C. J. Nitkowski

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1995-2005)

C. J. Nitkowski was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1995 to 2005 for 8 teams, including the Cincinnati Reds, a span of 11 seasons. Across 336 career appearances, he went 18-32 with a 5.37 ERA and 347 strikeouts.

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

W–L 18–32
ERA 5.37
WHIP 1.63
SO 347
Pitcher PIV -6306.5
Position
Pitcher
Bats / Throws
L / L
Height / Weight
6'2" / 185 lb
Born
3/9/1973 in Suffern, NY, USA
MLB Debut
1995-06-03
Last Game
2005-06-07

Full name: Christopher John Nitkowski

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Career Pitching Statistics

C. J. Nitkowski — Career Pitching Statistics
W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
18 32 336 44 0 0 3 479.0 519 286 57 263 347 5.37 -6306.5

Career ERA 5.37 vs. league average 4.48 across their career seasons — 19.9% worse than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

C. J. Nitkowski Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year Team Lg W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER BB SO ERA Lg ERA Pitcher PIV
1995 CIN NL 1 3 9 7 0 0 0 32.1 41 22 15 18 6.12 4.45 (-38%) -585.5
1995 DET AL 1 4 11 11 0 0 0 39.1 53 31 20 13 7.09 4.45 (-59%) -2024.7
1996 DET AL 2 3 11 8 0 0 0 45.2 62 41 38 36 8.08 4.61 (-75%) -2206.7
1998 HOU NL 3 3 43 0 0 0 3 59.2 49 25 23 44 3.77 4.43 (+15%) 661.0
1999 DET AL 4 5 68 7 0 0 0 81.2 63 39 45 66 4.30 4.71 (+9%) -660.4
2000 DET AL 4 9 67 11 0 0 0 109.2 124 64 49 81 5.25 4.77 (-10%) 341.2
2001 DET AL 0 3 56 0 0 0 0 45.1 51 28 31 38 5.56 4.42 (-26%) -1524.2
2001 NYN NL 1 0 5 0 0 0 0 5.2 3 0 3 4 0.00 — 0.0
2002 TEX AL 0 1 12 0 0 0 0 13.2 11 4 13 14 2.63 4.28 (+38%) 175.1
2003 TEX AL 0 0 6 0 0 0 0 9.2 17 8 8 5 7.45 4.40 (-69%) 0.0
2004 ATL NL 1 0 22 0 0 0 0 20.0 22 10 10 16 4.50 4.46 (-1%) -367.3
2004 NYA AL 1 1 19 0 0 0 0 13.0 18 11 6 10 7.62 4.46 (-71%) -115.0
2005 WAS NL 0 0 7 0 0 0 0 3.1 5 3 2 2 8.10 — 0.0
Career · 13 seasons 18 32 336 44 0 0 3 479.0 519 286 263 347 5.37 — -6,306

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

C. J. Nitkowski — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
337 15 1 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 10 .133 .133 .133 .267 0

Career AVG .133 vs. league average .266 across their career seasons — 50.0% below league average.

Career OBP .133 vs. league average .336 across their career seasons — 60.4% below league average.

Career SLG .133 vs. league average .425 across their career seasons — 68.6% below league average.

Career OPS .267 vs. league average .761 across their career seasons — 65.0% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

C. J. Nitkowski Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year Team Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG Lg AVG Lg OBP Lg SLG Lg OPS PIV
1995 CIN NL 9 10 1 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 6 .200 — — — — 0.0
1995 DET AL 11 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1996 DET AL 11 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1998 HOU NL 43 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 .000 — — — — 0.0
1999 DET AL 69 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000 — — — — 0.0
2000 DET AL 67 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
2001 DET AL 56 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
2001 NYN NL 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
2002 TEX AL 12 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
2003 TEX AL 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
2004 ATL NL 22 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
2004 NYA AL 19 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
2005 WAS NL 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
Career · 13 seasons 337 15 1 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 10 .133 — — — — 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 (673 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

C. J. Nitkowski — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home16460101.167
Away17391100.111

Pitching — Home / Away

C. J. Nitkowski — Pitching — Home / Away
SplitGIPHERBBSOERA
Home163229.22621371241805.37
Away173249.12571491391675.38

Last 10 Games — Pitching

C. J. Nitkowski — Last 10 Games — Pitching
DateTmOppDecIPHRERBBSOHR
2005-06-07 WASOAK — 0.0100100
2005-06-05 WASMIA — 0.0100000
2005-06-04 WASMIA — 1.1000010
2005-06-01 WASATL — 1.0000010
2005-05-31 WASATL — 0.2122100
2005-05-29 WASSTL — 0.0100000
2005-05-27 WASSTL — 0.1111000
2004-10-01 NYYTOR — 1.0000030
2004-09-26 NYYBOS — 1.0100120
2004-09-25 NYYBOS — 0.0122000

