John Montefusco
Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1974-1986)
John Montefusco was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1974 to 1986 for 4 teams, including the San Francisco Giants, a span of 13 seasons. Across 298 career appearances, he went 90-83 with a 3.54 ERA and 1,081 strikeouts. He also batted .097 with 4 home runs. John Montefusco was an All-Star and a Rookie of the Year. His career Pitcher PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of pitching impact — is 16548.1.
- 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
- Position
- Pitcher
- Bats / Throws
- R / R
- Height / Weight
- 6'1" / 180 lb
- MLB Debut
- 1974-09-03
- Last Game
- 1986-05-01
- Awards
- All-Star · Rookie of the Year
Full name: John Joseph Montefusco
Season-by-Season Pitching
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1974 | SFN | NL | 3 | 2 | 7 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 39.1 | 41 | 21 | 19 | 34 | 4.81 | 3.63 (-32%) | 334.3 |
| 1975 | SFN | NL | 15 | 9 | 35 | 34 | 10 | 4 | 0 | 243.2 | 210 | 78 | 86 | 215 | 2.88 | 3.71 (+22%) | 7319.1 |
| 1976 | SFN | NL | 16 | 14 | 37 | 36 | 11 | 6 | 0 | 253.1 | 224 | 80 | 74 | 172 | 2.84 | 3.51 (+19%) | 5006.4 |
| 1977 | SFN | NL | 7 | 12 | 26 | 25 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 157.1 | 170 | 61 | 46 | 110 | 3.49 | 4.00 (+13%) | 3647.2 |
| 1978 | SFN | NL | 11 | 9 | 36 | 36 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 238.2 | 233 | 101 | 68 | 177 | 3.81 | 3.69 (-3%) | 1994.4 |
| 1979 | SFN | NL | 3 | 8 | 22 | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 137.0 | 145 | 60 | 51 | 76 | 3.94 | 4.00 (+2%) | -700.8 |
| 1980 | SFN | NL | 4 | 8 | 22 | 17 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 113.1 | 120 | 55 | 39 | 85 | 4.37 | 3.84 (-14%) | -613.2 |
| 1981 | ATL | NL | 2 | 3 | 26 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 77.1 | 75 | 30 | 27 | 34 | 3.49 | 3.58 (+3%) | -1349.0 |
| 1982 | SDN | NL | 10 | 11 | 32 | 32 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 184.1 | 177 | 82 | 41 | 83 | 4.00 | 3.86 (-4%) | 630.8 |
| 1983 | SDN | NL | 9 | 4 | 31 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 95.1 | 94 | 35 | 32 | 52 | 3.30 | 3.87 (+15%) | 854.4 |
| 1983 | NYA | AL | 5 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 38.0 | 39 | 14 | 10 | 15 | 3.32 | 3.87 (+14%) | 11.6 |
| 1984 | NYA | AL | 5 | 3 | 11 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 55.1 | 55 | 22 | 13 | 23 | 3.58 | 3.81 (+6%) | -82.5 |
| 1985 | NYA | AL | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7.0 | 12 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 10.29 | — | 0.0 |
| 1986 | NYA | AL | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12.1 | 9 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 2.19 | 3.97 (+45%) | -504.5 |
| Career · 14 seasons | 90 | 83 | 298 | 244 | 32 | 11 | 5 | 1,652.1 | 1,604 | 650 | 513 | 1,081 | 3.54 | — | 16,548 | ||
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 302 | 455 | 23 | 44 | 7 | 2 | 4 | 18 | 1 | 27 | 219 | .097 | .152 | .147 | .300 | -3,205 |
Career AVG .097 vs. league average .260 across their career seasons — 62.8% below league average.
Career OBP .152 vs. league average .325 across their career seasons — 53.1% below league average.
Career SLG .147 vs. league average .384 across their career seasons — 61.7% below league average.
Career OPS .300 vs. league average .709 across their career seasons — 57.8% below league average.
