What years did Sam Leever play?

Sam Leever played in Major League Baseball from 1898 to 1910.

Was Sam Leever a pitcher?

Yes. Sam Leever pitched in the major leagues, recording 194 wins and 847 strikeouts.

How many home runs did Sam Leever hit?

Sam Leever hit 2 career home runs with 183 hits.

What was Sam Leever's career batting average?

Sam Leever batted .184 over his career, with 183 hits in 993 at bats.

How many RBI did Sam Leever have?

Sam Leever drove in 78 runs in his career.

What was Sam Leever's career ERA?

Sam Leever finished with a 2.47 career ERA, going 194-100 with 847 strikeouts.

Sam Leever

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1898-1910)

Sam Leever was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1898 to 1910 for the Pittsburgh Pirates, a span of 13 seasons. Across 388 career appearances, he went 194-100 with a 2.47 ERA and 847 strikeouts. He also batted .184 with 2 home runs. His career Pitcher PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of pitching impact — is 15270.7.

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 12, 2026

W–L 194–100

ERA 2.47

WHIP 1.14

SO 847

Pitcher PIV 15270.7

Position: Pitcher
Bats / Throws: R / R
Height / Weight: 5'10" / 175 lb
Born: 12/23/1871 in Goshen, OH, USA
Died: 5/19/1953 in Goshen, OH, USA
MLB Debut: 1898-05-26
Last Game: 1910-09-26

Full name: Samuel Leever

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Career Pitching Statistics

Sam Leever — Career Pitching Statistics
W	L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	SO	ERA	Pitcher PIV
194	100	388	299	241	39	13	2660.2	2,449	731	29	587	847	2.47	15270.7

Career ERA 2.47 vs. league average 2.94 across their career seasons — 16.0% better than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Sam Leever Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year	Team	Lg	W	L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA	Lg ERA	Pitcher PIV
1898	PIT	NL	1	0	5	3	2	0	0	33.0	26	9	5	15	2.45	3.59 (+32%)	995.8
1899	PIT	NL	21	23	51	39	35	4	3	379.0	353	134	122	121	3.18	3.85 (+17%)	2648.4
1900	PIT	NL	15	13	30	29	25	3	0	232.2	236	70	48	84	2.71	3.68 (+26%)	4619.9
1901	PIT	NL	14	5	21	20	18	2	0	176.0	182	56	39	82	2.86	3.49 (+18%)	2570.0
1902	PIT	NL	15	7	28	26	23	4	2	222.0	203	59	31	86	2.39	3.17 (+25%)	3705.5
1903	PIT	NL	25	7	36	34	30	7	1	284.1	255	65	60	90	2.06	3.10 (+34%)	1591.6
1904	PIT	NL	18	11	34	32	26	1	0	253.1	224	61	54	63	2.17	2.66 (+18%)	-399.7
1905	PIT	NL	20	5	33	29	20	3	1	229.2	199	69	54	81	2.70	2.82 (+4%)	-184.6
1906	PIT	NL	22	7	36	31	25	6	0	260.1	232	67	48	76	2.32	2.68 (+13%)	691.7
1907	PIT	NL	14	9	31	24	17	5	0	216.2	182	40	46	65	1.66	2.50 (+34%)	-41.3
1908	PIT	NL	15	7	38	20	14	4	2	192.2	179	45	41	28	2.10	2.40 (+12%)	-1152.7
1909	PIT	NL	8	1	19	4	2	0	2	70.0	74	22	14	23	2.83	2.55 (-11%)	339.6
1910	PIT	NL	6	5	26	8	4	0	2	111.0	104	34	25	33	2.76	2.79 (+1%)	-113.6
Career · 13 seasons			194	100	388	299	241	39	13	2,660.2	2,449	731	587	847	2.47	—	15,271

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

Sam Leever — Career Batting Statistics
G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	PIV
389	993	90	183	17	14	2	78	4	49	138	.184	.228	.236	.463	-3,946

Career AVG .184 vs. league average .256 across their career seasons — 28.1% below league average.

Career OBP .228 vs. league average .315 across their career seasons — 27.7% below league average.

