Christy Mathewson

Pitcher · Career Stats, Hall of Fame Bio & Records (1900-1916)

Christy Mathewson was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1900 to 1916 for the New York Giants and the Cincinnati Reds, a span of 17 seasons. Across 636 career appearances, he went 373-188 with a 2.13 ERA, 2,507 strikeouts, and 29 saves. He also batted .215 with 7 home runs. Christy Mathewson was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1936 and was a 2-time Pitching Triple Crown. His career Pitcher PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of pitching impact — is 82445.8.

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

⭐ Hall of Fame 1936
W–L 373–188
ERA 2.13
WHIP 1.06
SO 2,507
Pitcher PIV 82445.8
Position
Pitcher
Bats / Throws
R / R
Height / Weight
6'1" / 195 lb
Born
8/12/1880 in Factoryville, PA, USA
Died
10/7/1925 in Saranac Lake, NY, USA
MLB Debut
1900-07-17
Last Game
1916-09-04
Hall of Fame
Inducted 1936 (BBWAA)
Awards
2× Pitching Triple Crown

Full name: Christopher Mathewson

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Career Pitching Statistics

Christy Mathewson — Career Pitching Statistics
W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
373 188 636 552 435 79 29 4788.2 4,219 1,135 90 848 2,507 2.13 82445.8

Career ERA 2.13 vs. league average 2.92 across their career seasons — 27.0% better than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

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Christy Mathewson Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year Team Lg W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER BB SO ERA Lg ERA Pitcher PIV
1900 NY1 NL 0 3 6 1 1 0 0 33.2 37 19 20 15 5.08 3.68 (-38%) -647.5
1901 NY1 NL 20 17 40 38 36 5 0 336.0 288 90 97 221 2.41 3.49 (+31%) 7056.8
1902 NY1 NL 14 17 35 33 30 8 0 284.2 246 67 77 164 2.12 3.17 (+33%) 4573.6
1903 NY1 NL 30 13 45 42 37 3 2 366.1 321 92 100 267 2.26 3.10 (+27%) 7655.4
1904 NY1 NL 33 12 48 46 33 4 1 367.2 306 83 78 212 2.03 2.66 (+24%) 4772.9
1905 NY1 NL 31 9 43 37 32 8 3 338.2 252 48 64 206 1.28 2.82 (+55%) 7151.2
1906 NY1 NL 22 12 38 35 22 6 1 266.2 262 88 77 128 2.97 2.68 (-11%) 1514.2
1907 NY1 NL 24 12 41 36 31 8 2 315.0 250 70 53 178 2.00 2.50 (+20%) 6095.8
1908 NY1 NL 37 11 56 44 34 11 5 390.2 281 62 42 259 1.43 2.40 (+40%) 11564.6
1909 NY1 NL 25 6 37 33 26 8 2 275.1 192 35 36 149 1.14 2.55 (+55%) 6607.0
1910 NY1 NL 27 9 38 35 27 2 0 318.1 292 67 60 184 1.89 2.79 (+32%) 6803.6
1911 NY1 NL 26 13 45 37 29 5 3 307.0 303 68 38 141 1.99 3.37 (+41%) 7397.0
1912 NY1 NL 23 12 43 34 27 0 4 310.0 311 73 34 134 2.12 3.36 (+37%) 6315.5
1913 NY1 NL 25 11 40 35 25 4 2 306.0 291 70 21 93 2.06 3.07 (+33%) 4412.8
1914 NY1 NL 24 13 41 35 29 5 2 312.0 314 104 23 80 3.00 2.93 (-2%) 603.2
1915 NY1 NL 8 14 27 24 11 1 0 186.0 199 74 20 57 3.58 2.90 (-24%) 604.1
1916 NY1 NL 3 4 12 6 4 1 2 65.2 59 17 7 16 2.33 2.78 (+16%) -34.6
1916 CIN NL 1 0 1 1 1 0 0 9.0 15 8 1 3 8.00 2.78 (-188%) 0.0
Career · 18 seasons 373 188 636 552 435 79 29 4,788.2 4,219 1,135 848 2,507 2.13 — 82,446

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

Christy Mathewson — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
647 1,687 151 362 50 12 7 165 20 116 218 .215 .272 .271 .543 -3,882

Career AVG .215 vs. league average .255 across their career seasons — 15.8% below league average.

Career OBP .272 vs. league average .317 across their career seasons — 14.3% below league average.

Career SLG .271 vs. league average .334 across their career seasons — 18.8% below league average.

