Johnny Schmitz

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1941-1956)

Johnny Schmitz was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1941 to 1956 for 7 teams, including the Chicago Cubs, a span of 16 seasons. Across 366 career appearances, he went 93-114 with a 3.55 ERA, 746 strikeouts, and 20 saves. He also batted .141 with 2 home runs. Johnny Schmitz was a 2-time All-Star. His career Pitcher PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of pitching impact — is 11653.3.

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

W–L 93–114
ERA 3.55
WHIP 1.39
SO 746
Pitcher PIV 11653.3
Position
Pitcher
Bats / Throws
R / L
Height / Weight
6'0" / 170 lb
Born
11/27/1920 in Wausau, WI, USA
Died
10/1/2011 in Weston, WI, USA
MLB Debut
1941-09-06
Last Game
1956-09-07
Awards
2× All-Star

Full name: John Albert Schmitz

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Career Pitching Statistics

Johnny Schmitz — Career Pitching Statistics
W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
93 114 366 235 86 16 20 1812.2 1,766 714 97 757 746 3.55 11653.3

Career ERA 3.55 vs. league average 3.94 across their career seasons — 10.1% better than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Johnny Schmitz Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year Team Lg W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER BB SO ERA Lg ERA Pitcher PIV
1941 CHN NL 2 0 5 3 1 0 0 20.2 12 3 9 11 1.31 3.94 (+67%) 386.3
1942 CHN NL 3 7 23 10 1 0 2 86.2 70 33 45 51 3.43 3.57 (+4%) 125.6
1946 CHN NL 11 11 41 31 14 2 2 224.1 184 65 94 135 2.61 3.59 (+27%) 3390.7
1947 CHN NL 13 18 38 28 10 3 4 207.0 209 74 80 97 3.22 3.97 (+19%) 2822.2
1948 CHN NL 18 13 34 30 18 2 1 242.0 186 71 97 100 2.64 4.10 (+36%) 2151.8
1949 CHN NL 11 13 36 31 9 3 3 207.0 227 100 92 75 4.35 4.12 (-6%) 1505.3
1950 CHN NL 10 16 39 27 8 3 0 193.0 217 107 91 75 4.99 4.36 (-14%) -2287.1
1951 CHN NL 1 2 8 3 0 0 0 18.0 22 16 15 6 8.00 4.04 (-98%) -447.7
1951 BRO NL 1 4 16 7 0 0 0 55.2 55 33 28 20 5.34 4.04 (-32%) -378.2
1952 BRO NL 1 1 10 3 1 0 0 33.1 29 16 18 11 4.32 3.70 (-17%) -756.6
1952 NYA AL 1 1 5 2 1 0 1 15.0 15 6 9 3 3.60 3.70 (+3%) -108.0
1952 CIN NL 1 0 3 0 0 0 0 5.0 3 0 3 3 0.00 — 0.0
1953 NYA AL 0 0 3 0 0 0 1 4.1 2 1 3 0 2.08 — 0.0
1953 WS1 AL 2 7 24 13 5 0 4 107.2 118 44 37 39 3.68 4.14 (+11%) 114.3
1954 WS1 AL 11 8 29 23 12 2 1 185.1 176 60 64 56 2.91 3.90 (+25%) 2882.6
1955 WS1 AL 7 10 32 21 6 1 1 165.0 187 68 54 49 3.71 4.00 (+7%) 2071.9
1956 BOS AL 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 4.1 5 0 4 0 0.00 — 0.0
1956 BAL AL 0 3 18 3 0 0 0 38.1 49 17 14 15 3.99 3.96 (-1%) 180.2
Career · 18 seasons 93 114 366 235 86 16 20 1,812.2 1,766 714 757 746 3.55 — 11,653

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

Johnny Schmitz — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
368 587 32 83 9 3 2 32 0 20 147 .141 .170 .177 .347 -4,084

Career AVG .141 vs. league average .260 across their career seasons — 45.6% below league average.

Career OBP .170 vs. league average .334 across their career seasons — 49.2% below league average.

Career SLG .177 vs. league average .380 across their career seasons — 53.4% below league average.

