Mule Watson

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1918-1924)

W–L 50–53
ERA 4.03
WHIP 1.40
SO 208
Pitcher PIV -4562.7
Position
Pitcher
Bats / Throws
R / R
Height / Weight
6'1" / 185 lb
Born
10/15/1896 in Arizona, LA, USA
Died
8/25/1949 in Shreveport, LA, USA
MLB Debut
1918-07-04
Last Game
1924-09-18

Full name: John Reaves Watson

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Career Pitching Statistics

W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
50 53 178 126 53 8 4 941.7 1,062 422 44 256 208 4.03 -4562.7

Career ERA 4.03 vs. league average 3.74 across their career seasons — 7.8% 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
1918 PHA AL 7 10 21 19 11 3 0 141.7 139 53 44 30 3.37 2.83 (-19%) 24.4
1919 PHA AL 0 1 4 2 0 0 0 14.3 17 11 7 6 6.91 3.09 (-124%) -667.4
1920 BSN NL 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 3.0 0 0 0 0 0.00 — 0.0
1920 PIT NL 0 0 5 0 0 0 0 11.3 15 11 7 1 8.74 3.45 (-154%) -940.3
1920 BSN NL 5 4 12 10 4 2 0 71.7 79 30 17 16 3.77 3.45 (-9%) 0.0
1921 BSN NL 14 13 44 31 15 1 2 259.3 269 111 57 48 3.85 4.02 (+4%) -435.9
1922 BSN NL 8 14 41 29 8 1 1 201.0 262 105 59 53 4.70 4.18 (-12%) -128.5
1923 BSN NL 1 2 11 4 1 0 1 31.3 42 18 20 10 5.17 4.03 (-28%) -867.5
1923 NY1 NL 8 5 17 15 8 0 0 108.3 117 41 21 26 3.41 4.03 (+15%) -1219.7
1924 NY1 NL 7 4 22 16 6 1 0 99.7 122 42 24 18 3.79 4.13 (+8%) -955.2
Career · 10 seasons 50 53 178 126 53 8 4 941.2 1,062 422 256 208 4.03 — -5,190

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
178 322 23 53 7 4 2 21 0 6 108 .165 .182 .230 .412 -1,210

Career AVG .165 vs. league average .277 across their career seasons — 40.6% below league average.

Career OBP .182 vs. league average .338 across their career seasons — 46.0% below league average.

Career SLG .230 vs. league average .377 across their career seasons — 39.0% below league average.

Career OPS .412 vs. league average .714 across their career seasons — 42.3% 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
1918 PHA AL 21 47 0 6 1 0 0 3 0 1 17 .128 — — — — 0.0
1919 PHA AL 4 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000 — — — — 0.0
1920 BSN NL 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1920 PIT NL 5 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 .000 — — — — 0.0
1920 BSN NL 12 23 2 3 0 0 0 1 0 1 9 .130 — — — — 0.0
1921 BSN NL 44 87 9 12 2 1 0 1 0 1 36 .138 .286 (-52%) .344 (-57%) .395 (-53%) .739 (-55%) -795.1
1922 BSN NL 41 66 4 13 1 1 0 1 0 1 17 .197 .285 (-31%) .345 (-36%) .397 (-39%) .743 (-38%) -414.7
1923 BSN NL 11 8 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 .250 — — — — 0.0
1923 NY1 NL 17 46 3 8 3 0 0 4 0 0 13 .174 — — — — 0.0
1924 NY1 NL 22 35 4 9 0 2 2 11 0 2 11 .257 — — — — 0.0
Career · 10 seasons 178 322 23 53 7 4 2 21 0 6 108 .165 — — — — -1,210

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
2 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
1924 WS NY1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1923 WS NY1 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 2 1 1 2.7 4 3 1 1 10.12

Playoff Pitching by Year

Year Round Team W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
1924 WS NY1 0 0 1 0 1 0.7 0 0 0 0 0.00
1923 WS NY1 0 0 1 1 0 2.0 4 3 1 1 13.50

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (356 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home811481127212.182
Away97173122609.150

Pitching — Home / Away

SplitGIPHERBBSOERA
Home81476.04801571151132.97
Away97463.1582255142994.95

Last 10 Games — Batting

DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1924-09-18 NY1CINL 000000000
1924-09-12 NY1STLL 000000000
1924-09-06 NY1PHIW 111000100
1924-09-04 NY1PHIL 301000101
1924-08-11 NY1CINW 300000001
1924-07-31 NY1PITL 000000000
1924-07-26 NY1STLW 301000010
1924-07-21 NY1CINL 000000000
1924-07-19 NY1PITW 201010201
1924-07-16 NY1PITW 100000000

Last 10 Games — Pitching

DateTmOppDecIPHRERBBSOHR
1924-09-18 NY1CIN — 0.2100010
1924-09-12 NY1STL L 0.1211100
1924-09-06 NY1PHI — 1.0431120
1924-09-04 NY1PHI — 5.1843301
1924-08-11 NY1CIN W 9.0821110
1924-07-31 NY1PIT L 1.1444100
1924-07-26 NY1STL W 9.01043022
1924-07-21 NY1CIN — 0.1533000
1924-07-19 NY1PIT W 4.2522100
1924-07-16 NY1PIT — 1.1533000

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position G GS PO A E DP
1B 1 0 0 0 0 0
P 178 0 22 235 15 9

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1918 PHA 1B 1 0 0 0 0 0
1918 PHA P 21 0 5 30 3 3
1919 PHA P 4 0 0 9 0 0
1920 BSN P 1 0 0 1 0 0
1920 PIT P 5 0 0 3 0 1
1920 BSN P 12 0 0 22 1 0
1921 BSN P 44 0 7 72 6 1
1922 BSN P 41 0 4 47 3 1
1923 BSN P 11 0 2 7 0 0
1923 NY1 P 17 0 3 22 1 0
1924 NY1 P 22 0 1 22 1 3

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Position Games
Pitcher 178
First Base 1

College History

School Name City State Years Attended
Baylor University Waco TX 1914, 1915, 1916, 1917

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Mule Watson (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Heinie Meine
    66-50, 3.95 ERA
  2. 79
    Nick Strincevich
    46-49, 4.05 ERA
  3. 67
    Lum Harris
    35-63, 4.16 ERA
  4. 64
    Dickey Kerr
    53-34, 3.84 ERA
  5. 61
    Stubby Overmire
    58-67, 3.96 ERA
  6. 61
    George Smith
    41-81, 3.89 ERA

Frequently Asked Questions about Mule Watson

What years did Mule Watson play?
Mule Watson played in Major League Baseball from 1918 to 1924.
Was Mule Watson a pitcher?
Yes. Mule Watson pitched in the major leagues, recording 50 wins and 208 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Mule Watson hit?
Mule Watson hit 2 career home runs with 53 hits.