Mario Soto

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1977-1988)

W–L 100–92
ERA 3.47
WHIP 1.19
SO 1,449
Pitcher PIV 14588.7
Position
Pitcher
Bats / Throws
R / R
Height / Weight
6'0" / 174 lb
Born
7/12/1956 in Bani, Peravia, D.R.
MLB Debut
1977-07-21
Last Game
1988-06-16
Awards
3× All-Star

Full name: Mario Melvin Soto

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Career Pitching Statistics

W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
100 92 297 224 72 13 4 1730.3 1,395 667 172 657 1,449 3.47 14588.7

Career ERA 3.47 vs. league average 3.89 across their career seasons — 10.8% 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
1977 CIN NL 2 6 12 10 2 1 0 60.7 60 36 26 44 5.34 4.00 (-34%) -1963.3
1978 CIN NL 1 0 5 1 0 0 0 18.0 13 5 13 13 2.50 3.69 (+32%) -154.0
1979 CIN NL 3 2 25 0 0 0 0 37.3 33 22 30 32 5.30 4.00 (-32%) -189.8
1980 CIN NL 10 8 53 12 3 1 4 190.3 126 65 84 182 3.07 3.84 (+20%) 4425.8
1981 CIN NL 12 9 25 25 10 3 0 175.0 142 64 61 151 3.29 3.58 (+8%) 2928.6
1982 CIN NL 14 13 35 34 13 2 0 257.7 202 80 71 274 2.79 3.86 (+28%) 9776.7
1983 CIN NL 17 13 34 34 18 3 0 273.7 207 82 95 242 2.70 3.87 (+30%) 3321.4
1984 CIN NL 18 7 33 33 13 0 0 237.3 181 93 87 185 3.53 3.81 (+7%) 91.5
1985 CIN NL 12 15 36 36 9 1 0 256.7 196 102 104 214 3.58 3.89 (+8%) 798.8
1986 CIN NL 5 10 19 19 1 1 0 105.0 113 55 46 67 4.71 3.97 (-19%) -1896.1
1987 CIN NL 3 2 6 6 0 0 0 31.7 34 18 12 11 5.12 4.29 (-19%) -1498.9
1988 CIN NL 3 7 14 14 3 1 0 87.0 88 45 28 34 4.66 3.73 (-25%) -1051.9
Career · 12 seasons 100 92 297 224 72 13 4 1,730.1 1,395 667 657 1,449 3.47 — 14,589

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
303 530 32 70 13 1 1 24 0 11 166 .132 .152 .166 .318 -3,235

Career AVG .132 vs. league average .260 across their career seasons — 49.3% below league average.

Career OBP .152 vs. league average .325 across their career seasons — 53.1% below league average.

Career SLG .166 vs. league average .390 across their career seasons — 57.5% below league average.

Career OPS .318 vs. league average .715 across their career seasons — 55.5% 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
1977 CIN NL 12 13 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 3 .077 — — — — 0.0
1978 CIN NL 5 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 .000 — — — — 0.0
1979 CIN NL 25 7 2 4 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 .571 — — — — 0.0
1980 CIN NL 54 46 3 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 16 .043 — — — — 0.0
1981 CIN NL 25 59 4 4 0 0 0 0 0 1 24 .068 .255 (-73%) .320 (-74%) .368 (-82%) .688 (-78%) -699.5
1982 CIN NL 37 84 5 14 4 0 0 5 0 4 25 .167 .261 (-36%) .324 (-34%) .388 (-45%) .712 (-40%) -528.2
1983 CIN NL 35 88 6 11 3 0 0 2 0 1 26 .125 .260 (-52%) .324 (-59%) .389 (-59%) .714 (-59%) -820.6
1984 CIN NL 33 87 5 18 5 0 1 9 0 0 28 .207 .259 (-20%) .322 (-37%) .384 (-22%) .707 (-29%) -423.7
1985 CIN NL 37 83 3 11 0 1 0 4 0 1 24 .133 .257 (-48%) .323 (-56%) .390 (-60%) .714 (-58%) -762.5
1986 CIN NL 20 27 2 3 1 0 0 1 0 0 6 .111 — — — — 0.0
1987 CIN NL 6 12 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 .083 — — — — 0.0
1988 CIN NL 14 22 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 3 7 .045 — — — — 0.0
Career · 12 seasons 303 530 32 70 13 1 1 24 0 11 166 .132 — — — — -3,235