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

C. J. Nitkowski — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
P 336 44 23 84 7 5

Season-by-Season Fielding

C. J. Nitkowski — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1995 CIN P 9 7 3 2 1 0
1995 DET P 11 11 2 6 1 0
1996 DET P 11 8 2 5 0 0
1998 HOU P 43 0 1 10 0 2
1999 DET P 68 7 5 17 3 0
2000 DET P 67 11 7 21 1 2
2001 DET P 56 0 2 7 0 0
2001 NYN P 5 0 0 1 0 0
2002 TEX P 12 0 0 2 0 0
2003 TEX P 6 0 0 5 0 1
2004 ATL P 22 0 1 3 1 0
2004 NYA P 19 0 0 3 0 0
2005 WAS P 7 0 0 2 0 0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

C. J. Nitkowski Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position Games
Pitcher 336
Designated Hitter 1

Salary History

C. J. Nitkowski's recorded salaries total $3,669,000 over 7 seasons, 1995 to 2004. This total is partial: the salary data covers 1985 to 2016, and Nitkowski's career ran from 1995 to 2005. No salary is recorded for 1996, 2002, and 2005.

C. J. Nitkowski — Salary History
Year Team League Salary
2004 ATL NL $375,000
2003 TEX AL $550,000
2001 DET AL $1,200,000
2000 DET AL $950,000
1999 DET AL $300,000
1998 HOU NL $185,000
1995 CIN NL $109,000
Total recorded salary (partial) $3,669,000

College History

C. J. Nitkowski — College History
School Name City State Years Attended
St. John's University Queens NY 1993, 1994

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

C. J. Nitkowski (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Brian Williams
    26-38, 5.37 ERA
  2. 90
    Dan McGinn
    15-30, 5.11 ERA
  3. 84
    Wil Ledezma
    15-25, 5.40 ERA
  4. 84
    Dana Eveland
    20-28, 5.46 ERA
  5. 82
    Seth McClung
    26-34, 5.46 ERA
  6. 76
    Mike Mohler
    14-27, 4.99 ERA

C. J. Nitkowski: the record in brief

Between the debut on June 3, 1995 and the final game on June 7, 2005, C. J. Nitkowski built the record summarized on this page. The season rows list, in order, the Cincinnati Reds (1995), the Detroit Tigers (1995 to 2001), the Houston Astros (1998), the New York Mets (2001), the Texas Rangers (2002 to 2003), the Atlanta Braves (2004), the New York Yankees (2004), and the Washington Nationals (2005). The bio lists Nitkowski as a pitcher who threw and hit left-handed. Height and weight on file: 6'2" and 185 pounds. Nitkowski was born on March 9, 1973, in Suffern, NY, USA. On the record, C. J. Nitkowski was born Christopher John Nitkowski.

Nitkowski went 18-32 with a 5.37 ERA in 336 games, 44 of them starts. Also on Nitkowski's record: 347 strikeouts. Against a 4.48 league ERA for the same seasons, the 5.37 mark was 19.9% worse. 2000 produced Nitkowski's most strikeouts, 81. 1999 was Nitkowski's sharpest full season, a 4.30 ERA against the league's 4.71.

Frequently Asked Questions about C. J. Nitkowski

What years did C. J. Nitkowski play?
C. J. Nitkowski played in Major League Baseball from 1995 to 2005.
Was C. J. Nitkowski a pitcher?
Yes. C. J. Nitkowski pitched in the major leagues, recording 18 wins and 347 strikeouts.
How many home runs did C. J. Nitkowski hit?
C. J. Nitkowski hit 0 career home runs with 2 hits.
What teams did C. J. Nitkowski play for?
C. J. Nitkowski played for 8 teams: the Cincinnati Reds (1995), the Detroit Tigers (1995–1996, 1999–2001), the Houston Astros (1998), the New York Mets (2001), the Texas Rangers (2002–2003), the Atlanta Braves (2004), the New York Yankees (2004), and the Washington Nationals (2005).
What were C. J. Nitkowski's career stats?
In 336 games, C. J. Nitkowski went 18-32 with a 5.37 ERA, 347 strikeouts, 479.0 innings pitched, and 3 saves.
How much did C. J. Nitkowski earn in his career?
C. J. Nitkowski's recorded salaries total $3,669,000 over 7 seasons, 1995 to 2004. This total is partial: the salary data covers 1985 to 2016, and Nitkowski's career ran from 1995 to 2005. No salary is recorded for 1996, 2002, and 2005.
What was C. J. Nitkowski's salary?
C. J. Nitkowski's last recorded salary was $375,000, in 2004. His highest recorded salary was $1,200,000, in 2001, and his lowest was $109,000, in 1995. The Salary History table lists each season from 1995 to 2004.
What position did C. J. Nitkowski play?
C. J. Nitkowski played primarily as a pitcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.
How tall was C. J. Nitkowski and how much did he weigh?
C. J. Nitkowski was listed at 6 feet 2 inches and 185 pounds.
What was C. J. Nitkowski's career ERA?
C. J. Nitkowski finished with a 5.37 career ERA, going 18-32 with 347 strikeouts.
How many strikeouts did C. J. Nitkowski have?
C. J. Nitkowski recorded 347 career strikeouts.
Is C. J. Nitkowski in the Hall of Fame?
No. C. J. Nitkowski has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.