What years did John Martin play?

John Martin played in Major League Baseball from 1980 to 1983.

Was John Martin a pitcher?

Yes. John Martin pitched in the major leagues, recording 17 wins and 120 strikeouts.

How many home runs did John Martin hit?

John Martin hit 0 career home runs with 15 hits.

What was John Martin's career batting average?

John Martin batted .205 over his career, with 15 hits in 73 at bats.

How many RBI did John Martin have?

John Martin drove in 13 runs in his career.

What was John Martin's career ERA?

John Martin finished with a 3.94 career ERA, going 17-14 with 120 strikeouts.

John Martin

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1980-1983)

John Martin was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1980 to 1983 for the St. Louis Cardinals and the Detroit Tigers, a span of 4 seasons. Across 91 career appearances, he went 17-14 with a 3.94 ERA and 120 strikeouts. His totals include Negro Leagues seasons, which MLB recognized as major league in 2020.

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 17–14

ERA 3.94

WHIP 1.21

SO 120

Pitcher PIV -1754.4

Position: Pitcher
Bats / Throws: B / L
Height / Weight: 6'0" / 190 lb
Born: 4/11/1956 in Wyandotte, MI, USA
MLB Debut: 1980-08-27
Last Game: 1983-10-02

Full name: John Robert Martin

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Negro Leagues Career Statistics

Batting

John Martin — Batting
PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
8.0	6.0	0	2.0	1.0	0	0	2.0	2.0	0	0	.333	.500	.500	1.000

Negro Leagues (season totals). Additive Retrosheet-digitized totals for seasons not already in the logs above; they are not summed into the career line. No team/league breakdown is available, and coverage may be partial.

Negro Leagues Season-by-Season Batting

John Martin — Negro Leagues Season-by-Season Batting
Season	PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
1943	8.0	6.0	0	2.0	1.0	0	0	2.0	2.0	0	0	.333	.500	.500	1.000
Listed seasons · 1	8	6	0	2	1	0	0	2	2	0	0	.333	—	—	—

Career Pitching Statistics

John Martin — Career Pitching Statistics
W	L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	SO	ERA	Pitcher PIV
17	14	91	32	5	0	1	290.1	255	127	25	95	120	3.94	-1754.4

Career ERA 3.94 vs. league average 3.81 across their career seasons — near league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

John Martin — Season-by-Season Pitching
Year	Team	Lg	W	L	G	GS	CG	SV	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA	Lg ERA	Pitcher PIV
1980	SLN	NL	2	3	9	5	1	0	42.0	39	20	9	23	4.29	3.84 (-12%)	1305.1
1981	SLN	NL	8	5	17	15	4	0	102.2	85	39	26	36	3.42	3.58 (+5%)	-1026.3
1982	SLN	NL	4	5	24	7	0	0	66.0	56	31	30	21	4.23	3.86 (-9%)	-1258.5
1983	SLN	NL	3	1	26	5	0	0	66.1	60	26	26	29	3.53	3.87 (+9%)	-747.1
1983	DET	AL	0	0	15	0	0	1	13.1	15	11	4	11	7.42	3.87 (-92%)	-27.6
Career · 5 seasons			17	14	91	32	5	1	290.1	255	127	95	120	3.94	—	-1,754

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

John Martin — Career Batting Statistics
G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	PIV
92	73	4	15	3	1	0	13	0	4	22	.205	.244	.274	.518	0

Career AVG .205 vs. league average .261 across their career seasons — 21.3% below league average.

Career OBP .244 vs. league average .324 across their career seasons — 24.9% below league average.

Career SLG .274 vs. league average .385 across their career seasons — 28.8% below league average.