Season-by-Season Batting
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1974 | SFN | NL | 7 | 14 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 4 | .286 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1975 | SFN | NL | 35 | 80 | 4 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 44 | .087 | .257 (-66%) | .327 (-57%) | .374 (-60%) | .701 (-58%) | -740.4 |
| 1976 | SFN | NL | 38 | 78 | 3 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 42 | .103 | .255 (-60%) | .320 (-49%) | .360 (-68%) | .681 (-59%) | -699.4 |
| 1977 | SFN | NL | 26 | 49 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 24 | .122 | — | — | — | — | -402.9 |
| 1978 | SFN | NL | 37 | 70 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 32 | .057 | .257 (-78%) | .323 (-59%) | .378 (-81%) | .702 (-71%) | -770.3 |
| 1979 | SFN | NL | 24 | 42 | 3 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 11 | .167 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1980 | SFN | NL | 22 | 30 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 12 | .033 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1981 | ATL | NL | 26 | 15 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | .067 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1982 | SDN | NL | 32 | 58 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 30 | .086 | .261 (-67%) | .324 (-55%) | .388 (-73%) | .712 (-65%) | -592.5 |
| 1983 | SDN | NL | 31 | 19 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 11 | .053 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1983 | NYA | AL | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1984 | NYA | AL | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1985 | NYA | AL | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1986 | NYA | AL | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| Career · 14 seasons | 302 | 455 | 23 | 44 | 7 | 2 | 4 | 18 | 1 | 27 | 219 | .097 | — | — | — | — | -3,205 | ||
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 (600 games) →Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).
Batting — Home / Away
| Split | G | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 162 | 226 | 12 | 15 | 2 | 7 | .066 |
| Away | 140 | 229 | 11 | 29 | 2 | 11 | .127 |
Pitching — Home / Away
| Split | G | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 161 | 893.1 | 819 | 328 | 267 | 638 | 3.30 |
| Away | 137 | 759.0 | 785 | 322 | 246 | 443 | 3.82 |
Last 10 Games — Pitching
| Date | Tm | Opp | Dec | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1986-05-01 | NYY | MIN | — | 2.2 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 1986-04-26 | NYY | CLE | — | 5.2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1986-04-12 | NYY | MIL | — | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| 1986-04-09 | NYY | KCR | — | 3.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 1985-05-14 | NYY | MIN | — | 3.1 | 8 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 1985-05-07 | NYY | MIN | — | 3.1 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| 1985-04-29 | NYY | TEX | — | 0.1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1984-09-26 | NYY | BAL | W | 7.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 0 |
| 1984-09-21 | NYY | DET | W | 6.0 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 1 |
| 1984-09-15 | NYY | BOS | L | 7.2 | 10 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 1 |
Fielding Statistics
Career Fielding Totals by Position
Season-by-Season Fielding
| Year | Team | Pos | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1974 | SFN | P | 7 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 1975 | SFN | P | 35 | 34 | 11 | 25 | 1 | 0 |
| 1976 | SFN | P | 37 | 36 | 12 | 21 | 3 | 0 |
| 1977 | SFN | P | 26 | 25 | 10 | 12 | 1 | 0 |
| 1978 | SFN | P | 36 | 36 | 8 | 28 | 2 | 2 |
| 1979 | SFN | P | 22 | 22 | 9 | 20 | 1 | 2 |
| 1980 | SFN | P | 22 | 17 | 6 | 9 | 0 | 1 |
| 1981 | ATL | P | 26 | 9 | 6 | 12 | 1 | 1 |
| 1982 | SDN | P | 32 | 32 | 11 | 29 | 3 | 0 |
| 1983 | SDN | P | 31 | 10 | 3 | 13 | 3 | 0 |
| 1983 | NYA | P | 6 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 1984 | NYA | P | 11 | 11 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 1 |
| 1985 | NYA | P | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1986 | NYA | P | 4 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1 |
Career Games by Position
Circle size = games played at each position.
