Sam McDowell

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1961-1975)

W–L 141–134
ERA 3.17
WHIP 1.31
SO 2,453
Pitcher PIV 29988.7
Position
Pitcher
Bats / Throws
L / L
Height / Weight
6'5" / 190 lb
Born
9/21/1942 in Pittsburgh, PA, USA
MLB Debut
1961-09-15
Last Game
1975-06-24
Awards
6× All-Star

Full name: Samuel Edward McDowell

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Career Pitching Statistics

W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
141 134 425 346 103 23 14 2492.3 1,948 879 164 1,312 2,453 3.17 29988.7

Career ERA 3.17 vs. league average 3.58 across their career seasons — 11.3% 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
1961 CLE AL 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 6.3 3 0 5 5 0.00 — 0.0
1962 CLE AL 3 7 25 13 0 0 1 87.7 81 59 70 70 6.06 3.96 (-53%) -2042.4
1963 CLE AL 3 5 14 12 3 1 0 65.0 63 35 44 63 4.85 3.46 (-40%) -507.6
1964 CLE AL 11 6 31 24 6 2 1 173.3 148 52 100 177 2.70 3.58 (+25%) 2850.7
1965 CLE AL 17 11 42 35 14 3 4 273.0 178 66 132 325 2.18 3.50 (+38%) 10218.0
1966 CLE AL 9 8 35 28 8 5 3 194.3 130 62 102 225 2.87 3.52 (+18%) 4100.7
1967 CLE AL 13 15 37 37 10 1 0 236.3 201 101 123 236 3.85 3.30 (-16%) -258.6
1968 CLE AL 15 14 38 37 11 3 0 269.0 181 54 110 283 1.81 2.98 (+39%) 5212.8
1969 CLE AL 18 14 39 38 18 4 1 285.0 222 93 102 279 2.94 3.61 (+19%) 9970.0
1970 CLE AL 20 12 39 39 19 1 0 305.0 236 99 131 304 2.92 3.89 (+25%) 6628.3
1971 CLE AL 13 17 35 31 8 2 1 214.7 160 81 153 192 3.40 3.47 (+2%) -3789.0
1972 SFN NL 10 8 28 25 4 0 0 164.3 155 79 86 122 4.33 3.26 (-33%) -1146.4
1973 SFN NL 1 2 18 3 0 0 3 40.0 45 20 29 35 4.50 3.75 (-20%) -544.6
1973 NYA AL 5 8 16 15 2 1 0 95.7 73 42 64 75 3.95 3.75 (-5%) 482.3
1974 NYA AL 1 6 13 7 0 0 0 48.0 42 25 41 33 4.69 3.63 (-29%) -2116.1
1975 PIT NL 2 1 14 1 0 0 0 34.7 30 11 20 29 2.86 3.71 (+23%) 930.4
Career · 16 seasons 141 134 425 346 103 23 14 2,492.1 1,948 879 1,312 2,453 3.17 — 29,989

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
429 774 34 119 7 2 2 36 0 16 306 .154 .171 .176 .347 -5,229

Career AVG .154 vs. league average .250 across their career seasons — 38.6% below league average.

Career OBP .171 vs. league average .317 across their career seasons — 46.1% below league average.

Career SLG .176 vs. league average .372 across their career seasons — 52.8% below league average.

Career OPS .347 vs. league average .689 across their career seasons — 49.7% 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
1961 CLE AL 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 .000 — — — — 0.0
1962 CLE AL 25 26 1 4 0 0 0 1 0 0 13 .154 — — — — 0.0
1963 CLE AL 15 19 1 4 0 0 0 0 0 1 9 .211 — — — — 0.0
1964 CLE AL 31 56 2 8 1 0 0 2 0 5 25 .143 .250 (-43%) .312 (-32%) .377 (-57%) .690 (-46%) -382.5
1965 CLE AL 43 95 5 12 1 0 0 4 0 1 35 .126 .245 (-49%) .310 (-56%) .371 (-63%) .682 (-60%) -861.7
1966 CLE AL 36 60 2 12 0 1 0 1 0 1 27 .200 .248 (-20%) .309 (-32%) .376 (-38%) .685 (-35%) -337.0
1967 CLE AL 37 82 5 15 1 0 1 6 0 1 28 .183 .242 (-25%) .306 (-38%) .357 (-35%) .663 (-36%) -458.1
1968 CLE AL 38 85 5 13 0 0 0 6 0 3 35 .153 .236 (-35%) .298 (-37%) .340 (-55%) .638 (-47%) -562.0
1969 CLE AL 39 92 3 16 3 0 0 6 0 0 31 .174 .248 (-30%) .320 (-46%) .369 (-44%) .689 (-45%) -658.6
1970 CLE AL 40 105 5 13 0 0 1 2 0 2 42 .124 .253 (-51%) .325 (-57%) .385 (-60%) .711 (-59%) -973.5
1971 CLE AL 35 73 1 13 0 0 0 4 0 1 26 .178 .249 (-29%) .316 (-40%) .365 (-51%) .682 (-46%) -508.0
1972 SFN NL 28 59 3 7 1 1 0 4 0 1 21 .119 .243 (-51%) .310 (-57%) .353 (-52%) .664 (-54%) -487.7
1973 SFN NL 18 12 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 7 .167 — — — — 0.0
1973 NYA AL 16 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1974 NYA AL 13 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1975 PIT NL 14 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 .000 — — — — 0.0
Career · 16 seasons 429 774 34 119 7 2 2 36 0 16 306 .154 — — — — -5,229

