Joe Sparma

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1964-1970)

W–L 52–52
ERA 3.94
WHIP 1.40
SO 586
Pitcher PIV -11710.7
Position
Pitcher
Bats / Throws
R / R
Height / Weight
6'1" / 190 lb
Born
2/4/1942 in Massillon, OH, USA
Died
5/14/1986 in Columbus, OH, USA
MLB Debut
1964-05-20
Last Game
1970-05-12

Full name: Joseph Blase Sparma

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Career Pitching Statistics

W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
52 52 183 142 31 10 0 864.7 774 379 77 436 586 3.94 -11710.7

Career ERA 3.94 vs. league average 3.50 across their career seasons — 12.8% worse 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
1964 DET AL 5 6 21 11 3 2 0 84.0 62 28 45 71 3.00 3.58 (+16%) 710.8
1965 DET AL 13 8 30 28 6 0 0 167.0 142 59 75 127 3.18 3.50 (+9%) 386.1
1966 DET AL 2 7 29 13 0 0 0 91.7 103 54 52 61 5.30 3.52 (-51%) -3411.3
1967 DET AL 16 9 37 37 11 5 0 217.7 186 91 85 153 3.76 3.30 (-14%) -1665.3
1968 DET AL 10 10 34 31 7 1 0 182.3 169 75 77 110 3.70 2.98 (-24%) -2629.0
1969 DET AL 6 8 23 16 3 2 0 92.7 78 49 77 41 4.76 3.61 (-32%) -2866.8
1970 MON NL 0 4 9 6 1 0 0 29.3 34 23 25 23 7.06 3.89 (-82%) -2235.2
Career · 7 seasons 52 52 183 142 31 10 0 864.2 774 379 436 586 3.94 — -11,711

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
185 269 11 32 3 2 0 11 0 10 108 .119 .150 .145 .295 -1,719

Career AVG .119 vs. league average .247 across their career seasons — 51.8% below league average.

Career OBP .150 vs. league average .313 across their career seasons — 52.0% below league average.

Career SLG .145 vs. league average .369 across their career seasons — 60.7% below league average.

Career OPS .295 vs. league average .682 across their career seasons — 56.7% 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
1964 DET AL 23 25 3 4 0 2 0 4 0 1 11 .160 — — — — 0.0
1965 DET AL 30 52 4 7 1 0 0 3 0 3 25 .135 .245 (-45%) .310 (-43%) .371 (-59%) .682 (-51%) -411.8
1966 DET AL 29 23 0 5 1 0 0 1 0 0 5 .217 — — — — 0.0
1967 DET AL 37 74 1 4 0 0 0 1 0 3 33 .054 .242 (-78%) .306 (-70%) .357 (-85%) .663 (-78%) -848.5
1968 DET AL 34 60 2 8 1 0 0 2 0 1 24 .133 .236 (-44%) .298 (-51%) .340 (-56%) .638 (-53%) -458.6
1969 DET AL 23 29 1 4 0 0 0 0 0 1 8 .138 — — — — 0.0
1970 MON NL 9 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 .000 — — — — 0.0
Career · 7 seasons 185 269 11 32 3 2 0 11 0 10 108 .119 — — — — -1,719

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
1968 WS DET 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 0.3 2 2 0 0 54.00

Playoff Pitching by Year

Year Round Team W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
1968 WS DET 0 0 1 0 0 0.3 2 2 0 0 54.00

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (368 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home8211951809.151
Away10315061402.093

Pitching — Home / Away

SplitGIPHERBBSOERA
Home80399.23311611702723.63
Away103465.04432182663144.22

Last 10 Games — Batting

DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1970-05-12 WSNNYNL 000000000
1970-05-10 WSNSDPL 000000000
1970-05-03 WSNLADL 000000000
1970-05-02 WSNLADL 000000000
1970-04-29 WSNSDPL 100000001
1970-04-25 WSNSFGW 200000000
1970-04-15 WSNSTLL 000000010
1970-04-10 WSNCHCL 200000000
1970-04-06 WSNCINL 100000001
1969-09-26 DETBOSL 100000001

Last 10 Games — Pitching

DateTmOppDecIPHRERBBSOHR
1970-05-12 WSNNYN — 1.0011410
1970-05-10 WSNSDP — 1.1333401
1970-05-03 WSNLAD — 2.0432110
1970-05-02 WSNLAD — 1.0100010
1970-04-29 WSNSDP L 1.0344210
1970-04-25 WSNSFG — 6.0432742
1970-04-15 WSNSTL L 3.0744240
1970-04-10 WSNCHC L 9.0522271
1970-04-06 WSNCIN L 5.0755343
1969-09-26 DETBOS — 3.1344611

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position G GS PO A E DP
P 183 142 57 98 15 7

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1964 DET P 21 11 5 16 1 2
1965 DET P 30 28 11 25 6 1
1966 DET P 29 13 5 8 2 1
1967 DET P 37 37 16 20 2 1
1968 DET P 34 31 9 19 2 0
1969 DET P 23 16 9 7 0 2
1970 MON P 9 6 2 3 2 0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Position Games
Pitcher 183

College History

School Name City State Years Attended
The Ohio State University Columbus OH 1962, 1963

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Joe Sparma (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Chuck Estrada
    50-44, 4.07 ERA
  2. 91
    Bo Belinsky
    28-51, 4.10 ERA
  3. 86
    Wayne Twitchell
    48-65, 3.98 ERA
  4. 80
    Marcelino Lopez
    31-40, 3.62 ERA
  5. 80
    Ricky Romero
    51-45, 4.16 ERA
  6. 79
    Tim Lollar
    47-52, 4.27 ERA

Frequently Asked Questions about Joe Sparma

What years did Joe Sparma play?
Joe Sparma played in Major League Baseball from 1964 to 1970.
Was Joe Sparma a pitcher?
Yes. Joe Sparma pitched in the major leagues, recording 52 wins and 586 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Joe Sparma hit?
Joe Sparma hit 0 career home runs with 32 hits.