Joe Saunders
Born: 6/16/1981 in Falls Church, VA, USA
MLB Debut: 2005-08-16 | Final Game: 2014-09-26
Bats: L | Throws: L | Height: 6'3" | Weight: 215 lbs
Full name: Joseph Francis Saunders
Biography
Joe Saunders, born in 1981, was a professional baseball pitcher who enjoyed a career spanning nearly a decade from 2005 to 2014. He was known for his consistency on the mound, finishing his career with a record of 89 wins and 86 losses, accompanied by an earned run average (ERA) of 4.37. Throughout his time in Major League Baseball, Saunders struck out 792 batters, showcasing his ability to overpower hitters while maintaining a competitive edge in games. He was selected as an All-Star once during his career, a testament to his performance and recognition among peers.
Saunders played for several teams, including the Los Angeles Angels, Arizona Diamondbacks, and Baltimore Orioles, and he was particularly noted for his durability and ability to pitch deep into games. His style was characterized by a solid mix of pitches that kept hitters off balance, earning him a reputation as a reliable starter in a league that was increasingly trending towards power pitching. Active during an era marked by both offensive explosions and the evolution of pitching strategies, Saunders contributed to his teams with a blend of experience and skill, leaving a lasting impact on the franchises he represented before retiring in 2014.
Career Pitching Statistics
| W | L | G | GS | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | ER | HR | BB | SO | ERA | Pitcher PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 89 | 86 | 235 | 229 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 1387.3 | 1533 | 674 | 179 | 439 | 792 | 4.37 | 0 |
Season-by-Season Pitching
| Year | Team | Lg | W | L | G | GS | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA | Pitcher PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | LAA | AL | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9.3 | 10 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 7.71 | 0.0 |
| 2006 | LAA | AL | 7 | 3 | 13 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 70.7 | 71 | 37 | 29 | 51 | 4.71 | 799.6 |
| 2007 | LAA | AL | 8 | 5 | 18 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 107.3 | 129 | 53 | 34 | 69 | 4.44 | 572.2 |
| 2008 | LAA | AL | 17 | 7 | 31 | 31 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 198.0 | 187 | 75 | 53 | 103 | 3.41 | -208.8 |
| 2009 | LAA | AL | 16 | 7 | 31 | 31 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 186.0 | 202 | 95 | 64 | 101 | 4.60 | -4080.7 |
| 2010 | AZ | NL | 3 | 7 | 13 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 82.7 | 97 | 39 | 19 | 50 | 4.25 | - |
| 2010 | LAA | AL | 6 | 10 | 20 | 20 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 120.7 | 135 | 62 | 45 | 64 | 4.62 | -1825.3 |
| 2011 | AZ | NL | 12 | 13 | 33 | 33 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 212.0 | 210 | 87 | 67 | 108 | 3.69 | - |
| 2012 | AZ | NL | 6 | 10 | 21 | 21 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 130.0 | 146 | 61 | 31 | 89 | 4.22 | - |
| 2012 | BAL | AL | 3 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 44.7 | 49 | 18 | 8 | 23 | 3.63 | 279.8 |
| 2013 | SEA | AL | 11 | 16 | 32 | 32 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 183.0 | 232 | 107 | 61 | 107 | 5.26 | -4056.6 |
| 2014 | BAL | AL | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3.3 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 13.50 | 0.0 |
| 2014 | TEX | AL | 0 | 5 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 39.7 | 62 | 27 | 20 | 22 | 6.13 | -2491.9 |
Career Batting Statistics
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 236 | 128 | 3 | 17 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 6 | 34 | 0.133 | 0.170 | 0.141 | 0.311 | -399.5 |
Season-by-Season Batting
| Year | Team | Lg | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | LAA | AL | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0.0 |
| 2006 | LAA | AL | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0.0 |
| 2007 | LAA | AL | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0.0 |
| 2008 | LAA | AL | 31 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0.000 | 0.0 |
| 2009 | LAA | AL | 31 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0.0 |
| 2010 | AZ | NL | 13 | 23 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 0.087 | 0.0 |
| 2010 | LAA | AL | 20 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.000 | 0.0 |
| 2011 | AZ | NL | 33 | 61 | 2 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 15 | 0.197 | -399.5 |
| 2012 | AZ | NL | 21 | 35 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 0.086 | 0.0 |
| 2012 | BAL | AL | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0.0 |
| 2013 | SEA | AL | 33 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0.000 | 0.0 |
| 2014 | BAL | AL | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0.0 |
| 2014 | TEX | AL | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0.0 |
Postseason Statistics
Playoff Career Batting
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .000 |
Playoff Batting by Year
| Year | Round | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | ALWC | BAL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| 2012 | ALDS1 | BAL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| 2011 | NLDS2 | ARI | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .000 |
| 2009 | ALCS | LAA | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| 2008 | ALDS1 | LAA | 1 | 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 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 29.3 | 32 | 14 | 17 | 17 | 4.30 |
Playoff Pitching by Year
| Year | Round | Team | W | L | G | GS | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | ALDS1 | BAL | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5.7 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 1.59 |
| 2012 | ALWC | BAL | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5.7 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 1.59 |
| 2011 | NLDS2 | ARI | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3.0 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 9.00 |
| 2009 | ALCS | LAA | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 10.3 | 13 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 4.35 |
| 2008 | ALDS1 | LAA | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4.7 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 7.71 |
Fielding Statistics
Career Fielding Totals by Position
| Position | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | 235 | 229 | 60 | 227 | 5 | 18 |
Season-by-Season Fielding
| Year | Team | Pos | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | LAA | P | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2006 | LAA | P | 13 | 13 | 1 | 10 | 0 | 3 |
| 2007 | LAA | P | 18 | 18 | 3 | 14 | 0 | 0 |
| 2008 | LAA | P | 31 | 31 | 8 | 33 | 0 | 3 |
| 2009 | LAA | P | 31 | 31 | 7 | 24 | 1 | 3 |
| 2010 | ARI | P | 13 | 13 | 4 | 11 | 0 | 0 |
| 2010 | LAA | P | 20 | 20 | 2 | 35 | 1 | 1 |
| 2011 | ARI | P | 33 | 33 | 13 | 36 | 0 | 2 |
| 2012 | ARI | P | 21 | 21 | 11 | 17 | 1 | 1 |
| 2012 | BAL | P | 7 | 7 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 1 |
| 2013 | SEA | P | 32 | 32 | 8 | 35 | 1 | 3 |
| 2014 | BAL | P | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2014 | TEX | P | 8 | 8 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 1 |
Career Games by Position
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| Pitcher | 235 |
Salary History
| Year | Team | League | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | SEA | AL | $6,000,000 |
| 2012 | ARI | NL | $6,000,000 |
| 2011 | ARI | NL | $5,500,000 |
| 2010 | LAA | AL | $3,700,000 |
| 2009 | LAA | AL | $475,000 |
| 2008 | LAA | AL | $425,000 |
| 2007 | LAA | AL | $380,000 |
| Total Career Earnings | $22,480,000 | ||
College History
| School Name | City | State | Years Attended |
|---|---|---|---|
| Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University | Blacksburg | VA | 2000, 2001, 2002 |