Career SLG .236 vs. league average .331 across their career seasons — 28.9% below league average.

Career OPS .463 vs. league average .647 across their career seasons — 28.3% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Sam Leever Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year	Team	Lg	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	Lg AVG	Lg OBP	Lg SLG	Lg OPS	PIV
1898	PIT	NL	5	12	2	3	0	0	0	1	0	1	1	.250	—	—	—	—	0.0
1899	PIT	NL	51	146	15	33	6	4	0	18	0	8	19	.226	.282 (-20%)	.343 (-21%)	.366 (-12%)	.710 (-17%)	-427.7
1900	PIT	NL	30	88	9	18	2	2	1	5	1	2	9	.205	.279 (-27%)	.338 (-34%)	.366 (-16%)	.705 (-25%)	-377.6
1901	PIT	NL	21	71	10	13	1	0	0	4	1	5	15	.183	.271 (-33%)	.326 (-24%)	.359 (-45%)	.686 (-35%)	-367.3
1902	PIT	NL	29	90	6	16	3	2	0	8	1	3	10	.178	.266 (-33%)	.321 (-36%)	.343 (-26%)	.665 (-31%)	-441.0
1903	PIT	NL	36	115	11	19	0	1	0	12	0	4	18	.165	.261 (-37%)	.316 (-39%)	.345 (-47%)	.662 (-43%)	-734.1
1904	PIT	NL	34	99	12	26	2	2	1	14	0	4	10	.263	.246 (+6%)	.300 (+1%)	.321 (+10%)	.622 (+6%)	72.8
1905	PIT	NL	33	88	4	9	2	1	0	5	0	4	10	.102	.248 (-59%)	.307 (-54%)	.322 (-54%)	.629 (-54%)	-685.7
1906	PIT	NL	36	95	9	20	1	1	0	5	0	5	12	.211	.247 (-15%)	.307 (-16%)	.315 (-23%)	.622 (-20%)	-263.1
1907	PIT	NL	31	73	3	11	0	0	0	2	0	4	11	.151	.245 (-39%)	.304 (-36%)	.308 (-51%)	.613 (-44%)	-433.9
1908	PIT	NL	38	61	5	9	0	1	0	3	1	4	8	.148	.240 (-39%)	.298 (-29%)	.306 (-41%)	.605 (-35%)	-287.8
1909	PIT	NL	19	24	2	4	0	0	0	1	0	3	7	.167	—	—	—	—	0.0
1910	PIT	NL	26	31	2	2	0	0	0	0	0	2	8	.065	—	—	—	—	0.0
Career · 13 seasons			389	993	90	183	17	14	2	78	4	49	138	.184	—	—	—	—	-3,945

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

Sam Leever — Playoff Career Batting
G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	AVG
2	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000

Playoff Batting by Year

Sam Leever — Playoff Batting by Year
Year	Round	Team	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	AVG
1903	WS	PIT	2	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000

Playoff Career Pitching

Sam Leever — Playoff Career Pitching
W	L	G	GS	SV	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
0	2	2	2	0	10.0	13	6	3	2	5.40

Playoff Pitching by Year

Sam Leever — Playoff Pitching by Year
Year	Round	Team	W	L	G	GS	SV	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
1903	WS	PIT	0	2	2	2	0	10.0	13	6	3	2	5.40

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (777 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Sam Leever — Batting — Home / Away
Split	G	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	AVG
Home	196	459	36	81	0	35	.176
Away	193	535	54	102	2	38	.191

Pitching — Home / Away

Sam Leever — Pitching — Home / Away
Split	G	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
Home	196	1337.1	1249	223	280	437	1.50
Away	192	1320.1	1208	157	303	419	1.07

