John Russell

Catcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1984-1993)

John Russell was a catcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1984 to 1993 for the Philadelphia Phillies, the Atlanta Braves, and the Texas Rangers, a span of 10 seasons. In 448 career games, he hit .225 with 245 hits, 34 home runs, and 129 RBI.

AVG (Batting Average):
Hits divided by at bats. .300 is the traditional mark of an excellent hitter.
HR (Home Runs):
Hits on which the batter circled the bases and scored, almost always by clearing the outfield fence.
RBI (Runs Batted In):
Runs that scored as a direct result of a batter's plate appearance.
OPS (On-Base Plus Slugging):
On-base percentage plus slugging percentage, the quickest single summary of offensive value. .900 or better is star-level.

Data updated

AVG .225
HR 34
RBI 129
H 245
OPS .653
PIV -1,225
Position
Catcher
Bats / Throws
R / R
Height / Weight
6'0" / 200 lb
Born
1/5/1961 in Oklahoma City, OK, USA
MLB Debut
1984-06-22
Last Game
1993-10-02

Full name: John William Russell

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Career Batting Statistics

John Russell — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
448 1,087 113 245 50 3 34 129 3 84 355 .225 .282 .371 .653 -1,225

Career AVG .225 vs. league average .258 across their career seasons — 12.7% below league average.

Career OBP .282 vs. league average .324 across their career seasons — 13.0% below league average.

Career SLG .371 vs. league average .389 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career OPS .653 vs. league average .714 across their career seasons — 8.5% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

John Russell (b. 1961) 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
1984 PHI NL 39 99 11 28 8 1 2 11 0 12 33 .283 .259 (+9%) .322 (+9%) .384 (+16%) .707 (+12%) 187.4
1985 PHI NL 81 216 22 47 12 0 9 23 2 18 72 .218 .257 (-15%) .323 (-14%) .390 (+2%) .714 (-5%) -218.3
1986 PHI NL 93 315 35 76 21 2 13 60 0 25 103 .241 .257 (-6%) .325 (-8%) .395 (+12%) .720 (+3%) 66.4
1987 PHI NL 24 62 5 9 1 0 3 8 0 3 17 .145 .262 (-45%) .331 (-44%) .415 (-26%) .746 (-34%) -361.7
1988 PHI NL 22 49 5 12 1 0 2 4 0 3 15 .245 — — — — -4.3
1989 ATL NL 74 159 14 29 2 0 2 9 0 8 53 .182 .254 (-28%) .319 (-30%) .375 (-38%) .694 (-34%) -838.6
1990 TEX AL 68 128 16 35 4 0 2 8 1 11 41 .273 .257 (+6%) .324 (+2%) .385 (-9%) .710 (-4%) -55.5
1991 TEX AL 22 27 3 3 0 0 0 1 0 1 7 .111 — — — — 0.0
1992 TEX AL 7 10 1 1 0 0 0 2 0 1 4 .100 — — — — 0.0
1993 TEX AL 18 22 1 5 1 0 1 3 0 2 10 .227 — — — — 0.0
Career · 10 seasons 448 1,087 113 245 50 3 34 129 3 84 355 .225 — — — — -1,225

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 Pitching Statistics

John Russell — Career Pitching Statistics
W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0.1 0 0 0 0 0 0.00 0.0

Career ERA 0.00 vs. league average 3.71 across their career seasons — 100.0% better than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

John Russell — Season-by-Season Pitching
Year Team Lg W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER BB SO ERA Lg ERA Pitcher PIV
1989 ATL NL 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0.1 0 0 0 0 0.00 — 0.0
Career · 1 season 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0.1 0 0 0 0 0.00 — 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 (449 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

John Russell — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home234546641371976.251
Away214541491081553.200

Pitching — Home / Away

John Russell — Pitching — Home / Away
SplitGIPHERBBSOERA
Home10.100000.00

Last 10 Games — Batting

John Russell — Last 10 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1993-10-02 TEXKCRL 100000001
1993-09-26 TEXCHWL 100000001
1993-09-22 TEXSEAL 301100100
1993-09-21 TEXSEAL 400000002
1993-09-18 TEXLAAW 000000000
1993-09-07 TEXNYYW 101000100
1993-08-03 TEXCHWL 100000001
1993-08-02 TEXCHWW 000000010
1993-08-01 TEXOAKL 100000000
1993-07-31 TEXOAKW 000000000

Last 1 Games — Pitching

John Russell — Last 1 Games — Pitching
DateTmOppDecIPHRERBBSOHR
1989-06-25 ATLHOU — 0.1000000

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

John Russell — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
1B 24 18 137 5 4 6
3B 4 0 0 3 0 0
C 209 150 972 85 23 14
OF 119 92 147 7 4 1
P 1 0 0 0 0 0

