Dan Plesac
Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1986-2003)
Dan Plesac was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1986 to 2003 for 6 teams, including the Milwaukee Brewers, a span of 18 seasons. Across 1,064 career appearances, he went 65-71 with a 3.64 ERA, 1,041 strikeouts, and 158 saves. Dan Plesac was a 3-time All-Star. His career Pitcher PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of pitching impact — is 20030.0.
- 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
- L / L
- Height / Weight
- 6'5" / 205 lb
- MLB Debut
- 1986-04-11
- Last Game
- 2003-09-28
- Awards
- 3× All-Star
Full name: Daniel Thomas Plesac
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | ML4 | AL | 10 | 7 | 51 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 91.0 | 81 | 30 | 29 | 75 | 2.97 | 3.97 (+25%) | 2733.6 |
| 1987 | ML4 | AL | 5 | 6 | 57 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 23 | 79.1 | 63 | 23 | 23 | 89 | 2.61 | 4.29 (+39%) | 2765.7 |
| 1988 | ML4 | AL | 1 | 2 | 50 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30 | 52.1 | 46 | 14 | 12 | 52 | 2.41 | 3.73 (+36%) | 2337.0 |
| 1989 | ML4 | AL | 3 | 4 | 52 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 33 | 61.1 | 47 | 16 | 17 | 52 | 2.35 | 3.71 (+37%) | 838.2 |
| 1990 | ML4 | AL | 3 | 7 | 66 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 69.0 | 67 | 34 | 31 | 65 | 4.43 | 3.86 (-15%) | 904.1 |
| 1991 | ML4 | AL | 2 | 7 | 45 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 92.1 | 92 | 44 | 39 | 61 | 4.29 | 3.91 (-10%) | -1563.5 |
| 1992 | ML4 | AL | 5 | 4 | 44 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 79.0 | 64 | 26 | 35 | 54 | 2.96 | 3.75 (+21%) | 127.6 |
| 1993 | CHN | NL | 2 | 1 | 57 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 62.2 | 74 | 33 | 21 | 47 | 4.74 | 4.19 (-13%) | -591.5 |
| 1994 | CHN | NL | 2 | 3 | 54 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 54.2 | 61 | 28 | 13 | 53 | 4.61 | 4.51 (-2%) | 568.2 |
| 1995 | PIT | NL | 4 | 4 | 58 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 60.1 | 53 | 24 | 27 | 57 | 3.58 | 4.45 (+20%) | 1830.4 |
| 1996 | PIT | NL | 6 | 5 | 73 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 70.1 | 67 | 32 | 24 | 76 | 4.09 | 4.61 (+11%) | 3277.6 |
| 1997 | TOR | AL | 2 | 4 | 73 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 50.1 | 47 | 20 | 19 | 61 | 3.58 | 4.39 (+19%) | 642.6 |
| 1998 | TOR | AL | 4 | 3 | 78 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 50.0 | 41 | 21 | 16 | 55 | 3.78 | 4.43 (+15%) | 1809.0 |
| 1999 | TOR | AL | 0 | 3 | 30 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22.2 | 28 | 21 | 9 | 26 | 8.34 | 4.71 (-77%) | 218.2 |
| 1999 | ARI | NL | 2 | 1 | 34 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 21.2 | 22 | 8 | 8 | 27 | 3.32 | 4.71 (+29%) | 630.6 |
| 2000 | ARI | NL | 5 | 1 | 62 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 40.0 | 34 | 14 | 26 | 45 | 3.15 | 4.77 (+34%) | 640.6 |
| 2001 | TOR | AL | 4 | 5 | 62 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 45.1 | 34 | 18 | 24 | 68 | 3.57 | 4.42 (+19%) | 1792.4 |
| 2002 | TOR | AL | 1 | 2 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13.1 | 11 | 5 | 6 | 14 | 3.38 | 4.28 (+21%) | 364.7 |
| 2002 | PHI | NL | 2 | 1 | 41 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 23.0 | 16 | 12 | 12 | 27 | 4.70 | 4.28 (-10%) | -418.3 |
| 2003 | PHI | NL | 2 | 1 | 58 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 33.1 | 29 | 10 | 11 | 37 | 2.70 | 4.40 (+39%) | 1122.8 |
| Career · 20 seasons | 65 | 71 | 1,064 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 158 | 1,072.0 | 977 | 433 | 402 | 1,041 | 3.64 | — | 20,030 | ||
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1,064 | 15 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | .067 | .067 | .067 | .133 | 0 |
Career AVG .067 vs. league average .263 across their career seasons — 74.7% below league average.
Career OBP .067 vs. league average .332 across their career seasons — 79.9% below league average.
Career SLG .067 vs. league average .410 across their career seasons — 83.7% below league average.
Career OPS .133 vs. league average .742 across their career seasons — 82.0% 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | ML4 | AL | 51 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1987 | ML4 | AL | 57 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1988 | ML4 | AL | 50 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1989 | ML4 | AL | 52 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1990 | ML4 | AL | 66 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1991 | ML4 | AL | 45 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1992 | ML4 | AL | 44 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1993 | CHN | NL | 57 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1994 | CHN | NL | 54 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1995 | PIT | NL | 58 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | .250 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1996 | PIT | NL | 73 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1997 | TOR | AL | 73 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1998 | TOR | AL | 78 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1999 | TOR | AL | 30 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1999 | ARI | NL | 34 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 2000 | ARI | NL | 62 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 2001 | TOR | AL | 62 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 2002 | TOR | AL | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 2002 | PHI | NL | 41 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 2003 | PHI | NL | 58 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| Career · 20 seasons | 1,064 | 15 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | .067 | — | — | — | — | 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 (2128 games) →Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).