Career OPS .518 vs. league average .709 across their career seasons — 27.0% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

John Martin — Season-by-Season Batting
Year	Team	Lg	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	RBI	BB	SO	AVG	Lg AVG	Lg OBP	Lg SLG	Lg OPS	PIV
1980	SLN	NL	9	11	0	3	0	0	1	1	3	.273	—	—	—	—	0.0
1981	SLN	NL	18	33	2	7	2	1	8	2	14	.212	—	—	—	—	0.0
1982	SLN	NL	24	11	1	1	0	0	0	1	3	.091	—	—	—	—	0.0
1983	SLN	NL	26	18	1	4	1	0	4	0	2	.222	—	—	—	—	0.0
1983	DET	AL	15	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
Career · 5 seasons			92	73	4	15	3	1	13	4	22	.205	—	—	—	—	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.

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (183 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

John Martin — Batting — Home / Away
Split	G	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	AVG
Home	44	35	3	11	0	6	.314
Away	48	38	1	4	0	7	.105

Pitching — Home / Away

John Martin — Pitching — Home / Away
Split	G	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
Home	44	147.1	138	56	34	62	3.42
Away	47	143.0	117	71	61	58	4.47

Last 10 Games — Pitching

John Martin — Last 10 Games — Pitching
Date	Tm	Opp	Dec	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR
1983-10-02	DET	MIL	—	0.2	1	0	0	0	0	0
1983-09-30	DET	MIL	—	1.0	2	2	2	1	2	1
1983-09-28	DET	BAL	—	1.1	1	0	0	0	3	0
1983-09-12	DET	CLE	—	1.0	0	0	0	0	1	0
1983-09-11	DET	MIL	—	0.1	0	0	0	0	1	0
1983-09-09	DET	MIL	—	0.1	0	0	0	0	1	0
1983-09-07	DET	CLE	—	0.2	0	0	0	0	1	0
1983-09-03	DET	TOR	SV	1.2	0	0	0	0	0	0
1983-09-02	DET	TOR	—	0.2	0	0	0	0	0	0
1983-09-02	DET	TOR	—	2.0	2	1	1	0	0	0

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

John Martin — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
P	91	32	8	49	2	0

Season-by-Season Fielding

John Martin — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year	Team	Pos	G	GS	PO	A	E
1980	SLN	P	9	5	0	5	0
1981	SLN	P	17	15	3	20	0
1982	SLN	P	24	7	2	8	1
1983	SLN	P	26	5	3	14	1
1983	DET	P	15	0	0	2	0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

John Martin — Career Games by Position
Position	Games
Pitcher	91

College History

John Martin — College History
School Name	City	State	Years Attended
Eastern Michigan University	Ypsilanti	MI	1975, 1976, 1977, 1978

John Martin: the record in brief

John Martin played a first major league game on August 27, 1980 and a last one on October 2, 1983. Martin played for the St. Louis Cardinals (1980 to 1983) and the Detroit Tigers (1983). Listed as a pitcher, Martin batted from both sides and threw left-handed. The recorded size is 190 pounds on a 6-foot-0 frame. The birth record reads April 11, 1956, in Wyandotte, MI, USA. Martin's full given name, per the bio, is John Robert Martin.

Martin went 17-14 with a 3.94 ERA in 91 games, 32 of them starts. Also on Martin's record: 120 strikeouts. Martin's 3.94 ERA was close to the 3.81 league figure for those seasons. No season topped the 8 wins of 1981. 1981 was Martin's sharpest full season, a 3.42 ERA against the league's 3.58.

Martin's separate Negro Leagues table shows a .333 average on 2 hits. Negro Leagues totals are drawn from box-score research and sit in their own table on this page.

Frequently Asked Questions about John Martin

What years did John Martin play?: John Martin played in Major League Baseball from 1980 to 1983.
Was John Martin a pitcher?: Yes. John Martin pitched in the major leagues, recording 17 wins and 120 strikeouts.
How many home runs did John Martin hit?: John Martin hit 0 career home runs with 15 hits.
What was John Martin's career batting average?: John Martin batted .205 over his career, with 15 hits in 73 at bats.
How many RBI did John Martin have?: John Martin drove in 13 runs in his career.
What was John Martin's career ERA?: John Martin finished with a 3.94 career ERA, going 17-14 with 120 strikeouts.