Jon Lieber

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1994-2008)

Jon Lieber was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1994 to 2008 for 4 teams, including the Pittsburgh Pirates, a span of 15 seasons. Across 401 career appearances, he went 131-124 with a 4.27 ERA and 1,553 strikeouts. He also batted .139 with 0 home runs. Jon Lieber was an All-Star. His career Pitcher PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of pitching impact — is 27226.0.

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 131–124
ERA 4.27
WHIP 1.28
SO 1,553
Pitcher PIV 27226.0
Position
Pitcher
Bats / Throws
L / R
Height / Weight
6'3" / 220 lb
Born
4/2/1970 in Council Bluffs, IA, USA
MLB Debut
1994-05-15
Last Game
2008-09-05
Awards
All-Star

Full name: Jonathan Ray Lieber

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Career Pitching Statistics

Jon Lieber — Career Pitching Statistics
W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
131 124 401 327 25 5 2 2198.0 2,388 1,043 285 422 1,553 4.27 27226.0

Career ERA 4.27 vs. league average 4.47 across their career seasons — near league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Jon Lieber Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year Team Lg W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER BB SO ERA Lg ERA Pitcher PIV
1994 PIT NL 6 7 17 17 1 0 0 108.2 116 45 25 71 3.73 4.51 (+17%) 1483.1
1995 PIT NL 4 7 21 12 0 0 0 72.2 103 51 14 45 6.32 4.45 (-42%) 1089.6
1996 PIT NL 9 5 51 15 0 0 1 142.0 156 63 28 94 3.99 4.61 (+13%) 1348.0
1997 PIT NL 11 14 33 32 1 0 0 188.1 193 94 51 160 4.49 4.39 (-2%) 2755.6
1998 PIT NL 8 14 29 28 2 0 1 171.0 182 78 40 138 4.11 4.43 (+7%) 1786.1
1999 CHN NL 10 11 31 31 3 1 0 203.1 226 92 46 186 4.07 4.71 (+14%) 4874.4
2000 CHN NL 12 11 35 35 6 1 0 251.0 248 123 54 192 4.41 4.77 (+8%) 3535.7
2001 CHN NL 20 6 34 34 5 1 0 232.1 226 98 41 148 3.80 4.42 (+14%) 3796.3
2002 CHN NL 6 8 21 21 3 0 0 141.0 153 58 12 87 3.70 4.28 (+13%) 3230.0
2004 NYA AL 14 8 27 27 0 0 0 176.2 216 85 18 102 4.33 4.46 (+3%) 3473.2
2005 PHI NL 17 13 35 35 1 0 0 218.1 223 102 41 149 4.20 4.29 (+2%) 221.7
2006 PHI NL 9 11 27 27 2 1 0 168.0 196 92 24 100 4.93 4.53 (-9%) -228.6
2007 PHI NL 3 6 14 12 1 1 0 78.0 91 41 22 54 4.73 4.47 (-6%) 970.6
2008 CHN NL 2 3 26 1 0 0 0 46.2 59 21 6 27 4.05 4.32 (+6%) -1109.6
Career · 14 seasons 131 124 401 327 25 5 2 2,198.0 2,388 1,043 422 1,553 4.27 — 27,226

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

Jon Lieber — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
405 612 36 85 17 0 0 25 0 30 234 .139 .179 .167 .345 -4,088

Career AVG .139 vs. league average .267 across their career seasons — 48.0% below league average.

Career OBP .179 vs. league average .337 across their career seasons — 46.9% below league average.

Career SLG .167 vs. league average .424 across their career seasons — 60.7% below league average.

Career OPS .345 vs. league average .761 across their career seasons — 54.6% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Jon Lieber 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
1994 PIT NL 17 39 3 4 1 0 0 0 0 1 14 .103 — — — — 0.0
1995 PIT NL 21 21 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 14 .048 — — — — 0.0
1996 PIT NL 51 36 4 7 3 0 0 3 0 3 11 .194 — — — — 0.0
1997 PIT NL 33 58 1 7 2 0 0 8 0 4 23 .121 .266 (-55%) .336 (-47%) .419 (-63%) .756 (-56%) -541.0
1998 PIT NL 29 48 3 8 1 0 0 1 0 3 20 .167 — — — — -366.8
1999 CHN NL 31 58 8 7 1 0 0 2 0 5 23 .121 .271 (-55%) .344 (-46%) .433 (-68%) .778 (-58%) -586.8
2000 CHN NL 36 82 3 18 4 0 0 4 0 2 28 .220 .270 (-19%) .344 (-31%) .437 (-39%) .782 (-35%) -496.9
2001 CHN NL 35 76 3 12 2 0 0 2 0 2 22 .158 .263 (-40%) .332 (-46%) .426 (-57%) .758 (-52%) -655.4
2002 CHN NL 21 43 2 7 1 0 0 0 0 1 10 .163 — — — — 0.0
2004 NYA AL 27 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .333 — — — — 0.0
2005 PHI NL 36 73 7 7 2 0 0 4 0 1 29 .096 .264 (-64%) .330 (-68%) .418 (-71%) .749 (-69%) -846.4
2006 PHI NL 28 53 0 5 0 0 0 0 0 4 28 .094 .269 (-65%) .336 (-53%) .431 (-78%) .768 (-67%) -594.6
2007 PHI NL 14 17 2 1 0 0 0 1 0 4 8 .059 — — — — 0.0
2008 CHN NL 26 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 .000 — — — — 0.0
Career · 14 seasons 405 612 36 85 17 0 0 25 0 30 234 .139 — — — — -4,088

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

Jon Lieber — Playoff Career Batting
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000