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| Pitcher | 298 |
Awards & Honors
| Year | Award | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1976 | Player of the Week | Week of 1976-10-01 |
| 1975 | Rookie of the Year | |
| 1975 | TSN Rookie Pitcher of the Year |
Salary History
John Montefusco's recorded salaries total $1,354,167 over 2 seasons, 1985 to 1986. This total is partial: the salary data covers 1985 to 2016, and Montefusco's career ran from 1974 to 1986. His seasons before 1985 are not included.
| Year | Team | League | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | NYA | AL | $716,667 |
| 1985 | NYA | AL | $637,500 |
| Total recorded salary (partial) | $1,354,167 | ||
College History
| School Name | City | State | Years Attended |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brookdale Community College | Lincroft | NJ | 1970, 1971, 1972 |
Award Voting History
| Year | Award | League | Finish | Points Won | Points Max | Votes First |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1975 | Cy Young Award | NL | 4th | 2.0 | 120 | 0 |
| 1975 | Rookie of the Year | NL | 1st | 12.0 | 24 | 12 |
Most Similar Players
Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.
John Montefusco (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.
Compare John Montefusco
John Montefusco: the record in brief
Between the debut on September 3, 1974 and the final game on May 1, 1986, John Montefusco built the record summarized on this page. Club by club, the record runs the San Francisco Giants (1974 to 1980), the Atlanta Braves (1981), the San Diego Padres (1982 through 1983), and the New York Yankees (1983 through 1986). Born on May 25, 1950, in Long Branch, NJ, USA, Montefusco is listed as a pitcher and both batted and threw right-handed. Montefusco's listed size is 6-foot-1 and 180 pounds. The bio lists the given name John Joseph.
Montefusco pitched in 298 games, starting 244, and finished with a 90-83 record and 3.54 ERA. Also on Montefusco's record: 1,081 strikeouts, 32 complete games, and 11 shutouts. Against a 3.81 league ERA for the same years, Montefusco was 7.0% better. No season topped the 16 wins of 1976. 1975 produced Montefusco's most strikeouts, 215. 1976 was Montefusco's sharpest full season, a 2.84 ERA against the league's 3.51.
Frequently Asked Questions about John Montefusco
- What years did John Montefusco play?
- John Montefusco played in Major League Baseball from 1974 to 1986.
- Was John Montefusco a pitcher?
- Yes. John Montefusco pitched in the major leagues, recording 90 wins and 1081 strikeouts.
- How many home runs did John Montefusco hit?
- John Montefusco hit 4 career home runs with 44 hits.
- What teams did John Montefusco play for?
- John Montefusco played for 4 teams: the San Francisco Giants (1974–1980), the Atlanta Braves (1981), the San Diego Padres (1982–1983), and the New York Yankees (1983–1986).
- Did John Montefusco win a Cy Young Award?
- No. John Montefusco did not win the Cy Young Award.
- What awards did John Montefusco win?
- John Montefusco won the Rookie of the Year award (1975). He was selected to 1 All-Star Game.
- What were John Montefusco's career stats?
- In 298 games, John Montefusco went 90-83 with a 3.54 ERA, 1,081 strikeouts, 1,652.1 innings pitched, and 5 saves. At the plate he had 44 hits and 4 home runs.
- How much did John Montefusco earn in his career?
- John Montefusco's recorded salaries total $1,354,167 over 2 seasons, 1985 to 1986. This total is partial: the salary data covers 1985 to 2016, and Montefusco's career ran from 1974 to 1986. His seasons before 1985 are not included.
- What was John Montefusco's salary?
- John Montefusco's last recorded salary was $716,667, in 1986. His highest recorded salary was $716,667, in 1986, and his lowest was $637,500, in 1985. The Salary History table lists each season from 1985 to 1986.
- What position did John Montefusco play?
- John Montefusco played primarily as a pitcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.
- How tall was John Montefusco and how much did he weigh?
- John Montefusco was listed at 6 feet 1 inch and 180 pounds.
- What was John Montefusco's career ERA?
- John Montefusco finished with a 3.54 career ERA, going 90-83 with 1,081 strikeouts.
- How many strikeouts did John Montefusco have?
- John Montefusco recorded 1,081 career strikeouts.
- Is John Montefusco in the Hall of Fame?
- No. John Montefusco has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.