Scott Sanderson

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1978-1996)

W–L 163–143
ERA 3.84
WHIP 1.26
SO 1,611
Pitcher PIV 7051.1
Position
Pitcher
Bats / Throws
R / R
Height / Weight
6'5" / 195 lb
Born
7/22/1956 in Dearborn, MI, USA
Died
4/11/2019 in Lake Forest, IL, USA
MLB Debut
1978-08-06
Last Game
1996-05-15
Awards
All-Star

Full name: Scott Douglas Sanderson

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Career Pitching Statistics

W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
163 143 472 407 43 14 5 2561.7 2,590 1,093 297 625 1,611 3.84 7051.1

Career ERA 3.84 vs. league average 3.98 across their career seasons — near 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
1978 MON NL 4 2 10 9 1 1 0 61.0 52 17 21 50 2.51 3.69 (+32%) 1575.3
1979 MON NL 9 8 34 24 5 3 1 168.0 148 64 54 138 3.43 4.00 (+14%) 2853.7
1980 MON NL 16 11 33 33 7 3 0 211.3 206 73 56 125 3.11 3.84 (+19%) 1806.2
1981 MON NL 9 7 22 22 4 1 0 137.3 122 45 31 77 2.95 3.58 (+18%) 1620.4
1982 MON NL 12 12 32 32 7 0 0 224.0 212 86 58 158 3.46 3.86 (+11%) 2034.2
1983 MON NL 6 7 18 16 0 0 1 81.3 98 42 20 55 4.65 3.87 (-20%) -378.1
1984 CHN NL 8 5 24 24 3 0 0 140.7 140 49 24 76 3.14 3.81 (+18%) 4004.8
1985 CHN NL 5 6 19 19 2 0 0 121.0 100 42 27 80 3.12 3.89 (+20%) 1442.7
1986 CHN NL 9 11 37 28 1 1 1 169.7 165 79 37 124 4.19 3.97 (-5%) 1600.3
1987 CHN NL 8 9 32 22 0 0 2 144.7 156 69 50 106 4.29 4.29 (avg) -1005.4
1988 CHN NL 1 2 11 0 0 0 0 15.3 13 9 3 6 5.28 3.73 (-41%) 120.2
1989 CHN NL 11 9 37 23 2 0 0 146.3 155 64 31 86 3.94 3.71 (-6%) 93.9
1990 OAK AL 17 11 34 34 2 1 0 206.3 205 89 66 128 3.88 3.86 (-1%) -2193.3
1991 NYA AL 16 10 34 34 2 2 0 208.0 200 88 29 130 3.81 3.91 (+3%) 2543.0
1992 NYA AL 12 11 33 33 2 1 0 193.3 220 106 64 104 4.93 3.75 (-32%) -4348.8
1993 CAL AL 7 11 21 21 4 1 0 135.3 153 67 27 66 4.46 4.19 (-6%) 95.2
1993 SFN NL 4 2 11 8 0 0 0 48.7 48 19 7 36 3.51 4.19 (+16%) -1237.2
1994 CHA AL 8 4 18 14 1 0 0 92.0 110 52 12 36 5.09 4.51 (-13%) -2574.6
1995 CAL AL 1 3 7 7 0 0 0 39.3 48 18 4 23 4.12 4.45 (+7%) 76.0
1996 CAL AL 0 2 5 4 0 0 0 18.0 39 15 4 7 7.50 4.61 (-63%) -1077.3
Career · 20 seasons 163 143 472 407 43 14 5 2,561.2 2,590 1,093 625 1,611 3.84 — 7,051

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
473 474 20 46 13 0 2 26 0 26 224 .097 .150 .137 .288 -2,100

Career AVG .097 vs. league average .261 across their career seasons — 62.8% below league average.

Career OBP .150 vs. league average .327 across their career seasons — 54.0% below league average.

Career SLG .137 vs. league average .393 across their career seasons — 65.1% below league average.

Career OPS .288 vs. league average .720 across their career seasons — 60.1% 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
1978 MON NL 10 19 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 11 .105 — — — — 0.0
1979 MON NL 34 50 0 8 2 0 0 1 0 0 23 .160 .265 (-40%) .329 (-51%) .397 (-50%) .727 (-51%) -407.8
1980 MON NL 33 64 3 5 3 0 0 1 0 2 33 .078 .264 (-70%) .326 (-68%) .387 (-68%) .714 (-68%) -689.9
1981 MON NL 22 35 2 4 2 0 0 6 0 9 18 .114 — — — — 0.0
1982 MON NL 32 57 5 8 3 0 1 6 0 2 20 .140 .261 (-46%) .324 (-43%) .388 (-37%) .712 (-40%) -366.2
1983 MON NL 18 28 1 4 2 0 0 1 0 0 8 .143 — — — — 0.0
1984 CHN NL 24 42 3 5 0 0 0 5 0 3 18 .119 — — — — 0.0
1985 CHN NL 19 31 1 2 0 0 0 1 0 1 17 .065 — — — — 0.0
1986 CHN NL 38 51 1 3 1 0 0 2 0 0 23 .059 .257 (-77%) .325 (-76%) .395 (-80%) .720 (-78%) -635.8
1987 CHN NL 32 40 2 3 0 0 1 2 0 3 20 .075 — — — — 0.0
1988 CHN NL 11 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1989 CHN NL 37 43 1 2 0 0 0 1 0 5 22 .047 — — — — 0.0
1990 OAK AL 34 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1991 NYA AL 34 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1992 NYA AL 33 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1993 CAL AL 21 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1993 SFN NL 11 14 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 11 .000 — — — — 0.0
1994 CHA AL 18 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1995 CAL AL 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1996 CAL AL 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
Career · 20 seasons 473 474 20 46 13 0 2 26 0 26 224 .097 — — — — -2,100

