Sam McDowell was born on Monday, September 21, 1942, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. McDowell was 18 years old when he broke into the big leagues on September 15, 1961, with the Cleveland Indians. His biographical data, year-by-year hitting stats, fielding stats, pitching stats (where applicable), career totals, uniform numbers, salary data and miscellaneous items-of-interest are presented by Baseball Almanac on this comprehensive Sam McDowell baseball stats page.
"Most managers think pitchers are dumb because we like to do our own thing. Yet we couldn't be too dumb because every year they're changing the rules to make life easier for the hitters." - Sam McDowell in The Gigantic Book of Baseball Quotations (Wayne Stewart, Skyhorse Publishing, 10/17/2007, Page 230)
Sam McDowellSam McDowell Autograph on a 1971 Score (#150) |
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Biographical Data | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Sam McDowellSam McDowell Pitching Stats |
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Year | Age | Team | G | GS | GF | W | L | PCT | ERA | CG | SHO | SV | IP | BFP | H | ER | R | HR | BB | IBB | SO | WP | HB | BK | HLD |
1961 | 19 | Indians | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0.00 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6.1 | 27 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
1962 | 20 | Indians | 25 | 13 | 5 | 3 | 7 | .300 | 6.06 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 87.2 | 410 | 81 | 59 | 64 | 9 | 70 | 1 | 70 | 5 | 4 | 0 | - |
1963 | 21 | Indians | 14 | 12 | 0 | 3 | 5 | .375 | 4.85 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 65.0 | 292 | 63 | 35 | 37 | 6 | 44 | 0 | 63 | 7 | 0 | 0 | - |
1964 | 22 | Indians | 31 | 24 | 3 | 11 | 6 | .647 | 2.70 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 173.1 | 760 | 148 | 52 | 60 | 8 | 100 | 6 | 177 | 11 | 3 | 2 | - |
1965 | 23 | Indians | 42 | 35 | 5 | 17 | 11 | .607 | 2.18 | 14 | 3 | 4 | 273.0 | 1,116 | 178 | 66 | 80 | 9 | 132 | 7 | 325 | 17 | 6 | 0 | - |
1966 | 24 | Indians | 35 | 28 | 5 | 9 | 8 | .529 | 2.87 | 8 | 5 | 3 | 194.1 | 806 | 130 | 62 | 66 | 12 | 102 | 3 | 225 | 5 | 6 | 1 | - |
1967 | 25 | Indians | 37 | 37 | 0 | 13 | 15 | .464 | 3.85 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 236.1 | 1,014 | 201 | 101 | 112 | 21 | 123 | 3 | 236 | 18 | 7 | 0 | 0 |
1968 | 26 | Indians | 38 | 37 | 0 | 15 | 14 | .517 | 1.81 | 11 | 3 | 0 | 269.0 | 1,098 | 181 | 54 | 78 | 13 | 110 | 9 | 283 | 7 | 10 | 1 | - |
1969 | 27 | Indians | 39 | 38 | 1 | 18 | 14 | .563 | 2.94 | 18 | 4 | 1 | 285.0 | 1,166 | 222 | 93 | 111 | 13 | 102 | 9 | 279 | 14 | 7 | 1 | - |
1970 | 28 | Indians | 39 | 39 | 2 | 20 | 12 | .625 | 2.92 | 19 | 1 | 0 | 305.0 | 1,257 | 236 | 99 | 108 | 25 | 131 | 10 | 304 | 17 | 7 | 0 | 0 |
1971 | 29 | Indians | 35 | 31 | 3 | 13 | 17 | .433 | 3.40 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 214.2 | 943 | 160 | 81 | 89 | 22 | 153 | 13 | 192 | 13 | 3 | 0 | - |
1972 | 30 | Giants | 28 | 25 | 1 | 10 | 8 | .556 | 4.33 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 164.1 | 718 | 155 | 79 | 86 | 12 | 86 | 6 | 122 | 11 | 6 | 0 | - |
1973 | 31 | Giants | 18 | 3 | 6 | 1 | 2 | .333 | 4.50 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 40.0 | 190 | 45 | 20 | 23 | 4 | 29 | 0 | 35 | 5 | 0 | 0 | - |
1973 | 31 | Yankees | 16 | 15 | 1 | 5 | 8 | .385 | 3.95 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 95.2 | 417 | 73 | 42 | 47 | 4 | 64 | 2 | 75 | 6 | 0 | 0 | - |
1974 | 32 | Yankees | 13 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 6 | .143 | 4.69 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 48.0 | 224 | 42 | 25 | 27 | 6 | 41 | 2 | 33 | 3 | 0 | 0 | - |
1975 | 33 | Pirates | 14 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 1 | .667 | 2.86 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 34.2 | 149 | 30 | 11 | 11 | 0 | 20 | 3 | 29 | 1 | 0 | 2 | - |