Career OPS .543 vs. league average .651 across their career seasons — 16.6% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

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Christy Mathewson 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
1900 NY1 NL 6 11 1 2 2 0 0 1 0 1 2 .182 — — — — 0.0
1901 NY1 NL 42 130 10 28 0 1 0 7 1 2 25 .215 .271 (-21%) .326 (-30%) .359 (-36%) .686 (-33%) -663.6
1902 NY1 NL 43 130 10 26 3 0 2 12 2 6 16 .200 .266 (-25%) .321 (-23%) .343 (-22%) .665 (-23%) -436.7
1903 NY1 NL 45 124 13 28 3 0 1 20 1 8 14 .226 .261 (-14%) .316 (-12%) .345 (-21%) .662 (-17%) -289.1
1904 NY1 NL 48 133 15 30 5 3 0 17 3 9 26 .226 .246 (-9%) .300 (-7%) .321 (-4%) .622 (-6%) -116.5
1905 NY1 NL 44 127 13 30 5 0 2 16 2 10 12 .236 .248 (-5%) .307 (avg) .322 (avg) .629 (avg) 22.3
1906 NY1 NL 38 91 6 24 4 1 0 14 0 9 16 .264 .247 (+7%) .307 (+7%) .315 (+5%) .622 (+6%) 89.5
1907 NY1 NL 41 107 8 20 3 1 0 7 1 5 12 .187 .245 (-24%) .304 (-18%) .308 (-24%) .613 (-21%) -306.1
1908 NY1 NL 56 129 11 20 2 2 0 11 0 9 12 .155 .240 (-36%) .298 (-26%) .306 (-34%) .605 (-30%) -525.2
1909 NY1 NL 37 95 9 25 4 1 1 12 0 4 9 .263 .244 (+8%) .306 (-4%) .312 (+15%) .618 (+5%) 36.8
1910 NY1 NL 38 107 9 25 5 1 1 10 1 12 13 .234 .249 (-6%) .317 (avg) .326 (avg) .644 (avg) 7.5
1911 NY1 NL 45 112 12 22 2 0 0 12 2 5 13 .196 .266 (-26%) .336 (-29%) .356 (-40%) .693 (-35%) -602.4
1912 NY1 NL 43 110 14 29 4 1 0 10 2 6 8 .264 .268 (-2%) .335 (-8%) .358 (-11%) .694 (-10%) -174.9
1913 NY1 NL 40 103 7 19 0 0 0 9 1 8 13 .184 .259 (-29%) .325 (-25%) .345 (-47%) .670 (-36%) -541.3
1914 NY1 NL 41 105 8 23 3 1 0 4 4 11 12 .219 .255 (-14%) .322 (-9%) .339 (-21%) .661 (-15%) -227.8
1915 NY1 NL 27 51 3 8 4 0 0 1 0 7 11 .157 .250 (-37%) .318 (-15%) .332 (-29%) .651 (-22%) -154.6
1916 NY1 NL 12 17 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 4 4 .000 — — — — 0.0
1916 CIN NL 1 5 1 3 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 .600 — — — — 0.0
Career · 18 seasons 647 1,687 151 362 50 12 7 165 20 116 218 .215 — — — — -3,882

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

Christy Mathewson — Playoff Career Batting
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
11 32 2 9 0 0 0 1 3 8 .281

Playoff Batting by Year

Christy Mathewson — Playoff Batting by Year
Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1913 WS NY1 2 5 1 3 0 0 0 1 1 0 .600
1912 WS NY1 3 12 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 4 .167
1911 WS NY1 3 7 0 2 0 0 0 0 1 3 .286
1905 WS NY1 3 8 1 2 0 0 0 0 1 1 .250

Playoff Career Pitching

Christy Mathewson — Playoff Career Pitching
W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
5 5 11 11 0 101.2 75 11 10 48 0.97

Playoff Pitching by Year

Christy Mathewson — Playoff Pitching by Year
Year Round Team W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
1913 WS NY1 1 1 2 2 0 19.0 14 2 2 7 0.95
1912 WS NY1 0 2 3 3 0 28.2 23 3 5 10 0.94
1911 WS NY1 1 2 3 3 0 27.0 25 6 2 13 2.00
1905 WS NY1 3 0 3 3 0 27.0 13 0 1 18 0.00

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (1281 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Christy Mathewson — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home32880275178580.222
Away31888378184281.208

Pitching — Home / Away

Christy Mathewson — Pitching — Home / Away
SplitGIPHERBBSOERA
Home3232448.0210531839813661.17
Away3122337.0211437744211631.45

Last 10 Games — Batting

Christy Mathewson — Last 10 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1916-09-04 CINCHCW 513100100
1916-07-04 NY1BROL 100000010
1916-06-26 NY1BROW 200000001
1916-06-24 NY1BROL 000000000
1916-06-21 NY1BSNL 000000000
1916-06-14 NY1CHCL 300000000
1916-06-02 NY1CINL 000000000
1916-05-29 NY1BSNW 300000010
1916-05-23 NY1CINW 000000000
1916-05-20 NY1STLW 400000002

Last 10 Games — Pitching

Christy Mathewson — Last 10 Games — Pitching
DateTmOppDecIPHRERBBSOHR
1916-09-04 CINCHC W 9.01588131
1916-07-04 NY1BRO L 6.2752230
1916-06-26 NY1BRO W 4.1211011
1916-06-24 NY1BRO — 2.0210000
1916-06-21 NY1BSN L 2.0311100
1916-06-14 NY1CHC L 9.0740130
1916-06-02 NY1CIN — 3.0842010
1916-05-29 NY1BSN W 9.0400020
1916-05-23 NY1CIN SV 0.2000000
1916-05-20 NY1STL W 9.0611210

