Craig Lefferts

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1983-1994)

Craig Lefferts was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1983 to 1994 for 6 teams, including the Chicago Cubs, a span of 12 seasons. Across 696 career appearances, he went 58-72 with a 3.43 ERA, 719 strikeouts, and 101 saves. His career Pitcher PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of pitching impact — is 3708.1.

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

W–L 58–72
ERA 3.43
WHIP 1.25
SO 719
Pitcher PIV 3708.1
Position
Pitcher
Bats / Throws
L / L
Height / Weight
6'1" / 180 lb
Born
9/29/1957 in Munich, Bavaria, West Germany
MLB Debut
1983-04-07
Last Game
1994-07-03

Full name: Craig Lindsay Lefferts

Career Pitching Statistics

Craig Lefferts — Career Pitching Statistics
W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
58 72 696 45 1 0 101 1145.2 1,108 436 120 322 719 3.43 3708.1

Career ERA 3.43 vs. league average 3.95 across their career seasons — 13.3% better than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

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

Craig Lefferts — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
697 132 4 16 2 0 1 3 0 1 64 .121 .128 .159 .287 -624

Career AVG .121 vs. league average .259 across their career seasons — 53.2% below league average.

Career OBP .128 vs. league average .325 across their career seasons — 60.7% below league average.

Career SLG .159 vs. league average .391 across their career seasons — 59.4% below league average.

Career OPS .287 vs. league average .717 across their career seasons — 60.0% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

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

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

Playoff Batting by Year

Craig Lefferts — Playoff Batting by Year
Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1989 NLCS SFN 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1989 WS SFN 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1987 NLCS SFN 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1984 NLCS SDN 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1984 WS SDN 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000

Playoff Career Pitching

Craig Lefferts — Playoff Career Pitching
W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
2 0 14 0 1 15.2 9 2 7 10 1.15

Playoff Pitching by Year

Craig Lefferts — Playoff Pitching by Year
Year Round Team W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
1989 NLCS SFN 0 0 2 0 0 1.0 1 1 2 1 9.00
1989 WS SFN 0 0 3 0 0 2.2 2 1 2 1 3.38
1987 NLCS SFN 0 0 3 0 0 2.0 3 0 1 0 0.00
1984 NLCS SDN 2 0 3 0 0 4.0 1 0 1 1 0.00
1984 WS SDN 0 0 3 0 1 6.0 2 0 1 7 0.00

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

Batting — Home / Away

Craig Lefferts — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home335644713.109
Away362680900.132

Pitching — Home / Away

Craig Lefferts — Pitching — Home / Away
SplitGIPHERBBSOERA
Home334558.25001881463673.03
Away362587.06082481763523.80

Last 10 Games — Pitching

Craig Lefferts — Last 10 Games — Pitching
DateTmOppDecIPHRERBBSOHR
1994-07-03 LAABAL — 2.0322122
1994-07-01 LAABAL — 1.0222012
1994-06-27 LAAOAK — 3.0432011
1994-06-22 LAASEA — 1.0211100
1994-06-21 LAASEA — 0.1000000
1994-06-19 LAACHW — 2.0300010
1994-06-15 LAAKCR L 0.1211000
1994-06-11 LAADET — 1.2211041
1994-06-10 LAADET — 0.2000010
1994-06-06 LAAMIN — 1.0000110

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Craig Lefferts — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
P 696 45 56 154 8 12

Season-by-Season Fielding

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Craig Lefferts Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position Games
Pitcher 696

Salary History

Craig Lefferts's recorded salaries total $9,785,001 over 10 seasons, 1985 to 1994. This total is partial: the salary data covers 1985 to 2016, and Lefferts's career ran from 1983 to 1994. His seasons before 1985 are not included.