Career | G | GS | GF | W | L | PCT | ERA | CG | SHO | SV | IP | BFP | H | ER | R | HR | BB | IBB | SO | WP | HB | BK | HLD | ||
15 Years | 425 | 346 | 39 | 141 | 134 | .513 | 3.17 | 103 | 23 | 14 | 2,492.1 | 10,587 | 1,948 | 879 | 999 | 164 | 1,312 | 74 | 2,453 | 140 | 59 | 7 | 0 |
Sam McDowellSam McDowell Hitting Stats |
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Year | Age | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | GRSL | RBI | BB | IBB | SO | SH | SF | HBP | GIDP | AVG | OBP | SLG |
1961 | 19 | Indians | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
1962 | 20 | Indians | 25 | 26 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .154 | .154 | .154 |
1963 | 21 | Indians | 15 | 19 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .211 | .250 | .211 |
1964 | 22 | Indians | 31 | 56 | 2 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 25 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .143 | .213 | .161 |
1965 | 23 | Indians | 43 | 95 | 5 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 35 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .126 | .135 | .137 |
1966 | 24 | Indians | 36 | 60 | 2 | 12 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 27 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .200 | .210 | .233 |
1967 | 25 | Indians | 37 | 82 | 5 | 15 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 28 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | .183 | .190 | .232 |
1968 | 26 | Indians | 38 | 85 | 5 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 35 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 | .153 | .189 | .153 |
1969 | 27 | Indians | 39 | 92 | 3 | 16 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 31 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 2 | .174 | .172 | .207 |
1970 | 28 | Indians | 40 | 105 | 5 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 42 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .124 | .140 | .152 |
1971 | 29 | Indians | 35 | 73 | 1 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 26 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .178 | .189 | .178 |
1972 | 30 | Giants | 28 | 59 | 3 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 21 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .119 | .133 | .169 |
1973 | 31 | Giants | 18 | 12 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .167 | .167 | .167 |
1973 | 31 | Yankees | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
1974 | 32 | Yankees | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
1975 | 33 | Pirates | 14 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
Career | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | GRSL | RBI | BB | IBB | SO | SH | SF | HBP | GIDP | AVG | OBP | SLG | ||
15 Years | 429 | 774 | 34 | 119 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 36 | 16 | 0 | 306 | 56 | 4 | 1 | 6 | .154 | .171 | .176 |
Sam McDowellSam McDowell Fielding Stats |
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Team | POS | G | GS | OUTS | TC | TC/G | CH | PO | A | E | DP | PB | CASB | CACS | FLD% | RF |
1961 Indians | P | 1 | 1 | 19 | 2 | 2.0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 2.84 |
1962 Indians | P | 25 | 13 | 263 | 20 | 0.8 | 18 | 4 | 14 | 2 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .900 | 1.85 |
1963 Indians | P | 14 | 12 | 195 | 11 | 0.8 | 11 | 4 | 7 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 1.52 |
1964 Indians | P | 31 | 24 | 520 | 29 | 0.9 | 27 | 7 | 20 | 2 | 1 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .931 | 1.40 |
1965 Indians | P | 42 | 35 | 819 | 56 | 1.3 | 52 | 6 | 46 | 4 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .929 | 1.71 |
1966 Indians | P | 35 | 28 | 583 | 43 | 1.2 | 41 | 11 | 30 | 2 | 2 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .953 | 1.90 |
