What years did John Smiley play?

John Smiley played in Major League Baseball from 1986 to 1997.

Was John Smiley a pitcher?

Yes. John Smiley pitched in the major leagues, recording 126 wins and 1284 strikeouts.

How many home runs did John Smiley hit?

John Smiley hit 2 career home runs with 73 hits.

What was John Smiley's career batting average?

John Smiley batted .145 over his career, with 73 hits in 504 at bats.

How many RBI did John Smiley have?

John Smiley drove in 35 runs in his career.

What was John Smiley's career ERA?

John Smiley finished with a 3.80 career ERA, going 126-103 with 1,284 strikeouts.

John Smiley

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1986-1997)

John Smiley was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1986 to 1997 for 4 teams, including the Pittsburgh Pirates, a span of 12 seasons. Across 361 career appearances, he went 126-103 with a 3.80 ERA and 1,284 strikeouts. He also batted .145 with 2 home runs. John Smiley was a 2-time All-Star. His career Pitcher PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of pitching impact — is 20276.7.

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 October 12, 2026

W–L 126–103

ERA 3.80

WHIP 1.23

SO 1,284

Pitcher PIV 20276.7

Position: Pitcher
Bats / Throws: L / L
Height / Weight: 6'4" / 180 lb
Born: 3/17/1965 in Phoenixville, PA, USA
MLB Debut: 1986-09-01
Last Game: 1997-08-30
Awards: 2× All-Star

Full name: John Patrick Smiley

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Career Pitching Statistics

John Smiley — Career Pitching Statistics
W	L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	SO	ERA	Pitcher PIV
126	103	361	280	28	8	4	1907.2	1,842	806	185	496	1,284	3.80	20276.7

Career ERA 3.80 vs. league average 4.11 across their career seasons — 7.5% better than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

John Smiley Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year	Team	Lg	W	L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA	Lg ERA	Pitcher PIV
1986	PIT	NL	1	0	12	0	0	0	0	11.2	4	5	4	9	3.86	3.97 (+3%)	-149.6
1987	PIT	NL	5	5	63	0	0	0	4	75.0	69	48	50	58	5.76	4.29 (-34%)	-457.9
1988	PIT	NL	13	11	34	32	5	1	0	205.0	185	74	46	129	3.25	3.73 (+13%)	2963.8
1989	PIT	NL	12	8	28	28	8	1	0	205.1	174	64	49	123	2.81	3.71 (+24%)	-111.3
1990	PIT	NL	9	10	26	25	2	0	0	149.1	161	77	36	86	4.64	3.86 (-20%)	521.7
1991	PIT	NL	20	8	33	32	2	1	0	207.2	194	71	44	129	3.08	3.91 (+21%)	3002.9
1992	MIN	AL	16	9	34	34	5	2	0	241.0	205	86	65	163	3.21	3.75 (+14%)	3251.6
1993	CIN	NL	3	9	18	18	2	0	0	105.2	117	66	31	60	5.62	4.19 (-34%)	-1174.0
1994	CIN	NL	11	10	24	24	1	1	0	158.2	169	68	37	112	3.86	4.51 (+15%)	2221.7
1995	CIN	NL	12	5	28	27	1	0	0	176.2	173	68	39	124	3.46	4.45 (+22%)	5547.4
1996	CIN	NL	13	14	35	34	2	2	0	217.1	207	88	54	171	3.64	4.61 (+21%)	5767.3
1997	CIN	NL	9	10	20	20	0	0	0	117.0	139	68	31	94	5.23	4.39 (-19%)	148.2
1997	CLE	AL	2	4	6	6	0	0	0	37.1	45	23	10	26	5.54	4.39 (-26%)	-1255.1
Career · 13 seasons			126	103	361	280	28	8	4	1,907.2	1,842	806	496	1,284	3.80	—	20,277

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

John Smiley — Career Batting Statistics
G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	PIV
361	504	21	73	14	0	2	35	0	25	183	.145	.185	.185	.369	-3,382

Career AVG .145 vs. league average .261 across their career seasons — 44.6% below league average.

Career OBP .185 vs. league average .329 across their career seasons — 43.9% below league average.

Career SLG .185 vs. league average .400 across their career seasons — 53.9% below league average.