Career OPS .347 vs. league average .715 across their career seasons — 51.5% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Johnny Schmitz 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
1941 CHN NL 6 7 1 4 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 .571 — — — — 0.0
1942 CHN NL 23 26 1 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 .154 — — — — 0.0
1946 CHN NL 42 70 3 9 0 0 1 3 0 4 13 .129 .256 (-50%) .328 (-47%) .358 (-52%) .687 (-50%) -535.7
1947 CHN NL 38 68 3 9 0 0 0 3 0 4 30 .132 .262 (-50%) .336 (-46%) .376 (-65%) .712 (-56%) -602.1
1948 CHN NL 34 84 3 11 1 1 0 4 0 3 19 .131 .263 (-50%) .340 (-53%) .379 (-56%) .719 (-54%) -745.6
1949 CHN NL 36 70 4 10 2 1 0 4 0 4 10 .143 .262 (-46%) .343 (-45%) .384 (-48%) .727 (-47%) -544.8
1950 CHN NL 39 67 3 8 2 0 0 5 0 1 19 .119 .265 (-55%) .346 (-62%) .401 (-63%) .747 (-62%) -698.7
1951 CHN NL 8 6 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .167 — — — — 0.0
1951 BRO NL 16 18 1 4 1 0 1 3 0 1 3 .222 — — — — 0.0
1952 BRO NL 10 8 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 .125 — — — — 0.0
1952 NYA AL 5 5 1 3 0 1 0 2 0 0 1 .600 — — — — 0.0
1952 CIN NL 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1953 NYA AL 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1953 WS1 AL 24 34 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 13 .059 — — — — 0.0
1954 WS1 AL 29 60 6 7 0 0 0 1 0 2 15 .117 .261 (-55%) .333 (-56%) .390 (-70%) .723 (-64%) -608.0
1955 WS1 AL 32 54 5 10 3 0 0 5 0 1 7 .185 .258 (-28%) .332 (-40%) .393 (-39%) .726 (-39%) -348.8
1956 BOS AL 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000 — — — — 0.0
1956 BAL AL 18 9 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 .000 — — — — 0.0
Career · 18 seasons 368 587 32 83 9 3 2 32 0 20 147 .141 — — — — -4,084

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 (734 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Johnny Schmitz — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home1772771541022.148
Away1913101742210.135

Pitching — Home / Away

Johnny Schmitz — Pitching — Home / Away
SplitGIPHERBBSOERA
Home175903.08393053544103.04
Away191909.29274104033394.06

Last 10 Games — Batting

Johnny Schmitz — Last 10 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1956-09-07 BALBOSL 000000000
1956-08-25 BALDETL 000000000
1956-08-09 BALBOSL 000000000
1956-08-03 BALCHWL 000000000
1956-07-27 BALCLEL 200000002
1956-07-24 BALDETL 000000000
1956-07-22 BALCLEL 000000000
1956-07-19 BALCHWL 100000001
1956-07-08 BALBOSL 000000000
1956-07-04 BALMINL 210000000

Last 10 Games — Pitching

Johnny Schmitz — Last 10 Games — Pitching
DateTmOppDecIPHRERBBSOHR
1956-09-07 BALBOS L 0.2422000
1956-08-25 BALDET — 1.0000020
1956-08-09 BALBOS — 0.2000110
1956-08-03 BALCHW — 0.1133200
1956-07-27 BALCLE L 6.0833222
1956-07-24 BALDET — 2.0100000
1956-07-22 BALCLE — 2.0200220
1956-07-19 BALCHW — 4.0300000
1956-07-08 BALBOS — 2.0311000
1956-07-04 BALMIN — 3.1511020

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Johnny Schmitz — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
P 366 47 113 483 23 43

Season-by-Season Fielding

Johnny Schmitz — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1941 CHN P 5 0 0 10 0 1
1942 CHN P 23 0 5 38 1 2
1946 CHN P 41 0 12 49 0 2
1947 CHN P 38 0 12 45 2 2
1948 CHN P 34 0 17 68 4 3
1949 CHN P 36 0 13 59 4 8
1950 CHN P 39 0 14 61 6 5
1951 CHN P 8 0 4 9 0 0
1951 BRO P 16 0 4 14 0 2
1952 BRO P 10 0 2 13 0 1
1952 NYA P 5 0 1 4 0 0
1952 CIN P 3 0 0 1 0 0
1953 NYA P 3 0 1 1 0 0
1953 WS1 P 24 0 4 21 3 4
1954 WS1 P 29 23 12 40 2 9
1955 WS1 P 32 21 8 40 0 3
1956 BOS P 2 0 0 2 0 0
1956 BAL P 18 3 4 8 1 1

