Jim Merritt

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1965-1975)

W–L 81–86
ERA 3.65
WHIP 1.21
SO 932
Pitcher PIV 5123.4
Position
Pitcher
Bats / Throws
L / L
Height / Weight
6'3" / 175 lb
Born
12/9/1943 in Altadena, CA, USA
MLB Debut
1965-08-02
Last Game
1975-05-23
Awards
All-Star

Full name: James Joseph Merritt

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Career Pitching Statistics

W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
81 86 297 192 56 9 7 1483.0 1,468 602 160 322 932 3.65 5123.4

Career ERA 3.65 vs. league average 3.52 across their career seasons — near 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
1965 MIN AL 5 4 16 9 1 0 2 76.7 68 27 20 61 3.17 3.50 (+9%) -143.6
1966 MIN AL 7 14 31 18 5 1 3 144.0 112 54 33 124 3.38 3.52 (+4%) 1727.2
1967 MIN AL 13 7 37 28 11 4 0 227.7 196 64 30 161 2.53 3.30 (+23%) 2932.0
1968 MIN AL 12 16 38 34 11 1 1 238.3 207 86 52 181 3.25 2.98 (-9%) 1423.3
1969 CIN NL 17 9 42 36 8 1 0 251.0 269 122 61 144 4.37 3.61 (-21%) -1545.8
1970 CIN NL 20 12 35 35 12 1 0 234.0 248 106 53 136 4.08 3.89 (-5%) 3377.8
1971 CIN NL 1 11 28 11 0 0 0 107.0 115 52 31 38 4.37 3.47 (-26%) -2478.0
1972 CIN NL 1 0 4 1 0 0 0 8.0 13 4 2 4 4.50 — 0.0
1973 TEX AL 5 13 35 19 8 1 1 160.0 191 72 34 65 4.05 3.75 (-8%) -503.6
1974 TEX AL 0 0 26 1 0 0 0 32.7 46 15 6 18 4.13 3.63 (-14%) 334.0
1975 TEX AL 0 0 5 0 0 0 0 3.7 3 0 0 0 0.00 — 0.0
Career · 11 seasons 81 86 297 192 56 9 7 1,483.0 1,468 602 322 932 3.65 — 5,123

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
298 397 21 56 8 1 4 20 0 28 178 .141 .198 .196 .395 -1,851

Career AVG .141 vs. league average .249 across their career seasons — 43.5% below league average.

Career OBP .198 vs. league average .317 across their career seasons — 37.4% below league average.

Career SLG .196 vs. league average .368 across their career seasons — 46.6% below league average.

Career OPS .395 vs. league average .685 across their career seasons — 42.4% 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
1965 MIN AL 16 22 1 3 0 0 0 3 0 2 14 .136 — — — — 0.0
1966 MIN AL 31 39 2 4 1 0 0 1 0 4 16 .103 — — — — 0.0
1967 MIN AL 37 74 4 10 3 0 0 2 0 7 33 .135 .242 (-44%) .306 (-32%) .357 (-51%) .663 (-42%) -451.1
1968 MIN AL 38 71 1 10 2 0 0 1 0 5 22 .141 .236 (-40%) .298 (-34%) .340 (-50%) .638 (-43%) -426.9
1969 CIN NL 42 77 6 11 1 0 1 5 0 5 37 .143 .248 (-42%) .320 (-40%) .369 (-47%) .689 (-44%) -545.0
1970 CIN NL 35 83 7 14 0 0 3 6 0 4 42 .169 .253 (-34%) .325 (-36%) .385 (-28%) .711 (-32%) -427.5
1971 CIN NL 29 29 0 4 1 1 0 2 0 1 14 .138 — — — — 0.0
1972 CIN NL 4 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1973 TEX AL 35 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1974 TEX AL 26 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1975 TEX AL 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
Career · 11 seasons 298 397 21 56 8 1 4 20 0 28 178 .141 — — — — -1,851

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
4 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 .000

Playoff Batting by Year

Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1970 NLCS CIN 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 .000
1970 WS CIN 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000
1965 WS MIN 2 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 4 2 0 10.3 8 6 1 3 5.23

Playoff Pitching by Year

Year Round Team W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
1970 NLCS CIN 1 0 1 1 0 5.3 3 1 0 2 1.69
1970 WS CIN 0 1 1 1 0 1.7 3 4 1 0 21.60
1965 WS MIN 0 0 2 0 0 3.3 2 1 0 1 2.70

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (595 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home151188143218.170
Away147209724312.115

Pitching — Home / Away

SplitGIPHERBBSOERA
Home151738.17413031504463.69
Away146744.27272991724863.61

Last 10 Games — Pitching

DateTmOppDecIPHRERBBSOHR
1975-05-23 TEXNYY — 2.0210000
1975-04-19 TEXKCR — 0.0100000
1975-04-16 TEXCHW — 1.0000000
1975-04-15 TEXCHW — 0.1000000
1975-04-12 TEXOAK — 0.1000000
1974-09-26 TEXCHW — 1.2000000
1974-09-26 TEXCHW — 1.2200110
1974-09-21 TEXKCR — 0.2110000
1974-09-21 TEXKCR — 3.2400030
1974-09-09 TEXLAA — 2.0100010

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position G GS PO A E DP
P 297 192 45 203 13 8

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1965 MIN P 16 9 2 13 1 1
1966 MIN P 31 18 7 20 0 0
1967 MIN P 37 28 4 32 3 1
1968 MIN P 38 34 7 38 0 2
1969 CIN P 42 36 7 33 1 1
1970 CIN P 35 35 5 30 2 1
1971 CIN P 28 11 5 10 1 1
1972 CIN P 4 1 0 1 0 0
1973 TEX P 35 19 7 22 2 1
1974 TEX P 26 1 1 4 3 0
1975 TEX P 5 0 0 0 0 0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Position Games
Pitcher 297

Awards & Honors

Year Award Notes
1970 TSN All-Star LHP

Award Voting History

Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
1970 Cy Young Award NL 4th 8.0 120 0
1970 Most Valuable Player NL 21th 8.0 336 0

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Jim Merritt (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Ken Johnson
    91-106, 3.46 ERA
  2. 93
    Doug Fister
    83-92, 3.72 ERA
  3. 90
    Bryn Smith
    108-94, 3.53 ERA
  4. 90
    Bill Byrd
    101-68, 3.53 ERA
  5. 86
    Pat Jarvis
    85-73, 3.58 ERA
  6. 86
    Rick Reed
    93-76, 4.03 ERA

Frequently Asked Questions about Jim Merritt

What years did Jim Merritt play?
Jim Merritt played in Major League Baseball from 1965 to 1975.
Was Jim Merritt a pitcher?
Yes. Jim Merritt pitched in the major leagues, recording 81 wins and 932 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Jim Merritt hit?
Jim Merritt hit 4 career home runs with 56 hits.