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Tom Candiotti
Time with Dodgers: 1992-1997
Stats: 52-64, 3.57 ERA, 15 CG’s, 1,048 IP, 718 SO, 106 ERA+, 3.84 FIP, 1.27 WHIP
Baseball Reference WAR: 14.6
FanGraphs WAR: 14.3
Combined WAR: 14.45
After spending his career in Milwaukee, Cleveland and Toronto, Tom Candiotti signed with the Dodgers in 1992.
He appeared in 187 games with the Dodgers, starting 159 of them. He was mostly a starter until his final season in Los Angeles, as he came out of the bullpen only five times during his first five seasons. In 1997, Candiotti appeared in 41 games, but only started 18 of them.
From 1992 through 1995, he was quietly one of the better starters in baseball. Among pitchers with at least 760 innings pitched, his 3.38 ERA ranked ninth, his 3.49 FIP ranked sixth, his 17.2 strikeout percentage was 10th and his 110 ERA+ was 16th.
For Candiotti, run support was his biggest enemy. Of the 31 pitchers in franchise history to make at least 159 starts, his .448 winning percentage is the worst. During his first season with the Dodgers, he lost 15 games, even though he had an ERA of 3.00. In his 30 starts that season, the Dodgers scored two runs or fewer in 17 of them.
The following season, his ERA was 3.12 and he still had a losing record. In 16 of his 32 starts, the Dodgers scored two runs or fewer. They only scored at least six runs in two total starts he made that season.
Another reason as to why “Wins” is a meaningless category!
Candiotti is one of 42 pitchers in franchise history to throw at least 1,048 innings. Here’s where he ranks among those pitchers:
- 718 strikeouts (26th)
- 3.57 ERA (33rd)
- 3.84 FIP (33rd)
- 106 ERA+ (32nd)
He threw a knuckleball!!