John Candelaria, baseball player, 1975-1993

John Candelaria

Born: 11/6/1953 in New York, NY, USA

MLB Debut: 1975-06-08 | Final Game: 1993-07-07

Bats: L | Throws: L | Height: 6'7" | Weight: 230 lbs

Full name: John Robert Candelaria

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Biography

John Candelaria, born in 1953, was a prominent left-handed pitcher known for his effectiveness on the mound during his career from 1975 to 1993. He finished his playing days with a solid record of 177 wins and 122 losses, alongside an impressive earned run average (ERA) of 3.33. Candelaria was a striking presence, accumulating 1,673 strikeouts throughout his career while also securing 29 saves. His lone All-Star selection highlighted his status as one of the more reliable pitchers of his era, which spanned a transitional period in Major League Baseball characterized by evolving pitching strategies and offensive approaches. Candelaria was particularly noted for his poise and composure on the mound, often referred to as "The Candy Man" due to his sweet pitching style. He played a significant role in the rotation of teams such as the Pittsburgh Pirates and the California Angels, contributing to the competitive nature of the league during the late 1970s and 1980s. His contributions to the game helped shape the craft of pitching in a time when power hitters began to dominate, showcasing a balance between strikeout capabilities and efficiency that remains a model for aspiring pitchers today. Candelaria’s legacy is marked not only by his statistics but also by the influence he had on the game and the players who followed in his footsteps.

Career Pitching Statistics

W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
177 122 600 356 54 13 29 2525.7 2399 935 245 592 1673 3.33 0

Career ERA 3.33 vs. league average 3.86 across their career seasons — 13.7% better than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Year Team Lg W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER BB SO ERA Lg ERA Pitcher PIV
1975 PIT NL 8 6 18 18 4 1 0 120.7 95 37 36 95 2.76 3.71 (+26%) 2756.3
1976 PIT NL 16 7 32 31 11 4 1 220.0 173 77 60 138 3.15 3.51 (+10%) -53.6
1977 PIT NL 20 5 33 33 6 1 0 230.7 197 60 50 133 2.34 4.00 (+41%) 621.9
1978 PIT NL 12 11 30 29 3 1 1 189.0 191 68 49 94 3.24 3.69 (+12%) 1020.8
1979 PIT NL 14 9 33 30 8 0 0 207.0 201 74 41 101 3.22 4.00 (+20%) 204.9
1980 PIT NL 11 14 35 34 7 0 1 233.3 246 104 50 97 4.01 3.84 (-4%) 2808.8
1981 PIT NL 2 2 6 6 0 0 0 40.7 42 16 11 14 3.54 3.58 (+1%) -101.2
1982 PIT NL 12 7 31 30 1 1 1 174.7 166 57 37 133 2.94 3.86 (+24%) 4512.3
1983 PIT NL 15 8 33 32 2 0 0 197.7 191 71 45 157 3.23 3.87 (+17%) 5173.6
1984 PIT NL 12 11 33 28 3 1 2 185.3 179 56 34 133 2.72 3.81 (+29%) 2783.8
1985 PIT NL 2 4 37 0 0 0 9 54.3 57 22 14 47 3.64 3.89 (+6%) 599.0
1985 LAA AL 7 3 13 13 1 1 0 71.0 70 30 24 53 3.80 3.89 (+2%) -
1986 LAA AL 10 2 16 16 1 1 0 91.7 68 26 26 81 2.55 3.97 (+36%) -
1987 LAA AL 8 6 20 20 0 0 0 116.7 127 61 20 74 4.71 4.29 (-10%) -
1987 NYN NL 2 0 3 3 0 0 0 12.3 17 8 3 10 5.84 4.29 (-36%) 389.6
1988 NYY AL 13 7 25 24 6 2 1 157.0 150 59 23 121 3.38 3.73 (+9%) -
1989 NYY AL 3 3 10 6 1 0 0 49.0 49 28 12 37 5.14 3.71 (-39%) -
1989 WSN NL 0 2 12 0 0 0 0 16.3 17 6 4 14 3.31 3.71 (+11%) -
1990 MIN AL 7 3 34 1 0 0 4 58.3 55 22 9 44 3.39 3.86 (+12%) 137.2
1990 TOR AL 0 3 13 2 0 0 1 21.3 32 13 11 19 5.48 3.86 (-42%) -113.9
1991 LAD NL 1 1 59 0 0 0 2 33.7 31 14 11 38 3.74 3.91 (+4%) -
1992 LAD NL 2 5 50 0 0 0 5 25.3 20 8 13 23 2.84 3.75 (+24%) -
1993 PIT NL 0 3 24 0 0 0 1 19.7 25 18 9 17 8.24 4.19 (-97%) 41.3

Career Batting Statistics

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
603 596 39 104 20 3 1 48 0 44 162 0.174 0.233 0.223 0.456 -3083.8

Career AVG .174 vs. league average .259 across their career seasons — 32.7% below league average.

Career OBP .233 vs. league average .325 across their career seasons — 28.4% below league average.

Career SLG .223 vs. league average .387 across their career seasons — 42.3% below league average.