1967 Indians | P | 37 | 37 | 709 | 45 | 1.2 | 40 | 9 | 31 | 5 | 2 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .889 | 1.52 |
1968 Indians | P | 38 | 37 | 807 | 44 | 1.2 | 40 | 10 | 30 | 4 | 7 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .909 | 1.34 |
1969 Indians | P | 39 | 38 | 855 | 48 | 1.2 | 44 | 5 | 39 | 4 | 5 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .917 | 1.39 |
1970 Indians | 1B | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .000 | 0.00 |
1970 Indians | 2B | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1.0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 0.00 |
1970 Indians | P | 39 | 39 | 915 | 42 | 1.1 | 38 | 3 | 35 | 4 | 1 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .905 | 1.12 |
1971 Indians | P | 35 | 31 | 644 | 33 | 0.9 | 29 | 3 | 26 | 4 | 2 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .879 | 1.22 |
1972 Giants | P | 28 | 25 | 493 | 30 | 1.1 | 29 | 8 | 21 | 1 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .967 | 1.59 |
1973 Giants | P | 18 | 3 | 120 | 8 | 0.4 | 8 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 1.80 |
1973 Yankees | P | 16 | 15 | 287 | 19 | 1.2 | 19 | 4 | 15 | 0 | 1 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 1.79 |
1974 Yankees | P | 13 | 7 | 144 | 4 | 0.3 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .750 | 0.56 |
1975 Pirates | P | 14 | 1 | 104 | 6 | 0.4 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 2 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 1.56 |
Career | POS | G | GS | OUTS | TC | TC/G | CH | PO | A | E | DP | PB | CASB | CACS | FLD% | RF |
P Totals | 425 | 346 | 7,477 | 440 | 1.0 | 407 | 79 | 328 | 33 | 23 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .925 | 1.47 | |
1B Totals | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .000 | 0.00 | |
2B Totals | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1.0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 0.00 | |
15 Years | 427 | 346 | 7,477 | 441 | 1.0 | 408 | 80 | 328 | 33 | 23 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .925 | 1.47 |
Sam McDowellSam McDowell Miscellaneous Stats |
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Baserunning Statistics | Other Positions | Common Hitting Ratios | Common Pitching Ratios | |||||||||
Team | SB | CS | SB% | PH | PR | DH | AB/HR | AB/K | AB/RBI | K/BB | K/9 | BB/9 |
1961 Indians | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 0.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 1.00 | 7.11 | 7.11 |
1962 Indians | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 0.0 | 2.0 | 26.0 | 1.00 | 7.19 | 7.19 |
1963 Indians | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 1 | n/a | 0.0 | 2.1 | 0.0 | 1.43 | 8.72 | 6.09 |
1964 Indians | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 0.0 | 2.2 | 28.0 | 1.77 | 9.19 | 5.19 |
1965 Indians | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 1 | n/a | 0.0 | 2.7 | 23.8 | 2.46 | 10.71 | 4.35 |
1966 Indians | 0 | 0 | .000 | 1 | 0 | n/a | 0.0 | 2.2 | 60.0 | 2.21 | 10.42 | 4.72 |
1967 Indians | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 82.0 | 2.9 | 13.7 | 1.92 | 8.99 | 4.68 |
1968 Indians | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 0.0 | 2.4 | 14.2 | 2.57 | 9.47 | 3.68 |
1969 Indians | 0 | 1 | .000 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 0.0 | 3.0 | 15.3 | 2.74 | 8.81 | 3.22 |
1970 Indians | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 1 | n/a | 105.0 | 2.5 | 52.5 | 2.32 | 8.97 | 3.87 |
1971 Indians | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 0.0 | 2.8 | 18.3 | 1.25 | 8.05 | 6.41 |
1972 Giants | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 0.0 | 2.8 | 14.8 | 1.42 | 6.68 | 4.71 |
1973 Giants | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 0.0 | 1.7 | 0.0 | 1.21 | 7.88 | 6.53 |