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 (854 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home210378185319.140
Away2193961666127.167

Pitching — Home / Away

SplitGIPHERBBSOERA
Home2071297.199744865412613.11
Away2181195.095143165811923.25

Last 10 Games — Batting

DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1975-06-24 PITPHIL 100000001
1975-06-21 PITNYNW 100000001
1975-06-17 PITSTLL 000000000
1975-06-10 PITCINW 300000001
1975-06-03 PITCINL 100000001
1975-06-01 PITATLL 000000000
1975-05-20 PITSFGL 000000000
1975-05-14 PITSDPW 000000000
1975-05-11 PITLADL 000000000
1975-05-02 PITPHIL 100000001

Last 10 Games — Pitching

DateTmOppDecIPHRERBBSOHR
1975-06-24 PITPHI — 4.0411230
1975-06-21 PITNYN — 4.0200240
1975-06-17 PITSTL — 0.2100000
1975-06-10 PITCIN W 5.0633250
1975-06-03 PITCIN — 1.1322000
1975-06-01 PITATL — 0.2111300
1975-05-20 PITSFG — 1.1200220
1975-05-14 PITSDP W 2.0000110
1975-05-11 PITLAD — 2.0211000
1975-05-02 PITPHI — 4.0511060

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position G GS PO A E DP
1B 1 0 0 0 0 0
2B 1 0 1 0 0 0
P 425 346 79 328 33 23

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1961 CLE P 1 1 0 2 0 0
1962 CLE P 25 13 4 14 2 0
1963 CLE P 14 12 4 7 0 0
1964 CLE P 31 24 7 20 2 1
1965 CLE P 42 35 6 46 4 0
1966 CLE P 35 28 11 30 2 2
1967 CLE P 37 37 9 31 5 2
1968 CLE P 38 37 10 30 4 7
1969 CLE P 39 38 5 39 4 5
1970 CLE 1B 1 0 0 0 0 0
1970 CLE 2B 1 0 1 0 0 0
1970 CLE P 39 39 3 35 4 1
1971 CLE P 35 31 3 26 4 2
1972 SFN P 28 25 8 21 1 0
1973 SFN P 18 3 3 5 0 0
1973 NYA P 16 15 4 15 0 1
1974 NYA P 13 7 1 2 1 0
1975 PIT P 14 1 1 5 0 2

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Position Games
Pitcher 425
First Base 1
Second Base 1

Awards & Honors

Year Award Notes
1970 TSN All-Star LHP
1970 TSN Pitcher of the Year

Award Voting History

Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
1970 Cy Young Award AL 3rd 45.0 120 4
1970 Most Valuable Player AL 16th 22.0 336 0
1965 Most Valuable Player AL 17th 7.0 280 0

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

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

  1. 98
    Al Leiter
    162-132, 3.80 ERA
  2. 96
    Bob Veale
    120-95, 3.07 ERA
  3. 95
    David Cone
    194-126, 3.46 ERA
  4. 91
    Mark Langston
    179-158, 3.97 ERA
  5. 91
    A. J. Burnett
    164-157, 3.99 ERA
  6. 91
    Fernando Valenzuela
    173-153, 3.54 ERA

Frequently Asked Questions about Sam McDowell

What years did Sam McDowell play?
Sam McDowell played in Major League Baseball from 1961 to 1975.
Was Sam McDowell a pitcher?
Yes. Sam McDowell pitched in the major leagues, recording 141 wins and 2453 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Sam McDowell hit?
Sam McDowell hit 2 career home runs with 119 hits.