Silver Slugger
Full name: Timothy James Leary
Season-by-Season Pitching
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | NYN | NL | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0.00 | — | 0.0 |
| 1983 | NYN | NL | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 10.2 | 15 | 4 | 4 | 9 | 3.38 | 3.87 (+13%) | 448.9 |
| 1984 | NYN | NL | 3 | 3 | 20 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 53.2 | 61 | 24 | 18 | 29 | 4.02 | 3.81 (-6%) | 706.8 |
| 1985 | ML4 | AL | 1 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 33.1 | 40 | 15 | 8 | 29 | 4.05 | 3.89 (-4%) | 158.7 |
| 1986 | ML4 | AL | 12 | 12 | 33 | 30 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 188.1 | 216 | 88 | 53 | 110 | 4.21 | 3.97 (-6%) | 163.1 |
| 1987 | LAN | NL | 3 | 11 | 39 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 107.2 | 121 | 57 | 36 | 61 | 4.76 | 4.29 (-11%) | -846.2 |
| 1988 | LAN | NL | 17 | 11 | 35 | 34 | 9 | 6 | 0 | 228.2 | 201 | 74 | 56 | 180 | 2.91 | 3.73 (+22%) | 5904.9 |
| 1989 | LAN | NL | 6 | 7 | 19 | 17 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 117.1 | 107 | 44 | 37 | 59 | 3.38 | 3.71 (+9%) | -120.7 |
| 1989 | CIN | NL | 2 | 7 | 14 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 89.2 | 98 | 37 | 31 | 64 | 3.71 | 3.71 (avg) | 177.1 |
| 1990 | NYA | AL | 9 | 19 | 31 | 31 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 208.0 | 202 | 95 | 78 | 138 | 4.11 | 3.86 (-6%) | 157.0 |
| 1991 | NYA | AL | 4 | 10 | 28 | 18 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 120.2 | 150 | 87 | 57 | 83 | 6.49 | 3.91 (-66%) | -3740.9 |
| 1992 | NYA | AL | 5 | 6 | 18 | 15 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 97.0 | 84 | 60 | 57 | 34 | 5.57 | 3.75 (-49%) | -3466.4 |
| 1992 | SEA | AL | 3 | 4 | 8 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 44.0 | 47 | 24 | 30 | 12 | 4.91 | 3.75 (-31%) | -1941.5 |
| 1993 | SEA | AL | 11 | 9 | 33 | 27 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 169.1 | 202 | 95 | 58 | 68 | 5.05 | 4.19 (-20%) | -3285.4 |
| 1994 | TEX | AL | 1 | 1 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21.0 | 26 | 19 | 11 | 9 | 8.14 | 4.51 (-80%) | -1025.2 |
| Career · 15 seasons | 78 | 105 | 292 | 224 | 25 | 9 | 1 | 1,491.1 | 1,570 | 723 | 535 | 888 | 4.36 | — | -6,710 | ||
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 293 | 163 | 9 | 36 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 19 | 1 | 5 | 57 | .221 | .247 | .276 | .523 | -153 |
Career AVG .221 vs. league average .259 across their career seasons — 14.7% below league average.
Career OBP .247 vs. league average .325 across their career seasons — 24.0% below league average.
Career SLG .276 vs. league average .390 across their career seasons — 29.3% below league average.
Career OPS .523 vs. league average .715 across their career seasons — 26.9% below league average.
Season-by-Season Batting
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | NYN | NL | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1983 | NYN | NL | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .333 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1984 | NYN | NL | 20 | 10 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | .300 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1985 | ML4 | AL | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1986 | ML4 | AL | 33 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1987 | LAN | NL | 39 | 23 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | .304 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1988 | LAN | NL | 36 | 67 | 4 | 18 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 26 | .269 | .254 (+6%) | .317 (-10%) | .377 (-17%) | .695 (-14%) | -153.0 |
| 1989 | LAN | NL | 19 | 33 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | .061 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1989 | CIN | NL | 14 | 26 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 9 | .192 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1990 | NYA | AL | 31 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1991 | NYA | AL | 28 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1992 | NYA | AL | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1992 | SEA | AL | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1993 | SEA | AL | 33 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1994 | TEX | AL | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| Career · 15 seasons | 293 | 163 | 9 | 36 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 19 | 1 | 5 | 57 | .221 | — | — | — | — | -153 | ||
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 (585 games) →Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).