Career OPS .369 vs. league average .729 across their career seasons — 49.4% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

John Smiley Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year	Team	Lg	G	AB	R	H	2B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	AVG	Lg AVG	Lg OBP	Lg SLG	Lg OPS	PIV
1986	PIT	NL	12	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1987	PIT	NL	63	7	1	1	1	0	1	0	1	.143	—	—	—	—	0.0
1988	PIT	NL	34	63	2	5	1	0	1	3	30	.079	.254 (-69%)	.317 (-62%)	.377 (-75%)	.695 (-69%)	-666.9
1989	PIT	NL	28	65	0	9	4	0	7	3	19	.138	.254 (-46%)	.319 (-45%)	.375 (-47%)	.694 (-46%)	-467.6
1990	PIT	NL	26	49	1	6	0	0	3	3	15	.122	—	—	—	—	-443.2
1991	PIT	NL	33	70	3	7	0	0	3	3	24	.100	.255 (-61%)	.323 (-58%)	.384 (-74%)	.708 (-67%)	-723.6
1992	MIN	AL	34	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1993	CIN	NL	18	32	2	8	1	0	5	1	10	.250	—	—	—	—	0.0
1994	CIN	NL	24	55	5	11	3	0	2	4	26	.200	.269 (-26%)	.338 (-25%)	.424 (-40%)	.763 (-33%)	-305.0
1995	CIN	NL	28	55	6	9	1	2	5	4	26	.164	.266 (-39%)	.337 (-36%)	.417 (-30%)	.755 (-33%)	-317.7
1996	CIN	NL	35	68	1	13	2	0	6	4	22	.191	.269 (-29%)	.340 (-31%)	.426 (-48%)	.767 (-40%)	-458.1
1997	CIN	NL	20	40	0	4	1	0	2	0	10	.100	—	—	—	—	0.0
1997	CLE	AL	6	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
Career · 13 seasons			361	504	21	73	14	2	35	25	183	.145	—	—	—	—	-3,382

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

John Smiley — Playoff Career Batting
G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	AVG
5	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	.000

Playoff Batting by Year

John Smiley — Playoff Batting by Year
Year	Round	Team	G	AB	SO	AVG
1995	NLCS	CIN	1	1	0	.000
1995	NLDS2	CIN	1	2	1	.000
1991	NLCS	PIT	2	0	0	.000
1990	NLCS	PIT	1	0	0	.000

Playoff Career Pitching

John Smiley — Playoff Career Pitching
W	L	G	GS	SV	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
0	2	5	4	0	15.2	24	11	1	5	6.32

Playoff Pitching by Year

John Smiley — Playoff Pitching by Year
Year	Round	Team	L	G	GS	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
1995	NLCS	CIN	0	1	1	5.0	5	2	0	1	3.60
1995	NLDS2	CIN	0	1	1	6.0	9	2	0	1	3.00
1991	NLCS	PIT	2	2	2	2.2	8	7	1	3	23.62
1990	NLCS	PIT	0	1	0	2.0	2	0	0	0	0.00

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (722 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

John Smiley — Batting — Home / Away
Split	G	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	AVG
Home	175	217	10	34	1	19	.157
Away	186	287	11	39	1	16	.136

Pitching — Home / Away

John Smiley — Pitching — Home / Away
Split	G	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
Home	175	920.0	849	372	275	610	3.64
Away	186	987.2	993	434	221	674	3.95

Last 10 Games — Batting

John Smiley — Last 10 Games — Batting
Date	Tm	Opp	Res	AB	H	SO
1997-08-30	CLE	CHC	L	0	0	0
1997-08-24	CLE	OAK	L	0	0	0
1997-08-19	CLE	SEA	W	0	0	0
1997-08-13	CLE	DET	L	0	0	0
1997-08-07	CLE	TOR	L	0	0	0
1997-08-02	CLE	TEX	W	0	0	0
1997-07-28	CIN	MIA	W	2	1	1
1997-07-22	CIN	MIA	W	2	0	1
1997-07-17	CIN	PIT	W	3	0	0
1997-07-12	CIN	WSN	W	2	0	2

