Roger McDowell

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1985-1996)

W–L 70–70
ERA 3.30
WHIP 1.39
SO 524
Pitcher PIV 7885.4
Position
Pitcher
Bats / Throws
R / R
Height / Weight
6'1" / 175 lb
Born
12/21/1960 in Cincinnati, OH, USA
MLB Debut
1985-04-11
Last Game
1996-08-14

Full name: Roger Alan McDowell

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Career Pitching Statistics

W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
70 70 723 2 0 0 159 1050.0 1,045 385 50 410 524 3.30 7885.4

Career ERA 3.30 vs. league average 4.07 across their career seasons — 18.9% 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
1985 NYN NL 6 5 62 2 0 0 17 127.3 108 40 37 70 2.83 3.89 (+27%) 1615.4
1986 NYN NL 14 9 75 0 0 0 22 128.0 107 43 42 65 3.02 3.97 (+24%) 2483.5
1987 NYN NL 7 5 56 0 0 0 25 88.7 95 41 28 32 4.16 4.29 (+3%) 232.3
1988 NYN NL 5 5 62 0 0 0 16 89.0 80 26 31 46 2.63 3.73 (+30%) 1600.1
1989 NYN NL 1 5 25 0 0 0 4 35.3 34 13 16 15 3.31 3.71 (+11%) -88.1
1989 PHI NL 3 3 44 0 0 0 19 56.7 45 7 22 32 1.11 3.71 (+70%) 573.9
1990 PHI NL 6 8 72 0 0 0 22 86.3 92 37 35 39 3.86 3.86 (avg) 811.9
1991 PHI NL 3 6 38 0 0 0 3 59.0 61 21 32 28 3.20 3.91 (+18%) 82.9
1991 LAN NL 6 3 33 0 0 0 7 42.3 39 12 16 22 2.55 3.91 (+35%) 42.4
1992 LAN NL 6 10 65 0 0 0 14 83.7 103 38 42 50 4.09 3.75 (-9%) 318.2
1993 LAN NL 5 3 54 0 0 0 2 68.0 76 17 30 27 2.25 4.19 (+46%) 348.7
1994 LAN NL 0 3 32 0 0 0 0 41.3 50 24 22 29 5.23 4.51 (-16%) 178.2
1995 TEX AL 7 4 64 0 0 0 4 85.0 86 38 34 49 4.02 4.45 (+10%) 701.1
1996 BAL AL 1 1 41 0 0 0 4 59.3 69 28 23 20 4.25 4.61 (+8%) -1015.0
Career · 14 seasons 70 70 723 2 0 0 159 1,050.0 1,045 385 410 524 3.30 — 7,885

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
725 72 6 16 5 0 0 6 0 5 28 .222 .282 .292 .574 0

Career AVG .222 vs. league average .261 across their career seasons — 14.7% below league average.

Career OBP .282 vs. league average .328 across their career seasons — 14.0% below league average.

Career SLG .292 vs. league average .398 across their career seasons — 26.6% below league average.

Career OPS .574 vs. league average .726 across their career seasons — 20.9% 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
1985 NYN NL 62 19 1 3 1 0 0 1 0 1 7 .158 — — — — 0.0
1986 NYN NL 75 18 1 5 0 0 0 3 0 1 4 .278 — — — — 0.0
1987 NYN NL 56 13 1 3 1 0 0 0 0 1 5 .231 — — — — 0.0
1988 NYN NL 63 9 1 3 3 0 0 2 0 0 5 .333 — — — — 0.0
1989 NYN NL 25 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .500 — — — — 0.0
1989 PHI NL 44 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000 — — — — 0.0
1990 PHI NL 72 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000 — — — — 0.0
1991 PHI NL 38 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1991 LAN NL 34 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1992 LAN NL 65 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 3 .000 — — — — 0.0
1993 LAN NL 54 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .500 — — — — 0.0
1994 LAN NL 32 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000 — — — — 0.0
1995 TEX AL 64 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1996 BAL AL 41 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
Career · 14 seasons 725 72 6 16 5 0 0 6 0 5 28 .222 — — — — 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

