John Wetteland
Born: 8/21/1966 in San Mateo, CA, USA
MLB Debut: 1989-05-31 | Final Game: 2000-09-20
Bats: R | Throws: R | Height: 6'2" | Weight: 195 lbs
Full name: John Karl Wetteland
Biography
John Wetteland, born in 1966, was a prominent pitcher in Major League Baseball whose career spanned from 1989 to 2000. He was known for his powerful right arm and clutch performances, particularly in high-pressure situations. Wetteland played a key role as a closer, finishing his career with a record of 48-45 and an impressive earned run average (ERA) of 2.93. His ability to strike out batters was highlighted by his total of 804 strikeouts, while his mastery of the save situation culminated in 330 saves. Wetteland's effectiveness on the mound made him a vital asset for the teams he played for.
Throughout his career, Wetteland earned several accolades, including being named an All-Star three times and receiving the coveted World Series MVP award. His contributions were particularly significant during the postseason, where he showcased his skills and resilience. Wetteland's career unfolded during a transformative era in baseball, marked by the increasing emphasis on specialized relief pitching. His legacy is remembered not only for his statistics but also for his pivotal performances in critical moments, solidifying his status as one of the era's standout closers.
Career Pitching Statistics
| W | L | G | GS | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | ER | HR | BB | SO | ERA | Pitcher PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 48 | 45 | 618 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 330 | 765.0 | 616 | 249 | 73 | 252 | 804 | 2.93 | 0 |
Season-by-Season Pitching
| Year | Team | Lg | W | L | G | GS | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA | Pitcher PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | LAD | NL | 5 | 8 | 31 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 102.7 | 81 | 43 | 34 | 96 | 3.77 | - |
| 1990 | LAD | NL | 2 | 4 | 22 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 43.0 | 44 | 23 | 17 | 36 | 4.81 | - |
| 1991 | LAD | NL | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9.0 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 9 | 0.00 | - |
| 1992 | WSN | NL | 4 | 4 | 67 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 37 | 83.3 | 64 | 27 | 36 | 99 | 2.92 | - |
| 1993 | WSN | NL | 9 | 3 | 70 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 43 | 85.3 | 58 | 13 | 28 | 113 | 1.37 | - |
| 1994 | WSN | NL | 4 | 6 | 52 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 25 | 63.7 | 46 | 20 | 21 | 68 | 2.83 | - |
| 1995 | NYY | AL | 1 | 5 | 60 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 31 | 61.3 | 40 | 20 | 14 | 66 | 2.93 | - |
| 1996 | NYY | AL | 2 | 3 | 62 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 43 | 63.7 | 54 | 20 | 21 | 69 | 2.83 | - |
| 1997 | TEX | AL | 7 | 2 | 61 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 31 | 65.0 | 43 | 14 | 21 | 63 | 1.94 | 2057.6 |
| 1998 | TEX | AL | 3 | 1 | 63 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 42 | 62.0 | 47 | 14 | 14 | 72 | 2.03 | 2636.6 |
| 1999 | TEX | AL | 4 | 4 | 62 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 43 | 66.0 | 67 | 27 | 19 | 60 | 3.68 | 1264.9 |
| 2000 | TEX | AL | 6 | 5 | 62 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 34 | 60.0 | 67 | 28 | 24 | 53 | 4.20 | -98.1 |
Career Batting Statistics
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 618 | 42 | 4 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 0.167 | 0.167 | 0.286 | 0.452 | 0.0 |
Season-by-Season Batting
| Year | Team | Lg | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | LAD | NL | 31 | 21 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0.143 | 0.0 |
| 1990 | LAD | NL | 22 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.143 | 0.0 |
| 1991 | LAD | NL | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0.0 |
| 1992 | WSN | NL | 67 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0.200 | 0.0 |
| 1993 | WSN | NL | 70 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0.000 | 0.0 |
| 1994 | WSN | NL | 52 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.250 | 0.0 |
| 1995 | NYY | AL | 60 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0.0 |
| 1996 | NYY | AL | 62 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0.0 |
| 1997 | TEX | AL | 61 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 0.0 |
| 1998 | TEX | AL | 63 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0.0 |
| 1999 | TEX | AL | 62 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0.0 |
| 2000 | TEX | AL | 62 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0.0 |
Postseason Statistics
Playoff Career Batting
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17 | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | ALDS2 | TEX | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| 1998 | ALDS2 | TEX | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| 1996 | ALCS | NYA | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| 1996 | WS | NYA | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| 1996 | ALDS2 | NYA | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| 1995 | ALDS2 | NYA | 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 | 17 | 0 | 7 | 18.7 | 16 | 10 | 9 | 22 | 4.82 |
Playoff Pitching by Year
| Year | Round | Team | W | L | G | GS | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | ALDS2 | TEX | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.00 |
| 1998 | ALDS2 | TEX | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0.00 |
| 1996 | ALCS | NYA | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 4.0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 4.50 |
| 1996 | ALDS2 | NYA | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 4.0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 0.00 |
| 1996 | WS | NYA | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 4.3 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 2.08 |
| 1995 | ALDS2 | NYA | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4.3 | 8 | 7 | 2 | 5 | 14.54 |
Fielding Statistics
Career Fielding Totals by Position
| Position | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | 618 | 17 | 27 | 60 | 12 | 2 |
Season-by-Season Fielding
| Year | Team | Pos | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | LAN | P | 31 | 12 | 5 | 8 | 2 | 0 |
| 1990 | LAN | P | 22 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| 1991 | LAN | P | 6 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| 1992 | MON | P | 67 | 0 | 7 | 6 | 1 | 0 |
| 1993 | MON | P | 70 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 0 |
| 1994 | MON | P | 52 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 0 |
| 1995 | NYA | P | 60 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 |
| 1996 | NYA | P | 62 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 1 |
| 1997 | TEX | P | 61 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| 1998 | TEX | P | 63 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 1 | 0 |
| 1999 | TEX | P | 62 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 0 |
| 2000 | TEX | P | 62 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
Career Games by Position
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| Pitcher | 618 |
Awards & Honors
| Year | Award | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Player of the Week | Week of 1996-07-13 |
| 1996 | Reliever of the Year Award | |
| 1996 | TSN Fireman of the Year | |
| 1996 | World Series MVP | |
| 1993 | Pitcher of the Month | September |
| 1992 | Player of the Week | Week of 1992-06-20 |
Salary History
| Year | Team | League | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | TEX | AL | $6,500,000 |
| 1999 | TEX | AL | $6,350,000 |
| 1998 | TEX | AL | $5,800,000 |
| 1997 | TEX | AL | $4,575,000 |
| 1996 | NYA | AL | $4,000,000 |
| 1995 | NYA | AL | $3,375,000 |
| 1994 | MON | NL | $2,225,000 |
| 1993 | MON | NL | $315,000 |
| 1992 | MON | NL | $156,000 |
| 1990 | LAN | NL | $142,500 |
| 1989 | LAN | NL | $68,000 |
| Total Career Earnings | $33,506,500 | ||
College History
| School Name | City | State | Years Attended |
|---|---|---|---|
| College of San Mateo | San Mateo | CA | 1985 |
Award Voting History
| Year | Award | League | Finish | Points Won | Points Max | Votes First |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Cy Young Award | AL | 6th | 3.0 | 140 | 0 |
| 1998 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 16th | 3.0 | 392 | 0 |
| 1996 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 19th | 4.0 | 392 | 0 |
| 1993 | Most Valuable Player | NL | 24th | 1.0 | 392 | 0 |
| 1992 | Most Valuable Player | NL | 22th | 1.0 | 336 | 0 |