MLB / Players

Joe Sparma

HandednessBats Right · Throws Right
Listed at6 ft 1 in · 190 lb
BornFebruary 4, 1942 · Massillon, OH, USA
MLB debutMay 20, 1964
Final gameMay 12, 1970
Seasons7 (1964–1970)

Detroit Tigers 1964–1969; Montreal Expos 1970

Percentile snapshot

1968 season — qualified pitchers

G
34
26.7
GS
31
36
W
10
12
L
10
72
SV
0
0
CG
7
25.3
SHO
1
5.3
H
169
81.3
ER
75
38.7
BB
77
17.3
SO
110
13.3
HR
14
49.3
IP
182.3
14.7
ERA
3.70
5.3
WHIP
1.349
5.3
K/9
5.43
32
FIP
3.40
4
FIP-
112.2
6.7
ERA+
81.8
5.3
sWAR
0.0
4

of 76 qualified 1968 pitchers (min 164 IP)

Career, era-adjusted

sWAR
1.9
69.8

sWAR measured against every career in history, 24,011 of them. Only era-adjusted career stats carry a percentile — a raw career total gets a rank instead, because pooling the 1890s with the 2020s is a choice, not a measurement.

Season by season

Batting

SeasonGPAABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSOSBCSBAOBPSLGOPSwRC+OPS+wOBAsWAR
196423262534020411100.160.192.320.51229.739.1.2281.6
196530605247100332500.135.179.154.332-14.5-4.7.1622.3
19662925230510010500.217.217.261.47825.735.9.215-1.1
196737907414000133300.054.091.054.145-76.0-56.5.0770.2
196834676028100212400.133.148.150.298-31.1-10.1.1410.0
19692333291400001800.138.167.138.305-29.1-14.9.149-0.3
19709860000001200.000.143.000.143-53.0-58.2.107-0.7

Pitching

SeasonGGSWLSVCGSHOHERBBSOHRIPERAWHIPK/9FIPFIP-ERA+sWAR
196421115603262284571484.03.001.2747.613.1084.5122.31.6
19653028138060142597512713167.03.181.2996.843.2994.2109.82.3
19662913270001035452611491.75.301.6915.994.89139.766.0-1.1
196737371690115186918515320217.73.761.2456.333.49106.187.40.2
196834311010071169757711014182.33.701.3495.433.40112.281.80.0
196923166803278497741592.74.761.6733.984.70126.178.4-0.3
1970960401034232523729.37.062.0117.067.14174.258.1-0.7

sWAR is the season TOTAL for a player who both hit and pitched: the record book carries one figure per season, not a split, so the same number appears on both lines rather than being counted twice.

Career totals

Batting

G
185
PA
309
AB
269
R
11
H
32
2B
3
3B
2
HR
0
RBI
11
BB
10
SO
108
SB
0
BA
.1190
OBP
.1500
SLG
.1450
OPS
.2950

Pitching

G (P)
183
GS
142
W
52
L
52
SV
0
CG
31
SHO
10
IP
865
SO (P)
586
BB allowed
436
ERA
3.945
WHIP
1.3994
K/9
6.10

A total is called out only where it ranks in the all-time top 500; hover a figure for its rank and the size of the field it was ranked in. Ranks are absolute facts and carry no percentile — the population for "career home runs" would be an editorial choice, and the rank is not.

Best games

Batting

DateGameABRH2B3BHRRBIBBTB
1966-05-15CWS @ DET Gameday202100003
1964-07-05TEX @ DET Gameday311010203
1964-08-13DET @ MIN Gameday111010003
1965-06-11MIN @ DET Gameday202000002
1969-07-03BOS @ DET Gameday312000002

Pitching

DateGameIPHRERBBSOHR
1965-09-06BOS @ DET Gameday8.06424121
1964-07-05TEX @ DET Gameday9.04001100
1967-05-17DET @ TEX Gameday9.03113101
1965-05-27NYY @ DET Gameday9.0511091
1967-07-07BOS @ DET Gameday8.2544291

Ranked from our own play-by-play game log, which begins in 1901 — not from the record book, so a career played outside it shows nothing here rather than a short list.