Brandon Lyon

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (2001-2013)

Brandon Lyon was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 2001 to 2013 for 6 teams, including the Toronto Blue Jays, a span of 13 seasons. Across 572 career appearances, he went 42-47 with a 4.16 ERA, 465 strikeouts, and 79 saves. His career Pitcher PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of pitching impact — is 3592.1.

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 42–47
ERA 4.16
WHIP 1.38
SO 465
Pitcher PIV 3592.1
Position
Pitcher
Bats / Throws
R / R
Height / Weight
6'1" / 200 lb
Born
8/10/1979 in Salt Lake City, UT, USA
MLB Debut
2001-08-04
Last Game
2013-07-04

Full name: Brandon James Lyon

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Career Pitching Statistics

Brandon Lyon — Career Pitching Statistics
W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
42 47 572 21 0 0 79 681.1 721 315 69 220 465 4.16 3592.1

Career ERA 4.16 vs. league average 4.24 across their career seasons — near league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Brandon Lyon Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year Team Lg W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER BB SO ERA Lg ERA Pitcher PIV
2001 TOR AL 5 4 11 11 0 0 0 63.0 63 30 15 35 4.29 4.42 (+3%) 765.0
2002 TOR AL 1 4 15 10 0 0 0 62.0 78 45 19 30 6.53 4.28 (-53%) -2585.2
2003 BOS AL 4 6 49 0 0 0 9 59.0 73 27 19 50 4.12 4.40 (+6%) 1005.1
2005 ARI NL 0 2 32 0 0 0 14 29.1 44 21 10 17 6.44 4.29 (-50%) -1068.0
2006 ARI NL 2 4 68 0 0 0 0 69.1 68 30 22 46 3.89 4.53 (+14%) 778.1
2007 ARI NL 6 4 73 0 0 0 2 74.0 70 22 22 40 2.68 4.47 (+40%) 1936.0
2008 ARI NL 3 5 61 0 0 0 26 59.1 75 31 13 44 4.70 4.32 (-9%) 726.6
2009 DET AL 6 5 65 0 0 0 3 78.2 56 25 31 57 2.86 4.32 (+34%) 516.8
2010 HOU NL 6 6 79 0 0 0 20 78.0 68 27 31 54 3.12 4.08 (+24%) 1474.8
2011 HOU NL 3 3 15 0 0 0 4 13.1 27 17 5 6 11.47 3.94 (-191%) -1069.3
2012 HOU NL 0 2 37 0 0 0 0 36.0 37 13 11 35 3.25 4.01 (+19%) 632.6
2012 TOR AL 4 0 30 0 0 0 1 25.0 19 8 9 28 2.88 4.01 (+28%) 577.9
2013 NYN NL 2 2 37 0 0 0 0 34.1 43 19 13 23 4.98 3.87 (-29%) -98.2
Career · 13 seasons 42 47 572 21 0 0 79 681.1 721 315 220 465 4.16 — 3,592

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

Brandon Lyon — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
572 1 1 1 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 1.000 1.000 2.000 3.000 0

Career AVG 1.000 vs. league average .262 across their career seasons — +282.4% above league average.

Career OBP 1.000 vs. league average .329 across their career seasons — +204.0% above league average.

Career SLG 2.000 vs. league average .415 across their career seasons — +382.2% above league average.

Career OPS 3.000 vs. league average .744 across their career seasons — +303.4% above league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Brandon Lyon 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
2001 TOR AL 11 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
2002 TOR AL 15 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
2003 BOS AL 49 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
2005 ARI NL 32 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
2006 ARI NL 68 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
2007 ARI NL 73 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
2008 ARI NL 61 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
2009 DET AL 65 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
2010 HOU NL 79 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
2011 HOU NL 15 1 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 1.000 — — — — 0.0
2012 HOU NL 37 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
2012 TOR AL 30 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
2013 NYN NL 37 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
Career · 13 seasons 572 1 1 1 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 1.000 — — — — 0

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

Brandon Lyon — Playoff Career Batting
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000

Playoff Batting by Year

Brandon Lyon — Playoff Batting by Year
Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
2007 NLCS ARI 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
2007 NLDS1 ARI 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000

Playoff Career Pitching

Brandon Lyon — Playoff Career Pitching
W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
0 0 5 0 0 6.0 1 0 1 5 0.00

Playoff Pitching by Year

Brandon Lyon — Playoff Pitching by Year
Year Round Team W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
2007 NLCS ARI 0 0 2 0 0 3.0 0 0 0 4 0.00
2007 NLDS1 ARI 0 0 3 0 0 3.0 1 0 1 1 0.00