Last 10 Games — Pitching

John Smiley — Last 10 Games — Pitching
Date	Tm	Opp	Dec	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR
1997-08-30	CLE	CHC	L	5.0	8	5	5	1	2	2
1997-08-24	CLE	OAK	L	5.2	5	3	3	5	4	1
1997-08-19	CLE	SEA	W	7.0	7	2	2	1	3	1
1997-08-13	CLE	DET	L	5.2	11	6	6	1	5	3
1997-08-07	CLE	TOR	L	7.0	9	4	4	1	6	0
1997-08-02	CLE	TEX	W	7.0	5	3	3	1	6	2
1997-07-28	CIN	MIA	—	7.0	7	0	0	0	6	0
1997-07-22	CIN	MIA	W	7.0	5	3	3	0	5	1
1997-07-17	CIN	PIT	W	7.0	8	3	3	1	8	2
1997-07-12	CIN	WSN	W	7.0	6	3	3	0	4	1

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

John Smiley — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
P	361	280	70	261	11	16

Season-by-Season Fielding

John Smiley — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year	Team	Pos	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
1986	PIT	P	12	0	1	2	0	0
1987	PIT	P	63	0	7	9	0	2
1988	PIT	P	34	32	14	27	0	3
1989	PIT	P	28	28	7	23	4	2
1990	PIT	P	26	25	8	24	2	1
1991	PIT	P	33	32	5	34	1	0
1992	MIN	P	34	34	4	35	0	2
1993	CIN	P	18	18	7	16	0	0
1994	CIN	P	24	24	8	19	2	2
1995	CIN	P	28	27	3	27	0	3
1996	CIN	P	35	34	6	29	2	1
1997	CIN	P	20	20	0	12	0	0
1997	CLE	P	6	6	0	4	0	0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

John Smiley Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position	Games
Pitcher	361

Awards & Honors

John Smiley — Awards & Honors
Year	Award	Notes
1992	Pitcher of the Month	June

Salary History

John Smiley — Salary History
Year	Team	League	Salary
1998	CLE	AL	$3,750,000
1997	CIN	NL	$3,750,000
1996	CIN	NL	$4,975,000
1995	CIN	NL	$4,975,000
1994	CIN	NL	$4,975,000
1993	CIN	NL	$3,475,000
1992	MIN	AL	$3,400,000
1991	PIT	NL	$1,050,000
1990	PIT	NL	$840,000
1989	PIT	NL	$230,000
1988	PIT	NL	$107,500
1987	PIT	NL	$62,500
Total Career Earnings			$31,590,000

Award Voting History

John Smiley — Award Voting History
Year	Award	League	Finish	Points Won	Points Max	Votes First
1991	Cy Young Award	NL	3rd	26.0	120	0
1991	Most Valuable Player	NL	14th	5.0	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

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

John Smiley: the record in brief

John Smiley played a first major league game on September 1, 1986 and a last one on August 30, 1997. Club by club, the record runs the Pittsburgh Pirates (1986 through 1991), the Minnesota Twins (1992), the Cincinnati Reds (1993 to 1997), and the Cleveland Indians (1997). At 6-foot-4 and 180 pounds, Smiley is listed as a pitcher. The bio says Smiley both batted and threw left-handed. The recorded birth is March 17, 1965, in Phoenixville, PA, USA. The given name on file is John Patrick Smiley.

Smiley's career pitching line is 126 wins, 103 losses and a 3.80 ERA over 361 appearances. Smiley had 1,284 strikeouts, 28 complete games, and 8 shutouts. Against a 4.11 league ERA for the same years, Smiley was 7.5% better. No season topped the 20 wins of 1991. Smiley struck out 171 batters in 1996, a career high. Among the heaviest workloads, the lowest ERA was 2.81 in 1989, when the league's was 3.71.

Frequently Asked Questions about John Smiley

What years did John Smiley play?: John Smiley played in Major League Baseball from 1986 to 1997.
Was John Smiley a pitcher?: Yes. John Smiley pitched in the major leagues, recording 126 wins and 1284 strikeouts.
How many home runs did John Smiley hit?: John Smiley hit 2 career home runs with 73 hits.
What was John Smiley's career batting average?: John Smiley batted .145 over his career, with 73 hits in 504 at bats.
How many RBI did John Smiley have?: John Smiley drove in 35 runs in his career.
What was John Smiley's career ERA?: John Smiley finished with a 3.80 career ERA, going 126-103 with 1,284 strikeouts.