Season-by-Season Fielding

John Russell — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1984 PHI C 2 0 1 0 0 0
1984 PHI OF 29 25 50 1 0 0
1985 PHI 1B 18 14 114 5 4 6
1985 PHI OF 49 46 56 4 0 1
1986 PHI C 89 82 498 39 13 10
1987 PHI C 7 5 28 0 0 0
1987 PHI OF 10 10 20 1 1 0
1988 PHI C 15 12 77 9 5 3
1989 ATL 1B 2 1 6 0 0 0
1989 ATL 3B 2 0 0 3 0 0
1989 ATL C 45 29 178 24 2 1
1989 ATL OF 14 7 12 1 2 0
1989 ATL P 1 0 0 0 0 0
1990 TEX 1B 3 2 8 0 0 0
1990 TEX 3B 1 0 0 0 0 0
1990 TEX C 31 16 135 11 3 0
1990 TEX OF 6 1 5 0 0 0
1991 TEX C 5 2 20 0 0 0
1991 TEX OF 8 3 4 0 0 0
1992 TEX C 4 2 14 2 0 0
1992 TEX OF 2 0 0 0 1 0
1993 TEX 1B 1 1 9 0 0 0
1993 TEX 3B 1 0 0 0 0 0
1993 TEX C 11 2 21 0 0 0
1993 TEX OF 1 0 0 0 0 0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

John Russell (b. 1961) Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position Games
Pitcher 1
Catcher 209
First Base 24
Third Base 4
Left Field 88
Right Field 35
Designated Hitter 25

Salary History

John Russell's recorded salaries total $565,000 over 4 seasons, 1986 to 1993. This total is partial: the salary data covers 1985 to 2016, and Russell's career ran from 1984 to 1993. His seasons before 1985 are not included, and no salary is recorded for 5 of his seasons between 1985 and 2016.

John Russell — Salary History
Year Team League Salary
1993 TEX AL $170,000
1989 ATL NL $145,000
1988 PHI NL $150,000
1986 PHI NL $100,000
Total recorded salary (partial) $565,000

College History

John Russell — College History
School Name City State Years Attended
University of Oklahoma Norman OK 1980, 1981, 1982

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

John Russell (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Luis Torrens
    .228 avg, 36 HR
  2. 95
    Cal Neeman
    .224 avg, 30 HR
  3. 93
    Hank Conger
    .221 avg, 31 HR
  4. 90
    Chad Moeller
    .226 avg, 29 HR
  5. 85
    Ray Katt
    .232 avg, 32 HR
  6. 85
    Josh Phegley
    .225 avg, 35 HR

John Russell: the record in brief

The profile opens with John Russell's first major league game on June 22, 1984; the last one listed came on October 2, 1993. The season rows list, in order, the Philadelphia Phillies (1984 through 1988), the Atlanta Braves (1989), and the Texas Rangers (1990 to 1993). Born on January 5, 1961, in Oklahoma City, OK, USA, Russell is listed as a catcher and threw and hit right-handed. Size on record: 6'0" and 200 pounds. Russell's full given name, per the bio, is John William Russell.

Russell collected 245 hits in 1,087 at bats across 448 games, good for a .225 batting average, along with 34 homers and 129 runs batted in. The on-base percentage is .282 and the slugging percentage .371, for an OPS of .653. Over the seasons Russell played, league hitters batted .258; the .225 career figure is 12.7% below that. The OPS comparison is .653 to a league .714, 8.5% below average. The single-season home run high is 13, set in 1986.

Frequently Asked Questions about John Russell

What years did John Russell play?
John Russell played in Major League Baseball from 1984 to 1993.
Was John Russell a pitcher?
No. John Russell was a position player (Catcher), though he did pitch in 1 career game.
How many home runs did John Russell hit?
John Russell hit 34 career home runs with 245 hits.
What teams did John Russell play for?
John Russell played for 3 teams: the Philadelphia Phillies (1984–1988), the Atlanta Braves (1989), and the Texas Rangers (1990–1993).
What were John Russell's career stats?
In 448 games, John Russell had 245 hits, 34 home runs, 129 RBI, 113 runs, and 3 stolen bases, with a .225 batting average.
How much did John Russell earn in his career?
John Russell's recorded salaries total $565,000 over 4 seasons, 1986 to 1993. This total is partial: the salary data covers 1985 to 2016, and Russell's career ran from 1984 to 1993. His seasons before 1985 are not included, and no salary is recorded for 5 of his seasons between 1985 and 2016.
What was John Russell's salary?
John Russell's last recorded salary was $170,000, in 1993. His highest recorded salary was $170,000, in 1993, and his lowest was $100,000, in 1986. The Salary History table lists each season from 1986 to 1993.
What position did John Russell play?
John Russell played primarily as a catcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.
How tall was John Russell and how much did he weigh?
John Russell was listed at 6 feet and 200 pounds.
How many home runs did John Russell hit each season?
John Russell's home runs by season: 2 in 1984, 9 in 1985, 13 in 1986, 3 in 1987, 2 in 1988, 2 in 1989, 2 in 1990, 0 in 1991, 0 in 1992, and 1 in 1993. His most in one season was 13, in 1986.
What was John Russell's career batting average?
John Russell batted .225 over his career, with 245 hits in 1,087 at bats.
How many RBI did John Russell have?
John Russell drove in 129 runs in his career.
What was John Russell's career ERA?
John Russell finished with a 0.00 career ERA, going 0-0 with 0 strikeouts.
Is John Russell in the Hall of Fame?
No. John Russell has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.