Playoff Batting by Year

Jon Lieber — Playoff Batting by Year
Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
2004 ALCS NYA 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
2004 ALDS2 NYA 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000

Playoff Career Pitching

Jon Lieber — Playoff Career Pitching
W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
1 1 3 3 0 21.0 19 8 2 9 3.43

Playoff Pitching by Year

Jon Lieber — Playoff Pitching by Year
Year Round Team W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
2004 ALCS NYA 1 1 2 2 0 14.1 12 5 1 5 3.14
2004 ALDS2 NYA 0 0 1 1 0 6.2 7 3 1 4 4.05

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (806 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Jon Lieber — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home1953081948016.156
Away210304173709.122

Pitching — Home / Away

Jon Lieber — Pitching — Home / Away
SplitGIPHERBBSOERA
Home1931132.012005222008594.15
Away2081066.011885212226944.40

Last 10 Games — Pitching

Jon Lieber — Last 10 Games — Pitching
DateTmOppDecIPHRERBBSOHR
2008-09-05 CHCCIN — 2.0344111
2008-07-10 CHCCIN — 2.0322022
2008-07-03 CHCSFG — 1.0211010
2008-06-27 CHCCHW — 3.1411130
2008-06-26 CHCBAL — 1.0211020
2008-06-24 CHCBAL — 2.0100000
2008-06-19 CHCTBR — 1.2200000
2008-06-10 CHCATL — 1.0100100
2008-06-06 CHCLAD — 1.0000000
2008-06-02 CHCSDP — 1.0100010

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Jon Lieber — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
P 401 327 169 269 20 12

Season-by-Season Fielding

Jon Lieber — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1994 PIT P 17 17 10 8 2 1
1995 PIT P 21 12 2 16 1 0
1996 PIT P 51 15 17 25 0 0
1997 PIT P 33 32 16 25 1 1
1998 PIT P 29 28 12 17 0 1
1999 CHN P 31 31 18 17 2 1
2000 CHN P 35 35 30 31 1 1
2001 CHN P 34 34 16 35 0 4
2002 CHN P 21 21 5 19 0 1
2004 NYA P 27 27 10 19 4 1
2005 PHI P 35 35 12 27 4 0
2006 PHI P 27 27 15 19 3 0
2007 PHI P 14 12 5 5 2 1
2008 CHN P 26 1 1 6 0 0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Jon Lieber Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position Games
Pitcher 401

Awards & Honors

Jon Lieber — Awards & Honors
Year Award Notes
2000 Player of the Week Week of 2000-07-08

Salary History

Jon Lieber — Salary History
Year Team League Salary
2008 CHN NL $3,500,000
2007 PHI NL $7,833,333
2006 PHI NL $7,583,333
2005 PHI NL $5,583,333
2004 NYA AL $2,700,000
2003 NYA AL $550,000
2002 CHN NL $5,833,333
2001 CHN NL $5,083,333
2000 CHN NL $3,833,333
1999 CHN NL $2,100,000
1998 PIT NL $1,450,000
1997 PIT NL $335,000
1996 PIT NL $150,000
1995 PIT NL $140,000
1994 PIT NL $109,000
Total Career Earnings $46,783,998

College History

Jon Lieber — College History
School Name City State Years Attended
Iowa Western Community College Council Bluffs IA 1989, 1990
University of South Alabama Mobile AL 1991, 1992

Award Voting History

Jon Lieber — Award Voting History
Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
2001 Cy Young Award NL 4th 2.0 160 0

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Jon Lieber (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Rick Porcello
    150-125, 4.40 ERA
  2. 96
    Brad Radke
    148-139, 4.22 ERA
  3. 96
    Kevin Tapani
    143-125, 4.35 ERA
  4. 83
    Mike Leake
    105-98, 4.05 ERA
  5. 82
    Ricky Nolasco
    114-118, 4.56 ERA
  6. 81
    Shane Reynolds
    114-96, 4.09 ERA

Jon Lieber: the record in brief

May 15, 1994 and September 5, 2008 bracket Jon Lieber's time in the majors: the debut and the last game on record. The team column moves through the Pittsburgh Pirates (1994 to 1998), the Chicago Cubs (1999 through 2008), the New York Yankees (2004), and the Philadelphia Phillies (2005 to 2007). Lieber, born on April 2, 1970, in Council Bluffs, IA, USA, is listed as a pitcher and batted left-handed and threw right-handed. Lieber's listed size is 6 feet, 3 inches and 220 pounds. Jon Lieber was the playing name; the full given name is Jonathan Ray.

Across 401 games (327 starts), Lieber recorded 131 wins against 124 losses with a 4.27 ERA. The totals include 1,553 strikeouts, 25 complete games, and 5 shutouts. Lieber's 4.27 ERA was close to the 4.47 league figure for those seasons. No season topped the 20 wins of 2001. 2000 produced Lieber's most strikeouts, 192. 2001 was Lieber's sharpest full season, a 3.80 ERA against the league's 4.42.

Frequently Asked Questions about Jon Lieber

What years did Jon Lieber play?
Jon Lieber played in Major League Baseball from 1994 to 2008.
Was Jon Lieber a pitcher?
Yes. Jon Lieber pitched in the major leagues, recording 131 wins and 1553 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Jon Lieber hit?
Jon Lieber hit 0 career home runs with 85 hits.
What was Jon Lieber's career batting average?
Jon Lieber batted .139 over his career, with 85 hits in 612 at bats.
How many RBI did Jon Lieber have?
Jon Lieber drove in 25 runs in his career.
What was Jon Lieber's career ERA?
Jon Lieber finished with a 4.27 career ERA, going 131-124 with 1,553 strikeouts.