1973 Yankees | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.17 | 7.06 | 6.02 |
1974 Yankees | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.80 | 6.19 | 7.69 |
1975 Pirates | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 0.0 | 1.6 | 0.0 | 1.45 | 7.53 | 5.19 |
Career | SB | CS | SB% | PH | PR | DH | AB/HR | AB/K | AB/RBI | K/BB | K/9 | BB/9 |
15 Years | 0 | 1 | .000 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 387.0 | 2.5 | 21.5 | 1.87 | 8.86 | 4.74 |
Sam McDowellSam McDowell Miscellaneous Items of Interest |
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Team | Roster | Uniform Numbers | Salary | All-Star | World Series |
1961 Cleveland Indians | 17 | Undetermined | - | - |
1962 Cleveland Indians | 17 | Undetermined | - | - |
1963 Cleveland Indians | 34 | Undetermined | - | - |
1964 Cleveland Indians | 48 | Undetermined | - | - |
1965 Cleveland Indians | 48 | Undetermined | Stats | - |
1966 Cleveland Indians | 48 | $24,000.00 | Stats | - |
1967 Cleveland Indians | 48 | $20,000.00 | - | - |
1968 Cleveland Indians | 48 | $45,000.00 | Stats | - |
1969 Cleveland Indians | 48 | $55,000.00 | Stats | - |
1970 Cleveland Indians | 48 | $65,000.00 | Stats | - |
1971 Cleveland Indians | 48 | $72,000.00 | Stats | - |
1972 San Francisco Giants | 48 | $75,000.00 | - | - |
1973 San Francisco Giants | 48 | $75,000.00 | - | - |
1973 New York Yankees | 29, 48 | " " | - | - |
1974 New York Yankees | 48 | $67,500.00 | - | - |
1975 Pittsburgh Pirates | 48 | $62,000.00 | - | - |
Sam McDowell Stats by Baseball Almanac |
Did you know that Sam McDowell was named one of the 100 Greatest Cleveland Indians Players ever? As part of the club’s 100th Anniversary Celebration in 2001, a panel of veteran baseball writers, historians and executives selected a roster of the Top 100 Greatest Indians and McDowell was named one of the thirty pitchers, of which only six were lefties (the other five left-handed inductees were Gene Bearden, Vean Gregg, Don Mossi, Herb Score, and Rick Waits).
Bob Feller (a right-hander) was the first Cleveland Indians pitcher to strikeout 300+ batters in a single season, mowing down a team record 348 batters in 1946. Sam McDowell struck out 325 batters in 1965, the first left-handed Indians pitcher to strikeout 300+ hitters in the same season (and the team record for strikeouts in a season by an Indians lefty). When McDowell eclipsed 300 strikeouts again in 1970, he became the first - and to date only - pitcher from Cleveland with two 300+ strikeout seasons.
Sam McDowell was also only the second left-handed pitcher in the history of the American League to record a 300-strikeout season, joining Hall of Famer Rube Waddell who had two himself (302 strikeouts with the 1902 Philadelphia Athletics & 349 strikeouts with the 1904 Philadelphia Athletics). Since McDowell, Vida Blue (301 strikeouts with the 1971 Oakland Athletics), Mickey Lolich (308 strikeouts with the 1971 Detroit Tigers) and Randy Johnson (308 strikeouts with the 1993 Seattle Mariners) are the only lefties to reach the 300+ strikeout plateau in the junior circuit.
Sam McDowell Strikes Out 16 | The Terre Haute Tribune | May 2, 1968 | Page 38
Sam McDowell struck out at least ten batters in a game seventy-four times in his career, tied with Bob Gibson for eighth most in Major League history behind: 1. Nolan Ryan (215 10k-games), 2. Randy Johnson (212 10k-games), 3. Roger Clemens (110 10k-games), 4. Pedro Martinez (108 10k-games), 5. Sandy Koufax (97 10k-games), 6. Curt Schilling (93 10k-games), and 7. Steve Carlton (84 10k-games).
Sam McDowell struck out at least fifteen batters in a game six times in his career, the sixth most in Major League history, behind: 1. Randy Johnson (29 15k-games), 2. Nolan Ryan (26 15k-games), 3. Pedro Martinez (10 15k-games), 3. Roger Clemens (10 15k-games), and 5. Sandy Koufax (8 15k-games).