Sterling Hitchcock, baseball player, 1992-2004

Sterling Hitchcock

Born: 4/29/1971 in Fayetteville, NC, USA

MLB Debut: 1992-09-11 | Final Game: 2004-08-22

Bats: L | Throws: L | Height: 6'1" | Weight: 200 lbs

Full name: Sterling Alex Hitchcock

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Biography

Sterling Hitchcock was a professional baseball pitcher whose career spanned from 1992 until 2004. Born in 1971, Hitchcock made his Major League debut with the San Diego Padres and went on to play for several teams, including the New York Yankees and the Seattle Mariners. Over the course of his career, he compiled a win-loss record of 74-76 and posted an earned run average (ERA) of 4.8. Known for his ability to strike out batters, he recorded a total of 997 strikeouts during his time in the league, complemented by 3 saves. Hitchcock's most notable achievement came during the postseason when he was named the NLCS MVP, showcasing his ability to perform under pressure. His playing style was characterized by a mix of fastballs and breaking pitches, which allowed him to navigate through tough lineups in an era marked by offensive prowess and the emergence of power hitters. Despite not recording a stellar win-loss record, Hitchcock remained a reliable presence on the mound and contributed significantly to his teams' playoff runs, leaving a lasting impact on the franchises he represented.

Career Pitching Statistics

W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
74 76 281 200 10 2 3 1285.7 1374 685 181 471 997 4.80 0

Career ERA 4.80 vs. league average 4.42 across their career seasons — 8.6% worse 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
1992 NYY AL 0 2 3 3 0 0 0 13.0 23 12 6 6 8.31 3.75 (-122%) -
1993 NYY AL 1 2 6 6 0 0 0 31.0 32 16 14 26 4.65 4.19 (-11%) -
1994 NYY AL 4 1 23 5 1 0 2 49.3 48 23 29 37 4.20 4.51 (+7%) -
1995 NYY AL 11 10 27 27 4 1 0 168.3 155 88 68 121 4.70 4.45 (-6%) -
1996 SEA AL 13 9 35 35 0 0 0 196.7 245 117 73 132 5.35 4.61 (-16%) -1142.6
1997 SDP NL 10 11 32 28 1 0 0 161.0 172 93 55 106 5.20 4.39 (-18%) -
1998 SDP NL 9 7 39 27 2 1 1 176.3 169 77 48 158 3.93 4.43 (+11%) -
1999 SDP NL 12 14 33 33 1 0 0 205.7 202 94 76 194 4.11 4.71 (+13%) -
2000 SDP NL 1 6 11 11 0 0 0 65.7 69 36 26 61 4.93 4.77 (-3%) -
2001 SDP NL 2 1 3 3 0 0 0 19.0 22 7 3 15 3.32 4.42 (+25%) -
2001 NYY AL 4 4 10 9 1 0 0 51.3 67 37 18 28 6.49 4.42 (-47%) -
2002 NYY AL 1 2 20 2 0 0 0 39.3 57 24 15 31 5.49 4.28 (-28%) -
2003 NYY AL 1 3 27 1 0 0 0 49.7 57 30 18 36 5.44 4.40 (-24%) -
2003 STL NL 5 1 8 6 0 0 0 38.0 34 16 14 32 3.79 4.40 (+14%) -
2004 SDP NL 0 3 4 4 0 0 0 21.3 22 15 8 14 6.33 4.46 (-42%) -

Career Batting Statistics

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
281 210 14 19 0 0 0 5 0 7 112 0.090 0.120 0.090 0.210 -1925.7

Career AVG .090 vs. league average .266 across their career seasons — 66.0% below league average.

Career OBP .120 vs. league average .336 across their career seasons — 64.3% below league average.

Career SLG .090 vs. league average .420 across their career seasons — 78.5% below league average.

Career OPS 0.210 vs. league average 0.756 across their career seasons — 72.2% 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
1992 NYY AL 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1993 NYY AL 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1994 NYY AL 23 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1995 NYY AL 27 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1996 SEA AL 35 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1997 SDP NL 32 50 4 5 0 0 0 1 0 3 30 0.100 .266 (-63%) .336 (-55%) .419 (-76%) .756 (-67%) -583.6
1998 SDP NL 39 50 5 7 0 0 0 2 0 1 21 0.140 .266 (-47%) .335 (-53%) .420 (-67%) .755 (-61%) -533.8
1999 SDP NL 33 61 4 5 0 0 0 0 0 3 34 0.082 .271 (-70%) .344 (-64%) .433 (-81%) .778 (-73%) -808.3
2000 SDP NL 11 22 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 12 0.000 — — — — 0.0
2001 SDP NL 3 8 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 6 0.125 — — — — 0.0
2001 NYY AL 10 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
2002 NYY AL 20 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
2003 NYY AL 27 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
2003 STL NL 8 12 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 0.083 — — — — 0.0
2004 SDP NL 4 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0.000 — — — — 0.0

Postseason Statistics

Playoff Career Batting

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
9 9 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 0.222

Playoff Batting by Year

Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
2001 ALDS2 NYA 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
2001 WS NYA 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1998 NLCS SDN 2 5 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.200
1998 NLDS2 SDN 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0.000
1998 WS SDN 1 2 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.500
1995 ALDS2 NYA 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000

Playoff Career Pitching

W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
4 0 9 4 0 30.7 23 6 11 41 1.76

Playoff Pitching by Year

Year Round Team W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
2001 ALDS2 NYA 0 0 1 0 0 3.0 5 2 0 2 6.00
2001 WS NYA 1 0 2 0 0 4.0 1 0 0 6 0.00
1998 NLCS SDN 2 0 2 2 0 10.0 5 1 8 14 0.90
1998 NLDS2 SDN 1 0 1 1 0 6.0 3 1 0 11 1.50
1998 WS SDN 0 0 1 1 0 6.0 7 1 1 7 1.50
1995 ALDS2 NYA 0 0 2 0 0 1.7 2 1 2 1 5.40

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position G GS PO A E DP
P 281 200 36 136 10 7

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1992 NYA P 3 3 0 2 0 0
1993 NYA P 6 6 1 3 0 0
1994 NYA P 23 5 1 7 2 0
1995 NYA P 27 27 4 12 0 1
1996 SEA P 35 35 6 23 3 2
1997 SDN P 32 28 4 21 2 1
1998 SDN P 39 27 6 17 0 2
1999 SDN P 33 33 7 24 1 0
2000 SDN P 11 11 0 9 0 0
2001 SDN P 3 3 0 2 0 0
2001 NYA P 10 9 3 5 0 0
2002 NYA P 20 2 1 5 0 0
2003 NYA P 27 1 2 4 1 1
2003 SLN P 8 6 1 1 1 0
2004 SDN P 4 4 0 1 0 0

Career Games by Position

Position Games
Pitcher 281

Awards & Honors

Year Award Notes
1998 NLCS MVP

Salary History

Year Team League Salary
2003 NYA AL $6,000,000
2002 NYA AL $4,936,719
2001 SDN NL $6,000,000
2000 SDN NL $6,100,000
1999 SDN NL $3,500,000
1998 SDN NL $2,250,000
1997 SDN NL $1,200,000
1996 SEA AL $235,000
1995 NYA AL $125,000
1994 NYA AL $112,000
1993 NYA AL $109,000
Total Career Earnings $30,567,719