Craig Lefferts — Salary History
Year Team League Salary
1994 CAL AL $400,000
1993 TEX AL $1,100,000
1992 SDN NL $2,041,667
1991 SDN NL $2,641,667
1990 SDN NL $1,266,667
1989 SFN NL $600,000
1988 SFN NL $575,000
1987 SDN NL $500,000
1986 SDN NL $390,000
1985 SDN NL $270,000
Total recorded salary (partial) $9,785,001

College History

Craig Lefferts — College History
School Name City State Years Attended
University of Arizona Tucson AZ 1978, 1979, 1980

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Craig Lefferts (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Paul Lindblad
    68-63, 3.29 ERA
  2. 89
    Willie Hernandez
    70-63, 3.38 ERA
  3. 88
    Bill Henry
    46-50, 3.26 ERA
  4. 83
    Eddie Fisher
    85-70, 3.41 ERA
  5. 82
    Tom Burgmeier
    79-55, 3.23 ERA
  6. 79
    Ryan Madson
    61-48, 3.48 ERA

Craig Lefferts: the record in brief

Craig Lefferts's major league career runs from a debut on April 7, 1983 to a final game on July 3, 1994. The season rows list, in order, the Chicago Cubs (1983), the San Diego Padres (1984 to 1992), the San Francisco Giants (1987 through 1989), the Baltimore Orioles (1992), the Texas Rangers (1993), and the California Angels (1994). Lefferts played primarily as a pitcher and threw and hit left-handed. Born on September 29, 1957, in Munich, Bavaria, West Germany, Lefferts was listed at 6 feet, 1 inch and 180 pounds. The given name on file is Craig Lindsay Lefferts.

The pitching table credits Lefferts with a 58-72 record and a 3.43 ERA in 696 games. The totals include 719 strikeouts and 101 saves. Against a 3.95 league ERA for the same years, Lefferts was 13.3% better. No season topped the 13 wins of 1992. Lefferts saved 23 games in 1990, the season high. Among the heaviest workloads, the lowest ERA was 2.13 in 1984, when the league's was 3.81.

Frequently Asked Questions about Craig Lefferts

What years did Craig Lefferts play?
Craig Lefferts played in Major League Baseball from 1983 to 1994.
Was Craig Lefferts a pitcher?
Yes. Craig Lefferts pitched in the major leagues, recording 58 wins and 719 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Craig Lefferts hit?
Craig Lefferts hit 1 career home run with 16 hits.
What teams did Craig Lefferts play for?
Craig Lefferts played for 6 teams: the Chicago Cubs (1983), the San Diego Padres (1984–1987, 1990–1992), the San Francisco Giants (1987–1989), the Baltimore Orioles (1992), the Texas Rangers (1993), and the California Angels (1994).
What were Craig Lefferts's career stats?
In 696 games, Craig Lefferts went 58-72 with a 3.43 ERA, 719 strikeouts, 1,145.2 innings pitched, and 101 saves.
How much did Craig Lefferts earn in his career?
Craig Lefferts's recorded salaries total $9,785,001 over 10 seasons, 1985 to 1994. This total is partial: the salary data covers 1985 to 2016, and Lefferts's career ran from 1983 to 1994. His seasons before 1985 are not included.
What was Craig Lefferts's salary?
Craig Lefferts's last recorded salary was $400,000, in 1994. His highest recorded salary was $2,641,667, in 1991, and his lowest was $270,000, in 1985. The Salary History table lists each season from 1985 to 1994.
What position did Craig Lefferts play?
Craig Lefferts played primarily as a pitcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.
How tall was Craig Lefferts and how much did he weigh?
Craig Lefferts was listed at 6 feet 1 inch and 180 pounds.
What was Craig Lefferts's career ERA?
Craig Lefferts finished with a 3.43 career ERA, going 58-72 with 719 strikeouts.
How many strikeouts did Craig Lefferts have?
Craig Lefferts recorded 719 career strikeouts.
Is Craig Lefferts in the Hall of Fame?
No. Craig Lefferts has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.