Ben McDonald

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1989-1997)

W–L 78–70
ERA 3.91
WHIP 1.26
SO 894
Pitcher PIV 4774.1
Position
Pitcher
Bats / Throws
R / R
Height / Weight
6'7" / 212 lb
Born
11/24/1967 in Baton Rouge, LA, USA
MLB Debut
1989-09-06
Last Game
1997-07-16

Full name: Larry Benard McDonald

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Career Pitching Statistics

W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
78 70 211 198 24 6 0 1291.3 1,186 561 138 437 894 3.91 4774.1

Career ERA 3.91 vs. league average 4.15 across their career seasons — 5.8% better than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Year Team Lg W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER BB SO ERA Lg ERA Pitcher PIV
1989 BAL AL 1 0 6 0 0 0 0 7.3 8 7 4 3 8.59 — 0.0
1990 BAL AL 8 5 21 15 3 2 0 118.7 88 32 35 65 2.43 3.86 (+37%) 844.0
1991 BAL AL 6 8 21 21 1 0 0 126.3 126 68 43 85 4.84 3.91 (-24%) -916.4
1992 BAL AL 13 13 35 35 4 2 0 227.0 213 107 74 158 4.24 3.75 (-13%) -3263.9
1993 BAL AL 13 14 34 34 7 1 0 220.3 185 83 86 171 3.39 4.19 (+19%) 2950.4
1994 BAL AL 14 7 24 24 5 1 0 157.3 151 71 54 94 4.06 4.51 (+10%) 1425.2
1995 BAL AL 3 6 14 13 1 0 0 80.0 67 37 38 62 4.16 4.45 (+6%) -529.4
1996 ML4 AL 12 10 35 35 2 0 0 221.3 228 96 67 146 3.90 4.61 (+15%) 1740.2
1997 ML4 AL 8 7 21 21 1 0 0 133.0 120 60 36 110 4.06 4.39 (+7%) 2524.1
Career · 9 seasons 78 70 211 198 24 6 0 1,291.1 1,186 561 437 894 3.91 — 4,774

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

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
211 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000 .000 .000 .000 0

Career AVG .000 vs. league average .262 across their career seasons — 100.0% below league average.

Career OBP .000 vs. league average .331 across their career seasons — 100.0% below league average.

Career SLG .000 vs. league average .401 across their career seasons — 100.0% below league average.

Career OPS .000 vs. league average .732 across their career seasons — 100.0% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Year Team Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG Lg AVG Lg OBP Lg SLG Lg OPS PIV
1989 BAL AL 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1990 BAL AL 21 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1991 BAL AL 21 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1992 BAL AL 35 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1993 BAL AL 34 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1994 BAL AL 24 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1995 BAL AL 14 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1996 ML4 AL 35 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1997 ML4 AL 21 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000 — — — — 0.0
Career · 9 seasons 211 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 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.

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (422 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home10900000—
Away10210000.000

Pitching — Home / Away

SplitGIPHERBBSOERA
Home109692.06422872074793.73
Away102599.15442742304154.11

Last 10 Games — Batting

DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1997-07-16 MILCLEL 000000000
1997-07-11 MILBALW 000000000
1997-07-06 MILMINW 000000000
1997-07-02 MILCINL 100000001
1997-06-27 MILKCRL 000000000
1997-06-22 MILKCRL 000000000
1997-06-16 MILSTLW 000000000
1997-06-11 MILCLEL 000000000
1997-06-05 MILBOSL 000000000
1997-05-31 MILCHWW 000000000

Last 10 Games — Pitching

DateTmOppDecIPHRERBBSOHR
1997-07-16 MILCLE L 6.0633241
1997-07-11 MILBAL W 6.0000040
1997-07-06 MILMIN W 6.0322040
1997-07-02 MILCIN L 4.0644130
1997-06-27 MILKCR L 3.0899321
1997-06-22 MILKCR — 7.0433381
1997-06-16 MILSTL — 8.04001120
1997-06-11 MILCLE — 7.0632131
1997-06-05 MILBOS L 9.0622181
1997-05-31 MILCHW W 7.0622260

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position G GS PO A E DP
P 211 198 95 179 11 13

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1989 BAL P 6 0 0 2 0 0
1990 BAL P 21 15 15 14 1 1
1991 BAL P 21 21 12 8 0 1
1992 BAL P 35 35 22 29 0 2
1993 BAL P 34 34 15 42 2 2
1994 BAL P 24 24 7 25 0 1
1995 BAL P 14 13 5 13 1 0
1996 ML4 P 35 35 13 30 6 3
1997 ML4 P 21 21 6 16 1 3

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Position Games
Pitcher 211

Awards & Honors

Year Award Notes
1994 Pitcher of the Month April

Salary History

Year Team League Salary
1997 ML4 AL $5,000,000
1996 ML4 AL $2,000,000
1995 BAL AL $4,500,000
1994 BAL AL $2,675,000
1993 BAL AL $1,250,000
1992 BAL AL $500,000
1991 BAL AL $491,667
1990 BAL AL $241,667
Total Career Earnings $16,658,334

College History

School Name City State Years Attended
Louisiana State University Baton Rouge LA 1987, 1988, 1989

Award Voting History

Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
1990 Rookie of the Year AL 8th 2.0 140 0

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Ben McDonald (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Jeremy Hellickson
    76-75, 4.13 ERA
  2. 96
    Clay Buchholz
    90-69, 3.98 ERA
  3. 89
    Britt Burns
    70-60, 3.66 ERA
  4. 88
    Tanner Roark
    76-68, 3.85 ERA
  5. 86
    Teddy Higuera
    94-64, 3.61 ERA
  6. 85
    Chuck Dobson
    74-69, 3.78 ERA

Frequently Asked Questions about Ben McDonald

What years did Ben McDonald play?
Ben McDonald played in Major League Baseball from 1989 to 1997.
Was Ben McDonald a pitcher?
Yes. Ben McDonald pitched in the major leagues, recording 78 wins and 894 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Ben McDonald hit?
Ben McDonald hit 0 career home runs.