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (1142 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Brandon Lyon — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home30801000—
Away263101011.000

Pitching — Home / Away

Brandon Lyon — Pitching — Home / Away
SplitGIPHERBBSOERA
Home308362.03821741032504.33
Away263317.23391411162143.99

Last 10 Games — Pitching

Brandon Lyon — Last 10 Games — Pitching
DateTmOppDecIPHRERBBSOHR
2013-07-04 NYNAZ — 1.1311000
2013-07-02 NYNAZ — 1.0100110
2013-06-30 NYNWAS — 0.2566101
2013-06-28 NYNWAS — 0.0111100
2013-06-23 NYNPHI — 2.0200020
2013-06-20 NYNATL — 1.2100110
2013-06-18 NYNATL — 1.0211100
2013-06-15 NYNCHC — 0.2211200
2013-06-12 NYNSTL — 1.0000000
2013-06-09 NYNMIA — 1.0300000

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Brandon Lyon — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
P 572 21 51 94 6 6

Season-by-Season Fielding

Brandon Lyon — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
2001 TOR P 11 11 3 9 0 0
2002 TOR P 15 10 5 12 1 1
2003 BOS P 49 0 3 7 1 0
2005 ARI P 32 0 2 4 0 0
2006 ARI P 68 0 1 8 0 1
2007 ARI P 73 0 3 9 1 1
2008 ARI P 61 0 4 4 0 0
2009 DET P 65 0 10 16 0 2
2010 HOU P 79 0 12 12 2 0
2011 HOU P 15 0 4 3 0 1
2012 HOU P 37 0 1 2 0 0
2012 TOR P 30 0 2 3 0 0
2013 NYN P 37 0 1 5 1 0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Brandon Lyon Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position Games
Pitcher 572

Salary History

Brandon Lyon — Salary History
Year Team League Salary
2013 NYN NL $750,000
2012 HOU NL $5,500,000
2011 HOU NL $5,250,000
2010 HOU NL $4,250,000
2009 DET AL $4,250,000
2008 ARI NL $3,125,000
2007 ARI NL $1,500,000
2006 ARI NL $830,000
2005 ARI NL $330,000
2004 ARI NL $330,000
2003 BOS AL $309,500
2002 TOR AL $221,000
Total Career Earnings $26,645,500

College History

Brandon Lyon — College History
School Name City State Years Attended
Dixie State College of Utah St. George UT 1999, 2000

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Brandon Lyon (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Steve Karsay
    32-39, 4.01 ERA
  2. 97
    Mike Maddux
    39-37, 4.05 ERA
  3. 96
    Matt Herges
    43-35, 3.91 ERA
  4. 96
    Frank DiPino
    35-38, 3.83 ERA
  5. 96
    Darren Holmes
    35-33, 4.25 ERA
  6. 95
    Danys Baez
    40-57, 4.25 ERA

Brandon Lyon: the record in brief

August 4, 2001 and July 4, 2013 bracket Brandon Lyon's time in the majors: the debut and the last game on record. The season rows list, in order, the Toronto Blue Jays (2001 to 2012), the Boston Red Sox (2003), the Arizona Diamondbacks (2005 through 2008), the Detroit Tigers (2009), the Houston Astros (2010 to 2012), and the New York Mets (2013). Born on August 10, 1979, in Salt Lake City, UT, USA, Lyon is listed as a pitcher and batted and threw right-handed. Lyon's listed size is 6-foot-1 and 200 pounds. Lyon's full given name, per the bio, is Brandon James Lyon.

Across 572 games (21 starts), Lyon recorded 42 wins against 47 losses with a 4.16 ERA. Also on Lyon's record: 465 strikeouts and 79 saves. Lyon's 4.16 ERA was close to the 4.24 league figure for those seasons. The best win total was 6, in 2007. 2009 produced Lyon's most strikeouts, 57. The most saves in one season was 26, in 2008.

Frequently Asked Questions about Brandon Lyon

What years did Brandon Lyon play?
Brandon Lyon played in Major League Baseball from 2001 to 2013.
Was Brandon Lyon a pitcher?
Yes. Brandon Lyon pitched in the major leagues, recording 42 wins and 465 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Brandon Lyon hit?
Brandon Lyon hit 0 career home runs with 1 hits.
What was Brandon Lyon's career batting average?
Brandon Lyon batted 1.000 over his career, with 1 hits in 1 at bats.
How many RBI did Brandon Lyon have?
Brandon Lyon drove in 1 runs in his career.
What was Brandon Lyon's career ERA?
Brandon Lyon finished with a 4.16 career ERA, going 42-47 with 465 strikeouts.