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
1 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
1979 NLCS CIN 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
0 0 1 0 0 2.0 0 0 0 1 0.00

Playoff Pitching by Year

Year Round Team W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
1979 NLCS CIN 0 0 1 0 0 2.0 0 0 0 1 0.00

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (600 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home1452552235112.137
Away1582751035012.127

Pitching — Home / Away

SplitGIPHERBBSOERA
Home141872.26913343407683.44
Away156857.27043333176813.49

Last 10 Games — Batting

DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1988-06-16 CINHOUL 100000000
1988-06-10 CINSFGL 000000000
1988-06-05 CINLADL 100000001
1988-05-31 CINCHCL 200000002
1988-05-25 CINSTLL 000000000
1988-05-20 CINCHCW 100000010
1988-05-14 CINPITW 300000002
1988-05-08 CINNYNL 200000000
1988-05-03 CINWSNL 200000001
1988-04-27 CINWSNL 100000010

Last 10 Games — Pitching

DateTmOppDecIPHRERBBSOHR
1988-06-16 CINHOU L 5.0644212
1988-06-10 CINSFG L 2.0677212
1988-06-05 CINLAD L 6.01052100
1988-05-31 CINCHC L 6.2844021
1988-05-25 CINSTL L 4.0444200
1988-05-20 CINCHC W 9.0522161
1988-05-14 CINPIT W 7.1333450
1988-05-08 CINNYN L 7.0855200
1988-05-03 CINWSN — 6.1733430
1988-04-27 CINWSN L 8.0611250

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position G GS PO A E DP
P 297 225 95 203 22 8

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1977 CIN P 12 10 5 9 0 1
1978 CIN P 5 1 0 1 0 0
1979 CIN P 25 0 1 2 0 0
1980 CIN P 53 12 12 25 3 2
1981 CIN P 25 25 10 19 2 1
1982 CIN P 35 34 10 29 3 1
1983 CIN P 34 34 22 28 5 1
1984 CIN P 33 33 12 22 3 1
1985 CIN P 36 36 13 34 2 0
1986 CIN P 19 20 3 16 1 0
1987 CIN P 6 6 2 6 0 0
1988 CIN P 14 14 5 12 3 1

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Position Games
Pitcher 298

Salary History

Year Team League Salary
1988 CIN NL $1,200,000
1987 CIN NL $1,200,000
1986 CIN NL $1,150,000
1985 CIN NL $1,071,429
Total Career Earnings $4,621,429

Award Voting History

Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
1984 Cy Young Award NL 6th 2.0 120 0
1983 Cy Young Award NL 2nd 61.0 120 2
1983 Most Valuable Player NL 14th 16.0 336 0
1982 Cy Young Award NL 9th 0.0 120 0
1980 Cy Young Award NL 5th 1.0 120 0

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Mario Soto (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Don Wilson
    104-92, 3.15 ERA
  2. 93
    Sid Fernandez
    114-96, 3.36 ERA
  3. 89
    Jose Rijo
    116-91, 3.24 ERA
  4. 85
    Julio Teheran
    81-82, 3.85 ERA
  5. 84
    Ray Culp
    122-101, 3.58 ERA
  6. 82
    Matt Cain
    104-118, 3.68 ERA

Frequently Asked Questions about Mario Soto

What years did Mario Soto play?
Mario Soto played in Major League Baseball from 1977 to 1988.
Was Mario Soto a pitcher?
Yes. Mario Soto pitched in the major leagues, recording 100 wins and 1449 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Mario Soto hit?
Mario Soto hit 1 career home runs with 70 hits.