Last 10 Games — Batting

Sam Leever — Last 10 Games — Batting
Date	Tm	Opp	Res	AB	R	H	BB	SO
1910-09-26	PIT	BRO	L	0	0	0	0	0
1910-09-20	PIT	BSN	W	2	1	0	0	0
1910-09-13	PIT	NY1	L	2	0	0	0	0
1910-09-07	PIT	STL	W	4	0	0	0	1
1910-09-05	PIT	STL	W	0	0	0	0	0
1910-09-02	PIT	CIN	L	1	0	1	0	0
1910-08-29	PIT	NY1	L	0	0	0	0	0
1910-08-24	PIT	PHI	L	0	0	0	0	0
1910-08-22	PIT	PHI	W	1	0	0	1	0
1910-08-20	PIT	BSN	L	0	0	0	0	0

Last 10 Games — Pitching

Sam Leever — Last 10 Games — Pitching
Date	Tm	Opp	Dec	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR
1910-09-26	PIT	BRO	—	1.0	0	0	0	0	1	0
1910-09-20	PIT	BSN	W	7.0	5	1	1	1	0	1
1910-09-13	PIT	NY1	—	3.0	6	5	2	2	1	0
1910-09-07	PIT	STL	W	9.0	8	3	3	1	0	0
1910-09-05	PIT	STL	W	2.0	3	1	1	1	1	0
1910-09-02	PIT	CIN	—	5.0	3	0	0	1	0	0
1910-08-29	PIT	NY1	L	2.0	3	1	1	0	2	0
1910-08-24	PIT	PHI	—	2.0	3	4	2	0	0	0
1910-08-22	PIT	PHI	—	5.2	3	1	1	1	2	0
1910-08-20	PIT	BSN	—	2.0	3	0	0	0	1	0

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Sam Leever — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
OF	1	0	1	0	0	0
P	388	148	83	659	34	11

Season-by-Season Fielding

Sam Leever — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year	Team	Pos	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
1898	PIT	P	5	0	3	5	0	0
1899	PIT	P	51	0	10	100	6	2
1900	PIT	P	30	0	8	52	4	0
1901	PIT	P	21	0	3	54	2	0
1902	PIT	OF	1	0	1	0	0	0
1902	PIT	P	28	0	3	42	2	0
1903	PIT	P	36	0	12	76	4	1
1904	PIT	P	34	32	11	67	1	2
1905	PIT	P	33	29	7	70	8	1
1906	PIT	P	36	31	11	52	3	1
1907	PIT	P	31	24	4	39	2	1
1908	PIT	P	38	20	8	44	2	0
1909	PIT	P	19	4	0	23	0	0
1910	PIT	P	26	8	3	35	0	3

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Sam Leever Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position	Games
Pitcher	388
Left Field	1

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Sam Leever (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

Sam Leever: the record in brief

The profile opens with Sam Leever's first major league game on May 26, 1898; the last one listed came on September 26, 1910. The team column never changes: it is the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1898 to 1910. Leever, born on December 23, 1871, in Goshen, OH, USA, is listed as a pitcher and both batted and threw right-handed. The bio gives 5 feet, 10 inches and 175 pounds. Leever's death is recorded on May 19, 1953, in Goshen, OH, USA. The given name on file is Samuel Leever.

Across 388 games (299 starts), Leever recorded 194 wins against 100 losses with a 2.47 ERA. Leever had 847 strikeouts, 241 complete games, 39 shutouts, and 13 saves. The leagues Leever pitched in allowed 2.94 earned runs per nine over those seasons, so the career ERA was 16.0% better than average. No season topped the 25 wins of 1903. 1899 produced Leever's most strikeouts, 121. Among the heaviest workloads, the lowest ERA was 2.06 in 1903, when the league's was 3.10.

Frequently Asked Questions about Sam Leever

What years did Sam Leever play?: Sam Leever played in Major League Baseball from 1898 to 1910.
Was Sam Leever a pitcher?: Yes. Sam Leever pitched in the major leagues, recording 194 wins and 847 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Sam Leever hit?: Sam Leever hit 2 career home runs with 183 hits.
What was Sam Leever's career batting average?: Sam Leever batted .184 over his career, with 183 hits in 993 at bats.
How many RBI did Sam Leever have?: Sam Leever drove in 78 runs in his career.
What was Sam Leever's career ERA?: Sam Leever finished with a 2.47 career ERA, going 194-100 with 847 strikeouts.