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Johnny Schmitz Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position Games
Pitcher 366

Awards & Honors

Johnny Schmitz — Awards & Honors
Year Award Notes
1948 Baseball Magazine All-Star P2

Award Voting History

Johnny Schmitz — Award Voting History
Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
1949 Most Valuable Player NL 23th 6.0 336 0
1948 Most Valuable Player NL 12th 37.0 336 0
1946 Most Valuable Player NL 30th 3.0 336 0

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Johnny Schmitz (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Al Smith
    99-101, 3.72 ERA
  2. 93
    Howie Pollet
    131-116, 3.51 ERA
  3. 91
    Joe Dobson
    137-103, 3.62 ERA
  4. 91
    Dave Koslo
    92-107, 3.68 ERA
  5. 90
    Fritz Ostermueller
    114-115, 3.99 ERA
  6. 90
    Eddie Smith
    73-113, 3.82 ERA

Johnny Schmitz: the record in brief

September 6, 1941 and September 7, 1956 bracket Johnny Schmitz's time in the majors: the debut and the last game on record. By club, Schmitz's seasons break down as the Chicago Cubs (1941 to 1951), the Brooklyn Dodgers (1951 through 1952), the New York Yankees (1952 to 1953), the Cincinnati Reds (1952), the Washington Senators (1953 through 1955), the Boston Red Sox (1956), and the Baltimore Orioles (1956). Schmitz played primarily as a pitcher and threw left-handed and batted right-handed. Born on November 27, 1920, in Wausau, WI, USA, Schmitz was listed at 6'0" and 170 pounds. The bio records the death on October 1, 2011, in Weston, WI, USA. Johnny Schmitz was the playing name; the full given name is John Albert.

The pitching table credits Schmitz with a 93-114 record and a 3.55 ERA in 366 games. The totals include 746 strikeouts, 86 complete games, 16 shutouts, and 20 saves. That 3.55 ERA compares with a 3.94 league average across the same seasons, 10.1% better.

Frequently Asked Questions about Johnny Schmitz

What years did Johnny Schmitz play?
Johnny Schmitz played in Major League Baseball from 1941 to 1956.
Was Johnny Schmitz a pitcher?
Yes. Johnny Schmitz pitched in the major leagues, recording 93 wins and 746 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Johnny Schmitz hit?
Johnny Schmitz hit 2 career home runs with 83 hits.
What teams did Johnny Schmitz play for?
Johnny Schmitz played for 7 teams: the Chicago Cubs (1941–1942, 1946–1951), the Brooklyn Dodgers (1951–1952), the New York Yankees (1952–1953), the Cincinnati Reds (1952), the Washington Senators (1953–1955), the Boston Red Sox (1956), and the Baltimore Orioles (1956).
Did Johnny Schmitz win a Cy Young Award?
No. Johnny Schmitz did not win the Cy Young Award.
What awards did Johnny Schmitz win?
Johnny Schmitz was selected to 2 All-Star Games.
What were Johnny Schmitz's career stats?
In 366 games, Johnny Schmitz went 93-114 with a 3.55 ERA, 746 strikeouts, 1,812.2 innings pitched, and 20 saves. At the plate he had 83 hits and 2 home runs.
What position did Johnny Schmitz play?
Johnny Schmitz played primarily as a pitcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.
How tall was Johnny Schmitz and how much did he weigh?
Johnny Schmitz was listed at 6 feet and 170 pounds.
What was Johnny Schmitz's career ERA?
Johnny Schmitz finished with a 3.55 career ERA, going 93-114 with 746 strikeouts.
How many strikeouts did Johnny Schmitz have?
Johnny Schmitz recorded 746 career strikeouts.
Is Johnny Schmitz in the Hall of Fame?
No. Johnny Schmitz has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
How many All-Star Games did Johnny Schmitz make?
Johnny Schmitz was selected to 2 All-Star Games.