Batting — Home / Away
| Split | G | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 515 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| Away | 549 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .100 |
Pitching — Home / Away
| Split | G | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 515 | 525.1 | 482 | 226 | 197 | 524 | 3.87 |
| Away | 549 | 546.2 | 495 | 207 | 205 | 517 | 3.41 |
Last 10 Games — Pitching
| Date | Tm | Opp | Dec | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003-09-28 | PHI | ATL | — | 0.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2003-09-23 | PHI | MIA | — | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2003-09-21 | PHI | CIN | — | 0.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2003-09-20 | PHI | CIN | — | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 2003-09-19 | PHI | CIN | — | 1.1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 |
| 2003-09-17 | PHI | MIA | — | 0.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2003-09-12 | PHI | PIT | — | 0.2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2003-09-06 | PHI | NYN | — | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2003-09-02 | PHI | WSN | SV | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2003-09-01 | PHI | BOS | — | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
Fielding Statistics
Career Fielding Totals by Position
Season-by-Season Fielding
| Year | Team | Pos | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | ML4 | P | 51 | 0 | 1 | 11 | 0 | 0 |
| 1987 | ML4 | P | 57 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 2 | 1 |
| 1988 | ML4 | P | 50 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| 1989 | ML4 | P | 52 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 0 |
| 1990 | ML4 | P | 66 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 1 |
| 1991 | ML4 | P | 45 | 10 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| 1992 | ML4 | P | 44 | 4 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 1 |
| 1993 | CHN | P | 57 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 1 | 2 |
| 1994 | CHN | P | 54 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 1995 | PIT | P | 58 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 1 |
| 1996 | PIT | P | 73 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1997 | TOR | P | 73 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1998 | TOR | P | 78 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1999 | TOR | P | 30 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 1999 | ARI | P | 34 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 2000 | ARI | P | 62 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 2001 | TOR | P | 62 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 2002 | TOR | P | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2002 | PHI | P | 41 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 2003 | PHI | P | 58 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
Career Games by Position
Circle size = games played at each position.
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| Pitcher | 1064 |
Salary History
| Year | Team | League | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | PHI | NL | $2,000,000 |
| 2002 | TOR | AL | $2,200,000 |
| 2001 | TOR | AL | $2,200,000 |
| 2000 | ARI | NL | $1,500,000 |
| 1999 | TOR | AL | $1,500,000 |
| 1998 | TOR | AL | $800,000 |
| 1997 | TOR | AL | $800,000 |
| 1996 | PIT | NL | $1,100,000 |
| 1995 | PIT | NL | $1,091,112 |
| 1994 | CHN | NL | $1,700,000 |
| 1993 | CHN | NL | $1,700,000 |
| 1992 | ML4 | AL | $2,766,667 |
| 1991 | ML4 | AL | $1,000,000 |
| 1990 | ML4 | AL | $1,466,667 |
| 1989 | ML4 | AL | $765,000 |
| 1988 | ML4 | AL | $275,000 |
| 1987 | ML4 | AL | $180,000 |
| 1986 | ML4 | AL | $60,000 |
| Total Career Earnings | $23,104,446 | ||
College History
| School Name | City | State | Years Attended |
|---|---|---|---|
| North Carolina State University | Raleigh | NC | 1981, 1982, 1983 |
Award Voting History
| Year | Award | League | Finish | Points Won | Points Max | Votes First |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 22th | 3.0 | 392 | 0 |
Most Similar Players
Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.
Dan Plesac (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.
Compare Dan Plesac
Dan Plesac: the record in brief
April 11, 1986 and September 28, 2003 bracket Dan Plesac's time in the majors: the debut and the last game on record. Plesac played for the Milwaukee Brewers (1986 through 1992), the Chicago Cubs (1993 to 1994), the Pittsburgh Pirates (1995 to 1996), the Toronto Blue Jays (1997 through 2002), the Arizona Diamondbacks (1999 through 2000), and the Philadelphia Phillies (2002 through 2003). Born on February 4, 1962, in Gary, IN, USA, Plesac is listed as a pitcher and both batted and threw left-handed. The bio gives 6'5" and 205 pounds. Dan Plesac was the playing name; the full given name is Daniel Thomas.
Plesac pitched in 1,064 games, starting 14, and finished with a 65-71 record and 3.64 ERA. Plesac had 1,041 strikeouts and 158 saves. Against a 4.25 league ERA for the same years, Plesac was 14.5% better. Plesac won 10 games in 1986, the most of any season listed. Plesac struck out 89 batters in 1987, a career high.
Frequently Asked Questions about Dan Plesac
- What years did Dan Plesac play?
- Dan Plesac played in Major League Baseball from 1986 to 2003.
- Was Dan Plesac a pitcher?
- Yes. Dan Plesac pitched in the major leagues, recording 65 wins and 1041 strikeouts.
- How many home runs did Dan Plesac hit?
- Dan Plesac hit 0 career home runs with 1 hits.
- What was Dan Plesac's career batting average?
- Dan Plesac batted .067 over his career, with 1 hits in 15 at bats.
- What was Dan Plesac's career ERA?
- Dan Plesac finished with a 3.64 career ERA, going 65-71 with 1,041 strikeouts.
- How many strikeouts did Dan Plesac have?
- Dan Plesac recorded 1,041 career strikeouts.