Batting — Home / Away
| Split | G | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 142 | 78 | 2 | 17 | 0 | 10 | .218 |
| Away | 151 | 85 | 7 | 19 | 1 | 9 | .224 |
Pitching — Home / Away
| Split | G | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 141 | 723.2 | 754 | 338 | 260 | 442 | 4.20 |
| Away | 151 | 767.2 | 816 | 385 | 275 | 446 | 4.51 |
Last 10 Games — Pitching
| Date | Tm | Opp | Dec | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994-08-09 | TEX | SEA | — | 1.0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 1994-08-08 | TEX | SEA | — | 0.1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1994-07-21 | TEX | TOR | L | 6.1 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 2 |
| 1994-07-18 | TEX | CLE | — | 3.0 | 8 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| 1994-07-07 | TEX | CLE | W | 5.2 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| 1994-07-02 | TEX | DET | — | 4.2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 0 |
| 1993-10-03 | SEA | MIN | L | 6.2 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 |
| 1993-09-28 | SEA | CHW | W | 7.1 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 1 |
| 1993-09-20 | SEA | TEX | — | 7.0 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 0 |
| 1993-09-15 | SEA | LAA | L | 3.2 | 9 | 9 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 2 |
Fielding Statistics
Career Fielding Totals by Position
Season-by-Season Fielding
| Year | Team | Pos | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | NYN | P | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1983 | NYN | P | 2 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 1984 | NYN | P | 20 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 0 |
| 1985 | ML4 | P | 5 | 5 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| 1986 | ML4 | P | 33 | 30 | 22 | 26 | 1 | 1 |
| 1987 | LAN | P | 39 | 12 | 9 | 18 | 0 | 2 |
| 1988 | LAN | P | 35 | 34 | 24 | 34 | 1 | 4 |
| 1989 | LAN | P | 19 | 17 | 16 | 16 | 1 | 2 |
| 1989 | CIN | P | 14 | 14 | 4 | 15 | 1 | 0 |
| 1990 | NYA | P | 31 | 31 | 14 | 36 | 4 | 4 |
| 1991 | NYA | P | 28 | 18 | 9 | 12 | 1 | 3 |
| 1992 | NYA | P | 18 | 15 | 7 | 10 | 0 | 1 |
| 1992 | SEA | P | 8 | 8 | 3 | 8 | 0 | 2 |
| 1993 | SEA | P | 33 | 27 | 14 | 28 | 0 | 3 |
| 1994 | TEX | P | 6 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
Career Games by Position
Circle size = games played at each position.
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| Pitcher | 292 |
Awards & Honors
| Year | Award | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1988 | Player of the Week | Week of 1988-07-22 |
| 1988 | Silver Slugger | P |
| 1988 | TSN Comeback Player of the Year |
Salary History
Tim Leary's recorded salaries total $7,895,000 over 8 seasons, 1986 to 1993. This total is partial: the salary data covers 1985 to 2016, and Leary's career ran from 1981 to 1994. His seasons before 1985 are not included, and no salary is recorded for 1985 and 1994.
| Year | Team | League | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | SEA | AL | $1,800,000 |
| 1992 | NYA | AL | $2,175,000 |
| 1991 | NYA | AL | $1,975,000 |
| 1990 | NYA | AL | $825,000 |
| 1989 | LAN | NL | $670,000 |
| 1988 | LAN | NL | $190,000 |
| 1987 | LAN | NL | $170,000 |
| 1986 | ML4 | AL | $90,000 |
| Total recorded salary (partial) | $7,895,000 | ||
College History
| School Name | City | State | Years Attended |
|---|---|---|---|
| University of California - Los Angeles | Los Angeles | CA | 1977, 1978, 1979 |
Most Similar Players
Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.
Tim Leary (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.
Tim Leary: the record in brief
The profile opens with Tim Leary's first major league game on April 12, 1981; the last one listed came on August 9, 1994. By club, Leary's seasons break down as the New York Mets (1981 through 1984), the Milwaukee Brewers (1985 to 1986), the Los Angeles Dodgers (1987 to 1989), the Cincinnati Reds (1989), the New York Yankees (1990 through 1992), the Seattle Mariners (1992 through 1993), and the Texas Rangers (1994). The bio lists Leary as a pitcher who batted and threw right-handed. Leary is listed at 6-foot-3 and 205 pounds. The birth record reads December 23, 1958, in Santa Monica, CA, USA. Tim Leary was the playing name; the full given name is Timothy James.
Leary's career pitching line is 78 wins, 105 losses and a 4.36 ERA over 292 appearances. Also on Leary's record: 888 strikeouts, 25 complete games, and 9 shutouts. Against a 3.93 league ERA for the same seasons, the 4.36 mark was 11.0% worse. 1988 brought Leary a season-high 17 wins.
Frequently Asked Questions about Tim Leary
- What years did Tim Leary play?
- Tim Leary played in Major League Baseball from 1981 to 1994.
- Was Tim Leary a pitcher?
- Yes. Tim Leary pitched in the major leagues, recording 78 wins and 888 strikeouts.
- How many home runs did Tim Leary hit?
- Tim Leary hit 1 career home run with 36 hits.
- What teams did Tim Leary play for?
- Tim Leary played for 7 teams: the New York Mets (1981, 1983–1984), the Milwaukee Brewers (1985–1986), the Los Angeles Dodgers (1987–1989), the Cincinnati Reds (1989), the New York Yankees (1990–1992), the Seattle Mariners (1992–1993), and the Texas Rangers (1994).
- What awards did Tim Leary win?
- Tim Leary won the Silver Slugger award (1988).
- What were Tim Leary's career stats?
- In 292 games, Tim Leary went 78-105 with a 4.36 ERA, 888 strikeouts, 1,491.1 innings pitched, and 1 saves.
- How much did Tim Leary earn in his career?
- Tim Leary's recorded salaries total $7,895,000 over 8 seasons, 1986 to 1993. This total is partial: the salary data covers 1985 to 2016, and Leary's career ran from 1981 to 1994. His seasons before 1985 are not included, and no salary is recorded for 1985 and 1994.
- What was Tim Leary's salary?
- Tim Leary's last recorded salary was $1,800,000, in 1993. His highest recorded salary was $2,175,000, in 1992, and his lowest was $90,000, in 1986. The Salary History table lists each season from 1986 to 1993.
- What position did Tim Leary play?
- Tim Leary played primarily as a pitcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.
- How tall was Tim Leary and how much did he weigh?
- Tim Leary was listed at 6 feet 3 inches and 205 pounds.
- What was Tim Leary's career ERA?
- Tim Leary finished with a 4.36 career ERA, going 78-105 with 888 strikeouts.
- How many strikeouts did Tim Leary have?
- Tim Leary recorded 888 career strikeouts.
- Is Tim Leary in the Hall of Fame?
- No. Tim Leary has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.