Rich Thompson

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1985-1990)

Rich Thompson was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1985 to 1990 for the Cleveland Guardians and the Montreal Expos, a span of 6 seasons. Across 77 career appearances, he went 3-10 with a 5.05 ERA and 45 strikeouts.

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 3–10
ERA 5.05
WHIP 1.60
SO 45
Pitcher PIV -2825.0
Position
Pitcher
Bats / Throws
R / R
Height / Weight
6'3" / 225 lb
Born
11/1/1958 in New York, NY, USA
MLB Debut
1985-04-28
Last Game
1990-04-22

Full name: Richard Neil Thompson

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Career Pitching Statistics

Rich Thompson — Career Pitching Statistics
W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
3 10 77 1 0 0 5 114.0 123 64 10 59 45 5.05 -2825.0

Career ERA 5.05 vs. league average 3.82 across their career seasons — 32.2% worse than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Rich Thompson — Season-by-Season Pitching
Year Team Lg W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER BB SO ERA Lg ERA Pitcher PIV
1985 CLE AL 3 8 57 0 0 0 5 80.0 95 56 48 30 6.30 3.89 (-62%) -2731.7
1989 MON NL 0 2 19 1 0 0 0 33.0 27 8 11 15 2.18 3.71 (+41%) -93.3
1990 MON NL 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1.0 1 0 0 0 0.00 — 0.0
Career · 3 seasons 3 10 77 1 0 0 5 114.0 123 64 59 45 5.05 — -2,825

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

Rich Thompson — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
77 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 .000 .333 .000 .333 0

Career AVG .000 vs. league average .256 across their career seasons — 100.0% below league average.

Career OBP .333 vs. league average .322 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career SLG .000 vs. league average .384 across their career seasons — 100.0% below league average.

Career OPS .333 vs. league average .706 across their career seasons — 52.8% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Rich Thompson — Season-by-Season Batting
Year Team Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG Lg AVG Lg OBP Lg SLG Lg OPS PIV
1985 CLE AL 57 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1989 MON NL 19 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 .000 — — — — 0.0
1990 MON NL 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
Career · 3 seasons 77 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 .000 — — — — 0

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 (154 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Rich Thompson — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home3510000.000
Away4210000.000

Pitching — Home / Away

Rich Thompson — Pitching — Home / Away
SplitGIPHERBBSOERA
Home3556.0603630235.79
Away4258.0632829224.34

Last 10 Games — Batting

Rich Thompson — Last 10 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1990-04-22 WSNNYNL 000000000
1989-10-01 WSNPHIL 000000000
1989-09-27 WSNCHCL 100000000
1989-09-24 WSNNYNW 000000000
1989-09-23 WSNNYNL 000000000
1989-09-20 WSNPITL 000000000
1989-09-19 WSNSTLL 000000000
1989-09-10 WSNPHIL 000000000
1989-09-08 WSNPHIL 000000000
1989-09-07 WSNPITL 000000000

Last 10 Games — Pitching

Rich Thompson — Last 10 Games — Pitching
DateTmOppDecIPHRERBBSOHR
1990-04-22 WSNNYN — 1.0100000
1989-10-01 WSNPHI — 2.0200000
1989-09-27 WSNCHC L 4.2554410
1989-09-24 WSNNYN — 0.2010200
1989-09-23 WSNNYN — 1.1311001
1989-09-20 WSNPIT — 2.0100130
1989-09-19 WSNSTL — 1.0200110
1989-09-10 WSNPHI — 0.2200000
1989-09-08 WSNPHI — 1.2000010
1989-09-07 WSNPIT — 0.1000000

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Rich Thompson — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
P 77 1 2 11 3 1

Season-by-Season Fielding

Rich Thompson — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1985 CLE P 57 0 2 7 3 1
1989 MON P 19 1 0 4 0 0
1990 MON P 1 0 0 0 0 0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Rich Thompson — Career Games by Position
Position Games
Pitcher 77

Salary History

Rich Thompson's recorded salaries total $172,500 over 2 seasons, 1989 to 1990. This total is partial: the salary data covers 1985 to 2016, and Thompson's career ran from 1985 to 1990. No salary is recorded for 1985.

Rich Thompson — Salary History
Year Team League Salary
1990 MON NL $104,500
1989 MON NL $68,000
Total recorded salary (partial) $172,500

College History

Rich Thompson — College History
School Name City State Years Attended
Amherst College Amherst MA 1978, 1979, 1980

Rich Thompson: the record in brief

Between the debut on April 28, 1985 and the final game on April 22, 1990, Rich Thompson built the record summarized on this page. Thompson played for the Cleveland Indians (1985) and the Montreal Expos (1989 through 1990). Listed as a pitcher, Thompson batted and threw right-handed. The recorded size is 6-foot-3 and 225 pounds. The birth record reads November 1, 1958, in New York, NY, USA. Thompson's full given name, per the bio, is Richard Neil Thompson.

Thompson went 3-10 with a 5.05 ERA in 77 games, 1 of them starts. Also on Thompson's record: 45 strikeouts. The league ERA over Thompson's seasons was 3.82, so the 5.05 figure ran 32.2% worse than average. Among the heaviest workloads, the lowest ERA was 6.30 in 1985, when the league's was 3.89.

The position breakdown shows 77 games, all at pitcher. Fielding on the mound produced 2 putouts and 11 assists against 3 errors.

Frequently Asked Questions about Rich Thompson

What years did Rich Thompson play?
Rich Thompson played in Major League Baseball from 1985 to 1990.
Was Rich Thompson a pitcher?
Yes. Rich Thompson pitched in the major leagues, recording 3 wins and 45 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Rich Thompson hit?
Rich Thompson hit 0 career home runs.
What teams did Rich Thompson play for?
Rich Thompson played for 2 teams: the Cleveland Indians (1985) and the Montreal Expos (1989–1990).
What were Rich Thompson's career stats?
In 77 games, Rich Thompson went 3-10 with a 5.05 ERA, 45 strikeouts, 114.0 innings pitched, and 5 saves.
How much did Rich Thompson earn in his career?
Rich Thompson's recorded salaries total $172,500 over 2 seasons, 1989 to 1990. This total is partial: the salary data covers 1985 to 2016, and Thompson's career ran from 1985 to 1990. No salary is recorded for 1985.
What was Rich Thompson's salary?
Rich Thompson's last recorded salary was $104,500, in 1990. His highest recorded salary was $104,500, in 1990, and his lowest was $68,000, in 1989. The Salary History table lists each season from 1989 to 1990.
What position did Rich Thompson play?
Rich Thompson played primarily as a pitcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.
How tall was Rich Thompson and how much did he weigh?
Rich Thompson was listed at 6 feet 3 inches and 225 pounds.
What was Rich Thompson's career ERA?
Rich Thompson finished with a 5.05 career ERA, going 3-10 with 45 strikeouts.
How many strikeouts did Rich Thompson have?
Rich Thompson recorded 45 career strikeouts.
Is Rich Thompson in the Hall of Fame?
No. Rich Thompson has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.