Matt Thornton

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (2004-2016)

W–L 36–46
ERA 3.41
WHIP 1.28
SO 642
Pitcher PIV 12975.7
Position
Pitcher
Bats / Throws
L / L
Height / Weight
6'6" / 235 lb
Born
9/15/1976 in Three Rivers, MI, USA
MLB Debut
2004-06-27
Last Game
2016-08-02
Awards
All-Star

Full name: Matthew J. Thornton

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Career Pitching Statistics

W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
36 46 748 1 0 0 23 662.7 594 251 52 251 642 3.41 12975.7

Career ERA 3.41 vs. league average 4.17 across their career seasons — 18.2% 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
2004 SEA AL 1 2 19 1 0 0 0 32.7 30 15 25 30 4.13 4.46 (+7%) 131.8
2005 SEA AL 0 4 55 0 0 0 0 57.0 54 33 42 57 5.21 4.29 (-21%) -2713.9
2006 CHA AL 5 3 63 0 0 0 2 54.0 46 20 21 49 3.33 4.53 (+26%) 1049.7
2007 CHA AL 4 4 68 0 0 0 2 56.3 59 30 26 55 4.79 4.47 (-7%) 1099.8
2008 CHA AL 5 3 74 0 0 0 1 67.3 48 20 19 77 2.67 4.32 (+38%) 2693.0
2009 CHA AL 6 3 70 0 0 0 4 72.3 58 22 20 87 2.74 4.32 (+37%) 3414.7
2010 CHA AL 5 4 61 0 0 0 8 60.7 41 18 20 81 2.67 4.08 (+35%) 2979.6
2011 CHA AL 2 5 62 0 0 0 3 59.7 60 22 21 63 3.32 3.94 (+16%) 1992.1
2012 CHA AL 4 10 74 0 0 0 3 65.0 63 25 17 53 3.46 4.01 (+14%) 1362.8
2013 CHA AL 0 3 40 0 0 0 0 28.0 25 12 10 21 3.86 3.87 (avg) -577.7
2013 BOS AL 0 1 20 0 0 0 0 15.3 22 6 5 9 3.52 3.87 (+9%) 389.6
2014 NYA AL 0 3 46 0 0 0 0 24.7 23 7 6 20 2.55 3.74 (+32%) 628.4
2014 WAS NL 1 0 18 0 0 0 0 11.3 10 0 2 8 0.00 3.74 (+100%) 348.2
2015 WAS NL 2 1 60 0 0 0 0 41.3 33 10 11 23 2.18 3.96 (+45%) 459.4
2016 SDN NL 1 0 18 0 0 0 0 17.0 22 11 6 9 5.82 4.19 (-39%) -281.6
Career · 15 seasons 36 46 748 1 0 0 23 662.2 594 251 251 642 3.41 — 12,976

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
748 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000 .000 .000 .000 0

Career AVG .000 vs. league average .260 across their career seasons — 100.0% below league average.

Career OBP .000 vs. league average .326 across their career seasons — 100.0% below league average.

Career SLG .000 vs. league average .411 across their career seasons — 100.0% below league average.

Career OPS .000 vs. league average .737 across their career seasons — 100.0% 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
2004 SEA AL 19 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
2005 SEA AL 55 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
2006 CHA AL 63 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
2007 CHA AL 68 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000 — — — — 0.0
2008 CHA AL 74 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
2009 CHA AL 70 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
2010 CHA AL 61 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
2011 CHA AL 62 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
2012 CHA AL 74 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
2013 CHA AL 40 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
2013 BOS AL 20 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
2014 NYA AL 46 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
2014 WAS NL 18 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
2015 WAS NL 60 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
2016 SDN NL 18 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
Career · 15 seasons 748 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 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.

Postseason Statistics

Playoff Career Batting

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
6 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
2014 NLDS1 WAS 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
2008 ALDS2 CHA 3 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 1 6 0 0 5.7 5 1 4 3 1.59

Playoff Pitching by Year

Year Round Team W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
2014 NLDS1 WAS 0 1 3 0 0 2.3 3 1 2 1 3.86
2008 ALDS2 CHA 0 0 3 0 0 3.3 2 0 2 2 0.00

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (1496 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home39700000—
Away35110000.000

Pitching — Home / Away

SplitGIPHERBBSOERA
Home397356.23231361193623.43
Away351306.02711151322803.38

Last 10 Games — Pitching

DateTmOppDecIPHRERBBSOHR
2016-08-02 SDPMIL — 1.0100000
2016-07-31 SDPCIN — 0.2000000
2016-07-25 SDPTOR — 1.0211000
2016-07-24 SDPWAS — 1.0000000
2016-07-18 SDPSTL — 1.0111011
2016-07-08 SDPLAD — 1.0100200
2016-07-06 SDPAZ — 1.0322001
2016-07-01 SDPNYY — 0.0133100
2016-06-28 SDPBAL — 2.0200120
2016-06-24 SDPCIN — 1.0000010

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position G GS PO A E DP
P 748 1 27 90 4 10

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
2004 SEA P 19 1 0 4 0 1
2005 SEA P 55 0 0 6 0 1
2006 CHA P 63 0 2 8 1 0
2007 CHA P 68 0 5 8 0 2
2008 CHA P 74 0 1 8 0 1
2009 CHA P 70 0 2 9 1 2
2010 CHA P 61 0 0 6 0 0
2011 CHA P 62 0 5 7 0 0
2012 CHA P 74 0 2 14 0 2
2013 CHA P 40 0 2 5 2 0
2013 BOS P 20 0 1 1 0 0
2014 NYA P 46 0 2 5 0 0
2014 WAS P 18 0 2 1 0 0
2015 WAS P 60 0 2 8 0 1
2016 SDN P 18 0 1 0 0 0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Position Games
Pitcher 748

Salary History

Year Team League Salary
2016 SDN NL $1,600,000
2015 WAS NL $3,500,000
2014 NYA AL $3,500,000
2013 CHA AL $5,500,000
2012 CHA AL $5,500,000
2011 CHA AL $3,000,000
2010 CHA AL $2,250,000
2009 CHA AL $1,325,000
2008 CHA AL $875,000
2007 CHA AL $425,000
2006 CHA AL $355,000
2005 SEA AL $323,000
Total Career Earnings $28,153,000

College History

School Name City State Years Attended
Grand Valley State University Allendale MI 1998

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Matt Thornton (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Jason Frasor
    35-35, 3.49 ERA
  2. 93
    Scott Linebrink
    42-31, 3.51 ERA
  3. 90
    Andrew Chafin
    22-28, 3.35 ERA
  4. 89
    Justin Wilson
    38-30, 3.59 ERA
  5. 84
    Scot Shields
    46-44, 3.18 ERA
  6. 83
    Aaron Loup
    23-30, 3.43 ERA

Compare Matt Thornton

Side-by-side career stat comparisons against Thornton's closest peers by position and era.

vs Jake Peavy

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Frequently Asked Questions about Matt Thornton

What years did Matt Thornton play?
Matt Thornton played in Major League Baseball from 2004 to 2016.
Was Matt Thornton a pitcher?
Yes. Matt Thornton pitched in the major leagues, recording 36 wins and 642 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Matt Thornton hit?
Matt Thornton hit 0 career home runs.