Cy Swaim
Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1897-1898)
Cy Swaim was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1897 to 1898 for the Washington Nationals, a span of 2 seasons. Across 42 career appearances, he went 12-22 with a 4.48 ERA and 82 strikeouts. His career Pitcher PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of pitching impact — is 269.0.
- 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
- Position
- Pitcher
- Height / Weight
- 6'6" / 180 lb
- Died
- 12/27/1945 in Eustis, FL, USA
- MLB Debut
- 1897-05-03
- Last Game
- 1898-07-21
Full name: John Hillary Swaim
Season-by-Season Pitching
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1897 | WAS | NL | 9 | 11 | 26 | 19 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 184.0 | 219 | 94 | 59 | 52 | 4.60 | 4.30 (-7%) | 356.4 |
| 1898 | WAS | NL | 3 | 11 | 16 | 13 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 101.1 | 119 | 48 | 28 | 30 | 4.26 | 3.59 (-19%) | -87.3 |
| Career · 2 seasons | 12 | 22 | 42 | 32 | 23 | 0 | 1 | 285.1 | 338 | 142 | 87 | 82 | 4.48 | — | 269 | ||
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 42 | 106 | 9 | 21 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 3 | 1 | 16 | .198 | .206 | .208 | .413 | -420 |
Career AVG .198 vs. league average .281 across their career seasons — 29.4% below league average.
Career OBP .206 vs. league average .344 across their career seasons — 40.1% below league average.
Career SLG .208 vs. league average .366 across their career seasons — 43.3% below league average.
Career OPS .413 vs. league average .710 across their career seasons — 41.8% below league average.
Season-by-Season Batting
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1897 | WAS | NL | 26 | 71 | 7 | 16 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 3 | 1 | 10 | .225 | .291 (-23%) | .354 (-33%) | .387 (-38%) | .741 (-36%) | -419.7 |
| 1898 | WAS | NL | 16 | 35 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 6 | .143 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| Career · 2 seasons | 42 | 106 | 9 | 21 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 3 | 1 | 16 | .198 | — | — | — | — | -420 | ||
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 (32 games) →Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).
Batting — Home / Away
| Split | G | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 9 | 17 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | .118 |
| Away | 7 | 19 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | .158 |
Pitching — Home / Away
| Split | G | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 9 | 51.1 | 56 | 22 | 7 | 15 | 3.86 |
| Away | 7 | 50.0 | 63 | 21 | 21 | 15 | 3.78 |
Last 10 Games — Batting
| Date | Tm | Opp | Res | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1898-07-21 | WSN | CIN | L | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 1898-07-19 | WSN | CL4 | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1898-07-13 | WSN | CHC | L | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1898-07-09 | WSN | BLN | L | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1898-07-01 | WSN | STL | L | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1898-06-27 | WSN | CIN | W | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1898-06-22 | WSN | LS3 | L | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1898-06-18 | WSN | BSN | L | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1898-06-14 | WSN | BLN | W | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 1898-06-14 | WSN | BLN | W | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Last 10 Games — Pitching
| Date | Tm | Opp | Dec | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1898-07-21 | WSN | CIN | L | 9.0 | 11 | 7 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1898-07-19 | WSN | CL4 | L | 2.0 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1898-07-13 | WSN | CHC | — | 5.1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 |
| 1898-07-09 | WSN | BLN | L | 1.0 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1898-07-01 | WSN | STL | L | 1.0 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1898-06-27 | WSN | CIN | W | 9.0 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 0 |
| 1898-06-22 | WSN | LS3 | L | 8.0 | 13 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 0 |
| 1898-06-18 | WSN | BSN | L | 8.0 | 13 | 12 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| 1898-06-14 | WSN | BLN | W | 9.0 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 0 |
| 1898-06-14 | WSN | BLN | — | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Career Games by Position
Circle size = games played at each position.
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| Pitcher | 42 |
Cy Swaim: the record in brief
Between the debut on May 3, 1897 and the final game on July 21, 1898, Cy Swaim built the record summarized on this page. Swaim spent the whole of the career shown here with one club, the Washington Senators. Swaim played primarily as a pitcher. The bio adds a birth date on March 11, 1874, in Cadwallader, OH, USA and a listed size of 6-foot-6 and 180 pounds. Swaim's death is recorded on December 27, 1945, in Eustis, FL, USA. Cy Swaim was the playing name; the full given name is John Hillary.
Across 42 games (32 starts), Swaim recorded 12 wins against 22 losses with a 4.48 ERA. The same table counts 82 strikeouts and 23 complete games. Against a 3.92 league ERA for the same seasons, the 4.48 mark was 14.1% worse. The best win total was 9, in 1897. Among the heaviest workloads, the lowest ERA was 4.60 in 1897, when the league's was 4.30. Pitcher PIV, the site's era-adjusted run-prevention measure, totals 269.0 for Swaim's career.
Frequently Asked Questions about Cy Swaim
- What years did Cy Swaim play?
- Cy Swaim played in Major League Baseball from 1897 to 1898.
- Was Cy Swaim a pitcher?
- Yes. Cy Swaim pitched in the major leagues, recording 12 wins and 82 strikeouts.
- How many home runs did Cy Swaim hit?
- Cy Swaim hit 0 career home runs with 21 hits.
- What teams did Cy Swaim play for?
- Cy Swaim played for one team, the Washington Senators (1897–1898).
- What were Cy Swaim's career stats?
- In 42 games, Cy Swaim went 12-22 with a 4.48 ERA, 82 strikeouts, 285.1 innings pitched, and 1 saves.
- What position did Cy Swaim play?
- Cy Swaim played primarily as a pitcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.
- How tall was Cy Swaim and how much did he weigh?
- Cy Swaim was listed at 6 feet 6 inches and 180 pounds.
- What was Cy Swaim's career ERA?
- Cy Swaim finished with a 4.48 career ERA, going 12-22 with 82 strikeouts.
- How many strikeouts did Cy Swaim have?
- Cy Swaim recorded 82 career strikeouts.
- Is Cy Swaim in the Hall of Fame?
- No. Cy Swaim has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.