Joe Sambito

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1976-1987)

W–L 37–38
ERA 3.03
WHIP 1.20
SO 489
Pitcher PIV 11636.5
Position
Pitcher
Bats / Throws
L / L
Height / Weight
6'1" / 185 lb
Born
6/28/1952 in Brooklyn, NY, USA
MLB Debut
1976-07-20
Last Game
1987-10-03
Awards
All-Star

Full name: Joseph Charles Sambito

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Career Pitching Statistics

W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
37 38 461 5 1 1 84 629.0 562 212 48 195 489 3.03 11636.5

Career ERA 3.03 vs. league average 3.87 across their career seasons — 21.6% better than 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
1976 HOU NL 3 2 20 4 1 1 1 53.3 45 21 14 26 3.54 3.51 (-1%) 126.8
1977 HOU NL 5 5 54 1 0 0 7 89.0 77 23 24 67 2.33 4.00 (+42%) 2448.6
1978 HOU NL 4 9 62 0 0 0 11 88.0 85 30 32 96 3.07 3.69 (+17%) 3257.6
1979 HOU NL 8 7 63 0 0 0 22 91.3 80 18 23 83 1.77 4.00 (+56%) 2470.1
1980 HOU NL 8 4 64 0 0 0 17 90.3 65 22 22 75 2.19 3.84 (+43%) 3499.2
1981 HOU NL 5 5 49 0 0 0 10 63.7 43 13 22 41 1.84 3.58 (+49%) 521.8
1982 HOU NL 0 0 9 0 0 0 4 12.7 7 1 2 7 0.71 3.86 (+82%) 564.5
1984 HOU NL 0 0 32 0 0 0 0 47.7 39 16 16 26 3.02 3.81 (+21%) -282.3
1985 NYN NL 0 0 8 0 0 0 0 10.7 21 15 8 3 12.66 3.89 (-225%) -452.6
1986 BOS AL 2 0 53 0 0 0 12 44.7 54 24 16 30 4.84 3.97 (-22%) 193.4
1987 BOS AL 2 6 47 0 0 0 0 37.7 46 29 16 35 6.93 4.29 (-61%) -710.5
Career · 11 seasons 37 38 461 5 1 1 84 629.0 562 212 195 489 3.03 — 11,637

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
462 52 4 7 1 0 0 4 0 10 19 .135 .274 .154 .428 0

Career AVG .135 vs. league average .260 across their career seasons — 48.3% below league average.

Career OBP .274 vs. league average .325 across their career seasons — 15.7% below league average.

Career SLG .154 vs. league average .389 across their career seasons — 60.5% below league average.

Career OPS .428 vs. league average .714 across their career seasons — 40.1% 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
1976 HOU NL 20 9 1 2 0 0 0 1 0 3 2 .222 — — — — 0.0
1977 HOU NL 54 13 1 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 6 .154 — — — — 0.0
1978 HOU NL 62 6 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 .167 — — — — 0.0
1979 HOU NL 63 7 1 2 1 0 0 2 0 5 0 .286 — — — — 0.0
1980 HOU NL 64 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 5 .000 — — — — 0.0
1981 HOU NL 49 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 .000 — — — — 0.0
1982 HOU NL 10 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000 — — — — 0.0
1984 HOU NL 32 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1985 NYN NL 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1986 BOS AL 53 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1987 BOS AL 47 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
Career · 11 seasons 462 52 4 7 1 0 0 4 0 10 19 .135 — — — — 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.

Postseason Statistics

Playoff Career Batting

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
10 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000

Playoff Batting by Year

Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1986 ALCS BOS 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1986 WS BOS 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1981 NWDIV HOU 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1980 NLCS HOU 3 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 10 0 0 6.3 12 6 7 8 8.53

Playoff Pitching by Year

Year Round Team W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
1986 ALCS BOS 0 0 3 0 0 0.7 1 0 1 0 0.00
1986 WS BOS 0 0 2 0 0 0.3 2 1 2 0 27.00
1981 NWDIV HOU 1 0 2 0 0 1.7 5 3 2 2 16.20
1980 NLCS HOU 0 1 3 0 0 3.7 4 2 2 6 4.91

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (923 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home221283402.143
Away241241302.125

Pitching — Home / Away

SplitGIPHERBBSOERA
Home221321.127583792402.32
Away240307.22871291162493.77

Last 10 Games — Pitching

DateTmOppDecIPHRERBBSOHR
1987-10-03 BOSMIL — 1.0100010
1987-09-28 BOSNYY L 0.0111000
1987-09-24 BOSMIL L 0.1111000
1987-09-22 BOSDET — 1.0100010
1987-09-10 BOSBAL W 1.0211000
1987-09-05 BOSCLE — 1.1644210
1987-08-19 BOSCHW — 0.2100000
1987-08-18 BOSCHW — 1.1222021
1987-08-17 BOSCHW — 0.1000010
1987-08-11 BOSTOR — 0.2211000

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position G GS PO A E DP
P 461 5 35 104 9 13

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1976 HOU P 20 4 4 10 0 1
1977 HOU P 54 1 4 17 2 1
1978 HOU P 62 0 6 16 2 3
1979 HOU P 63 0 5 14 2 2
1980 HOU P 64 0 7 13 2 2
1981 HOU P 49 0 5 12 0 2
1982 HOU P 9 0 0 4 1 1
1984 HOU P 32 0 1 3 0 0
1985 NYN P 8 0 1 3 0 0
1986 BOS P 53 0 1 8 0 1
1987 BOS P 47 0 1 4 0 0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Position Games
Pitcher 461

Awards & Honors

Year Award Notes
1980 Player of the Week Week of 1980-08-22

Salary History

Year Team League Salary
1987 BOS AL $360,000
1986 BOS AL $500,000
Total Career Earnings $860,000

Award Voting History

Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
1980 Cy Young Award NL 5th 1.0 120 0
1979 Most Valuable Player NL 21th 9.0 336 0

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Joe Sambito (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Joe Hoerner
    39-34, 2.99 ERA
  2. 93
    Al Holland
    34-30, 2.98 ERA
  3. 87
    Steve Hamilton
    40-31, 3.05 ERA
  4. 76
    Eddie Watt
    38-36, 2.91 ERA
  5. 74
    Tom Niedenfuer
    36-46, 3.29 ERA
  6. 72
    Tim Burke
    49-33, 2.72 ERA

Frequently Asked Questions about Joe Sambito

What years did Joe Sambito play?
Joe Sambito played in Major League Baseball from 1976 to 1987.
Was Joe Sambito a pitcher?
Yes. Joe Sambito pitched in the major leagues, recording 37 wins and 489 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Joe Sambito hit?
Joe Sambito hit 0 career home runs with 7 hits.