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
5 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 .000

Playoff Batting by Year

Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1990 WS OAK 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1989 NLCS CHN 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1984 NLCS CHN 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000
1981 NEDIV MON 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000

Playoff Career Pitching

W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
0 0 5 2 0 11.0 16 7 4 5 5.73

Playoff Pitching by Year

Year Round Team W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
1990 WS OAK 0 0 2 0 0 1.7 4 2 1 0 10.80
1989 NLCS CHN 0 0 1 0 0 2.0 2 0 0 1 0.00
1984 NLCS CHN 0 0 1 1 0 4.7 6 3 1 2 5.79
1981 NEDIV MON 0 0 1 1 0 2.7 4 2 2 2 6.75

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (945 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home2332201022113.100
Away2402541024113.094

Pitching — Home / Away

SplitGIPHERBBSOERA
Home2321288.012395203218553.63
Away2401273.213515733047564.05

Last 10 Games — Pitching

DateTmOppDecIPHRERBBSOHR
1996-05-15 LAABOS — 2.1542010
1996-05-11 LAACLE L 4.11262232
1996-04-24 LAAMIL — 3.0722000
1996-04-18 LAATOR — 3.1633121
1996-04-13 LAADET L 5.0966112
1995-05-31 LAABAL L 6.0843032
1995-05-26 LAABOS — 5.1422120
1995-05-20 LAACHW — 7.0854052
1995-05-15 LAAMIN L 3.2965161
1995-05-10 LAATEX W 7.0611020

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position G GS PO A E DP
P 472 407 153 264 18 14

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1978 MON P 10 9 2 6 1 0
1979 MON P 34 24 9 13 1 1
1980 MON P 33 33 14 21 1 0
1981 MON P 22 22 6 14 0 0
1982 MON P 32 32 13 16 1 1
1983 MON P 18 16 4 6 2 0
1984 CHN P 24 24 11 24 1 0
1985 CHN P 19 19 11 21 0 2
1986 CHN P 37 28 11 20 2 0
1987 CHN P 32 22 10 14 2 3
1988 CHN P 11 0 0 1 0 0
1989 CHN P 37 23 10 12 0 1
1990 OAK P 34 34 11 18 2 2
1991 NYA P 34 34 15 13 1 0
1992 NYA P 33 33 4 18 2 1
1993 CAL P 21 21 11 15 2 1
1993 SFN P 11 8 2 8 0 0
1994 CHA P 18 14 4 17 0 1
1995 CAL P 7 7 3 4 0 1
1996 CAL P 5 4 2 3 0 0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Position Games
Pitcher 472

Salary History

Year Team League Salary
1996 CAL AL $200,000
1995 CAL AL $250,000
1994 CHA AL $350,000
1993 CAL AL $800,000
1993 NYA AL $250,000
1992 NYA AL $2,125,000
1991 NYA AL $2,125,000
1990 OAK AL $750,000
1989 CHN NL $800,000
1988 CHN NL $950,000
1987 CHN NL $850,000
1986 CHN NL $800,000
1985 CHN NL $500,000
Total Career Earnings $10,750,000

College History

School Name City State Years Attended
Vanderbilt University Nashville TN 1976, 1977

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Scott Sanderson (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Doug Drabek
    155-134, 3.73 ERA
  2. 87
    Bill Gullickson
    162-136, 3.93 ERA
  3. 86
    Jimmy Key
    186-117, 3.51 ERA
  4. 82
    Bronson Arroyo
    148-137, 4.28 ERA
  5. 77
    Frank Viola
    176-150, 3.73 ERA
  6. 77
    Burt Hooton
    151-136, 3.38 ERA

Frequently Asked Questions about Scott Sanderson

What years did Scott Sanderson play?
Scott Sanderson played in Major League Baseball from 1978 to 1996.
Was Scott Sanderson a pitcher?
Yes. Scott Sanderson pitched in the major leagues, recording 163 wins and 1611 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Scott Sanderson hit?
Scott Sanderson hit 2 career home runs with 46 hits.