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Christy Mathewson — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
1B 3 0 27 2 4 2
OF 4 0 5 1 0 1
P 636 266 281 1503 53 41

Season-by-Season Fielding

Christy Mathewson — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1900 NY1 P 6 0 1 9 0 0
1901 NY1 P 40 0 21 108 1 1
1902 NY1 1B 3 0 27 2 4 2
1902 NY1 OF 4 0 5 1 0 1
1902 NY1 P 35 0 17 79 7 5
1903 NY1 P 45 0 18 93 3 0
1904 NY1 P 48 46 32 116 6 0
1905 NY1 P 43 37 15 116 4 4
1906 NY1 P 38 35 15 90 1 1
1907 NY1 P 41 36 16 87 6 0
1908 NY1 P 56 44 27 141 2 1
1909 NY1 P 37 33 19 96 4 3
1910 NY1 P 38 35 12 114 4 6
1911 NY1 P 45 0 31 107 2 2
1912 NY1 P 43 0 15 74 4 4
1913 NY1 P 40 0 13 100 3 3
1914 NY1 P 41 0 15 91 5 7
1915 NY1 P 27 0 8 54 1 3
1916 NY1 P 12 0 5 25 0 1
1916 CIN P 1 0 1 3 0 0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Christy Mathewson Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position Games
Pitcher 636
First Base 3
Left Field 1
Right Field 3

Awards & Honors

Christy Mathewson — Awards & Honors
Year Award Notes
1914 Baseball Magazine All-Star P2
1913 Baseball Magazine All-Star P2
1913 Baseball Magazine All-Star P1
1912 Baseball Magazine All-Star P2
1911 Baseball Magazine All-Star P2
1911 Baseball Magazine All-Star P1
1910 Baseball Magazine All-Star P2
1910 Baseball Magazine All-Star P1
1909 Baseball Magazine All-Star P1
1908 Baseball Magazine All-Star P2
1908 Pitching Triple Crown
1905 Pitching Triple Crown

College History

Christy Mathewson — College History
School Name City State Years Attended
Bucknell University Lewisburg PA 1899

Award Voting History

Christy Mathewson — Award Voting History
Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
1914 Most Valuable Player NL 16th 4.0 64 0
1913 Most Valuable Player NL 4th 21.0 64 0
1912 Most Valuable Player NL 12th 8.0 64 0
1911 Most Valuable Player NL 2nd 25.0 64 0

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Christy Mathewson (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Pete Alexander HOF
    373-208, 2.56 ERA
  2. 94
    Eddie Plank HOF
    326-194, 2.35 ERA
  3. 55
    Walter Johnson HOF
    417-279, 2.17 ERA
  4. 54
    Warren Spahn HOF
    363-245, 3.09 ERA
  5. 54
    Robin Roberts HOF
    286-245, 3.41 ERA
  6. 47
    Carl Hubbell HOF
    253-154, 2.98 ERA

Compare Christy Mathewson

Side-by-side career stat comparisons against Mathewson's closest peers by position and era.

vs Roger Clemens
vs Cy Young
vs Greg Maddux
vs Walter Johnson
vs Randy Johnson
vs Pedro Martinez

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See Christy Mathewson in Another Era

What would Mathewson's 1909 season look like in a different era's run environment? Try the cross-era translation with a live slider.

Translate Christy Mathewson's peak season across eras →

Christy Mathewson: the record in brief

According to the bio, Christy Mathewson debuted on July 17, 1900 and played a final game on September 4, 1916. By club, Mathewson's seasons break down as the New York Giants (1900 to 1916) and the Cincinnati Reds (1916). Listed as a pitcher, Mathewson both batted and threw right-handed. Mathewson is listed at 195 pounds on a 6-foot-1 frame. The birth record reads August 12, 1880, in Factoryville, PA, USA. Mathewson's death is recorded on October 7, 1925, in Saranac Lake, NY, USA. The given name on file is Christopher Mathewson.

Mathewson's career pitching line is 373 wins, 188 losses and a 2.13 ERA over 636 appearances. The same table counts 2,507 strikeouts, 435 complete games, 79 shutouts, and 29 saves. Against a 2.92 league ERA for the same years, Mathewson was 27.0% better. The best win total was 37, in 1908. The strikeout high was 267 in 1903. In 1909, one of the busiest seasons, Mathewson posted a 1.14 ERA; the league figure that year was 2.55.

Frequently Asked Questions about Christy Mathewson

What years did Christy Mathewson play?
Christy Mathewson played in Major League Baseball from 1900 to 1916.
Was Christy Mathewson a pitcher?
Yes. Christy Mathewson pitched in the major leagues, recording 373 wins and 2507 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Christy Mathewson hit?
Christy Mathewson hit 7 career home runs with 362 hits.
Is Christy Mathewson in the Hall of Fame?
Yes. Christy Mathewson was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1936.
What was Christy Mathewson's career batting average?
Christy Mathewson batted .215 over his career, with 362 hits in 1,687 at bats.
How many RBI did Christy Mathewson have?
Christy Mathewson drove in 165 runs in his career.