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
11 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000

Playoff Batting by Year

Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1988 NLCS NYN 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1986 NLCS NYN 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1986 WS NYN 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000

Playoff Career Pitching

W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
1 1 11 0 0 20.3 17 7 8 10 3.10

Playoff Pitching by Year

Year Round Team W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
1988 NLCS NYN 0 1 4 0 0 6.0 6 3 2 5 4.50
1986 NLCS NYN 0 0 2 0 0 7.0 1 0 0 3 0.00
1986 WS NYN 1 0 5 0 0 7.3 10 4 6 2 4.91

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (1448 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home334312802.258
Away391414804.195

Pitching — Home / Away

SplitGIPHERBBSOERA
Home333505.24751641752502.92
Away390544.15702212352743.65

Last 10 Games — Pitching

DateTmOppDecIPHRERBBSOHR
1996-08-14 BALMIL — 1.1111001
1996-08-11 BALCHW — 1.1311100
1996-08-10 BALCHW SV 1.1100000
1996-08-08 BALMIL — 1.0100000
1996-08-04 BALCLE — 0.2455100
1996-08-03 BALCLE — 1.0200010
1996-07-11 BALNYY — 1.0000100
1996-07-07 BALBOS — 0.1000000
1996-07-04 BALBOS — 0.0344001
1996-07-01 BALTOR — 0.2211001

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position G GS PO A E DP
OF 3 0 0 0 0 0
P 723 2 118 253 24 23

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1985 NYN P 62 2 17 27 4 2
1986 NYN OF 1 0 0 0 0 0
1986 NYN P 75 0 17 30 0 0
1987 NYN P 56 0 10 17 0 1
1988 NYN P 62 0 11 19 1 2
1989 NYN P 25 0 10 12 1 2
1989 PHI P 44 0 7 13 2 1
1990 PHI P 72 0 1 23 5 2
1991 PHI P 38 0 4 17 3 2
1991 LAN OF 2 0 0 0 0 0
1991 LAN P 33 0 4 8 0 1
1992 LAN P 65 0 8 21 3 2
1993 LAN P 54 0 11 24 3 3
1994 LAN P 32 0 2 7 0 0
1995 TEX P 64 0 8 20 1 3
1996 BAL P 41 0 8 15 1 2

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Position Games
Pitcher 723
Left Field 3
Right Field 1

Salary History

Year Team League Salary
1996 BAL AL $750,000
1995 LAN NL $300,000
1995 TEX AL $575,000
1994 LAN NL $1,350,000
1993 LAN NL $1,350,000
1992 LAN NL $2,200,000
1991 PHI NL $2,000,000
1990 PHI NL $1,400,000
1989 PHI NL $762,000
1988 NYN NL $615,000
1987 NYN NL $305,000
1986 NYN NL $185,000
1985 NYN NL $60,000
Total Career Earnings $11,852,000

College History

School Name City State Years Attended
Bowling Green State University Bowling Green OH 1980, 1981, 1982

Award Voting History

Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
1986 Most Valuable Player NL 17th 5.0 336 0
1985 Rookie of the Year NL 6th 2.0 120 0

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Roger McDowell (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Greg Minton
    59-65, 3.10 ERA
  2. 87
    Darold Knowles
    66-74, 3.12 ERA
  3. 71
    Ron Perranoski
    79-74, 2.79 ERA
  4. 68
    Elias Sosa
    59-51, 3.32 ERA
  5. 67
    Terry Forster
    54-65, 3.23 ERA
  6. 66
    Clem Labine
    77-56, 3.63 ERA

Frequently Asked Questions about Roger McDowell

What years did Roger McDowell play?
Roger McDowell played in Major League Baseball from 1985 to 1996.
Was Roger McDowell a pitcher?
Yes. Roger McDowell pitched in the major leagues, recording 70 wins and 524 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Roger McDowell hit?
Roger McDowell hit 0 career home runs with 16 hits.