Career OPS 0.456 vs. league average 0.712 across their career seasons — 36.0% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Year Team Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG Lg AVG Lg OBP Lg SLG Lg OPS PIV
1975 PIT NL 18 43 2 6 0 0 0 2 0 3 12 0.140 — — — — 0.0
1976 PIT NL 32 76 5 14 2 1 0 5 0 7 17 0.184 .255 (-28%) .320 (-21%) .360 (-34%) .681 (-28%) -339.3
1977 PIT NL 33 80 5 18 3 2 0 11 0 4 18 0.225 .264 (-15%) .329 (-20%) .401 (-22%) .730 (-21%) -307.1
1978 PIT NL 31 52 6 9 3 0 0 1 0 9 19 0.173 .257 (-33%) .323 (-2%) .378 (-39%) .702 (-22%) -147.7
1979 PIT NL 33 68 0 9 4 0 0 6 0 1 18 0.132 .265 (-50%) .329 (-56%) .397 (-52%) .727 (-54%) -632.1
1980 PIT NL 35 77 5 15 3 0 0 7 0 4 14 0.195 .264 (-26%) .326 (-29%) .387 (-40%) .714 (-35%) -459.2
1981 PIT NL 6 13 0 3 0 0 0 3 0 0 1 0.231 — — — — 0.0
1982 PIT NL 33 54 6 12 2 0 0 9 0 6 20 0.222 .261 (-15%) .324 (-9%) .388 (-33%) .712 (-22%) -193.0
1983 PIT NL 33 65 4 9 1 0 0 2 0 5 17 0.138 .260 (-47%) .324 (-38%) .389 (-60%) .714 (-50%) -540.3
1984 PIT NL 33 62 6 8 2 0 1 2 0 4 25 0.129 .259 (-50%) .322 (-44%) .384 (-46%) .707 (-45%) -465.1
1985 PIT NL 37 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0.000 — — — — 0.0
1985 LAA AL 13 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1986 LAA AL 16 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1987 LAA AL 20 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1987 NYN NL 3 5 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.200 — — — — 0.0
1988 NYY AL 25 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1989 NYY AL 10 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1989 WSN NL 12 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1990 MIN AL 34 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1990 TOR AL 13 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1991 LAD NL 59 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1992 LAD NL 50 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1993 PIT NL 24 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
6 9 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 7 0.111

Playoff Batting by Year

Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1986 ALCS CAL 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1979 NLCS PIT 1 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0.000
1979 WS PIT 2 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 0.333
1975 NLCS PIT 1 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0.000

Playoff Career Pitching

W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
2 2 6 6 0 34.3 33 11 11 29 2.88

Playoff Pitching by Year

Year Round Team W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
1986 ALCS CAL 1 1 2 2 0 10.7 11 1 6 7 0.84
1979 NLCS PIT 0 0 1 1 0 7.0 5 2 1 4 2.57
1979 WS PIT 1 1 2 2 0 9.0 14 5 2 4 5.00
1975 NLCS PIT 0 0 1 1 0 7.7 3 3 2 14 3.52

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position G GS PO A E DP
P 600 356 58 339 11 16

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1975 PIT P 18 18 3 13 4 0
1976 PIT P 32 31 3 31 0 2
1977 PIT P 33 33 6 30 1 3
1978 PIT P 30 29 4 25 0 0
1979 PIT P 33 30 2 36 0 3
1980 PIT P 35 34 8 38 2 3
1981 PIT P 6 6 1 7 0 1
1982 PIT P 31 30 1 23 1 1
1983 PIT P 33 32 5 20 0 1
1984 PIT P 33 28 3 21 0 1
1985 PIT P 37 0 1 8 1 0
1985 CAL P 13 13 2 8 1 0
1986 CAL P 16 16 3 10 0 0
1987 CAL P 20 20 4 23 0 1
1987 NYN P 3 3 2 1 0 0
1988 NYA P 25 24 4 22 0 0
1989 NYA P 10 6 1 6 0 0
1989 MON P 12 0 1 1 1 0
1990 MIN P 34 1 3 3 0 0
1990 TOR P 13 2 1 6 0 0
1991 LAN P 59 0 0 2 0 0
1992 LAN P 50 0 0 5 0 0
1993 PIT P 24 0 0 0 0 0

Career Games by Position

Position Games
Pitcher 600

Awards & Honors

Year Award Notes
1986 TSN Comeback Player of the Year
1982 Pitcher of the Month July
1982 Player of the Week Week of 1982-07-23
1977 Player of the Week Week of 1977-09-30
1976 Player of the Week Week of 1976-08-13

Salary History

Year Team League Salary
1993 PIT NL $760,000
1992 LAN NL $1,250,000
1991 LAN NL $830,000
1990 MIN AL $500,000
1989 NYA AL $800,000
1988 NYA AL $700,000
1987 CAL AL $800,000
1986 CAL AL $800,000
1985 CAL AL $612,500
Total Career Earnings $7,052,500

Award Voting History

Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
1977 Cy Young Award NL 5th 17.0 120 1
1977 Most Valuable Player NL 18th 8.0 336 0