John Wathan

Catcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1976-1985)

AVG .262
HR 21
RBI 261
H 656
OPS .661
PIV -2,450
Position
Catcher
Bats / Throws
R / R
Height / Weight
6'2" / 205 lb
Born
10/4/1949 in Cedar Rapids, IA, USA
MLB Debut
1976-05-26
Last Game
1985-10-06

Full name: John David Wathan

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Career Batting Statistics

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
860 2,505 305 656 90 25 21 261 105 199 265 .262 .318 .343 .661 -2,450

Career AVG .262 vs. league average .260 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career OBP .318 vs. league average .325 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career SLG .343 vs. league average .386 across their career seasons — 11.1% below league average.

Career OPS .661 vs. league average .710 across their career seasons — 7.0% 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
1976 KCA AL 27 42 5 12 1 0 0 5 0 2 5 .286 — — — — 0.0
1977 KCA AL 55 119 18 39 5 3 2 21 2 5 8 .328 .264 (+24%) .329 (+5%) .401 (+17%) .730 (+12%) 190.0
1978 KCA AL 67 190 19 57 10 1 2 28 2 3 12 .300 .257 (+16%) .323 (-1%) .378 (+4%) .702 (+2%) 3.5
1979 KCA AL 90 199 26 41 7 3 2 28 2 7 24 .206 .265 (-22%) .329 (-31%) .397 (-24%) .727 (-27%) -964.9
1980 KCA AL 126 453 57 138 14 7 6 58 17 50 42 .305 .264 (+15%) .326 (+15%) .387 (+5%) .714 (+10%) 1012.0
1981 KCA AL 89 301 24 76 9 3 1 19 11 19 23 .252 .255 (-1%) .320 (-7%) .368 (-15%) .688 (-11%) -533.6
1982 KCA AL 121 448 79 121 11 3 3 51 36 48 46 .270 .261 (+3%) .324 (+6%) .388 (-16%) .712 (-6%) -262.7
1983 KCA AL 128 437 49 107 18 3 2 32 28 27 56 .245 .260 (-6%) .324 (-11%) .389 (-19%) .714 (-16%) -1088.2
1984 KCA AL 97 171 17 31 7 1 2 10 6 21 34 .181 .259 (-30%) .322 (-16%) .384 (-30%) .707 (-24%) -611.2
1985 KCA AL 60 145 11 34 8 1 1 9 1 17 15 .234 .257 (-9%) .323 (-1%) .390 (-17%) .714 (-10%) -195.3
Career · 10 seasons 860 2,505 305 656 90 25 21 261 105 199 265 .262 — — — — -2,450

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
18 34 3 5 0 0 0 1 6 7 .147

Playoff Batting by Year

Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1985 WS KCA 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000
1984 ALCS KCA 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1981 AWDIV KCA 3 10 1 3 0 0 0 0 1 1 .300
1980 ALCS KCA 3 6 1 0 0 0 0 0 3 1 .000
1980 WS KCA 3 7 1 2 0 0 0 1 2 1 .286
1978 ALCS KCA 1 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1977 ALCS KCA 4 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 .000
1976 ALCS KCA 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (860 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home441123916933013144.266
Away41912661363268117.258

Last 10 Games — Batting

DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1985-10-06 KCROAKL 400000000
1985-09-19 KCRSEAL 300000000
1985-09-17 KCRSEAL 100000000
1985-09-15 KCROAKL 000000000
1985-09-10 KCRLAAW 400000000
1985-09-09 KCRLAAL 300000000
1985-09-08 KCRMILW 000000010
1985-09-07 KCRMILW 421000000
1985-09-06 KCRMILW 501100101
1985-09-05 KCRMILW 312000000

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position G GS PO A E DP
1B 196 103 1082 87 7 100
C 572 495 2224 194 44 23
OF 64 48 82 3 1 0

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1976 KCA 1B 3 1 6 0 0 0
1976 KCA C 23 8 57 4 1 1
1977 KCA 1B 5 4 26 0 1 2
1977 KCA C 35 19 130 9 1 0
1978 KCA 1B 47 31 307 22 0 20
1978 KCA C 21 16 78 6 2 0
1979 KCA 1B 49 25 264 19 2 30
1979 KCA C 23 18 70 5 1 0
1979 KCA OF 3 0 2 0 0 0
1980 KCA 1B 12 11 112 7 1 14
1980 KCA C 77 72 306 25 6 5
1980 KCA OF 35 31 54 1 1 0
1981 KCA 1B 1 0 1 0 0 0
1981 KCA C 73 68 300 26 7 1
1981 KCA OF 16 13 15 2 0 0
1982 KCA 1B 3 2 19 2 0 2
1982 KCA C 120 116 463 38 10 3
1983 KCA 1B 37 27 244 26 3 24
1983 KCA C 92 89 360 32 6 5
1983 KCA OF 9 3 11 0 0 0
1984 KCA 1B 33 1 91 10 0 8
1984 KCA C 59 49 213 21 6 2
1984 KCA OF 1 1 0 0 0 0
1985 KCA 1B 6 1 12 1 0 0
1985 KCA C 49 40 247 28 4 6

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Position Games
Catcher 571
First Base 197
Left Field 28
Right Field 39
Designated Hitter 19

Salary History

Year Team League Salary
1986 KCA AL $400,000
1985 KCA AL $425,000
Total Career Earnings $825,000

College History

School Name City State Years Attended
University of San Diego San Diego CA 1968, 1969, 1970

Award Voting History

Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
1980 Most Valuable Player AL 24th 1.0 392 0

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

John Wathan (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    John Grim
    .267 avg, 16 HR
  2. 94
    Julio Rojo
    .265 avg, 10 HR
  3. 92
    Mike Gonzalez
    .253 avg, 13 HR
  4. 88
    Frank Duncan
    .255 avg, 14 HR
  5. 88
    William Clarke
    .256 avg, 20 HR
  6. 88
    Jack O'Brien
    .266 avg, 11 HR

Frequently Asked Questions about John Wathan

What years did John Wathan play?
John Wathan played in Major League Baseball from 1976 to 1985.
Was John Wathan a pitcher?
No. John Wathan was a position player (Catcher).
How many home runs did John Wathan hit?
John Wathan hit 21 career home runs with 656 hits.